I talk about this with other parents all the time, how important it is for kids to learn through play. A couple of night sago, I realized I hadn’t learned that valuable lesson for myself! I have a bunch of deadlines right now, and was feeling overwhelmed and stuck, and then it occurred to me that playing around would be a good way to enjoy myself and the process of creating again.
I used to quilt all of my quilts on my home machine, but haven’t done it in years since I got my longarm. My playtime was to break out my #24 foot and do some free motion quilting on a 10″ square, getting back into the swing of quilting on a domestic.
I enjoyed the heck out of my time (I gave myself about 30 minutes before I had to get back to work), and just let myself do whatever I felt like. I didn’t worry about backtracking, I didn’t worry about perfection, I just let myself loose. Along the way, I learned some things:
- I like quilting really small on my domestic machine, and I have great control.
- It’s much more intimate-feeling working on something so close, and while I love my longarm, this has a different feel that I appreciate equally.
- Once you know the designs and how to make them, it doesn’t matter whether you use a longarm or domestic: it’s a matter of just figuring out body mecanics.
That last one was the most important, I think, for teaching anyone to quilt, on any machine: DRAW DRAW DRAW before you get to the quilting! The less figuring out of stuff you have to do at the machine, the easier your process will be, and then all you have to worry about, really, is how you’re moving your body parts.
What are you going to play with, today? XOXO, friends!
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