machinequilter

Thread Stands

2012-02-01T15:30:00.000Z

Just after I finished the post yesterday, I read the Superior Threads Newsletter and saw the photo of this innovative new thread stand. Then I had a peek at the short video clip. Heather also known as 'Mother Superior' demonstrates how to use the thread stand and explains why we need to. It packs a lot of information in a short clip.Excellent threaducation! It is such a good explanation of cross wound cones that I had to include it here. It is definitely worth the two minutes viewing time! We'll be including these thread stands in our next order so they will be available here in the UK and in Europe.

Cross-wound Cones

2012-01-31T22:33:00.001Z

This post is for Kim. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.Here's a photo of my JUKI TL 98 P on the 6 foot Art Quilter frame. There's a good view of the extend-able thread guide that allows the thread to unwind over the top of the cone. This set up allows an easy almost effortless unwinding of the thread especially compared to the manic spinning of a 500 yd spool as it races to keep up with the free motion quilting.

This Janome in the photo below has a flip up thread guide.

Here's a photo of our thread stand, sitting just to the right of the sewing machine. The thread stand allows any machine to take advantage of the larger cones.I hope this helps, Kim. .

We sell the thread stands for £5.00

Bulk Buys

2012-01-27T22:02:00.001Z

Bulk purchases work out cheaper.

Machine Quilter is the UK distributor for Superior Threads specializing in the larger cross wound cones. We discount for bulk purchases. Our discounts are available to anyone buying in bulk. So if you teach, run a long arm business or are a keen quilter you can take advantage of our bulk buy discounts.

Buy 10 or more cones and get a 10% discount.

Buy 20 or more cones and get a 20% discount.

Our prices are VAT inclusive - this makes our discounted prices the best prices in the UK. Here are our standard prices - you can work out the discounts:

King Tut - 2,000 yd cone £18.95 (10% £17.06) (20% £15.17) a good savings!

Masterpiece - 3,000 yd cone £18.95

Rainbows - 2,000 yd cone £15.95

Kimono Silk - 1,090yd mini cone £15.95

So Fine - 3,280 yd cone £13.95

Bottom Line - 3,000 yd cone £10.95

These are the standard ranges that we stock but we can order in whatever you fancy.

For bulk purchases ring or email with the order rather than putting it through the website so we can add in the discounted prices.
Call Martha 01526 378057
or email martha@machinequilter.co.uk

Retreat Advances

2012-01-16T22:45:00.000Z

a still shot of the filming session last week

The opportunity to focus on one thing.

This was such a busy week with planning sessions and filming sessions and all the homely things that keep body and soul together. But the machine quilting weekend gave us the opportunity to focus on just one thing.

We worked on this same pattern during the retreat

I took the shot below in Trudi's garden studio when we met to plan for the Feathering Retreat weekend. By Thursday Trudi had finished machine quilting the over all feather pattern and on Friday we had it displayed in the Garden Room at the Petwood to inspire us during the the Retreat.

On Tuesday Trudi still had this quilt on the NEQ frame

The theme for the weekend was feathering. We started with what I like to think of as pre-feathering patterns and worked our way through them doodling designs on rolls of paper and then on the frames. We tried out lots of new threads and figured out how to clean and oil and tension our sewing machines so they would purr merrily along on the 6 foot Art Quilter frames that Trudi and I brought along.

Now it's the perfect backdrop for Kathy and Trudi

The best part of the weekend was watching people develop into confident doodlers and chuffed quilters. We were all so surprised at the difference a day makes. People came to the weekend unsure of their own abilities and uncertain about whether or not a retreat could really help. By the end of the weekend everyone was delighted!

Janice and Mags during Trudi's trunk show

Mags emailed me some feedback today

Martha, I would like to thank you and Trudie for a wonderful weekend at Petwood Hotel, Woodhall Spa.The retreat was just perfect and I will be recommending it to my friends. I was struggling with my quilts, they were all being done in the same pattern. Now with your training techniques I feel that I will now be able to produce a much wider range of designs. I learned so much and just can't wait to put it in to practice.
Thanks again.
Mags

Our retreats are a great way to advance! The March Feathering Retreat is filling up. The dates are March 9th -11th email or ring to get on the list. We'll post future retreat dates soon.

Trudi's Feathers

2012-01-04T18:22:00.000Z

Trudi's feathers just off the frame!

Trudi machine quilts the most beautiful feathers!

Come to our Feathering Retreat next week and she'll show you how to do it too!

Feathers filling a square space

Trudi is using a JUKI TL 98P sewing machine on an original New English Quilter frame.

All over feathers

This is no-mark-hand-guided-free-motion-machine quilting on a table top frame..

Feather that fit into a pieced pattern

Just BEAUTIFUL!

All over feathers

Follow the link to sign up or call or email Martha by Friday:

01526 378057

martha@machinequilter.co.uk

Border feathers

Fresh Start

2012-01-03T17:39:00.001Z

My first try - inspired by Trudi

Get the new year off to a good start with our January Retreat running from Friday January 13th through Sunday the 15th. Our retreats are designed to help machine quilters of all levels get the most out of their quilting frames. We're using the JUKI TL 98P sewing machine on the New English Quilter frame but anyone using any sewing machine on any frame is welcome. We're going to focus on feathering. Whether you're just starting out or already fluent, you will leave with new skills and greater confidence. Our new venue, the Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire offers roaring fires, good food, comfortable rooms and plenty of space for us to spread out. There is plenty of room for friends and husbands too. Follow the link to the website for more information. Ring or email with any questions. Hope to see you there!

£250 includes accommodation, ALL meals, snacks, all materials and tuition
£165 includes, meals, materials and tuition for local girls not needing accommodation

9 Ladies Dancing

2012-01-02T20:26:00.000Z

Reproduction vintage fabric

I've always loved retro. When I was little, I would go to the attic and rummage through the clothes my mom had worn when she was young. I used my favourite of those dresses for a country dance when I was 19. Years went by and I moved countries and lost track of those vintage clothes. A few years ago when I found that Spring had come out with a reproduction of the very same fabric for Quilters Only, I just had to buy some. It's been 'resting' in my stash for some time waiting for a special project.

a much younger version of me in a country dance

When I discovered that my son's girlfriend, Jade shared the same love of vintage, the project began to take shape. I'm too fond of the fabric to cut it up, so I've decided to add a beautiful pieced border, back it in red fleece and use it for a throw. I'm taking inspiration from this part of the fabric for the border. I've seen a few quilts around lately at the Houston Quilt festival and on various blogs using a similar pattern.

a detail of the fabric

I'm going to call it Nine Ladies Dancing and give it to Jade.I'll chronicle my progress on future posts but I needed to blog about it today as today is the 9th Day of Christmas!

Photo Finish

2011-12-31T18:46:00.003Z

cutting gingerbread cookies

Here's a photo finish to 2011. This new version of blogger is giving a good close up view when you click on the images.Celebrating the 12 days of Christmas gives us a chance to spread out the festivities. New Year's Eve falls on the 7th Day and our friends Simon and Angie came to visit with three small children Teresa, Annie and baby Joe. I managed to get the binding on their table runner just before they arrived! Since the table runner had a gingerbread theme we got out our favourite cookie cutters and made gingerbread biscuits.

finished products

Christmas table runners

the process start to finish

Pieced on the JUKI Exceed 600, I connected all the runners together with sashing so that I would only need to load the frame once. The sashing came in handy later.

Auditioning various threads
I used the Holly and Ivy thread from the King Tut range on one of the runners.

The Gingerbread runner needed ginger thread! MasterPiece #158 Moccasin

I used this hearts and loops pattern on two of the runners.Here it is in the King Tut 'Holly and Ivy'

All the runners were backed with green fleece.

While the project was on the frame the sashing fabric that joined the runners was a perfect place to practice stitching and get the tension working right.

Once off the frame, I sliced off the sashing fabric. Now the runners were ready for binding.

Angie loved her present and everybody else enjoyed the ginger biscuits!

Film Shoot

2011-12-30T16:33:00.002Z

Emily and Thomas dancing to 'Beyond the Sea'

We had a film shoot today for the new Line Dancing DVD. We were really lucky to catch a brilliant dancer, Thomas while he was home for the holidays. We were also delighted to be able to use the Kinema in the Woods as our venue.

The Kinema in Woodhall Spa

The Kinema in Woodhall Spa is the last remaining back projection cinema. Going to the Kinema is like entering a time warp. The amazing 1940's ambiance makes it the perfect backdrop to feature a Line Dancing DVD designed around a Bobby Darin song. We think that the stills are brill! But the moving version is even better.We apply the same techniques that make the dancing fun and fab to machine quilting!

Our new 'Beyond the Sea' Line Dancing DVD uses the repeated movements of scalloping and echoing to maneuver around our available machine quilting space. The curtain captures it all! Beyond the Sea, our next Lind Dancing DVD will be out soon!

Christmas Table Runners

2011-12-22T10:31:00.003Z

My Mom's blue and green table runner on the 8 foot New English Quilter frame

Over the years I've collected a lovely stash of Christmas fabric. Some years I am just so overwhelmed that I get it out, look at it and put it back in the basket. This year I decided to do some really simple stripy table runners for presents. Keeping it simple made it more likely for me to finish in time for Christmas. The stripes work for me as what I really like is the look of the fabrics next to each other. And now, ever since I've been using a frame, it is the machine quilting that gives the magic touch.

My least favourite thing about machine quilting is loading the quilt on the frame. Don't get me wrong, it's way better than being on my hands and knees with hundreds of safety pins or basting or glueing! Anyway, this time I decided to make several runners and sew them together with some strips of fabric. That way I would only need to load the frame once and I could get right to my favourite part - the machine quilting.

Thread auditioning - going for the gold!

Being 'bleak mid winter' it is hard to get enough natural light for a good photo. But here they are all loaded on the frame.This first runner is for my Mom - she loves blue and green. It's fun deciding which threads to use. They're all gorgeous but I decided on the gold metallic from Superior Threads. These metallic threads are a pleasure to sew with! I'm using a Titanium coated 100/16 Topstitch needle, which is, by the way, exactly the same as a Metallic needle! The larger eye gives the thread plenty of room to move through the eye without shredding or breaking.

Filigree scroll work line design

The quilting pattern is a no-mark-hand-guided-free-motion pattern that I call 'filigree scroll work'. I like it because it is so easy to manoeuvre all around the quilting space. More to come...

Exceeding Expectations

2011-12-21T17:51:00.003Z

I've been enjoying using this new JUKI Exceed 600 to do piecing. My seams are soooo straight and there is no puckering at all.When we were in Houston the new JUKI 2010 machines were so popular that we were selling the show demo models right off the frames. On the last day we were without a sewing machine so we decided to put the Exceed on the frame just for fun. I didn't expect it to perform very well on the frame. Boy was I surprised!!

The JUKI Exceed 600 just seemed to float over the top of the quilt. The stitching was amazing! I was surprised. It would be a dream to use for free-motion quilting sitting at the sewing machine.I still prefer the JUKI TL98-P or the 2010 for machine quilting on a frame because of the longer arm. But for someone who wanted one machine to use on AND off the frame I can heartily recommend the Exceed 600.It definitely exceeded my expectations!

Up Close and personal

2011-12-13T11:35:00.013Z

Practice makes perfect. This is true, but sometimes practice is just not enough. Sometimes we need help that is Up close and Personal. That is exactly what our Machine Quilting Retreats are for. Being around other machine quilters who are using similar tools is really really helpful. And to be honest the other people on the retreat are just as helpful as the teachers!

Our Machine Quilting Retreads have participants of all levels and we find that everyone learns from everyone else. The smallest things can make the biggest difference. Getting to see and ask questions and get answers takes you to a new level. Getting to look over the shoulders of other machine quilters and listen to the questions that they think of asking helps you grow twice as fast.

The Petwood Hotel is a gorgeous setting. A bit of pampering away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life is a perfect way to get the new year off to a good start. Setting aside a weekend to focus on a craft that we're all passionate about creates the opportunity for everyone to grow into the 'loving intelligence' that I was waxing lyrical about it the last post.

