Yesterday, I quilted a small baby quilt on the Gammill. It was good to get some practice loading, basting the sides, keeping it square, etc.
Today, I pinned the practice muslin back on the frame and switched to a darker thread for visibility over all my other practice.
I'm having fun switching back and forth between freeform sewing like these plants and feathers on one side of the practice piece
and skill building drills on the other half. I think of it like the compulsory figures and and free skating sections in figure skating competitions. (Yes, I know that they no longer judge compulsory figures but I do remember watching them and was impressed by the figures left on the ice - you didn't want to see a double line after skating the figure with both feet.) I hope the quilting drills will help build muscle memory for better freehand quilting. I'm currently making rows and rows of circles working both horizontally and vertically and I'm getting better at making them the same on each row.
