I wrote a few weeks ago about doing a machine quilting demo for my guild. That made me realize that while I'm a competent machine quilter, my skills haven't improved significantly since I learned how 10 years ago. My stitches are even enough but not perfect. I've got some cool ideas for designs, but I use the same ones over and over. When a guildmate asked about avoiding large stitches when making big loops traveling from part of the quilt to another, I had to admit that I have the same trouble.
I told everyone that Harriet Hargrave's book was the machine quilting Bible, then realized that I hadn't looked at it in years. I got the basics from it, then never took it to the next level. I started rereading.
And there in the first few pages is the advice to use a single stitch throat plate. It was like I'd never seen it before. It turns out that my Pfaff came with a throat plate that has a large enough hole in it to accomodate a zigzag stitch, but better stitches can be made if you use a throat plate that has a hole only large enough for the needle. Switch throat plates for zigzag; go back to the single stitch for piecing and free motion quilting.
Funny how something like that can get a person so excited. I ran to Jim. "I need a new throatplate." This man knows me and didn't think my request odd. He asked if I'd scoped out where they could be bought and how much they cost. (In the $35 range depending on special ordering and shipping.) The local fabric store that carries Pfaffs said they'd have to special order the one for my machine, so we got it from some guy on ebay.
I've been playing with it all yesterday afternoon. I wouldn't say the difference is amazing, but there does seem to be some improvement in the evenness of my stitches, and that's what I was going for. I'm very pleased. It's been a long time since I found a new toy that delighted me as much as fabric.
--Lia