There will be lovely food, good company, blazing wood fires and plenty of room to spread out and practice on our frames. The retreats are open to day visitors as well as people staying for the nights. There will be three teachers with different areas of expertise so we will be able to give plenty of up close and personal attention. To find our more drop me an email and or follow the link to the Retreats page on the website. A retreat is a great way to start off the New Year and recover from the busy holiday season. Martha, Anne and Trudi wish you all a joyful Christmas and hope to see you at the January Retreat.

Please email or ring with any questions: martha@machinequilter.co.uk

Tel: 01526 378057

Tools and Gadgets

2011-12-09T22:51:00.012Z

I think there is a big difference between tools and gadgets. There are gizmos and gadgets galore on offer this time of year. Gadgets can be defined as frankly frivolous, time saving space wasting yet ingenious devices that clutter up the spaces of our life and work! They are the one-day-wonders that end up collecting dust in the back of our closets. Gadgets are clever yet not really all that necessary - we can live without them.

Tools in contrast are essential devices of lasting value. They are, to borrow a medical term, pluripotent - a single instrument that can accomplish many tasks as opposed to the many many little gadgets designed to do just one thing. Gadgets do it without you. But tools require a 'loving intelligence'. Loving intelligence truly describes the relationship between the tools and the craftsman or artisan. Tools require a certain manual competence - a practical wisdom that can be learned from direct experience or passed on from person to person.

Our New English Quilting frames and the JUKI sewing machines we use on them most definitely fall into the tools category! Our frames are hand crafted by craftsman for artisans. We create the tools and pass on the 'loving intelligence' required to get the most out of them. As world leader's in industry, JUKI make the best sewing machines in the world. All the practical technology that makes JUKI so successful in industry, is evident in the robust and elegant simplicity of their domestic sewing machines. You can tell the difference just by listening to the sound of the machine running through it's paces. If you're saving up for a New English Quilter and a JUKI sewing machine to go with it, you're doing the right thing. Good tools that last a life time are worth every penny. They are an investment that will keep on giving!

The Feast of St Nicholas

2011-12-06T15:20:00.000Z

Today is Saint Nicholas Day. The kids reminded me when they opened the 6th door of the Advent calendar. I love old fashioned Advent calendars, the kind with the pictures instead of the chocolates! In honour of the day, I got out my Christmas fabric stash and started on some Christmas table runners. I'm going to keep them simple and strippy so I'll finish them fast.

St Nicholas was a real person, a bishop in what we now call Turkey. He was famous for doing kind deeds in secret, like putting gold coins in the stockings of some girls who needed a dowry so they could afford to marry. That's why we have bags of chocolate coins at Christmas time.

Say Saint Nicholas really fast 7 times and you'll get Santa Claus.

If you like old fashioned Advent calendars, follow the link. They ship all over the world.

Three Days!

2011-11-30T22:30:00.006Z

Today our first frame ordered during the Houston Quilt Festival was delivered to Ann in New Hampshire. A 4 foot Art Quilter was collected from my village in Lincolnshire, England on Monday at noon. It arrived in New Hampshire safe and sound today. That's more than 3,000 miles in less than three days! Ann and I are both happy about that!

We are making good progress with the orders. All the frames ordered at the Houston Quilt Festival will be delivered in time for Christmas!

Practical Presents

2011-11-29T08:25:00.008Z

Superior Threads make the best presents for your quilting friends and family! Visit our shop or have a look at the American site to see what's new. Drop me a quick email and your threads will arrive in plenty of time for Christmas.

For UK and European quilters, I'm putting an order through this week. Send an email with your order by noon on Friday and I'll be able to get your threads for the following week.

We also offer a wrapping and posting service! email: martha@machinequilter.co.uk

The Quilt Show has a blog post today about Maria Elkin's Windblown Quilt. Follow the link and you can see a clip of the interview.

"All my byself!"

2011-11-26T16:50:00.005Z

When my daughter Ellie was very little she would say"All my byself!" to mean that she was delighted to accomplish something on her own, all by myself! My husband and I thought that her mixed up phrase was very sweet!

Even as we grow older (and older still!) that sense of personal satisfaction is deeply rewarding. There is a child-like sweetness that fills me when I accomplish a project. The English word for it is chuffed - a slang term meaning 'really pleased, proud or happy with yourself!' This is why I love machine quilting and also why I love teaching machine quilting. There is such a tremendous sense of accomplishment when something that you have imagined is now complete in your hands! And when someone else also completes a project, perhaps a quilt top that has lain dormant for months or years and is suddenly taken up and completed easily and quickly to what seemed earlier to be an unbelievably high standard. I would say Ellie is definitely chuffed!

This is one of the best features of our New English Quilter frames. Our frames help ordinary quilters to complete extra-ordinary quilts. Even beginning quilters can complete projects easily, quickly and to a high standard. We teach a no mark method of hand guided free-motion machine quilting, on a simple, affordable table top frame using a domestic sewing machine. Anyone willing to put into practice our simple instructions will be able to have the satisfaction of completing their own quilts. So much for waxing philosophical! Doing it yourself is also way less expensive!

Tips from Maria Elkins

2011-11-19T20:37:00.011Z

I just love this quilt! Perhaps it's because I have two red headed daughters. It's called 'Windblown'. I came across a photo before we went to the Houston show and I emailed Maria to ask permission to post about it. When Maria emailed back and generously agreed, I took the opportunity to ask a few questions:

"I am interested in how you went about making the quilts. What sewing machine do you use? Are you using a frame or sitting down at the machine? What threads do you like? What would be you best tip to someone starting out? Is there someone particular who inspired you? Do you have a fine arts background?"

And much to my delight Maria replied:

"Yes, I have a fine arts background. I took art and drawing classes in junior high and high school. I went to college and was an art major with an emphasis in textiles. A year after I got married, I dropped out of college,we moved, and we had kids. Twenty years later, I went back to college to finish my fine arts degree, but this time with an emphasis in printmaking. (The second college didn't recognize fiber as fine art.)"

"Embrace 1" is based on a series of woodblock prints that I had done in college. As a result, the quilt version is just an experimental piece for me. I wanted to play with an image that was a bit more abstract."

"Windblown" is a hand painted, wholecloth quilt of a young lady who I've known since she was 7. In the background, I really wanted to focus on wind-like fantasy feathers."

"I use a Janome 6500. I do not use a frame. I sit down when I quilt. I mostly use Superior Threads. I like using silk thread when I quilt faces. I love using variegated threads when I quilt hair."

"I think beginners should give themselves a break. So often, I hear "I can't___" when they haven't even tried. It's okay to try something and then throw it away if you don't like it. Remember, many of the skills related to quilt making require a lot of practice. I learned to use a sewing machine when I was 9, and I've pretty much sewn non-stop since that time. I learned to free motion quilting on baby quilts that I gave away. That's a great way to learn the skill."

"In the early 1990s, I was first exposed to art quilts through various quilt magazines. In particular, I remember seeing Charlotte Warr Andersen's quilts, and knowing that I wanted to combine my love of drawing people with my love of sewing and quilting."

Wow! I am so inspired! These quilts were even more spectacular in person! Both quilts were listed as finalists for the 2011 Houston Quilt Festival."Windblown" won the Fairfield Master Award for Contemporary Artistry Follow the link to get a peek into the awards evening!

Thank you Maria!!

More with Les

2011-11-18T12:27:00.014Z

Meet Les Raichert! Les is the man! The horse is called Jimmy. Les lives in Arizona and has a third generation family business selling JUKI sewing machines for industry and home use. We met Les and his wife Rose for the first time at the Houston Quilt Festival where we shared a booth. Les and Rose kept the sewing machines going and Jill, Emily and I demonstrated the frames. We got on really well. Les and Rose were such a pleasure to work with! Les is incredibly knowledgeable about sewing machines. Les and Rose caught the quilting bug at the Houston Show. Now, Les speaks 'Quilter'! He understands what quilters are looking for in a sewing machine and will be able to give you great prices and informed personal service.

The new JUKI 2010 sewing machines from the show are already finding their way into customer's homes and blogs! People love their JUKIs! This blog post links back to an older post which mentions Sharon Schamber. It turns out that ClareAnnettes 'dream machine' purchase was inspired by Sharon Schamber. Sharon is an award winning quilter and a machine quilting guru. We were honoured to meet her when she came round to our booth. Les and Sharon have been friends since they were 19! Here they are beside Sharon's award winning quilt at his year's Houston Quilt Festival. Sharon and her daughter Cristy have an online shop well worth a visit.

If you're looking for a JUKI in America you'll get more with Les! UK quilters can find informed and personal service from the Franklin's Group - the UK JUKI distributors for industrial and domestic sewing machines. Ask for Lawrence or George at the Colchester shop 01206 563955 or Garry at Chelmsford 01245 346300. All these sewing machine guys have test driven JUKI sewing machines on our New English Quilter frames. You can try the sewing machines at the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show next week Thursday 24th to Sunday 27th. Look for World of Sewing Hall B stand 155.

No Fuss Frames

2011-11-17T13:25:00.012Z

Our heads have been buzzing ever since we got back from the Houston Quilt Festival. This photo gives a glimpse of just how big it was. You can see our stand in the upper right hand corner of the photo. It was very exciting, and a bit scary, to bring our English made machine quilting frame 'across the pond'. We'd received so many emails about our frames from American quilters over the past several years, that we decided to take the plunge. Our Art Quilter and New English Quilter frames were so simple compared to the larger, more complicated and more expensive frames already available in America. Would the American quilters like our frames?

They did! And we were thrilled. We had lots of sales and so many positive comments. People loved the simplicity of the frame, especially how easy it was to set up and take down. People also liked that our frames were aimed at ordinary quilters; people who wanted to finish their own quilts more easily, quickly and to a higher standard without spending a fortune and needing a permanent set up. People liked the warmth of the wood. Husbands particularly liked the thought and attention to detail that went into the design. Machine quilters appreciated how easily the sewing machine glided and how comfortable the speed control Nifty Grip handles were to use. And many people just loved that it was made with love in England yet would only take 3 days to get from our village to their American doorstep. All the photos in this post feature the Union Jack Quilt, on the 6 foot frame, off the frame and you can just glimpse it on the back of the booth in the upper right of the top photo.

So our trip to Houston was a big step into the unknown and totally worth it! For anyone State-side still looking for a show bargain we have the 6 foot Art Quilter and 8 foot New English Quilter demo frames available at a big discount. Email me about the prices. martha@machinequilter.co.uk The frame makes a great Christmas present! Gee, order soon and you'll get your frame delivered in plenty of time to make Christmas presents.

Table and Frame Assembly

2011-11-16T14:50:00.010Z

We've been getting to know Tomek who lives in Poland. He's been researching quilting frames for his wife. Tomek speaks a bit of English and is fluent in Polish and French. Thankfully Emily is reading French at University, so Emily and Tomek have been discussing features to look for in quilting frames and sewing machines (in French!). Using Skype Emily was able to demonstrate the New English Quilter in living colour while we were at the Houston Quilt Festival. Very cool!

Tomek wanted to know how our purpose built table came together so we made a little YouTube clip from some of the footage of our next DVD. A picture is worth a thousand words in any language! This clip shows the 8 foot table assembly followed by the 8 foot New English Quilter frame. Although we have a variety of New English Quilter and Art Quilter frame sizes, the assembly is the same. The You Tube clip was filmed and produced by Nick Loven and Chris Roberts of Crow's Eye Productions. The music is an original guitar piece written and performed by my husband Stephen, called 'Shenandoah'.

Speaking of guitar, the above photos were taken at the Houston Quilt Festival exhibition. This quilt titled Groovy Guitar Reboot was created by Robbi Joy Eklow from Third Lake, Illinois. This piece is a remake of an older quilt inspired by the mother of the guitarist of Robbie's favourite band. I just loved the quilting!

Meet Gail Thomas!

2011-11-12T14:31:00.015Z

We met amazing people at this show! We were busy running our JUKI/New English Quilter frames through their paces, when I noticed this amazing woman playing with our Art Quilter frame. She was so striking and looked really familiar. Then I realized that I'd seen her on a quilt!

