Line Dancing

Fred & Ginger in Swing Time

"Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did, and she did it backwards and in high heels!"

What a brilliant line! It makes me smile. It also brings to mind the second reason why I love machine quilting on a frame:

A machine quilting frame lets you draw with your needle.

I think, perhaps the coolest feature of a machine quilting frame is the carriage that rides on a set of tracks. Sit your sewing machine on this carriage and you can glide your sewing machine effortlessly every-which-way across the top of your perfectly tensioned quilt.This is the feature that you need to see to believe. No matter how much research you do ahead of time, this easy gliding of the sewing machine will astonish you. It's like magic. The carriage transforms your needle into a pen and anything you can draw, you can quilt.

Most people hate wrestling a quilt under the arm of a sewing machine, and then trying to tension the layers while drawing backwards. Trying to FMQ while sitting at the sewing machine is counter-intuitive because the needle is stationary and the quilt is moving. That's like trying to write or draw by holding the pencil still and moving the paper. No wonder so many of us find this difficult! It requires a whole new set of skills - some people seem to manage this but I never could. My stitches were jerky and uneven while my neck and shoulders just got more and more tense. Machine quilting sitting at the sewing machine was a pain in the neck!

Using a machine quilting frame changes all this. There is no wrestling the quilt under the arm of the machine. The frame perfectly tensions the layers of the quilt creating a still and steady 'canvas' for you to draw on. The easy movement of the carriage enables you to draw with your needle just the way you have been writing and doodling and drawing all your life. And since you're moving the 'pen' the way you always have, you're good at it right from the start.

I love to hear people comment when they try our frame for the first time;

"Wow! I can do this!" 

"Look at this beautiful line of stitching!"

"I just wrote my name! "

"This is so easy!" 

"I Could do this all day!"  

But don't take my word for it. Come visit us and try it for yourself. We offer free Demonstrations at our Lincolnshire studio or come and visit us at the 2017 Festival of Quilts we're at stand A46 with the JUKI guys. Some people say that free-motion-quilting is like taking a line for a walk. But with our machine quilting frame it's more like taking a line for a glide. That's why we call it 'Line Dancing!'

Getting in the Mood

We have a Christmas themed Retreat coming up at the end of October. Here's a post to get us in the mood. During this Retreat most of the participants are going to bring their own frames and sewing machines. We decided that it would give us more quilting-on-the-frame time. Don't worry if you don't have a frame yet or can't bring yours. We'll have an extra frame or two for you.

Here are some ideas for make-in-advance practice pieces. We'll be learning all sorts of designs but there will definitely be lots of Christmas themed line designs. so when you're making up your practice piece for your frame, it might be fun to stitch together some Christmas fabric from your stash. Choose fun fabric and keep the piecing simple. These are just strips sewn together. They'll make a great 'canvas' to draw on with thread and lovely line designs. 

I'd recommend using some plain black fabric too because the Christmas threads look so pretty against the black.

Some people were keen to piece the Christmas Tree table runner so I'm going to give some basic instructions for that here.

I wanted the table runner to fit on my 6 foot frame so I cut my backing fabric about 50 inches long and 18 inches tall. There are 8 trees. Each tree is a bit more than 5 1/2 inches at the base and almost 11 inches tall. I just folded a piece of computer paper long ways and cut a shape that was pleasing to me, I wasn't following any pattern. I wanted the trees to be big enough to be able to play around with various line designs. 

Once I had a shaped that I liked, I traced the shape on the thinnest Vilene (Vilene Easy Fuse Ultra Soft Light | H180 | Empress Mills) and cut roughly around that tree shape, leaving a bit of space around the line. Then I ironed the Vilene tree shapes to the back of the Christmas tree fabrics. The Vilene backing gives the fabric a bit of extra structure and keeps the edges from fraying too much.  I also found it easier to cut a nice straight line when I was cutting through the Vilene backed fabric. I'd chosen a neutral gold spotty background to look like snow. Lastly sitting at my sewing machine, I raw edge appliqued the trees to the background fabric. 

A note about the tree trunks. I wanted them to look chunky so I folded a bit of fabric so that the raw edges were inside, then folded that in half and slipped the ends under the tree and stitched that down. 

Then I flipped the trunks and pinned them up onto the trees so they would be out of the way when I was quilting the background. Once the background was quilted I stitched them down. We'll be doing all the quilting at the retreat. But here are a few ideas to get you thinking. We'll have lots of fun playing with all sorts of different threads and quilting patterns. If you're wanting to quilt the table runner, stitch it to your other practice piece to save time loading the quilt. You'll be able to rotary cut them apart when we take it off the frame later. Have fun making your practice pieces. 

I've backed most of my practice pieces with Fleece but you can use backing fabric and wadding if you like. To save time you could pin the layers on the fabric poles before you come. If not we'll all be helping each other to load on the day.We're so looking forward to seeing you all at the Retreat! It will be here before we know it. Martha, Emily and Jackie xxx

Saving for a Long Arm?

