Best of Both

Here at Machine Quilter we celebrate how American innovation meets British ingenuity!

Our Machine Quilter frames are an American idea that has been brilliantly adapted to fit into English homes. Right from the start we've been keen to make American machine quilting products more readily accessible to the English quilter.

Demonstrating the frame at a Christmas in July Shop Party

We're right here in Lincolnshire, UK; we can give our customers ongoing support, education and inspiration. Quilting is all about connecting with people. Because our frames are made here in the UK we are able to give our customers personal service. We offer free demonstrations and workshops for people interested in machine quilting frames. We also offer workshops, and Retreats so that you can keep on learning and growing. We also offer online support with website blog posts & video tutorials, Facebook and Instagram but we think that meeting face to face is vital. 


We became the original UK Distributor for Superior Threads so that we could offer the newest machine quilting thread ranges, just as soon as they come out. We wanted English and European quilters to be able to get the latest threads while they were still new and exciting.We began in 2003 and we've been connecting British and American quilters ever since.

The 6 foot Machine Quilter frame with Kimono Silk threads from Superior Threads

Fantastico #5027 Cha Cha from Superior Threads

Bright Blue Bottom Line from Superior Threads

Fantastico my favourite variegated machine quilting thread

funny how red white and blue works on both sides of 'the Pond'

On this day in 1989 I left Amercia with my brand new British husband. Now 6 kids and 30 years later we still celebrate the Best of Both. Happy 4th of July from machinequilter!

Pussy Willow

Every Easter Saturday

we make an Easter tree. We get some branches and wedge them in a pot with rocks and place it on the table by the window in our music room. Then we get our collection of Easter eggs and hang them on the tree.

It takes a while to find the right sort of branches. Some years we've used blossom, which is so pretty but it doesn't last long. This year we found some pussy willow across the street and down the lane where we walk our dog. It was perfect and it lasted for ages.

Like the Christmas tree, the Easter tree is a German custom transported to the melting pot which is America by the Dutch settlers and then to our Lincolnshire farmhouse by me. I'm grateful for the way the customs from all over the world can enrich our lives. 

I've been collecting Easter craft ideas on my pinterest board. 

All during the year I find neat customs and craft ideas. The pinterest board keeps them in a place where I can find them when the right time comes. It works great as a place to keep track of  quilty ideas too!

Better than chocolate Superior Threads Easter baskets for Quilters

 Superior Threads make great Spring presents for quilters. Such pretty colours and no calories!And while it's still so cold and wet outside, I'll keep happy stitching with pretty spring fabrics and threads.

Happy Easter! Hopefully Spring is coming soon!

Inferior Threads

There is a secret ingredient that makes all these frames work,  The secret ingredient is thread! Thread that is actually designed for machine quilting at high speeds.

The JUKI QVP2200 long arm goes 2200 stitches-per-minute.
The Handi-Quilter Avante goes 1800 stitches-per-minute
The NEW JUKI TL QVP Mini that we use on our smaller machine quilting frames goes 1500 stitches-per-minute
Most ordinary domestic sewing machines go almost 1000 stitches-per-minute.

Many machine quilters really struggle with thread breaking and shredding. Often it comes down to the thread. People are using inferior thread. The high speeds of long arm quilting machines put a lot of stress on the thread. Poor quality thread will shred and break at higher speeds. Inferior threads are fine for slower domestic machines. But fast machines like long and mid arm quilting machines need Superior Threads.

Superior Threads are designed to flow smoothly through your long and mid-arm quilting machines without shredding or breaking whether you're stitching at 2200 stitches-per-minute or almost 1000. Using the right needle is important too.

This year at the 2015 Festival of Quilts our long arm and mid-arm machines were all threaded with various ranges from Superior Threads. We especially like the Magnifico and Fantastico light reflecting tri-lobal polyester threads because they are beautiful AND strong. Designed for long-arm quilting machines, they are happy to stitch at high speeds without shredding or breaking. This makes for happy quilters with less down time.

Our cat Tipsy thinks that this cone of Fantastico is a purrfect match!

 Fantastico comes in variegated colours with a one inch colour change. This creates gorgeous layers of stitching where the colours are evenly spread out through out your quilt.

Fantastico is available on 2,000 yd cones here in the UK from Machine Quilter for £13.45

Magnifico comes in plain colours on 3,000 yd cones for £9.95. That's a lot of joy for under a tenner!

This quilt used 2 different cones of Fantastico; # 5024 and #5025 to match the flowers in the border fabric.

Don't forget the BACK!

Here's the quilt back. Isn't the texture lovely! We used Bottom Line pre-wounds #607 Light Purple for the back. Also available here in the UK from Machine Quilter.


Finally, here's the finished quilt on show at our stand at the Festival of Quilts 2015. It's looking lovely with the back peeking through in the bottom right hand corner. We kept the piecing simple to show that gorgeous quilting is all about the threads.
.

A needle pulling thread...

It's easy to forget that our piecing and quilting is all about 'a needle pulling thread!'

This GIF is brilliant for showing how a sewing machine really works. Mesmerizing! It shows so clearly just what good tension looks like and how the top and bottom threads come together to make a line of stitching. I'd like to focus on the needle. Look how the thread passes back and forth through the eye of the needle 4 times for every stitch! That's why the size of the needle's eye is so important.