This is Gail Thomas, one of the 'three sisters' , you'll recognize Gail as the one on the left. The Three Sisters are girls from Canada, America and Australia who met at the 2006 Quilt Show and created this award winning quilt for the following year!

Gail took me over to see her quilt for this year so I could take some photos. 2011 marks the 175th anniversary of Texas' independence from Mexico so there was a section of this year's exhibition dedicated to Texas history. Gail's quilt above called 'Someone Found' tells the story of a girl Cynthia Ann Parker who was captured by the Comanche indians and became the mother of one of the most famous Comanche warriors, Chief Quannah Parker.

In this photo, Gail is showing us the quilting detail. And the quilting is totally awesome but I love the photo for another reason. Gail used her daughter as the model for Cynthia Ann Parker. In this photo looking from Gail to her daughter depicted in the quilt, the pose is so similar that no one could fail to see the resemblance!

Gail loved our frame! She's getting a new JUKI 2010 for Christmas and Gail left the Houston Quilt Festival the owner of a new 4 foot Art Quilter which is just the right size for her studio. We can't wait to see what she makes with it!

Back from Houston

2011-11-11T15:06:00.010Z

Houston was fantastic! Here's our booth. Les Raichert took the photo. Les and Rose live in Arizona and sell JUKI sewing machines for industry and home use. If you're looking for a JUKI sewing machine in America, Les is the person to talk to! Les and Rose came down to help us at the show. Rose is on the left of the photo next to me and Emily. Jill, on the right, came down from Ohio to help demo. She was the first person in America to get a New English Quilter and you can read about quilting with kids on Jill's blog! For all of us, this was our first time exhibiting at the Houston Quilt Festival. We had so much fun!

Here's a photo of the set up so you can peak behind the scenes. I think that Quilt shows are magical. You come to some enormous building in a state of purposeful chaos. Trucks and lorries, fork lifts and all manner of trolleys moving all sorts of boxes and bits and pieces. 24 hours later the show opens and a new sort of chaos erupts as 60,000 quilters from all over the globe pour through the doors. We have an amazing time meeting all sorts of people who share our passion for quilting. We demo machine quilting with new JUKI 2010 sewing machines on our New English Quilter frames from 10 in the morning til 7 in the evening.

Then four days later we take it all down again. It's exhausting, hilarious and exhilarating. Something must be wrong with us because we can't wait to do it again next year! I'll be posting lots of stories over the next few days but this one sets the stage. Last of all, here's a little you tube clip of our stand during the show that Les took with his phone. You can see Emily machine quilting a charity quilt on the 6 foot Art Quilter frame.

Trigger Happy

2011-10-31T07:00:00.005Z

The New English Quilter Handbook is new, improved, updated and digital. The New English Quilter Handbook comes free with every frame purchase. Over the years people using other frames have also wanted copies but the cost of printing and posting was just too much. Going digital solved those problems. We've added lots of new photos and updated the text. And it comes in a really neat trigger case. We can now ship the New English Quilter Handbook anywhere in the world!

Pumpkin Light

2011-10-31T04:31:00.008Z

Pumpkins & power tools!

Father and son.

All Hallows Eve!

Just in time

2011-10-30T15:15:00.003Z

Sunday, I finished sewing the binding on the flag quilt, just in time for our trip to the Houston show. I'm thrilled to be taking it with us to put up in our booth! If you're at the Festival please stop by - we're at Booth 726 -728!

Anne Smithies

2011-10-27T22:03:00.010+01:00

Anne Smithies has just come out with a new DVD! I posted about Anne earlier this year. While Anne was acting as our resident 'Art Quilter' on our last machine quilter retreat, she came up with this really fun beach hut project. We were so impressed that we suggested (read 'begged!) that Anne make a DVD to show her technique. Anne is a liberating person to be around. When I watch her work I realize that I can do this too. I am empowered to incorporate new ways of quilting in my own projects.

Ann has bags of talent; beading, glass work, felting, all manner of arts and crafts. I'm grateful that she is currently focusing on machine quilting!! Anne also has a uniquely talented family. Among other things, they sing, dance, play instruments, produce multimedia projects... So they put their collective talents together and came up with a DVD that features Anne's Beach Hut project. Best of all they completed it in time for us to take to Houston! Don't worry - you don't have to go to Houston to get a copy. The Beach Hut DVD can be purchased directly from Anne's website: www.madbird.co.uk We can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Houston Show Goodies

2011-10-25T16:03:00.010+01:00

We've been collecting goodies to give away at our stand at the Houston Quilt Festival next week. Today before we packed them for the shippers, I took some photos. The canvas leaders on our new 4 foot Art Quilter frame come in gorgeous stripy deck chair fabric. It's hard to get more English than deck chairs! So we're bringing some colourful cushions made from deck chair fabric.

And lots of lovely aprons made from deck chair fabric too, modelled here by Ellie

...and Katie. There are so many pretty patterns to choose from! We'll be wearing them at the Houston show. And they'll be part of the 'goodie bags' for the first 20 frame sales.

You can find us under Machine Quilter Company in the Catalogue we're at booth 726, 728. Come visit and see how a new JUKI 2010 glides on one of our New English Quilter frames.

Getting ready

2011-10-20T21:55:00.006+01:00

It's been an epic couple of weeks. Last week I travelled from the 'back of beyond' in Lincolnshire to London via car, train and tube to get to the American Embassy to renew my passport. After filling out all the forms I went back home to wait a week for the delivery. London is exciting but I am always happy to get back to the 'shire'. The passport was due to be delivered Wednesday, which meant that I needed to be at home all day. So I decided to use the time to finish an English Flags quilt top, which gave me another opportunity to play with the JUKI Exceed 600.

The industrial type box feed makes this JUKI such a dream to piece with! This English Flag quilt top has been 'resting' for the past couple of months. A fresh look this week made me think that it needed another row of flags. We want to have it at our booth at the Houston show next week. Fortunately, thanks to the JUKI Exceed, the blocks came together quickly and now I'm working on a fun back. I often use fleece but sometimes I really enjoy finding just the right fabric for the backing. More about that tomorrow.

If the shoe fits

2011-10-17T22:25:00.010+01:00

It's just been too busy to blog. I've been wanting to get a post up about Jan McNally. Jan's a textile artist we met at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham last August. Jan has come up with a unique and quirky method for creating her projects and she wanted to see if our JUKI/Art Quilter combination could handle it.

Jan pulls fibres through bubble wrap and irons it for an initial seal. Then she pops it under her sewing machine and uses a 'Big Foot' presser foot to sew down the fibres. Jan has been doing this sitting down at the sewing machine but it was taking a long time and giving her a pain in the neck. So Jan stopped by for a visit last weekend to give it a try and see if our frame could make the process quicker and easier.

This 'Big Foot' comes in a variety of models to fit most sewing machines. Jan had a high shank and a low shank version with her. The high shank Big Foot fit just fine on my JUKI TL-98-P.

I was really excited to see how this was going to turn out! We put a 100/16 Topstitch needle in the sewing machine and popped on this high shank 'Big Foot' onto my JUKI. The shape of the foot helped to hold down the fibres so they didn't get caught in the foot. Amazingly, the sewing machine was able to glide over this bubble wrap base with the fibres all pushed through it.This was really cool!

We picked some pretty thread from the Rainbows range of Superior Threads and drew loops and swirls and leaves. Jan was delighted at how easy it was to guide the machine and how quickly she was able to cover the ground. So Jan went home the proud owner of a new 4 foot Art Quilter. I'm thrilled to see our Art Quilter put to such good use! I will keep you posted about Jan's future projects. Meanwhile, Jan let me keep the practice piece. I love it! And I'll be bringing it to our stand in Houston so anyone who visits can see it in person. We'll be at Booth 726-728 - right in the middle of the Hall on one of the center isles. I'll post a map soon.

Houston Quilt Festival 2011

2011-10-03T15:55:00.007+01:00

We're going to the 2011 Houston Quilt Festival! The dates are Thursday - Sunday, November 3-6 with a preview on Wednesday night from 5 to 10pm. We're listed under Machine Quilter Company Ltd and the Booth numbers are 726, 728. We're sharing the stand with Les Raichert. Les Raichert has been supplying American Quilters with JUKI sewing machines since the 1970s.This year we're bringing the Art Quilter and NEQ2 New English Quilter frames and Nifty Grip ergonomically designed speed control handles. We'll also have our Line Dancing DVD's; La Mer and Beyond the Sea.

Come visit and test drive the new JUKI TL2010Q on the New English Quilter frames. We'll be at Booth 726 and 728. We'll see you there!

Far and Wide

2011-09-25T21:18:00.009+01:00

Friday was a big shipping day! New English Quilter frames, purpose built tables and Nifty Grips went to Western Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Ontario Canada and California USA! What a day!

2 Quilts in 3 Days

2011-09-22T16:01:00.015+01:00

Meet Kate. Kate's been a piecer for years. She's been making quilts since she could hold a needle. But this week, Kate became a quilter! Like most of us, Kate has lots and lots of tops. She loves buying fabric and making blocks but she gets stuck on the quilting part. Sound familiar? ; )

On Saturday, Kate is heading off to Bristol for University and she thought she might let the looming deadline spur her on to finish a couple of quilts. Kate's been enjoying playing around with log cabin blocks. She has two really different looking tops, each utilizing the log cabin pattern.

The top in the photo above, is made from authentic retro fabric purchased on ebay. These blocks have a low contrast, so the log cabin pattern is very subtle.

In the top below, featuring Kaffe fabric, the contrast is more striking.

Kate arranged the blocks to make a zig-zag pattern and framed it with a lovely piano key border.

Kate has never really machine quilted on a frame before. In the past she stuck to stitching lines on the machine and a bit of free-motion. But she was dreading the hassle of fighting with all the fabric under the arm of her sewing machine. And she very much wanted to finish the quilts in time for Uni. So she came to visit a little bit worried that she would not be able to do it.

She worried in vain! While I was pinning the quilt on the frame I had Kate do some doodling practice. She was going to use a mussel shell design and add some scalloping. So she practised first on a roll of paper. By the time the quilt was loaded she was ready to give it a go. The hardest part was 'hitting that red START button!' Well, Kate went from naught to 60 in about 1 hour. In no time at all she was confidently moving the carriage to create beautiful lines, 6 hours later Kate had fallen in love with texture and finished her first quilt.

Today we loaded the second top on the frame. Kate used the same line design with different thread and a looser pattern. After all the practice on the previous quilt, this was easy and Kate was finished in a couple of hours. Three days, two quilts. Not bad!

Kate was thrilled with the difference the quilting made. She's already looking forward to the next one.

There and back again

2011-09-19T20:36:00.014+01:00

I took Emily to King's on Saturday. Despite living in England for nearly 25 years, I still get excited going to London. I'd rather have taken the tube or a taxi, but Emily had lots of stuff - so we drove through the city and across Blackfriars Bridge to get to her accommodation. She'll have to cross the bridge to get to classes. What a gorgeous view up and down the river!

We made it there just fine. Going back home was more challenging but I got there in the end.

Emily is happily settled in her little tiny room and and looking forward to sleeping under her beautiful quilt!

Cool Customer

2011-09-16T08:17:00.013+01:00

I had a phone call from a textile artist a few days ago. She rang because doing free-motion embroidery sitting at the sewing machine was giving her a 'pain in the neck!'... and shoulders and back! She'd gotten to the point where she was desperate to find "a better way to do this!!" So she stumbled across our website and gave us a ring. I'm glad she did!

We designed the Art Quilter just for people like Lalla Ward - textile artists working on smaller projects who want to use a frame like an easel and a sewing machine needle like a paint brush. In describing her work Lalla said "Well actually, I paint with my needle." Lalla creates exquisite thread painted pieces and her new exhibition Migration is opening Monday at the National Theatre in London.

In Migration, Lalla is using textiles and ceramics as she continues to develop a wildlife theme. The dates are from Monday 19 September though to Sunday 30 October. Emily and I are hoping to sneak a peak when we drop Emily off at university this weekend. Quilting Arts magazine interviewed Lalla last year about an earlier exhibition titled 'Stranded'. You can follow the link to find out more about Lalla's work. Don't forget to catch Lalla's exhibition at the National Theatre from now through the end of October.