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Annette had been saving up for a long arm quilting machine. It was going to take a long time.  Then she stumbled across our website and realized that there was a simpler more affordable alternative. Annette already runs a business. She just wanted to quilt for fun,  for family and friends. After a look at our website, Annette ordered a copy of our Line Dancing DVD called La Mer

 Watching the DVD she realized that this was just the frame for her. Our Machine Quilter frames would be simple and quick to set up and easy to use. She'd have many of the benefits of a long arm for a fraction of the cost.

Annette ordered an 8 foot frame because she wanted the option of quilting larger bed sized quilts. She ordered the tabl Then she went to Franklin's  and ordered a JUKI TL98P and we made her a set of Nifty Grip speed control handles so she wouldn't have to kick her foot pedal across the floor. Annette was heading up to Nottingham so she decided to book a free demonstration and collect her frame the same day. It saved on the shipping cost and got her off to a good start.

After a lovely day sharing quilts and quilting designs and playing around with the JUKI on the machine quilting frame,  it was time for Annette to head back to Bristol. Fortunately, our frames are designed to be portable, so the 8 foot NEQ2 frame and JUKI Nifty Grip speed control handles fit easily into the car. Annette left a happy lady, excited to go home and get started on the new frame. She made a big savings too. Like the rest of us, she'd much rather spend the money on fabric!

Dear Martha

Last night I dreamt of bobbins …..and King Tut…. and patterns and shapes and chalkboard paint. Thank goodness it’s the weekend. I’ll be quilting on my frame in no time!

I’ve argued with myself for over a year now about WANTING versus NEEDING a long arm quilting machine and I had settled on and had started saving for a Gammill. So much money and the need for so much space combined with the calculations of how many quilts I would need to quilt commercially to make a long arm pay for itself began to erode my plans……and then I found www.machinequilter.co.uk . The perfect solution as all I really really want is to make beautiful quilts, at my leisure, for family and friends, with no pressure.

I had the most wonderful day on Wednesday. Thank you very much for all your time! I’ve learnt so much but most of all I came home with lots of new ideas like…..starting small…. lots of mini sessions….on mini quilts… trial and error borders on either side of my quilt tops….It was so inspirational to see all of your quilts. Thank you for sharing those with me.

I’ve read through the handbook you gave me. So helpful! I’ve drooled over the colour cards and put together a mega order – which I now need to pare down.  I’ve pulled out some odd fat quarters that suit some of the free Superior Threads you put in my goody bag and I’ll be piecing late into the night. I’ll send you some photos when I have something nice to show.

All in all – I’m so excited about my new toy and I’m so pleased that I met you.

I look forward to coming to one of your retreats in the future so I can build on whatever I learn between then and now. See you at the Quilt Festival in August.

Lots of love

 Annette

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

Tools and Gadgets

I think there is a big difference between tools and gadgets. There are gizmo's and gadgets galore on offer this time of year. Gadgets can be defined as frankly frivolous, time-saving space-wasting yet ingenious devices that clutter up the spaces of our life and work! They are the one-day-wonders that end up collecting dust in the back of our closets. Gadgets are clever yet not really all that necessary - we can live without them.

Tools in contrast are essential devices of lasting value. They are, to borrow a medical term, pluripotent - a single instrument that can accomplish many tasks as opposed to the many many little gadgets designed to do just one thing. 

Gadgets do it without you. But tools require a 'loving intelligence'. Loving intelligence truly describes the relationship between the tools and the craftsman or artisan. Tools require a certain manual competence - a practical wisdom that can be learned from direct experience or passed on from person to person.

Our New English Quilting frames and the JUKI sewing machines we use on them most definitely fall into the tools category! Our frames are hand crafted by craftsman for artisans. We create the tools and pass on the 'loving intelligence' required to get the most out of them. All the practical technology that makes JUKI so successful in industry, is evident in the robust and elegant simplicity of their domestic sewing machines. You can tell the difference just by listening to the sound of the machine running through it's paces.

JUKI TL98P straight stitch sewing machine on the New English Quilter frame

Good tools that last a life time are worth every penny. They are an investment that will keep on giving!

Rave Review

Once the Christmas decorations came down, Kirstie had a chance to play with her new toy. You can read all about it in Kirstie's blog: Sew Kirstie But Kirstie invited me to cut and paste her comments here too. 

"I've been playing with my Christmas present! Hip, hip, hooray! The husband bought it from  MachineQuilter. It's called the New English Quilter 2 and it's fabulous!!"

Kirstie's new toy - the New English Quilter 2

"Up until now, I've just been doing test runs on old sheets and random bits of wadding, but today was the day that I was rolling out the big guns. Well, a quilt top, at any rate. Normally, I try to avoid machine quilting as it brings me out in hives. And short temper. And aching shoulders. However, I'd tried the NEQ2 at the Festival of Quilts and felt that with its help, I could possibly manage to make quilts on a more commercial basis."

