By Diane Harris, HQ Stitch Brand Ambassador

I’m astonished at the new thoughts I’m having in the wake of my excitement about machine quilting.

1. “I can’t wait to quilt this!” 🤗

In the past, I was a piecer and only a piecer. I made patchwork endlessly and the quilt tops just kept piling up. The thought of basting, planning and quilting them brought me only dread. So much work, so little fun.

But all of that has changed. Now I am piecing because it means I’ll get to quilt something!

Gypsy Wife by Jen Kingwell is my current piecing project.

2. “I’m excited about thread!” 😃

In the past, I thought thread was thread. Who cared? If the machine liked it and it didn’t cause any technical problems, what was the difference?

Oh my, how things have changed. I pull out boxes of thread and ogle. Thoughts about the weight, the fiber content, and the sheen fill my head.

I wonder about the color against this, that or the other fabric. What about variegated options? Will they work? Thread, thread and more thread. Who knew?!

3. “The presser foot on a longarm doesn’t move.” 😮

Say whaaaat?! I know, right? I’ve been raising and lowering a presser foot since I was 9 years old. How a sewing machine works is second nature for me.

So I was shocked to realize that since the HQ Capri is built to do just one job (quilt!), its presser foot doesn’t lift up and down. It stays put.

Along with that came the surprise that the tension discs are always engaged. On a sewing machine, lifting the presser foot releases the tension discs and the thread pulls through them easily.

Since the Capri’s presser foot is stationary, the tension discs remain engaged at all times. Thread pulls through but with more effort.

4. “I’m looking for real estate.” 🏘

People who love to machine quilt are always searching for big, wide open spaces where their stitches can show off. They refer to these spaces as real estate.

Now I browse quilt designs with an eye for those open areas.

What fun it would be to quilt these Snowball blocks! Terrific real estate.

I can fill empty space with loops, swirls, ribbons, feathers and more.

5. “Look at that quilting!”

In the past when I looked at quilts, I mostly observed the patchwork. I didn’t think about the quilting much, or analyze it at all.

Now I observe the quilting and I have questions. How did the maker divide the space and fill in the divisions? How many motifs were used and were they marked or not? What textures were created and how?

I notice what stands out. Where are the focal points? How did the maker achieve that? I consider whether I can emulate the ideas in my own work.

It’s been ridiculously fun to make these discoveries. After 35 years of quiltmaking, I wasn’t expecting that.

Quilt on.