Emily's Quilt

2011-09-15T18:07:00.022+01:00

Hi, I'm Emily. I'm just about to go off to University on Saturday. I haven’t quilted a quilt in about 6 years – I did a table runner a few months ago, but I hardly think that counts! Even so, I have been practising quilting for a good couple of years – since I started going to shows with my mom. At the shows, you’re demoing all day, three or four days in a row, so by the end you get to be pretty good. I've also been doodling for ages! In the last year, whenever we’ve had a meeting, we’ll always have about 10 minutes where we’re just doodling on the backs of our notes, comparing styles and thinking of different ways to use a design. So although I have never considered myself a quilter, I have done enough practise to make myself good at quilting certain designs.

In April, we had a machine quilter’s retreat, and there’s always a lot of doodling time. I got Trudi Woods to show me how she did a certain design, and when I tried to copy her, I made a mistake, which both of us thought actually looked quite nice, so it became a new quilting doodle! Trudi has gone on to use the design in lots of her quilts, but the fascinating thing is how different her version of the same design is to mine!

So I’ve been practising this design on paper, at shows, everywhere, for months. So it was really about time that I got it down onto a quilt! Mom and I decided to make a quilt as an ‘Emily-Goes-to-Uni’ kind of present, which gave us a deadline (this Saturday!) to work toward.

We decided to sew this extra black strip on one side of the top of the quilt as a place to practice my design and work out my tension before moving on to the quilt top. It was really useful to have the ‘side stage’ strip – so I could get my jerky beginning out of the way. Once I’d started quilting, it flowed very easily. The repetitive motion was, well, repetitive, but it required a certain amount of concentration - look out for that line, which way am I turning next? Right, that’s as far up as I can go, moving on, pause and swing, oh and breathe– if you forget to breathe you get to the end of a row and are gasping for air! Luckily, I remembered to breathe, but I still had to catch myself a couple times and take deeper breaths to relax my shoulders.

I also kept my design maximum one hand’s width tall, because I knew that as I got to the end of the quilt, I would only have about that much space to quilt with, so to keep everything looking even, I took care to watch out for the size of the design. Here I am at the very end. Even with the big roll of fabric under the arm of the machine. I still have plenty of room to execute my design. It helps that the JUKI TL98-P arm is two inches wider and taller than most sewing machines.

I cannot even begin to describe the importance of the ‘rise and fall’ method of quilting! This is quilting in a wavy line, rather than straight across. This is so important because it makes your quilt look like you haven’t quilted it in strips on a frame; it makes everything ‘dovetail’ together really rather seamlessly. To make my design merge properly, I did a lot of scalloping and echoing to fill in the spaces that weren't quite big enough for the whole, um, design. Some of my designs were bigger than others, they went in different directions, some had scalloping, some didn’t, but they all fit together and it looks lovely and complete.

In my breaks yesterday, I would stop once I’d finished two lines of quilting, three if I was on a roll ;) and go and practise the piano. I’m trying to learn a new piece by George Winston, and as you can imagine, there’s a lot of repetition involved in learning the piano too! It was nice actually, to go from one repetitive motion to another, because they were both very different; the quilting is a whole body kind of motion, but my hands are always kept still holding the sewing machine/Nifty Grips, whereas the piano requires me to sit very straight (good for my back!) and to move my fingers very fast, a lot. So it was good to switch between the two.

I had perfect tension all of yesterday, which was awesome. Then today, when I neared the finish line, something happened. I don’t know what, because I didn’t change anything about the sewing machine or the frame, but something changed. Suddenly, my tension underneath was pulling the top thread through and it looked nasty. The stitches weren't looking nice and weren’t held down properly, so they’d have come out if I washed the quilt. We used a mirror to see underneath. All was not well - we needed to do some unpicking!

We adjusted the tension on the sewing machine, so it was tighter on the top, and it helped a bit, but not enough. So we took the sewing machine off the frame, cleaned it out (there was quite a lot of fluff from the fleece in there!), put a new bobbin in, and oiled it. Then did some free-motion quilting on a practice piece off-the-frame to get any surplus oil out of the machine so it didn’t stain the quilt and to check that the problem had been solved. Luckily it had. I really hate quilting this way! It reminds me why we have a frame! Unluckily, I still had all these stiches that looked bad, so I had to sit there and unpick! It probably took three quarters of an hour to unpick a quarter of a line of stitching, which took me maybe 10 minutes to quilt. About halfway through my mom comments: So, whose idea was it to quilt such a complicated pattern? Thanks mom : )

After sorting the unpicking, I put the poles back into the frame, rolled them up, and started as if I’d never stopped. I had 'dancey' tunes playing, and everything was great. Finished in no time – and even signed my name!

Now I’m exhausted, yet ridiculously pleased with myself for actually quilting a quilt!!

Two Words

2011-09-14T15:46:00.018+01:00

Box Feed! If I had just two words to say about the JUKI Exceed F600 sewing machine - it would be - Box Feed.

I'm talking here about how the sewing machine pulls the fabric under the needle. There are 'feed dogs' - I think the name comes from the 'metal teeth' that come up from underneath and grab the fabric. Combined with the action of the pressure foot, the feed dogs pull the fabric under the needle. Home sewing machine feeding systems use an oval motion to pull the fabric under the needle. But industrial sewing machines use a Box motion which has more contact with the fabric, so the feeding system is stronger and more consistent. OK, so what's the big deal?

Straight seams! Right now straight seams are a big deal! I've been piecing some tops to use in the next Line Dancing DVD. Two of the quilts tops involve lots of strip piecing and I was struggling with puckering, particularly at the start and stop of the line. I just put this down to 'user error' on my part and tried to fiddle with the tension without much success. I tried to iron out the puckers which only worked up to a point. In the end I was frustrated by the distortion and put the project to the side.

This is why I am so impressed with the JUKI Exceed. Right from the start, my seams were straight, perfectly straight. I rang up my sewing machine guy and started waxing lyrical about my sudden new found ability to sew straight seams and he began explaining how the box feed works. Now I feel great. Those wonky puckered seams were not my fault. The sewing machine guy explained that the puckering is due to a hesitation - caused by the oval feed movement. It just takes a bit longer to get hold of the fabric and this is what causes the puckering. The box feed used by the industrial machines has a firmer grip on the fabric so the feed is steady and even, creating a beautiful straight line of stitching.

I was really enjoying how easily those initial blocks came together. Later as I was piecing entire sections of the quilt. I was impressed with how easily the machine handled the heavier weight of the entire quilt. The even and consistent feed meant that my quilt came together straight and square.

JUKI sewing machines are the only domestic home machines with a Box Feed. I've been using the JUKI TL 98P for years on my New English Quilter frame. And the JUKI TL 98P also has a box feed system. But as I drop the feed dogs for free-motion quilting, I'd never used it! So I'd never realized just how great the box feed system was. Now I do!

Yesterday I finished piecing Emily's quilt for University. Today Emily is quilting it!

New Tools

2011-09-09T09:34:00.028+01:00

Emily is off to University in a weeks time. So I thought that we'd better start on her quilt. We'd bought the fabric while we were at the Festival of Quilts.

I ordered some new tools from Creative Grids. It is such a pleasure to be using a new rotary cutter and ruler!

For the piecing I decided to try out a new sewing machine; the JUKI Exceed F600. We have the machine on loan for a DVD film shoot. But it was still in the box. A customer earlier in the week was raving about how fantastic it was for her dressmaking alteration business. So I decided that it might be fun to try it out for this project.

I do use the JUKI TL 98-P on my New English Quilter frame. And I love it! There is nothing else in the UK market that comes close to its performance on a frame. But I've found that I need 2 machines. I need a designated frame machine as I don't want to be taking a machine on and off the frame. And I need a machine for piecing and binding and general mending and sewing. Yesterday, I decided to try the JUKI Exceed F600 for piecing Emily's quilt. First I had to get it out of the box and set it up.

I am not one of those people who have a natural affinity for machines. So I opened the box with a certain amount of trepidation. I don't really enjoy reading directions. I was a bit worried that setting it up might be too frustrating. What a pleasant surprise! It was easy. The set-up from opening the box to sewing the first seam was less than 30 minutes.

The manual is brilliant! I'm not a 'read-the-manual-from-cover-to-cover-before-I-start' kind of person. I am not proud of this personality quirk. And I have a great appreciation for the people who do read the directions. I'm married to one and some of my kids are so inclined and they get me out of all kinds of trouble. Anyway, I need a manual that is clearly set out so I can find just the bits I need when I need them; like how to thread the machine. This was easy to find and very clear. There were also very clear diagrams on the actual sewing machine. Fantastic.

There is even a needle thread-er which I was able to work on the very first try just by following the pictures on the sewing machine! This was a total first for me! I tried and failed to use a sewing machine needle thread-er years ago and never tried again. I can't tell you how impressed I was. Yes, I was doing the 'happy dance'. My kids were even proud of me.

I have a sizeable collection of the larger thread cones. I use these for machine quilting but some of the ranges are ideal for piecing too. Thread is always less expensive yard for yard on the larger cones and I didn't want to be limited to using the smaller spools. So I set up a thread stand just to the back of the machine. The larger cones are cross wound which means that the thread needs to come off the top of the cone. So I ran the thread through the extended guide on the thread stand and then followed the thread guide directions on the machine. It worked just fine.

I also like to use pre-wound bobbins in the JUKI TL98-P when I machine quilt and I was delighted to find that the pre-wounds also work in the Exceed range.

I'll be posting more about this JUKI Exceed F600. Here are a few points to sum up the first impression. This is a well thought out machine. I would go so far as to call it intuitive and girl friendly. It was easy to set up. Easy to thread. Easy to get started. Because of that I got to spend lots of time piecing. This sewing machine is very very nice to piece with. But I'll post more about that tomorrow.

Pantographs

2011-09-07T19:39:00.005+01:00

A pantograph is an instrument for copying a drawing on a different scale using a system of jointed rods. It was a drawing room activity popularized by the Victorians. Now machine quilters with quilting frames use pantographs to copy a line design from a piece of paper onto their quilt tops.

It works like this. The line design is placed on the table beside the sewing machine. There is a stylus attached to the sewing machine carriage. The stylus can be simple like a metal rod or high tech like a laser. As you trace the design on the paper with the stylus, the sewing machine 'draws' the line design on the quilt. It's not quite as easy as this sounds.

What makes a line of stitching look good is the smooth flowing movement of the sewing machine on the New English Quilter carriage. This is true for free motion quilting. It's also true for copying a line design with a pantogaph. It's difficult to maintain the smooth flowing motion when you are trying to follow a line exactly. Try slavishly to follow a specific line, whether a pantograph design or even a line design marked on your quilt top, and your movements can become slow and jerky. This is turn gives an uneven and jerky line of stitching.

Following a line is a bit like riding a bike; you need a certain amount of speed to stay on. If you are too timid then you're more likely to fall off. The way round this is to practise tracing the design with the stylus over and over again. Practice is necessary to create a bold and flowing line of stitching and practice will give you the confidence to maintain the necessary speed. So you treat the pantograph design just as you would a free motion quilting design; practise tracing the pantograph design over and over again. These repetitive movements will develop your kinetic 'muscle memory'. Spend a full 10 or even 20 minutes on this 'brain patterning' activity before you start stitching and you pantograph designs with be much smoother.

There are many places on-line to purchase pantograph patterns. Try Golden Threads. It helps if the line design is not too complex. It's better to attempt something simple and execute it well. So start simple!

This is Karen - and the pictures above show Karen's pantograph practice. Looks great to me!

New Retreats

2011-09-01T21:55:00.012+01:00

We've found a brilliant new venue for our Machine Quilter Retreats! The Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa. Our retreats provide an opportunity to focus on machine quilting using our table top frame in a gorgeous rural setting, tucked away from the interruptions of daily life. The Petwood Hotel is our lovely new venue, giving us more room to spread out, so our numbers have now expanded to 12-15 participants! Follow the links for dates and pricing.

The theme of these retreats is FEATHERING! We have three teachers – Martha, Trudi and Anne, so there will be plenty of one-on-one attention. All are welcome, whether you just need some help getting started or inspiration to move up to a new level.

