Paris Quilts

Rosie and Ellie are going to Paris on a school trip with their awesome Music department. So I've been making some Paris and Music themed quilts to raffle off as a fundraiser.  

Rosie with her Music Cup at the Awards Ceremony

Here's some of the kids in the group on the night of their Awards Evening.

Music Department  2013 award winners 

 The 'Guitar Stripy' is pieced and quilted. The Pink Paris Stripy is on hold while I do a version of this quilt that I found on pinterest. I'm calling it 'Eiffel Tower Flower Power'

by uniquelynancy, Connecticut, USA via Etsy

I love the bright bold colours. So I incorporated these Eiffel Tower prints from Michael Miller with large bright floral prints from my stash. I bought some stripes and a charm pack of Bella Plains.

piecing my version 'Eiffel Tower Flower Power'

My husband commented that"it's like a migraine that goes on and on!" But my girls like it and I think it's the perfect remedy for these bleak mid winter days. This Juki Exceed is such a pleasure to piece with. The industrial style Box Feeding System really helps me match my seams.

on the Juki Exceed 600

Game Changer

Guitar Stripy quilt loaded on the New English Quilter frame

A machine quilting frame is a game changer. It makes more difference than any other quilting tool.You could spend £5,000 on the ultra super totally top-of-the-line sewing machine and you would still have the pain in the neck of dragging your quilt under the arm of your sewing machine. You would still need to baste, pin, tack or spray glue the layers of your quilt together first.And you would still be working backwards as you move the 'paper' (your quilt) instead of the pencil (your needle).

NEQ2 free-motion machine quilting detail

Our machine quilting frames change all that!

• Machine quilting frames perfectly tension all the layers of your quilt. So you never have to baste, pin, tack or glue again. Not ever!
• Your sewing machine sits on a carriage that rides on a set of tracks. This enables you to glide your sewing machine effortlessly over the top of your quilt. It's like magic!
• Your perfectly tensioned quilt layers become the paper, held still and steady by the frame.  The needle becomes the pencil as it glides over the quilt top. Now you are working the right way round.  You can draw beautiful and flowing lines with thread because you're doodling just the way you always have holding the paper still and moving the pencil.

Our New English Quilter frames make machine quilting fast and fun

When you put all this together, our New English Quilter frames transform quilting from a tiresome pain-in-the-neck chore to something fun, fast, efficient and enjoyable. With a New English Quilter frame you can go from stacks of fabric to finished quilts in a matter of hours!

I'm using Magnifico machine quilting thread from Superior Threads

Magnifico is a new range of threads from Superior Threads.It's gorgeous light reflecting fibres have tensile strength so it runs beautifully through sewing machines and long arms too.

I'm machine quilting with a straight stitch sewing machine from JUKI

On-line Fabric Shops

Michael Miller's Eiffel Tower fabric from Fabric.com

 Customers often ask me where I get my quilting fabric. Because I live in the back of beyond in Lincolnshire, I go online. I just discovered an online shop that's become my new absolute favourite It's called fabric.com  The fabric selection is huge, the prices are low and the shipping over 'the pond' is fast, really fast!

Music themed fabric for the Paris Quilts from  fabric.com

My daughters Rosie and Ellie are going to Paris on a school trip with the Music and Drama department. So we decided that it would be fun to make some Paris quilts to raffle off to raise money for the trip. I'm designing the quilts to appeal to the High School and University aged students. I went looking for Paris and music themed fabrics to remind them of the Paris trip and I was thrilled to find these!

The prices were brilliant! And the service fast! When the fabric arrived 4 days after I ordered it, some yardage was LONGER than I'd paid for and I noticed this sticker. If it's the end of the bolt they give you the extra fabric for free! That makes me all happy inside!

musical fabric from Frumble.co.uk

These pianos came from a UK based site called frumble.co.uk  It's based in Birmingham and their service was also fast and efficient. The Cocoland Cat fabrics came from a Japanese site called Kawaii Meow. Once again I was impressed with how quickly the parcel arrived and everything was cute! The mail bag was pink polka dots and care had been taken to do everything well. This gal has 174 cat fabric in her etsy shop!! Now that I've got the fabric sorted the quilts will follow on soon.

Autumn Threads

#850 Treasure Chest from the Rainbows range of Superior Threads

 These gorgeous machine quilting threads from Superior Threads capture the autumnal beauty!

Detail of the King Tut Color Card 1st set of 50 colours

After the leaves fall, you'll still have lines of colour to draw on your quilts. I'm putting the November order through next Wednesday 13 November. So email or ring with any thread orders so I'll be sure to have what you need in stock for Autumn and Christmas projects.

#943 Nile Crocodile fron the King Tut range of Superior Threads

ring Martha: 01526 378057

email: martha@machinequilter.co.uk

Beyond Straight Line Quilting

Terri Tester showing me her amazing sampler quilt

I love it when my customers bring quilts to show me! Terri came last Thursday to collect her 8 foot frame, speed control Nifty Grip handles and the new upgraded purpose built table. Terri brought this little beauty to show me. It's a sampler quilt project that's absolutely gorgeous! And a stunning example of the modern straight line quilting that keeps popping up in my posts.

a sampler quilt by Terri Tester - detail

 I was particularly struck by the how well the colours worked in this quilt.

Terri Tester sampler - machine quilting detail

I like how the bright red sings through the the low contrast of the greys and whites.

Terri Tester's sampler

This quilt so demonstrates Terri's mastery of the straight line quilting technique! 

I liked this modern block

But Terri, like many of the other modern quilters that I've come across in the past weeks, is eager to move on and explore other line designs. 

Terri brought another unfinished top that she'll be machine quilting on her new 8 foot New English Quilter frame. In the beginning of the year, Terri emailed me to say that this was going to be the 'year of the quilt frame'! She had gone as far as she could go with machine quilting sitting at the sewing machine and Terri was ready for a new tool that she could use to take her machine quilting to a new level. The 8 foot New English Quilter frame will give Terri the capacity to quilt far more than straight lines. I can't wait to see what Terri does next!