No Pain

 Here's my third reason for loving machine quilting on a frame:  It's easy on your body.   Real quilting is personal.  Good tools are designed to fit the person using them. Good tools are designed to be comfortable.
Machine quilting on a frame is much much kinder to your body. 

Sitting hunched over the sewing machine, wrestling the quilt under the arm while trying to tension the layers and draw backwards IS hard on your body. That kind of stitching places many physical demands on your neck and arms and back not to mention your brain. I've always found it, literally,  a pain in the neck.

By tensioning the quilt layers for you, a machine quilting frame provides instant relief. Being able to move with your whole body as you quilt relieves the tension in your neck and back. Drawing the right way round is simply easier so that you don't get so tense. And if you get stressed, you can leave the needle down and walk away. There's nothing quite like a little break to clear your mind and relax your body. While you have a nice cup of tea, the frame will hold your project steady for you. It will be ready for you to pick up again right where you left off. 

Anyone with muscle or joint pain will find machine quilting on a frame pure joy. The sewing machine glides  effortlessly with just the touch of a finger. Guiding the sewing machine is much easier than holding a needle or even a pencil. So much so that people who have given up hand quilting due to muscle or joint pain, discover that machine quilting on a frame enables them to keep on quilting. Machine quilting frames gives back what the years have taken.

Our Machine Quilter frames are designed for comfort and custom made to fit the height and quilt project preferences of each customer. Our frames clamp to any table and we can recommend the perfect height so each person is able to work at their personal ideal height for comfort and visibility. The right table height lets you quilt comfortably without stretching up or bending over. The right height  makes sure that you can see what you're stitching too. Our speed control handles are much easier than kicking the foot pedal across the floor and they're ergonomically designed to be comfortable.

Look at the photos above and below. Notice how my arms are level with my elbow as I hold the frame handles. Our Nifty Grip handles are at elbow level so you won't have to lift your arms to use them because lifting your arms puts a strain on your shoulder and back muscles. Our lower handles are also out of your line of vision so they won't block your view. 

Our Machine Quilter frames are designed to fit the person using them so they're comfortable to use. Because we think machine quilting should be a joy not a pain!

Behind the scenes at the Festival of Quilts 2015

After a long drive and several coffees, we're finally setting up our stand for the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in Birmingham. We're really excited to be here, and we hope you can make it too!

We're here with Juki Sewing Machines (stand A55 in case you wondered), and we're going through the long process of putting together our stand. We thought we'd give you a behind the scenes look at our set-up...

Normally we put up the quilts ourselves, but this year Juki brought along Liv. Liv is a window dresser, and she's absolutely fantastic. She's working wonders with our stand. Here's a sneaky peak:

Liv is into making displays 3D - so fun!

Coming together. Slowly...

Juki have got some snazzy new headers this year too - we think they look great! Here's a first look:

Shiny and new!

Emily's Thread Painting is also on display. I just looooove the colours in this. Mmmmm... The threads she used are Superior Threads, which are also on sale at our stand!

Close up of Emily's gorgeous thread painting 

We're also hosting a social media giveaway at the show - you can take part while you're here! 

Come take a selfie at our stand for a chance to win a machine quilting DVD!

10 Years at the Festival

We're getting ready for the Festival of Quilts 2013. We've been going to this Birmingham Quilt Show since the very first event in 2003. As an American living here in the UK, I'd been frustrated by how long it took the exciting new American quilting products to get 'across the Pond'. We wanted English quilters to have access to the new stuff while it was still new! That's why we stared The Machine Quilter Company Ltd. We wanted to bring American innovations in machine quilting to the English quilter.

SuperQuilter frame 2003

10 years ago we brought the very first 'table top' machine quilting frame to the UK from Canada. It was called the SuperQuilter. For the first time quilters were able to use ordinary domestic sewing machines like a long arm for a fraction of the cost.

The following year we began importing machine quilting threads from a new American company called Superior Threads. We needed the right sort of threads to use on the frames, threads that wouldn't shred and fray. They were brilliant! We were thrilled and we've been distributing Superior Threads here in the UK ever since. As soon as the new thread ranges come out in the States we have them available here!