The food will be delicious, the rooms comfortable and the conversation rewarding. Please come and bring a friend!

Husbands are welcome too. Especially if they have any interest in WWII history, golfing, hiking the grounds or just reading the paper by the fire, there is plenty to keep them happy while you’re busy quilting.

Lucie and Jenny

2011-08-19T22:48:00.015+01:00

Lucie Summers and Jenny Spencer are another award winning mother daughter team. Lucie is a British fabric designer going exciting places and Jenny is a long arm quilter with a magic touch. Last year they took first prize in the Group Quilts category with this 'Portholes' quilt. I caught this photo while they were hanging out with the Fat Quarterly Crew at the Festival of Quilts last week.

Here's a detail shot from the 2010 show. I love how the quilting design plays off the quirky fabric. Jenny came to my stand last year and took me to see the quilt. I'd sent her the Rainbows thread for the quilting. She certainly put it to good use!!

This year Lucie and Jenny came out with a Highly Commended in the Two Person quilt category for this 'Hexagons and Stars' quilt. Once again I love the way the design in the fabrics and the line designs in the quilting so compliment each other! You can visit Lucie on her blog and also at her etsy shop: Summersville

Winners!

2011-08-17T23:09:00.007+01:00

Bronwyn and Lucy are here representing the group from Girl's High in Sleaford who won third prize for this fab fair ground/carnival quilt. Bronwyn, an art teacher at Kesteven and Sleaford Girl's Grammar School was the organizer and Lucy one of the many contributors. The girls were so keen they gave up their lunch time to work on the project. Bronwyn used a quilt-as-you-go method to make the best use of limited time. This enabled the girls to work separately on individual panels and join them together to create a vibrant interpretation of the fair ground theme. Clicking the image should give a better view of the quilt.

This quilt took third prize in the Secondary School's Competition at the 2011 Festival of Quilts! Not bad for a first try!! It's so fun when the winners are people you know! I'm looking forward to what they come up with next year.

Festival of Quilts 2011

2011-08-16T22:41:00.008+01:00

The Festival of Quilts was great! Emily said " I love the Festival of Quilts! It's like a four day adrenaline rush."

Many people tried a machine quilting frame for the first time. It was fun having two frames on the go this year.We had the 4 foot Art Quilter set up so we could demo some art quilting and the 6 foot frame was set up so anyone could have a test drive.

The JUKI part of the stand was looking very posh. You can see Anne's retreat project on display. Many people enjoyed trying out the new Exceed range - fantastic for general sewing and piecing. The JUKI TL 98P is still our favourite sewing machine to have on the frame.

It was fantastic to have Trudi Woods and Emily Milne and Anne Smithies helping out. Here you can see Trudi and Emily getting the stand ready before the show opened.

Bunting was big, but our deck chair stripes were hard to beat. Some of our visitors gave us the 'best bunting' award.

Getting what you pay for

2011-08-09T19:38:00.013+01:00

Value for money! In today's uncertain economy, value for money is more important than ever. Essentially, a quilting frame is a tool designed to accomplish a purpose. A good tool is worth every penny!

A good quilting frame will be simple to set up and easy to use.
A good quilting frame will enable you to machine quilt your
own tops for a fraction of the cost it would take to pay someone else.
A good frame enables your sewing machine to glide effortlessly over the top of your quilt instead of wrestling your quilt under the arm of your sewing machine. This transforms machine quilting from a pain in the neck to something truly enjoyable.
A good frame perfectly tensions the layers of your quilt so you'll never have to baste, pin, glue or tack a quilt again! I think it's worth every penny just for that.
A good frame is made to measure. This means that it fits you! It's designed for your height, and the length of quilt that you want to make.
A good frame comes with good, easy to understand, well illustrated instructions.
A good frame comes with ongoing support, helping you to to get started and become a fluent machine quilter.

A good frame does some of these things, a great frame does them all. There are many frames on the market. The prices vary. While you are shopping around the show ask yourself, "Am I getting value for money?"

Each year at the show people come to us who looked at the New English Quilter but bought a frame for less money. They come back and tell us that they wished they'd bought ours! They were frustrated because the cheaper frame was hard to set up, vibrated so much that it was difficult to see what they were doing, was limited to squeezing the foot pedal, was the wrong height so it was uncomfortable to use and offered no after-sales support. The frustrations in some cases made them give up. The frame went back in the box and ended up in the classified section in the back of a magazine. So the cheaper frame ended up being a waste of money.

The New English Quilter gives you value for your money. We deliver what 'America's left overs' and 'cheap imitation' frames don't. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

Bunting

2011-08-07T17:41:00.007+01:00

What is it that makes bunting so jolly? Today I've been making bunting from the same deck chair fabric that we use for leaders on the 4 foot Art Quilter frames. We'll be using the gorgeous strippy bunting to decorate our stand at the Festival of Quilts. At the show we like to give away 'goodie bags' with each frame sale. It's a useful collection of needles, threads and pre-wound bobbins that will get machine quilters off to a good start.

This year we're giving away a deck chair apron with each Art Quilter. See you at the show, stand F49. Drop by and give the new Art Quilter a test drive.

New Slant

2011-08-05T11:57:00.010+01:00

Our Nifty Grip speed control handles have a new slant. Working from the back of the sewing machine, we need to stand slightly to the left so we can see the needle easily. Our handles help you to stand in just the right place for optimum visibility. The handles are low so they won't block your vision.

They won't make your shoulders ache either. The ergonomic design enables you to work from your centre. Many handles are attached to the carriage in a way that causes you to reach up. After a while the reaching makes your shoulders ache and gives you a pain in the neck. Our Nifty Grips are so easy and comfortable to use - you'll forget they're there. They leave you free to concentrate on your quilting! Come and try them for yourself at the Festival of Quilts next week. Visit stand F 49 and you'll see just how nifty our grips are.

Seeing what you're doing

2011-08-04T16:41:00.011+01:00

The Festival of Quilts is a great time to shop around. If you are considering getting a machine quilting frame, this Birmingham show is a perfect opportunity to test drive all the frames on the market. I'm going to devote the next few posts to considering what makes a great frame. What important features should you consider when you're shopping around for a frame? Let's consider visibility. First and foremost, while we're machine quilting it's vital to be able to see what we are doing!

One of the assets of machine quilting on a frame is the viability. Machine Quilting while sitting at the sewing machine limits what you can see to the 6 X 8 inch rectangle of quilt sandwich between your hands. Upgrading to a machine quilting frame immediately opens up your field of vision. Now instead of a little rectangle you can see an entire section of your quilt, which is really helpful in executing a design. Being able to see where you've been and where you are going makes a big difference in the quality of your quilting.

There are many things that can get in the way and block our vision while quilting. One culprit is the structure of the frame itself. Sometimes the handles get in the way, the scaffolding can make it difficult to see what you're doing. Sometimes the frame is designed so that your own arms block your vision as you move the carriage. This is particularly true if you are working from the front of a frame. So as you try the various frames at the show, ask yourself "Can I see what I'm doing?"

Another culprit is vibration. This is perhaps the most frequent problem. The up and down movement of the needle on the sewing machine creates vibration. A good sewing machine is designed to limit the vibration. But no matter how good the sewing machine, there is still going to be a certain amount of vibration. The question to ask is, "Is the vibration interfering with my vision?" A good table will limit the vibration as will a good frame. The materials a frame is made of will affect the level of vibration. Wood dampens vibration while metal amplifies it. So when you try the frames think about the vibration. Some frames vibrate so much that you just can't see what you're quilting. So while you test drive the frames next week make sure that you consider the vibration and make sure that you can see what you're doing.

Christmas in July

2011-08-01T19:55:00.015+01:00

I know it's August. But Christmas in August doesn't have the same ring to it! And I did practice the 'Christmas lights' line design yesterday, when it was still July. It began with a doodle. The design started as a retro telephone handset that I'd seen on a T-shirt while shopping last week.

But as I was doodling the design on paper it morphed into Christmas lights. The loops made it easy to 'travel'. And I thought it would be fun to scale up and down. Then I had to try it out with thread and fabric. The 4 foot Art Quilter is just right for this sort of thing. I loaded some black fabric and some fleece and tried out some different kinds of thread.

The luminous qualityof this Rainbows Northern Lights #803 worked well.

Then I tried a glow in the dark thread, which would look great in winter!

This photo is a bit more in focus. And to finish, I might as well include the reason for those cat hairs!! The cats do think the frames are special hammocks! I've got plan to use this line design on a Christmas tree quilt. So wait and see, or better yet make your own.

Thread Wise

2011-07-29T18:15:00.010+01:00

This post is about thread choices. I could have called it thread 'whys' as I'll be explaining which threads I used in this last quilt and why I used them.

I pieced the top with MasterPiece thread on top and in the bobbin. Why? Masterpiece is 100% extra-long staple , really grown in Egypt cotton. I like to match the fibre content of the thread and the fabric here in the piecing process. The pieced seams in a quilt are the weight bearing seams. Think about hanging up a completed quilt or shaking the wrinkles out of a quilt. What seams are bearing the most weight? In a house not all walls are load bearing walls. In a quilt not all stitches bear the same stress. Lots of people get their knickers in a twist about various types of quilting thread. But it is the pieced seams that are the stress bearing seams. And if we want to match the thread fibres to the fabric fibres, it is most important to do this for the pieced seams. MasterPiece will bear up well against the various stresses in the life of a quilt. With 75 gorgeous colours it's easy to get a good colour match. MasterPiece is a fine weight thread, not too heavy or bulky so it gives nice flat seams and sharp points. I find MasterPiece an ideal piecing thread.

MasterPiece comes in pre-wounds! I love pre-wounds because I hate winding bobbins. Pre-wounds can hold 3 times as much thread as the bobbins that you wind yourself and they work great in most sewing machines, my Janome Memory Craft 6600 work great with pre-wounds.

Because the cotton fibres are matched in the piecing thread I am free to use whatever threads suit my fancy for the machine quilting. For this project I've used Rainbows, a variegated trilobal polyester from Superior Threads. All the fibres that make up this thread are light reflecting which gives Rainbows a lovely shine to it. This particular thread is #803 Northern Lights.

I've used a pre-wound Bottom Line in the bobbin, a soft blue which disappears into the pieced backing fabric. Rainbows and Bottom Line are a machine quilting marriage made in heaven. They work beautifully together!

Finally, for sewing the binding by machine, I've used Sew Fine on top and a pre-wound Bottom Line in the bobbin. Then to hand sew the final stage of the binding I used a red Bottom Line to match the binding colour. The Bottom Line is just wonderful for hand sewing - it disappears into the fabric and it never knots up. I find it a real pleasure to hand sew with.

In summary, I've used a mixture of cotton and polyester threads in the quilt. The choices have to do with the piecing and quilting process as well as the look and durability of the end product. I'm confident that it will wash and wear well and I'm delighted with how it looks.

Teacher Quilts

2011-07-28T09:44:00.014+01:00

Sometimes you just have to make a quilt! When my youngest son, Peter's teacher was going to have a baby, I had to make a quilt. The end of term is a useful deadline for this kind of thing. So when the Tuesday of the last week of term came round, I told my friend Allie that I had to finish a quilt I hadn't started yet. I decided to use only what was on hand and gave Peter's teacher the option of brights or pastels. She went for brights.

People who don't quilt think of quilts usually as lots of little squares of fabric sewn together and sometimes it's just best to give people what they want. Tuesday night I sorted through my stash and cut the squares. Wednesday I pieced the top.

Thursday I pieced the back, and the wadding. Yes, I basted leftover pieces of wadding together and it worked just fine in the end. Then I went off task and made a quick table runner for the Headmaster who was also leaving. I called it ' The Writing on the Wall'.

That left Friday for the quilting which was a joy and easily finished in time for a 2:00 leavers service.

I used an overall hearts and loops pattern quilted with a variegated Rainbows thread from Superior Threads #803 Northern Lights and a pre-wound bottom line in the bobbin.

