Summers by the Sea

mom is 2nd from the right - she has great legs!

I love this photo of my mom! This was a shot of mom and her friends when they were at the University of Maryland back in the early 50's. The other special person in the photo is my Auntie, my mom's best friend and my namesake. Auntie is 2nd from the left. My mom and Auntie have stayed friends all these years. When we were little we used to visit my Auntie's houseboat in Ocean City, Maryland for our summer vacations. All those summers by the sea inspired a series of art quilts and I sent one to my mom for her birthday. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

sewing the binding with OMNI thread

JUKI HZL Exceed 600 the box feed makes binding a breeze

stripy binding for the Summers by the Sea art quilt

machine quilting detail

following the fabric lines

all rolled for the tube - no creases : )

Summers by the Sea - overview

Summers by the Sea

machine quilted by Martha and Emily Milne

on a 6 foot New English Quilter frame

with a JUKI TL98P straight stitch sewing machine

and Nifty Grip speed control handles.

All together giving the movement of a long arm

for a fraction of the cost.

Workshop for Two

Mike, Liz and little Rosie

Michael and Liz came to visit for a workshop today. They bought an 8 foot NEQ2 frame and the JUKI TL98P and Nifty Grips to go with it last summer at the Festival of Quilts. Michael and Liz came for a free demo when they collected their order. It was a good option as they saved on the shipping cost and got a free tutorial. Now they were ready for a bit more tuition so we arranged a workshop. 

Mike and Liz are a husband & wife quilting team. Liz likes to do the piecing.  Michael is keen on the quilting and likes using pantographs.We had a good session which focused on the 'Mussell Shell' over-all pattern and then we added scallops. We worked the designs on paper and then on the frame. Liz enjoyed the quilting too! It was good to see both of them grow in confidence.  Michael is a keen photographer so I look forward to seeing photos of their next projects.

Rosie, enjoyed playing in the garden

We had a lovely day and while Liz and Michael were buy quilting, Rosie enjoyed playing in the garden.

No place like home

Source: google.co.uk via Martha on Pinterest

Last week,  two sets of gals came for a demo visit from different parts of the country. Lynda purchased the 8 foot New English Quilter 2 at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. She came to visit with her mum, Doreen to collect her new frame and get a personal tutorial. Shows like the Festival of Quilts are so exciting and they provide the perfect opportunity to try and compare all the frames on offer. But sometimes people are so focused on purchasing the frame that they don't remember what to do with it once they've got it.

our stand at Festival of  Quilts 2012

 Shows are busy and crowded.  In all the commotion it can be hard to see and remember all the information that you need to get a new machine quilting frame up and running. Coming to collect the frame is the perfect solution. In the comfort of home with just a few people you have time to think. You can ask all the questions you like,  try the frame again,  play with various threads, and see how to load a quilt sandwich. We take the frame and table apart and put it back together, and look at lots and lots of quilts. And yes, we do have cups of tea and coffee and cakes to keep us going!

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Martha on Pinterest

On a personal note, these collection demo's give us a chance to get to know our customers better. It's lovely to have the time for conversation over a cup of coffee or tea and a nice slice of cake. This works both ways. Our customers also enjoy the personal touch. People like knowing the Lincolnshire village where our frames are made. Once we've spent a few hours playing with the frame and sewing machine and talking shop, customers feel much more confident that they'll be able to get everything up and running smoothly when they get home.

Little Houses in the Big Woods machine quilted by Martha Milne

Houston Show Goodies

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

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.

New Slant

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.

Coming to Grips

We introduced Nifty Grips to the quilting public for the first time at the Festival of Quilts a few weeks ago. They were a big hit. Many people who already had other handles appreciated the ergonomic design. Everyone found them easy and natural to use. My daughter Emily and I spent four non-stop days using the Nifty Grips with a JUKI on the New English Quilting frame. At 7 1/2 hours a day we had a good opportunity to really try them out. What I liked best about the grips was how easy they were to forget. This may sound strange but think about it. A good shoe is a shoe you don't notice. The Grips were so responsive that I didn't need to waste energy or attention trying to work them. Once I got going, I barely noticed the grips, because they were so easy to use I could concentrate on my stitching. That's what I call a great gadget!

Nifty Grips put speed control at your finger tips. They are custom made to replace any foot pedal and can be used with any machine quilting frame. Nifty Grips are currently available for JUKI and Janome sewing machines. But we can custom make the grips to go with any sewing machine. If you've been frustrated kicking the foot pedal across the floor or squeezing the foot pedal by hand, Nifty Grips may be just what you're looking for. The photo below shows a set of Nifty Grips made to go with a Bernina Activa, a machine, by the way with the reputation of being one of the most sought after second hand models ever!

Festival Feed Back

I love the Festival of Quilts! We set up a stand and people come to visit from all over the world. One of my favourite things is watching the reaction of people who are trying out the New English Quilter for the first time. People are so surprised at how freely the carriage moves and how quickly the frame comes apart and goes back together again.

Here are some of the comments that we wrote down this year:

Lovely. So smooth. Blimey! I didn't expect it to be this easy. Yes, you can quote me. It's so light, you can move it with a finger. Fantastic! It's absolutely beautiful. This is therapeutic. I could do this all day! I'm definitely having this! Amazing! This is nifty! I mean really nifty. I had no idea it would move like this! Ummm! Now I want one. I've worn out your DVD and now I'm getting one.

The machine practically floats! Superb! This is so simple. Look, I just wrote my name. Now, this IS manageable. I've come here just to try this. I want one. I'm very impressed. I love the feel of the wood. This is so simple. There's not much to go wrong with it. Really, you don't need to baste or tack? It's worth it just for that! I don't really like the quilting part but this IS fun.

Very clever. My friend has one. She loves it. I'm saving up. Wow! That was quick! This IS good! (high praise indeed - she was a long-armer dragged over by her friend!)It's so easy to make a lovely line of stitching. I've gone round and tried all this others - this one is the best!

All Go for the Show

We're heading off to set up for the Festival of Quilts - it's our favourite show and the hight point of the year. You'll find us in the same place as last year Aisle B all the way to the left just across from Creative Grids. Once again we're sharing the stand with JUKI so you can see how these marvelous machines operate on our New English Quilter. There's a new series of JUKI machines this year and I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform on the frame. We're introducing Nifty Grips made here in the UK putting speed control at your finger tips. I find Nifty Grips much more comfortable to use. But it's best to draw your own conclusions so drop by and give them a try and see what you think. As always we'll have a great selection of Superior Threads to try and buy. We look forward to seeing you there.