Following on with 5 reasons why I love machine quilting frames. Here's reason # 4: Machine quilting frames help you see what you're quilting. FMQ wherever you do it, requires a certain amount of eye hand coordination. Drawing the right way round is a huge advantage. So is being able to see what you're doing!
So this 4th reason that I love machine quilting on a frame, has to do with visibility. Our Machine Quilter frames are designed to give you the best view of what you're quilting.. When you're free motion quilting sitting at the sewing machine you are working on a relatively small section of your quilt, maybe 5 by 7 inches. In contrast, a machine quilting frame lets you see a whole slice of your quilt. This really opens up your view. On a frame you can see where you've been, where you are and where you're going. This helps you keep your stitching consistent. Being able to see what you're doing makes you a better quilter.
Our Nifty Grip speed control handles replace your foot pedal, so you don't have to do one thing with your foot and another with your hands. The Nifty Grips mean that you don't have to kick your foot pedal across the floor, or squeeze it with your hand at the same time as you're trying to guide the sewing machine.
Our Nifty Grips are designed to make machine quilting much much easier. They're also designed so you can see what you're stitching. They're low for comfort, and being low they won't block your vision. Machine quilting frames create the perfect platform to foster eye-hand coordination so that the ideas in your mind's eye can flow out your fingers.
3 comments:
I recently bought a Super Quilter second hand. It looks very similar to the English Quilter, and it came from you originally. I don't know how I would have got it set up without your hand book! I haven't yet attempted a proper sized quilt though. I quilted an old sheet, so as to get used to it, and am now quilting some small 'practice' pieces.
My Comments so far: It is brilliant to have the quilt nice and flat, and to see large parts of it at once. I am using a domestic Janome sewing machine, and it has an on/off button on the arm so I can dispense with the foot pedal when using the quilt frame - yippee.
The fact that it is a domestic machine means I have a relatively small working 'frame' i.e. I have about 6 inches width in which to work along the length. It's okay as I can work patterns in strips, but would be nice to have a larger space between. I might have considered a new machine, but I've only had this one a couple of years!
The main thing is though how amazing it is that the machine moves so smoothly, easily and controllably. You have to try it to know what I mean. It's just marvellous!
I also have a Super Quilter, but from when they first came out, 20 years ago. But now I've moved into a smaller house and don't think I have room to set it up. I do like the way these handles look though, much better than holding the foot pedal in one hand and guiding the machine with my other hand.
The handles look good, but some machines, my Janome included, have a stop/start button on the body of the machine, which works instead of the foot pedal if you want to use it that way. I never used it until I got the Super Quilter, but then discovered it was a real boon!
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