I did keep the quilt over the weekend to put on the binding, which BTW, takes me longer than the quilting!! But it gives me the chance to enjoy the quilt while I'm hand sewing the binding, to glory in the fabric and the texture and be happy to have made something beautiful and useful!

I liked the back almost as much as the front on this one.

Pete's teacher popped round to collect the quilt yesterday! She was delighted and I'm feeling happy ... and just a bit bereft.

Retreat Feedback

2011-07-27T11:53:00.014+01:00

Meet Jan! She’s emailed me some feedback from our July retreat and is happy for me to share it with you. Jan has been machine quilting with a JUKI TL98-P sewing machine on a New English Quilter frame for a couple of years now. She’s recently started a City & Guilds course and came to the retreat hoping to improve her machine quilting skills.
"I have enjoyed my weekend with you, Trudi, Anne and Jan immensely. I am finding it rather difficult to put into words how I feel about the weekend, so my thoughts are a bit random....I came along not really knowing what to expect. Knowing that Trudi was going to be there, and being an avid reader of her blog, I had in the back of my mind, the hope that I could improve my quilting skills. I needed to move on from loop-the-loop, loops and daisies, stippling etc, into something a little more complex. Maybe not the 'famous feathers' that Trudi produces, but moving that way.
Finding Anne there with her artistic background was an unexpected bonus. Anne's art-quilt opened up new directions for me. It gave me ideas to progress for my City & Guilds course, and made me think about how I could use my frame in other ways. I enjoyed the amount of time I was able to play on the frame. And the paper roll is essential (imo), in order to make a start, and see where you are aiming. And equally essential is having a little piece of something to bring home. My husband was fascinated to see what we had been up to, so it was great being able to show him our slice of sampler.

I came along with very few expectations - as we all agreed, part of the treat was simply being away and being looked after. I hoped I would improve my quilting skills - I have. I now feel confident that I can get on and produce some quilting of a higher quality. I can also quilt right-to-left. I learnt how to roll the fabric whilst leaving the needle in position. I learnt how not to over-tighten the top. I learnt how to look after my Juki. And I learnt about the qualities of thread.
I think that the amount of time on the frame was just right for me. If it had been less, I think that I may have got bored. As you know, I am very easy-going, but I do like to 'get on'. Maybe not in the same realm as Trudi and MadBird Anne, but my nick-name of Miss WhizzyKnickers is not for nothing! So, do I think I got VFM (value for money). Yes I do.
Where to go from here? I think that if you are going to offer more Retreats, then maybe you should offer a similar retreat to the one's run so far as 'Stage One'. And then maybe you could develop a 'Stage Two' retreat, maybe tackling a small, simply pieced project that could be used as a sampler for a variety of quilting techniques. Anyway, I do think there is room to go forward. Hope all this rambling helps!"
Jan from East Yorkshire
We are planning to continue our retreats next fall. We're keen on offering a stage 2 retreat on feathering. Let us know if you have any other suggestions for retreat topics and we'll post some upcoming retreat dates when we get back from Birmingham.

Art Quilter in residence

2011-07-26T20:07:00.014+01:00

We were very fortunate to have an art quilter(textile artist) attending each of our first two Machine Quilter Retreats. Art Quilters are so much fun, quirky and creative, they think outside the box and kept us in stitches! We decided that having an 'art quilter' on retreat was going to have to be mandatory. So when a space opened up for the July retreat, I invited Anne Smithies back as our 'art quilter' in residence.

Anne, having attended the May retreat, decided she would use the weekend to get on with her own projects. She brought some paints and a white piece of fabric. Just after breakfast in the morning sunshine , Anne created a simple colour wash with acrylic paints as the backdrop for a beach scene. Then she used simple objects, bits of card and wood, the tip of a paint brush, the cap of a marker to stencil flower shapes on the fabric with blue paint. Anne let it dry in the sunshine, then ironed it to set the colours.

Next, Anne loaded the top with some backing and wadding on a 4 foot Art Quilter frame. Anne used the frame just like as easel, to support her 'canvas'. Now the sewing machine needle became a brush which Anne used to paint with thread.

It was amazing watching the beach scene evolve as Anne added texture shape and colour with the various threads. Then Anne moved on to the 'still life' flowers, adding detail with line and colour and texture to the background. The incredible thing was just how quickly and simply it came together. As the rest of us more traditional quilters watched Anne work throughout the day we felt liberated. We felt confident that we would be able to put into practice what Anne had demonstrated for us. Anne's creativity is infectious! I'll be posting more about her in the future and we hope to have some of her textile projects on show at the Festival of Quilts!

Festival of Quilts - F49

2011-07-24T19:59:00.012+01:00

School is finally finished! And the Festival of Quilts is just around the corner! We're busy gearing up for our favourite quilt show. The Festival of Quilts runs from Thursday August 11th until Sunday August 14th. You can find us at Stall F 49 near the European Quilter's Cafe.

As usual we will be featuring the JUKI TL 98 P on our New English Quilter frames. There will be an exciting selection of the large cones of Superior Threads ideal for machine quilting.

If you're looking for something small and portable, try our new Art Quilter 4 and 6 foot frames. We've used quintessentially English deck chair fabric for the leaders on the 4 foot Art Quilter.

If larger quilts are your passion we have our new updated NEQ2 built longer and stronger to accommodate the bigger king sized quilts. Martha and Emily and Trudi Wood will be on hand to demonstrate and answer any questions. We're hoping that NEQ owners will pop round with 'show and tell' projects to inspire us all. We look forward to seeing new and old friends at the Festival stand F 49!

July Retreat

2011-07-10T19:56:00.018+01:00

We just finished our 3rd machine quilter's retreat today. Trudi, Martha, Anne, Jan and Jan! One of our activities was to make a practice piece to audition various threads and line designs. We wanted to have lots of time on the frame and this gave everyone the chance to practice new designs and audition threads at the same time.

At the end of the weekend, we cut up the practice piece and everyone got a slice. It was good to have something to take home to remind us about the different threads. It was a good sample of our different styles of quilting too! Here we are pointing to our favourite bit of the slice.

Here's Trudi - "Speak to me only with thine eyes." These were her favourite bits.

Jan took a swirly design and elongated it until it looked like a water lily! We liked her version better than the original.

This is Jan too, it was her very first time ever machine quilting on a frame and she produced this lovely flower. What a great start! I'm going to post about Anne tomorrow.

Leftovers

2011-07-05T16:54:00.010+01:00

I love art quilters! They tend to think outside the box and come up with quirky ideas. Personally, I'm fond of quirky! My art quilter friend Anne was visiting a couple of weeks ago. We were talking about recycling demo practice pieces. I mentioned that I cut them up and pass them out at shows so quilters have something tactile to walk away with. Anne suggested making cards. So I gave her some scraps from my basket, and Anne made me some cards and told me to go make some of my own.

So I did. I had a practice piece left over from a demo so Emily and I spent twenty minutes filling in the un-quilted spaces. We scaled down the design so small pieces would look interesting. I've put a pin on this one to give you a sense of the scale.

This was fun. I can't wait to cut it to bits and make some cards of my own. I just love leftover recipes!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T20:12:00.005+01:00

We took these photos while Emily and I were window shopping on the last day of our trip to Parma, Italy. I loved the flag on the back of the polo shirt. I'm going to try to create something similar on the frame.

The shop windows were gorgeous! And I couldn't resist this clever American flag made from Converse shoes. Happy 4th everyone!

Waiting for the serve

2011-07-03T18:12:00.008+01:00

We're not huge sports fans in our family. But we do enjoy the tennis, especially Wimbledon. We were enjoying the men's finals today. Watching the games I notice this moment of tension waiting for the serve. The crowds get quiet and the player gets in position rocking slightly back and forth, poised to go in any direction to return the serve. Now I realize that quilting is not a sport! But sometimes we forget that it is a physical activity. We can certainly learn from the pros to get the most out of our own performance.

I like to use this 'waiting for the serve' to illustrate a good technique for machine quilting on a frame. When we are standing at the frame concentrating on our quilting it is easy to get tense. Our bodies stiffen up and our feet seem to get rooted to the floor. All the tension can make us stiff and our movements jerky. Then instead of moving with the pattern we lean until we just can't reach any more. We can correct this fault by adopting a 'waiting for the serve' position. Gently rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet loosens you up. The tension just disappears. When that happens your line of stitching becomes noticeably smoother. This rocking movement also makes it easier to move with the pattern up and down the length of your quilt. Next time you're at the quilt frame give the 'waiting for the serve' position a try. It's a winner.

I didn't want to love you

2011-07-01T16:40:00.010+01:00

I made a sample thread demo piece for the thread talk in our April Retreat. I wanted to show just how different thread looks actually quilted on fabric as opposed to on the cone. It was a fun exercise. I used the same mussel shell line design so everyone could see how different threads played out with the same design against the same fabric.

Although I had some Kimono silk thread in stock I'd never actually quilted with it before. So this practice piece was my first try. To be honest, I didn't want to like it! Using silk thread seemed extravagant. Although it came highly recommended by famous names like Diane Gaudynski, I just wasn't convinced that it was an option for the ordinary quilter.

I was certainly taken by surprise! This thread went though my machine like butter on bread. It just glided - no breakage issues even though I was in a hurry to finish the project in time for the start of the retreat. I didn't want to love it but I do! So now I'm building up the Kimono Silk stock. Let me know if you want to try it too. Superior Threads new line of Kimono Silk is available here in the UK for £15.95 for a 1,090 yd. cross-wound mini-cone... a little extravagance goes a long way!

It's not yet up on the website but we can order whatever you fancy. You can view the colours on the American Superior Threads site and give us a ring on 01526 378057

Custom Job

2011-06-30T19:20:00.010+01:00

Sometimes we get asked to do a custom job. A quilter in Canada needed a frame for her Handi-Quilter Sweet 16 sewing machine. But she was short on space and only had room for a 6 foot table. Our challenge was to create a frame big enough to accommodate the 16 inches on the arm of that whopper sewing machine and strong enough to bear the weight yet small enough to fit comfortably in her home.

To give some perspective, I put the JUKI TL98 P on the carriage to show just how big this carriage is. It has been reinforced to bear the weight of the 53 lb sewing machine! But it still glides effortlessly along the tracks at the touch of a finger. The carriage has enough front to back movement to take advantage of those 16 inches of throat space.

This frame is heading off to Canada but we'll be making more. I think we're going to be needing bigger frames over here too. There's a rumour that stretch JUKI's are coming to the UK!

July Retreat!

2011-06-29T21:27:00.008+01:00

Fancy a weekend away to learn some new line designs? Come to our July Machine Quilting Retreat!

The Retreat venue is the Chaplin House converted barn - a lovely venue with lots of light and good working space. The retreats are a new venture for us, and they've been brilliant.This July retreat will be our third this year. The food and the fellowship are excellent and a worthwhile part of the whole experience.No materials are required for the sessions. We talk about care of the JUKI, thread options, creating line designs and gaining fluency on the frame.

The participants are a good mix between new and experienced quilters.The retreats are small and hosted by Martha Milne and Trudi Wood - so there is plenty of one on one instruction. I've found it quite inspiring to see ideas bounce off a group of diverse but like minded people. Let me know if you're interested or have any questions: martha@machinequilter.co.uk

NEQ2 Launch!

2011-06-23T17:12:00.008+01:00

It sounds like an ocean liner and it is designed to cross the Atlantic! The NEQ2 is the updated version of our original New English Quilter.

We’ve made some changes. The NEQ2 is designed to accommodate larger quilts and larger sewing machines. The poles are sturdier in order to limit bowing, the track joins are seamless to eliminate ‘the bump’ and the arms have been redesigned so you can work from either side! The carriages are bigger too, to handle the larger sewing machines.

We've kept all the great features of the Original New English Quilter. It's still easy to assemble, simple to use, and handcrafted to be beautiful AND useful. We still offer the very best service before and after our sales.

The NEQ2 comes in 2 standard sizes: 8 foot and 10 1/2 feet. We also offer a custom service to your specific requirements. For more information, visit our website. Forget the cruise get the Quilter!

Home from Rome

2011-06-22T11:05:00.000+01:00

A view from the bridge, looking across the Tiber to St Peter's Basilica. Rome was warm and wonderful. Coming originally from America, England has always seemed 'old' to me. But Rome takes 'old' to a new level.

