This is the ultimate stitch sampler. First, let me make clear this is not my quilt. I took this photograph over 10 years ago at a local quilt show when photography was not nearly as far along as it is now. This isn’t a great photo, but it will serve the purpose for this post.
This is a fantastic utility quilt, made by a wise woman. The quiltmaker had just bought a new machine with a myriad of stitches she had no idea how to use. So she set out to learn how to use them by making a crazy quilt. She used up her scraps, and used every stitch on that machine over, and over, and over again.
You can be sure after making this quilt, she knew how to make her machine purrr. I haven’t looked back at this photo since I stored it, but I remember this quilt and how impressed I was at the investment this quiltmaker made in learning how to master her sewing machine. I was also a new mom who was rather envious of the time this woman had to devote to her quilting.
My how the days fly by. I now have two children, who are not so little anymore.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this series on getting the most out of your sewing machine. Make a date with your machine to get to know it better. Your quilts will improve, I promise.
[...] Maria from Maria Peagler and Quilts and Creativity writes, “I’ve just created a series of blog posts… about creating Mini-Stitch Samplers. I came up with the idea after teaching machine quilting classes where few women knew what their machines could actually do. So I proposed they spend some time and get to know their machines’ capabilities. I included some photos of stitch samplers I’ve done, along with a quilt that I call the ultimate stitch sampler. The links are: Getting to Know You, How Many Specialty Stitches Does Your Machine Offer?, Create Mini-Stitch Samplers, Experiment with Threads and Stitch Settings, Practice Specialty Stitches on Your Project Fabric and The Ultimate Stitch Sampler. [...]