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| South Oxford at Sunset |
Yesterday, Helen came to visit from Oxford. She'd been visiting the machinequilter website for years and decided that it was time to come and have a look for herself. I so enjoyed meeting Helen. Chatting over coffee, we found much in common. We'd lived in similar parts of the UK and even had children the same ages. Helen likes to make smaller quilts, especially to give away as gifts so she was keen on our smaller Art Quilter frames. She's in-between-houses at the moment and is stopping off in Oxford en route to the Cotswolds. With most of her sewing supplies in boxes, Helen's been strip piecing projects and with extra time on her hands she wanted to do more quilting.
As we explored her options we thought that the 4 foot Art Quilter would be perfect for now. The 4 foot Art Quilter frame is just the right size to fit in the smaller house. Yet it performs the same as the larger frames. Once loaded on the frame, each layer of the quilt is perfectly tensioned, so there are no rucks or wrinkles. The frame creates a perfectly tensioned steady surface, leaving the quilter free to focus on the quilting.
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| 4 foot Art Quilter frame and Juki TL98 P |
Helen was particularly impressed with the free and easy movement of the carriage. This is the one feature of the frame that you just can't get from a distance. I love the reaction that people have when they move the carriage for the first time. Helen was astonished. She'd no idea that the carriage would move so smoothly. She immediately realized the effect that this ease of movement would have on her free-motion-quilting. After taking the frame and table apart and then putting them back together, which just takes 5 minutes. We moved on the the sewing machine.
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| notice all the space under the Juki TL98P arm |
When I mentioned the name JUKI, Helen said that she'd never heard of it. Lots of people say that. But when I showed Helen the features that make the Juki TL98P the ideal sewing machine to use on a frame she was convinced.
- The JUKI TL98 P arm is wider AND taller. The height is just as important as the width when you have a fabric pole under the arm of the machine.
- The JUKI TL98 P goes 1500 stitches per minute, easily without straining because it's a semi-industrial machine on the inside. The industrial speed gives you a lovely line of stitching. The industrial power stitches through multiple layers easily. It looks glam on the outside but it's a workshorse on the inside.
- The JUKI TL98 P only does a straight stitch so it's simple and therefore easy to tension. All the whistles and bells get in the way. A straight stitch is the only stitch we need on a frame and the JUKI TL98 P does a straight stitch perfectly.
- The JUKI TL98 P offers all these features in one sewing machine. Many other sewing machines offer one or more of these features. Some are longer but not taller. Some are longer but sew much slower. Most sewing machines are much too complicated and do far too many stitches to be happy while dancing around on a frame carriage. The JUKI TL98 P gives you the space, the speed and the simplicity that are the absolute essential features for a sewing machine to use on a quilting frame.
Well, it was a great day! It was such fun for me to meet Helen. And it was fun for Helen to try out the Art Quilter frame with the Juki TL 98P sewing machine. It was fun sharing all my quilts and drawing out the line designs that would be good for starting out. Helen left happy, excited and inspired.
Demo's are fun and free. So if you've been drooling over the website for years, like Helen. Ring me for a demo and come and see for yourself. The coffee is good too!
martha@machinequilter.co.uk
01526 378057