In 2005 we began working with JUKI sewing machines. Juki TL98 sewing machines were the American favourite and Franklin's offered the  JUKI TL98P here in the UK to meet the need for a longer armed domestic machine that was ideal for the machine quilting frames.

In 2007 we created the New English Quilter, the very first Machine Quilting frame made in the UK. We took all the best features of the Stateside frames added a few of our own. We employed the British genius for design and adapted an American idea to fit into European homes. We've gone on to develop accessories like made-to-measure tables and ergonomic Nifty Grip speed control handles.

The New English Quilter frame

Then we began to develop the educational arm of the company with demonstrations, workshops and retreats. We wanted people with machine quilting frames to have the training and support they needed to become more confident machine quilters.

a film shoot

This year we are thrilled to have the NEW JUKI Long Arm the  QVP2200. American's have been raving about this machine since it came out earlier this year. Now it's our turn!!! Come see us at stand  A36 B36-38.

New Juki Long Arm!Quilt Virtuoso Pro 2200

It's been a great 10 years!

Made to Measure

Our workshops are 'made to measure'. We like to keep them personal. Every workshop is different because they're designed to please each person who comes. Judith bought one of our original New English Quilter frames a few years ago. She completed quite a few smaller projects like table runners, pillows and smaller lap quilts. But she was daunted by a larger sized quilt that she'd lovingly pieced. She was afraid of spoiling a top that she really cared about. So she rang and asked for some help.

I suggested that we book a workshop for a couple of days. Judith lives 5 minutes away in the next village so I came to her. This bright sunny spot at the top of her stairs is just the right setting for her New English Quilter frame. Judith designed the quilt to go in her bedroom. She chose a pale yellow fleece for the backing.

For the top Judith chose a thread from Superior Threads' Rainbow range called Opal # 808. The pastel colours looked so pretty over the chintz-like fabrics.

We chose cream coloured pre-wound bobbins in Bottom  Line #620 which blended beautifully with the fleece.We changed the needle to a 100/16 Titanium coated Topstitch needle and we were ready to start.

Judith was practising the scalloped mussel shell design for an overall pattern on paper first, then it was easy to draw the pattern with the thread. She wanted to create a subtle texture, something that would cross the pieced lines and hold the quilt together visually.

Judith loved learning a new line design. By the end of the quilt, Judith was really good at this pattern!  We took the quilt off the frame and threw it on the bed just to see the way the light fell across the raised 'negative space' created by the quilted lines. It looked beautiful.  It's just wonderful when a plan comes together. I'll post a picture of it on the bed once the binding is on. Now Judith plans to do the same scalloped mussel shell pattern on a red, cream and blue quilt for her daughter Cathy to take to University. She can't wait to see how the pattern will look in a different colour- way.

Superior Threads at the Festival

The Festival of Quilts is just around the corner and I'll be putting the show order through to Superior Threads this week. As usual we'll have a good selection of Superior Threads at our stand. If there is something particular that you're hoping for let me know and I'll order it for you. Contact me before Friday 3 August and I'll include your order with the show order.

email: martha@machinequilter.co.uk or
phone: 01526 378057 
You can find us at the JUKI stand A46, B36 and B38. We're listed in the show catalogue under English, for New English Quilter.The Festival of Quilts is a fantastic opportunity to test drive Juki Sewing Machines with Superior Threads on our Art Quilter and NEQ2 machine quilting frames. The Festival of Quilts is our favourite show! We've had a stand there since the very first show in 2003. This year's Festival of Quilts begins Thursday August 16th and runs through Sunday August19th.We look forward to seeing you there.

Festival of Quilts 2011

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.

Bunting

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.

Last Orders

This weekend I'm putting together a really BIG order of Superior Threads for the Festival of Quilts. This is an interesting process. I go through my stock and try to think of threads that people will want, how many and what kind, it's mind boggling! It occurred to me that it might be a good idea to ask instead of just guessing. So if anyone was hoping to purchase particular threads, needles, or real thread colour cards at the show, email me before noon on Monday with your list and I'll have it all ready for you to collect and pay for at the NEC show. Don't worry,  I don't mind if you change your mind when you get there. Any emails will simply help me to come up with a good order.