Our three youngest are sitting outside St Paul's Basilica.

What has most surprised me is the sheer scale of the buildings, inside and out!

It was so hot we needed to stop and play in the fountains.

It was fun to be together as a family in such a memorable place.

New English

2011-06-10T12:19:00.021+01:00

I just finished piecing the top and hung it up in the window to let the sun shine through. I'm going to call it 'New English.' Emily will be machine quilting it in our new 'Beyond the Sea' DVD. The design was inspired by the 'asterisk blocks' featured in the Selvage blog last year. I needed an English flag design and extending the asterisk gave me the Union Jack.

Something interesting happens when a quilt top goes vertical. My family has seen this quilt all over the front room floor while I've been auditioning fabric and figuring out the block placement. But as soon as I hang it up everyone goes "Wow!"

I began with a series of small blocks with 1930's style fabrics which I called 'Best of British'. But I'd wanted to create much larger blocks using the fresh modern big bold fabrics of the new designers. So I began collecting Amy Butler and Kaffe and Heather Bailey, Philip Jacobs and Michael Miller. I love the play between form and freedom; the contrast between the bold geometrical shapes and the lush floral prints.

It reminds me of the organized chaos of the English cottage garden where criss crossed pathways cut through exuberant riots of colour.

While simple folk were enjoying cottage gardens, the famous 18th century landscape gardener, 'Capability' Brown was creating a new style of garden for the rich and famous.

Once described as the Shakespeare of gardeners, his influence extended to just about every stately home in England. He rejected the rigid geometric style and created gardens with a more natural casual elegance. Interestingly, Capability Brown's style was called 'New English!'

Body Measurements

2011-06-07T20:20:00.013+01:00

All the old measurements are related to the human body. Feet were... well... feet. Inches the distance between knuckles. I discovered the yard measurement myself, when I was trying to quickly estimate the yardage left on a bolt of fabric, holding the fabric from the tip of my nose to the end of my middle finger worked a treat. I've had this picture in my mind of short-armed fabric merchants in the markets of antiquity : ) Noah's Ark was measured in cubits. And Fathoms measure depth of water. They've been in use in England since before 1600, and may be derived from faethm, the Anglo Saxon word for 'to embrace', because it is roughly the distance from one hand to the other if your arms are out-stretched. I guess in all these measurements, it was pretty handy being able to use something you couldn't loose.

Wealthy people were able to commission tools and weapons designed, weighted and balanced to fit the body measurements of the person using them. Perhaps you can see where I'm going here. I'm not sure that bigger is always better. At least not for hand guided machine quilting. I think it is possible for a sewing machine to be too big. There is a built in limit to how far we can comfortably push the sewing machine away from us and pull it back again. I'm hoping to find that window that gives us the space we need to execute our quilting designs yet stay comfortable. This is why I am so interested in getting feedback from people already using longer armed machines. Computer guided quilting is, of course, a completely different matter. Computers are not limited by human body ergonomics. But it is the human element in quilting which most interests me!

I'd like to thank everyone who has posted comments and emailed about the ideal length of your 'dream machine'. We are finding the responses really useful. Please keep them coming!

Dream Machine

2011-05-31T22:05:00.009+01:00

We are throwing a question out to all machine quilters....

If you could stretch your sewing machine to any size you liked

What would it be???????????

What is the ideal arm length of your dream machine?

If you had a choice between 14 inches, 16 inches or 18 inches

Which one would you pick? and why?

Please let me know where you are, UK, USA, wherever.

Thanks!

Mille Miglia

2011-05-30T13:31:00.011+01:00

Here's another story from our Italian trip. When the Textile Show ended, we would drive back to our hotel, collapse for an hour and then meet up and walk through the park into Parma to get an evening meal. One evening as we crossed the bridge into the town center, there were crowds of people lining the streets waving flags and cheering.

Really retro classic cars were zooming up and down the streets. We had stumbled upon the Mille Miglia.

Mille Miglia is a thousand mile endurance race across Italy. The first Mille Miglia races ran from 1927 to 1957. Restarting again in 1977, the drivers always compete in cars from the 1927 to 1957 era, in honour of the original races

Mille Miglia is regarded as the most beautiful automobile race in the world. We watched Alfa Romeos, BMWs, Ferraris, Bugattis, Austin Healys, Bristols, Lamborghinis, Fiats and Mercedes-Benzes mostly driven by eccentric men in goggles and leather caps. This was so cool! Our Italian hosts enjoyed it just as much as we did.

JUKI Italia Spa were our hosts for the Italian trip. They were also one of the main show sponsors, providing sewing machines for the workshops and prizes for the winning quilts. Keen to promote Italian patchwork and quilting, JUKI invited us to demonstrate how the JUKI TL 98-P sewing machine performed on our new Art Quilter frame. In writing about the Mille Migulia, I am struck by what this race has in common with the JUKI sewing machine. These cars are some of the most finely engineered vehicles in the world. Designed for speed and endurance, they are beautiful to watch and a delight to drive. The JUKI TL 98P sewing machine shares these same qualities.

Many people, particularly here in Europe have never heard of JUKI sewing machines. Yet JUKI is one of the most successful industrial sewing machine companies in the world. The JUKI company channels its extensive industrial technology into creating the best domestic sewing machines on the market. The Italian Textile Show provided an opportunity for many people to test drive a JUKI TL 98 P on a machine quilting frame for the very first time. The speed, ease of handling, the simplicity of design that makes it easy to tension, the sweet purr of the powerful engine going 1500 stitches per minute...

These final photos show Dr. Dario Belloli, the CEO of JUKI Italia Spa, test driving his JUKI TL 98 P on our Art Quilter machine quilting frame. He loved it!

Child's Play

2011-05-26T17:24:00.013+01:00

Today we set up our 6 foot Art Quilter frame with the JUKI sewing machine at my son's primary school. Peter is in year 6 and his teacher wanted some help with a textile project. She'd asked me to quilt some 'sari' fabric that the class had picked up on a school trip to Leicester.

I suggested that we get the kids to do it. Peter's teacher liked the idea. Kids love machine quilting. They're not afraid to try new things. They thought the JUKI sewing machine was brilliant. The Nifty Grip speed control handles were easy to use. They quickly realized that the needle was like a pen. They loved making the sewing machine go wherever they wanted and really liked the trail the thread left to show where they'd been.

They doodle all the time - so warming up was easy.

We decided to only use one layer of fabric and give everyone a chance to machine embroider their name and any other designs they wanted. Everybody had a couple turns. Then we took the fabric off the frame, sliced it into triangular flag shapes with the rotary cutter, hot glued it to some dowels and made flags.

Start to finish it was just over two hours. The kids really enjoyed the afternoon. The flags were a hit! Everybody liked taking home their very own hand guided textile project. Quilting is cool!!

A Piece of the Action

2011-05-25T10:50:00.012+01:00

One of my favourite things about shows is watching people's expressions as they try a machine quilting frame for the first time. There is a moment of stunned disbelief as the carriage holding the sewing machine starts to glide effortlessly over the top of the quilt at the touch of a finger. The eyes widen and focus, considering the new potential that this sort of tool opens up.

No more pinning or basting or gluing or tacking! No more frustrating pain in the neck as you try to hold the layers of the quilt together AND move them smoothly round the bed of the sewing machine. Within seconds of guiding the sewing machine over the top of the quilt you are creating a bold and flowing line, the stitch length is already pretty good and you begin to imagine what you could do with a bit of practice. Exciting stuff!

People start with circles and loops. The needle has become a pen and the thread is transformed into gloriously coloured ink. The perfectly tensioned quilt top becomes the paper. As this realization dawns people go on to writing their names and begin drawing flowers and stars, houses and at this show... cats! I'll end with one of my favourite drawing from the Italian show; this lovely woman, trying out our frame for the first time began drawing people holding hands. Just wonderful!

After the show closes for the evening, Emily and I cut out the designs from the show demo quilt sandwich and keep them to hand out as machine quilting samples. Quilters are so tactile! Having watched a demonstration or had a go yourself, it's good to walk away with a sample of what can happen when you put a JUKI TL98-P on an Art Quilter frame. If you would like a 'piece of the action' give us an email and we'll send you a machine quilting sample:

martha@machinequilter.co.uk

Fantasia!

2011-05-24T09:38:00.018+01:00

Italy was wonderful! The people, the weather, the food, the shops all so delightfully different.

The northern Italian city of Parma was the venue for the Textile Show. Our hotel was within walking distance from the city so we were able to explore it on foot in the evenings. There were these cool yellow trams.

And this one sported an advertisement for our show - the 5th International Forum for Creative Textiles. The show featured lace making and embroidery as well as patchwork and quilting.

The JUKI TL 98P sewing machine on our Art Quilter machine quilting frames generated a lot of interest! Most people asked us where the computer was that was generating the line designs. Our response was "Fantasia!" which means that the lines designs came from our own imagination. This was the first time many of the visitors had ever seen or tried a machine quilting frame.

Emily and I jotted down some of the most popular comments:

"Bellisimo!" - So beautiful!

"Facile" "Semplice"- Easy and simple

"Bello! bello! bello!"

"Mamma mia!" - yes, Italians really do say this, a lot!

"stupendo!" - Great!

"Meraviglioso!" - marvellous

"Ganzo!" - northern Italian slang for cool

"Io lo vuo!" - I want this!

We think they liked it!

I'll post more about Italy tomorrow.

No Space No Problem!

2011-04-30T09:21:00.013+01:00

Many people who really like our machine quilting frame have been put off for lack of space. Although they see the benefits of a machine quilting frame, they just don't have the space for it.

If you've always wanted a frame but never had the space, now you do! Just like the original New English Quilter, the Art Quilter comes ready assembled. Setting up the frame is easy; take the arms out of the box, clamp them to your table, lay down the tracks, pop on the carriages, drop in the fabric poles and you're ready to go. It takes me longer to write about it than to do it. The frame is so easy to put up and take down! And at 4 feet it will fit just about anywhere! Using quilt-as-you-go methods, even a traditional bed-sized quilt can be created using the Art Quilter. Personally, my favourite feature is the quintessentially English deck chair fabric we use to make the leaders. Small was never so beautiful!

The Art Quilter allows people with limited space to enjoy the best features of the original New English Quilter. First, the frame perfectly tensions the layers of the quilt sandwich. There is no need to baste, pin, glue or tack the layers together! Oh happy thought!! The frame holds the layers of the quilt sandwich steady so you are free to focus on the quilting.

Next, the carriage enables you to glide your sewing machine over the top of your quilt. This enables you to treat the needle like a pen. Many people struggle with free-motion quilting sitting at the sewing machine. It is frustrating trying to hold all the layers of the quilt steady. It's even more frustrating to hold the pencil still and move the paper. Quilting on a frame is so much easier because now things are the right way round. The frame holds the quilt sandwich steady and perfectly tensioned. It becomes the paper. The carriage gilding on the tracks enables you to effortlessly move your sewing machine over the top of your quilt. The needle becomes the pen and the thread is your ink. You've been writing and doodling all your life. You're good at it! The frame lets you transfer this talent to your quilting.

For more information, visit our website:

http://www.machinequilter.co.uk/the-new-english-quilter/our-products/the-art-quilter

The Art Quilter

2011-04-27T12:47:00.010+01:00

The New English Quilter has a new little sister called the Art Quilter! The Art Quilter, as the name suggests was created with the textile artist in mind. It's ideal for smaller quilts and wall hangings. At 4 feet it is very very portable. It will go wherever your fancy takes you, whether it's the back garden or the cruise deck!

To celebrate its English origin we decided to use deck chair canvas for the leaders. We'll be offering a variety of patterns. Soon we'll be taking a survey, so we can be sure to have your favourites! You can find out more about the Art Quilter by following this link to our website.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T13:27:00.008+01:00

Rosie made this lovely card.

It's lovely having all the children home.

Happy Easter! He is risen indeed!