The eye of the Topstitch needle is nearly twice as long as any other needle. This elongated eye allows the thread to pass easily as it moves back and forth through the eye. If the needle's eye is too small it will cause friction and shred the thread!

If you are free-motion quilting use a 100/16 Topstitch needle. If you are machine quilting on a frame use a 100/16 Topstitch needle. If you are using speciality thread like metallic use a 100/16 Topstitch needle. If you are having trouble with thread shredding change to a 100/16 Topstitch needle.

The extra large eye really helps, enabling the thread to move easily through the needle's eye as the fabric moves every-which-way for free-motion quilting. The wider and deeper groove protects the beautiful speciality threads that I love to use for machine quilting. The sharp point easily pierces through the layers of the quilt sandwich, even through bulky seams. It's easier to thread too!

Now the new titanium coating extends the working life of the needle. The ultra thin layer of titanium nitride will keep the needle sharp for 40 to 60 hours. That's a lot of quilting! It's neat that now home quilters get to enjoy the same technology that the professionals have been using for years. Thank you Superior Threads.

100/16 and 90/14 Superior Threads Titanium Topstitch needles are available here in the UK from our online Machine Quilter Shop. 

2015 Festival of Quilts

The 2015 Festival of Quilts will be here before we know it! Come and test drive JUKI sewing machines on our New English Quilter frames. We'll have a big selection of Superior Threads too.

We're on the JUKI sewing machine stand A55

 Thursday 6 August through Sunday 9 August

See you there!

Rosie and Emily showing young quilters the New English Quilter frame

visit us at JUKI sewing machines Stand A55

It's a Girl! SALE

Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

To Celebrate the birth 

of the new princess 

all of our pink threads 

will be £1.00 off!

All in-stock pink thread (including any variegated thread with pink in it) from each range of Superior threads that we carry 

will be one £ off 

for one week only. 

To get the discount, 
email Martha directly 
with your order.

martha@machinequilter.co.uk

Happy Easter!

Superior Thread cones - the perfect Easter Basket for Quilters

 I'm busy making Easter baskets for the kids. Americans make Easter Baskets filled with chocolates, sweets and eggs. It's a bit like Christmas Stockings. When they were little our kids could carry their Easter baskets with them and have all their goodies in one place. I've kept up the tradition so I'm busy getting the final few bits and bobs to fill the baskets. Even though our kids are mostly grown up now, they still love those baskets.

Superior Threads - better than Chocolate!

 If someone were going to make me an Easter Basket, I would want it to be full of cones of thread!

Superior Threads - no calories!

Then I would have all the fun and none of the calories!
Happy Easter, everyone!

When you're fed up with the chocolates, we have a great selection of Superior Threads in stock. Visit our website or ring Martha for a chat. 01526 378551 or 01526 378057.

Springtime - it's official!

Springtime a new colour-way from the Fantastico range of Superior Threads

Spring is officially here! Heralded by the Equinox, a solar eclipse and a super moon. Wow!


I've just ordered some of the new variegated colour-ways from the Fantastico range of Superior Threads. This ones's called Springtime and today is the perfect day to introduce it.

Fantastico threads are my current favourite for machine quilting. They combine beauty and strength making it the perfect thread to go at high speeds without shredding or breaking.

Priced at £12.95 for a  2,000 yd. cross-wound cone, Fantastico is a great value for money thread. Affordable, Beautiful and Strong. What's not to love?

We have a great selection of Fantastico in stock at MachineQuilter.

However you like to quilt.
on a frame, a long arm,
sitting at your sewing machine
or by hand, Fantastico will create a beautiful and strong line of stitching.
Celebrate Spring with Fantastico!

Available from our Machine Quilter online shop serving the UK and Europe. 

We have the biggest selection of Superior Threads at the best prices this side of the Atlantic!

Free Workshop with Collection

Jacqui packing up her new 10 foot NEQ frame, table and Juki TL98P Nifty Grips

We offer a FREE 2+ hour workshop for customers who choose to come and collect their New English Quilter frames. Earlier this month, Jacqui came to collect her 10 foot New English Quilter frame, customised table and Nifty Grip speed control handles. Everything she needed to get the advantages of a long arm for a fraction of the cost.

Juki TL98P straight stitch sewing machine - great under arm space

Jacqui brought along her new JUKI TL98P straight stitch sewing machine so that we could help her to get it tensioned properly and run it through its paces on the NEQ quilting frame. 

We showed Jacqui how to oil it, change the foot and the needle and  how to get to the secret compartment for a really good clean.

Investing in the right sewing machine makes a huge difference to successful machine quilting on a frame. So is some personal help in getting everything tensioned properly and up and running smoothly.

Martha's machine quilting studio in Martin, Lincolnshire

every NEQ frame comes with a FREE Goodie bag

We had a play on a practice piece on the NEQ frame, showing how to move across the length of the frame and achieve a happy stitch length. We then took the frame apart and put it back together and showed how to extend the fabric poles and tracks. We showed how to load a 2 and 3 layer quilt sandwich on the frame.


Then Jacqui got to choose some threads for her FREE Goodie bag, which includes the ideal needles and threads, pre-wound bobbins, real thread cards and a New English Quilter Handbook CD - everything that Jacqui needs to get off to a good start.

We looked at lots of machine quilted projects too.so that Jacqui would be inspired when she got home. After a snack and a drink we packed it all up in Jacqui's car and off she went excited to be starting a new adventure.