So if there is anything particular you would like reserved just for you to collect at the Festival of Quilts, email me at: martha@machinequilter.co.uk 

before noon on Monday. Thanks for helping and see you at the Show.

Bob Purcell, from Superior Threads, Paul Hayes from Dorcas Designs and Martha Milne from Machine Quilter. Festival of Quilts 2008

The Festival of Quilts

It's that time again. We're busy gearing up for our favourite quilt show - the Festival of Quilts! The dates are Thursday 19 August until Sunday 22 August. Our stand is in a new location this year, diagonally across the hall near the European Quilters Cafe at Stand D 50-52. Click on the map for a better view so you can find us more easily.

Come visit and see the New English Quilter, JUKI TL-98P sewing machine and the Nifty Grip Speed control handles in action. We'll also have the new range of JUKI Exceed sewing machines available to try and buy and, of course a great selection of Superior Threads. As I mentioned in the last post, we're going to have some exciting people helping out at our stand this year. We'll post more details and links as the date approaches and look forward to seeing you there.

The Other Half

I enjoy watching the men at quilt shows.  I would hazard a guess that men are probably out numbered by 100 to one at most shows.  They often have that glazed look of someone who would rather be somewhere else. All those fabric stalls that make our hearts race just don't have the same appeal to the average guy. But men generally do love our machine quilting frame. Their glazed look disappears and the eyes come into focus, here at long last is something they can get excited about, a tool they understand.Quilters are often married to engineering types. They like to stand there, arms folded across their chest and figure out how it works. They ask all the right questions too. Like why the wood won't warp and how all the parts fit together and extend. They appreciate the genius behind the simplicity and recognize a great piece of kit when they see it.

This is an old photo from years ago from my SuperQuilter days. But I get a kick out of it because it's June Barnes husband and he did talk her into getting a frame.You can follow the link to find out more about this award winning English machinequilter. June had an exhibition of her work just across the aisle from our stand in 2004. You can't help being inspired by her machine quilting!

I often get enquires from husbands who want to purchase something special. A month ago I received a phone call from a husband who'd seen our frame at the Festival of Quilts last summer. He rang up and said, "I want to purchase your 10 foot New English Quilter frame and the10 foot purpose built table and the JUKI sewing machine and the speed control Nifty grips to go with it. He wanted a copy of the new DVD too. No questions. No discussions. Just a credit card number. I have to admit that I love this kind of phone call. Anyway two hours later, I had a phone call from another husband. It was like deja vu. He also just wanted to order the whole set up for his wife. He'd seen it at the show and was ready to make the purchase.  Well, it's one month later and these are two happy ladies! I'll finish the story in the next post.

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!

Compliments

My favourite compliment of the show was from a husband of one of the quilters. He was an engineer and kept coming back to visit our stand asking lots of pertinent questions. By the end of the show, he'd become quite enamoured with the New English Quilter. He said that what he appreciated most about the frame was the simplicity. He quickly added that he didn't mean this as a put down but rather that it took a certain amount of engineering genius to achieve this sort of simplicity. We smiled and thanked him.

We love the simplicity too. There is a cleanness of line, pure and simple - no unnecessary bits added on. There is a reason and purpose for everything about the frame. And an intuitive logic that even transcends language barriers - very helpful at such an international show! Engineers can appreciate what goes into creating and implementing such a design but quilters are just happy to have a simple-to-use tool that lets them get on with the quilting.

Behind the Design

Simplicity. Beauty. Utility.

Simplicity is the hallmark of the New English Quilter. So is the idea that something can be useful and beautiful. These qualities stand out when we demonstrate the frame to the thousands of people visiting the Festival of Quilts. The Festival is a wonderful opportunity for people to try out all the latest gadgets - because in one place for four days, everyone and everything is there! So we encourage our potential customers to make the rounds and try out all the frames. We want our buyers to be confident that they have the right frame for them. For anyone interested in a simple useful and beautiful frame - the New English Quilter is the frame for you.

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!