Retreat Advances

2011-04-21T10:54:00.014+01:00

Retreats are an interesting concept - a stepping back in order to move forward. The April Machine Quilters Retreat was a fantastic example of this. Our retreats attract a wide variety of people. Some are just beginning, some are quite experienced. Some are traditional some are edgy and arty. Put them all together and great things happen.

Maria has had her New English Quilting frame for a couple of years now and she was already creating lovely quilts. Maria had mastered stippling but wanted to expand her repertoire of stitches.

So Maria came to the retreat to learn some new line designs. She wanted to gain more fluency and confidence. She even brought her husband Andy along for the ride.

The converted barn at Chaplin House provides an ideal space for quilters, quilting frames and quilts! The weather was glorious, the food was great and everyone went home with new skills to practice. Maria emailed me yesterday with some follow up from the retreat. You can read what she said on Maria's blog. It's quite a big step from stippling to feathers but she's done it!

We still have places for the JULY Retreat. Follow the link to find out more.

A New Line Design

2011-04-17T17:34:00.016+01:00

This is a post about ... process. One of the best things about the Machine Quilters Retreat is the creative process of bouncing ideas off each other. Throw 5 or 6 people in the same room, approaching a similar task with similar tools. Add differing personalities and diverse areas of expertise and 'et voila!' interesting things begin to happen.

At the end of the retreat Emily was showing Trudi her 'Rachet' pattern and Trudi suggested using a heart shape, which then morphed into 'pengin feathers' and a new design was born. It probably already exists somewhere else. But is was really fun watching Emily and Trudi discover it together.

I asked Emily to doodle out the process for us. The following images describe how the design came to be.

Emily began with her 'rachet' pattern which is inspired by the rachets on our frame!

Trudi suggested adding hearts to the spiral.

When Emily copied the pattern she made a mistake. And they both liked the mistake better than the original pattern.

The wonky heart reminded Trudi of 'penguin feathers' and so they went on to incorporate 'penguin feathers' into the design.

They both played around with how to move from one design to the next.

Trudi is already machine quilting this pattern ! Perhaps she'll show us what she's up to on her blog.

Applied Threadology

2011-04-05T12:59:00.009+01:00

Bob Purcell from Superior Threads has featured our La Mer DVD in the Superior Threads April Newsletter! If you are in America and want the La Mer DVD quick, get it from Bob!

Want to see how Superior Needles and Threads play out on a home quilting frame? Watch the La Mer DVD. As a graduate of the School of Threadology, class of February '09, I've applied what I've learned from Heather and Bob’s lectures and workshops to free-motion machine quilting on a frame.

The School of Threadology was a fantastic experience for me! I left Heathrow in the snow and spent a warm and wonderful week in St George, Utah. I learned from a fantastic line up of amazing teachers just how important the right needles and threads are to successful machine quilting. And I was able to put it into practice when I got home. Now there is a new purpose built teaching centre, built over the Superior Threads warehouse and office facilities right up against the red rocks.

La Mer is for any machine quilter using any sewing machine on any frame. The frames and sewing machines may vary but the needles and threads are all Superior!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-04-03T17:52:00.013+01:00

Today is UK Mother's day! So Happy Mother's Day to all English 'mums'! My kids are so sweet and although they celebrate on the English day they always spell 'mom' the American way! Whenever it happens, Mother's Day is a day to be grateful for the mothers in our lives. And I am grateful for mine! My mom sent me these beautiful folksy chairs that I have such fond memories of from my grandmother's kitchen. Paul sanded and cleaned them up and now it gives me great joy to have them in my kitchen. The cobalt blue vase is also something from my nana given to me by my mom.

Part of my present was time to quilt so I was able to finish a project we started during the filming session for the new Beyond the Sea DVD trailer last week.

The stripy blue and lavender table runner was fun to quilt. The scalloped border is so whimsical. It still needs the binding but it looks pretty hanging on my Rayburn range. The kids are making dinner so I have time to blog.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's out there! None of us would be here without you!

New Views

2011-04-01T13:14:00.005+01:00

Google has a fun new toy - 5 new dynamic ways of viewing blogs. You'll need a relatively new browser to play.

My favourite is flip card but the others are fun too. Follow the links above and pick the view you like best!

Italy!

2011-03-31T14:16:00.009+01:00

A few weeks ago, Dario Belloli, the GM of JUKI Italia Spa, invited us to go to a Patchwork & Quilting Event in northern Italy! The International Forum of Textile Creativity will feature embroidery, lace, patchwork, quilting, felt, cross stitch, weaving, crochet and knitting. The patchwork & quilting theme will be Herbaruim - a systematically arranged collection of plants. While the embroiderers and lace makers competition centres around flags. We'll be demonstrating our new Art Quilter frame with the JUKI TL98-P sewing machine.

I can't think of a better place to introduce our art frame! The Art Quilter was designed with the textile artist in mind - it's smaller and Oh so portable, so it can go anywhere your inspiration takes you. Add the JUKI TL98-P and you've got the dream team!

Emily and I are very excited! We're even brushing up on our Italian! "Fantastico! Splendido! Bellissimo!

Speaking of Italian, this video clip is a hoot! Perhaps it could be used as a doodling warm up activity...

New Tracks!

2011-03-30T09:00:00.012+01:00

Meet Emma. Emma works and teaches quilting classes in a sewing machine shop in Salisbury. She bought a New English Quilter a couple of years ago and uses a JUKI TL98-P on her frame. We thought that Emma would be an ideal person to try out our new tracks. So when she came up for the workshop last month, we sent her home with the very first set of our new tracking system. Here's what she thought:

"Hi Martha,
Just a very quick note to say that I have just done two runs with the newtracks. OMG what a difference!! Don't forget that I had a complete nightmare just before Christmas and I was very worried that it was me! Well, I am happy to report - it isn't!! Yay! Early days with the quilt on the frame but looking good so far!!!

By the way I did a post on the retreat on my blog www.quiltfish.blogspot.com
if you want to check it out.
Hope you are well.
Emma xx"

Now Emma is happy because when she slides the carriage over the join in the tracks, she doesn't feel it. Not one little bit!

Are you bothered by the bump? If you own the original New English Quilter and have been bothered by the bump when you extend your frame to 8 or 10 feet you can upgrade to the new tracks. We are now offering the New 8 foot tracks for £99 and 10 foot tracks for £129. All our new frames will have the new tracking system included.

To purchase the new tracks you can ring us on

01526 378057 with your credit or debit card details.

Or you can purchase through PayPal using the buttons below.

Please note that you do not have to have a PayPal account to purchase through PayPal. PayPal merely processes your card details securely and quickly. You'll receive confirmation from us by e-mail.

8 foot New Seamless Tracks - £99

P&P - £4.99

10 foot New Seamless Tracks - £129

P&P - £4.99

About the bump...

2011-03-29T15:27:00.020+01:00

Here is a photo of our old track extender system at the top of the photo with the new track, labelled 'B' underneath. I'm going to tell you a story about how we came up with the new track.

Our original tracking system was an innovation at the time because they were amazingly smooth! The tracks were also continuous at the 6 foot size and extendable to 8 and 10 feet. But with the extensions, there was a bump at the join. And this proved frustrating when you were working on a larger quilt. In an effort to get round this we did make a continuous 8 foot track. But the larger size was unwieldy and awkward to transport. Couriers would not accept anything over 6 feet in length and it was difficult to fit the long 8 foot tracks in many cars.

Paul, our innovative genius designer, likes to get things right. And he wasn't happy about the bump! So Paul has been trying to figure out a better way to extend the tracks for some time.

Paul uses wood for the tracks because the wood helps to absorb the vibration of the sewing machine. Metal tracks magnify the vibrations and the vibrations of the metal carriage wheels make small marks in the metal tracks, especially a light weight metal like aluminium. Over time, these indentations affect the smoothness of the carriage as it rides over the tracks. The natural elasticity of wood absorbs the vibrations. Over time the wooden track actually becomes smoother. So Paul definitely wanted to continue using wood. The challenge was how to create a seamless join, so the tracks could be extendible and portable.

Sometimes the answer to a puzzle is so simple you just wonder why you didn't think of it sooner. Paul's friend Phil suggested cutting the join at angle! A simple brilliant solution!

Paul developed a self-aligning fixture in the bottom of the track joint that ensures that the two sections are always exactly level with each other – but it still wasn't quite perfect until Phil (our “Man in Massachusetts” who helps with design and manufacture) suggested cutting the joint at an angle instead of straight across the track. Brilliant! That’s Phil, on the right with Paul, in the photo above.

Wow, what a difference! You can hardly feel the join when you run your finger over it. And with the carriage it's practically seamless. Well done Paul and Phil! Now the track can be extended to any size we like, and we won't feel the join while we're quilting. Not even a little bump!

Feathers!

2011-03-28T22:25:00.012+01:00

I just love spending time with other quilters! Trudi has been producing these gorgeous feathers for years now. Last month I decided to give them a go. Trudi gave me a slice of her practice piece for inspiration. You can see it at the top of the photo. I spend a couple of hours of solid doodling the night before. Then just went for it on the frame. This is quilted in a pale blue MasterPiece thread which reads white against the blue but shows up against the white.

Not perfect but not bad! I'd made a table runner for some friends who put me up unexpectedly in a snow storm last December. I thought the blue and white would call to mind the snow and also they have a lovely blue and white kitchen too. I'm really pleased how it turned out. I think that I'm going to have to make one that I can keep!

Mad March

2011-03-25T14:45:00.013Z

March is a mad month. Four of our 6 children have birthdays. They're all in this photo; left to right, Rosie now 15, Ben and Emily now 19 and Peter now 11. We made lots of cakes. Our best ever ice cream cake for Emily and Ben's 19th. (Ben and Jerry's was on sale.) Emily made a gorgeous carrot cake. And we made a gooey chocolate chip cookie cake with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce on top. Yum!

We all went bowling for a big party.

Perhaps the best cake was this home made play dough cake. We were celebrating the actual birthday of Annie and Teresa's new baby brother. The play dough kept 5 kids happy for 2 hours!

Sometimes I don't post because there is nothing note worthy. And sometimes there is just too much going on. This month it's definitely been a case of too much! We are bringing out two new frames! Very exciting. And we have been invited to Italy to demonstrate them at an Italian Quilt Show in northern Italy this May. Emily and I are busy brushing up on our Italian! We are scripting and filming the new DVD too. I'll be posting about this in the next few days.

The Week After

2011-03-04T13:30:00.022Z

It's been a week since the Machine Quilters Retreat and I am only just posting! Today I'll give a basic overview and go into more detail in later posts. It was lovely to be able to escape from ordinary life for a weekend. The girls were a real pleasure! Trudi from quilting prolifically was our guest quilter for the weekend.

The Chaplin House converted barn was transformed with many of Trudi's quilts. There were examples of Trudi's very first efforts right down through to her current projects. So we were able to track her progress. We were all inspired!Some girls brought sewing machines and we helped to get them threaded and tensioned properly. Trudi demonstrated the best way to clean and oil a JUKI. She even showed us a secret trap door - a great way to get out the gunk!

We had a couple of New English Quilter frames set up so we could practice various machine quilting line designs and see new designs demonstrated. Emma wanted to learn feathers and made a fantastic start! One of the best things about this part was seeing how different people execute the same line designs differently.

Some girls brought tops and we brainstormed together about possible quilting patterns and auditioned various threads. This is a gorgeous top which Joan made, called storm at sea.

We ended with a 'threaducation' talk where everyone got to touch and compare a variety of machine quilting threads and learn about how best to use them. It was a real bonus to see how these threads played out in Trudi's many quilts!

I left inspired by everyone and looking forward to the next Machine Quilters Retreat in April. The food was so good that I've asked for the same again. With any luck we might be able to take our coffee and tea breaks on the deck overlooking the back garden. Roll on Spring!

More Hugs and Kisses

2011-02-16T07:00:00.001Z

This photo shows the machine quilting path as I go scalloping back the other way.

Then I quilted a double scallop along the outside border. It looked good so far, but there was still quite a bit of un-quilted space.

So I decided to add in a few hearts...double hearts around the edges.

And four hearts in the middle.

Here's the quilting just about finished. All my kids are very proud of me! : ) I've left it for a day before deciding whether or not to add a few more hearts.