"Basically, it allows you to use your domestic sewing machine as a long arm quilting machine. it even negates the need to crawl around on hands and knees for AGES basting a quilt (my least favourite part!) What's not to love??"

"There had been a very slight hiccup with the Nifty Grip Handles, but the Brilliant Martha and Wonderful Paul, who are the business end of The New Love of My Life, had it sorted in no time ... in spite of the fact that it was between Christmas and New Year, and Paul had been poorly. I cannot praise this small company enough. the craftsmanship of the actual frame is second to none, and the customer service is astoundingly good. I truly recommend that you take a closer look."

"So back to the quilt top, I was so nervous! It's one thing practising loops and swirls on a bit of old sheet... and quite another to loop and swirl on something that took time and effort to create. But I did it! Yay!"

Kirstie's NEQ2 set up in her sewing room

Thanks Kirstie for taking the time to write such a lovely review of our New English Quilter frame! We were thrilled that the right tools enabled you to turn these lovely blocks into a gorgeous quilt in just a couple of hours. Wow!

the blocks that made up Kirstie's quilt top

Perfect timing

Look who got a new quilt for Christmas! Tricia gave her great-grandson Finnley this gorgeous quilt! Don't they look great together?

Tricia machine quilting Finnley's quilt on the 6 foot New English Quilter

Tricia machine quilted Finnley's quilt in a couple of hours on his due date. Finnley's parents wanted to surprise the family so Tricia wasn't exactly sure what colours to choose. But I think this fresh modern green and white was a good choice.  

It was the very first time that Tricia machine quilted on a frame. Our New English Quilter frames make finishing your project fast and fun. Isn't it nice when a plan comes together!

What's on at the Wiltshire Quilt Fest

See the New English Quilter frame at the Wiltshire Quilt Festival

We've been busy preparing for the 

Wiltshire Quilt Festival. 

Here's a schedule of events 
through out the week 

so you'll  know what's on.

On Thursday 13 March, we're hosting a special day for a group of quilters coming over from the Isle of Wight. But all are welcome to join in. Friday March 14th and Saturday March 15th the Salisbury Franklins shop will be open between 9:00 and 5:00 so you can... 

• Try out the latest and tried-and-true-classic sewing machines and overlockers. There will be experienced instructors on hand to demo the machines and give advice. 
• Have a go machine quilting on the New English Quilter frames. Emma and Martha will have our machine quilting frames set up so anyone who likes can have a play.
• Join in our Machine Quilting Threaducation Seminar and find out what threads work best for machine quilting and why. 
• Participate in our 'Thread Play Sessions' it's a chance to try out all the new ranges of threads on the sewing machines, overlockers and machine quilting frames. You'll get to take home your thread samples for future reference.
• Take advantage of all the sales, special offers and super deals on sewing machines, fabrics, quilting gizmos and gadgets. We've tried to bring everything together for the textile enthusiast all under one charming and spacious roof!
• Have a fun day out with quilting friends and family. There will be tea, coffee and lovely cakes available through out the day. 

Test drive the Juki Exceed 600

On Sunday March 16th Martha will be visiting the American Quilt Museum in Bath with anyone who wants to come along for the ride. For people travelling any distance, we've booked rooms at a special rate at the Mercule White Hart in Salisbury for Sunday night. We'll have an evening meal together and a good night's rest so we'll be ready for the Machine Quilter Clinic. 

Martha using the Juki TL98P sewing machine on the New English Quilter frame

Our Machine Quilting Clinic on Monday March 17th is open to machine quilters who want to become more fluent at free-motion-quilting. All are welcome whether you just need some help getting started or inspiration to move up to a new level. We keep our Clinics small with a maximum of 8 participants between 2 teachers and 3 frames. This way Emma and Martha will be able to give plenty of one to one instruction. Currently, we have 5 people signed up and places available for 3 more. 

Teaching sessions run between 10:00 and 4:00 on Monday March 17th. We'll have coffee, tea and cakes for elevenses, a buffet lunch, afternoon tea and an evening meal included in the £150 price per person.

Interested? 

Ring or email Martha.

01526 378057

marthamilne@tiscali.co.uk

 

Martha and Emma talking about Machine Quilting threads

Between Friends

Mair and Carol sharing an 8 foot NEQ2 frame

Mair and Carol are best friends with lots in common. They met years ago at the local surgery when their children were babes. Now, their love for quilting keeps them close even though the kids are grown. 

Mair and Carol were at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham this summer when they saw our New English Quilting frames. They got the brilliant idea to share a frame. Sharing made the frame affordable and they thought it would be fun to learn how to use it together. So they rang me up after the show and ordered an 8 foot frame and Nifty Grips to replace the foot pedal on their sewing machine. They decided to get a table too. Carol and Mair opted to come and collect their New English Quilter frame and get a free workshop. 

Choosing threads from various Superior Threads ranges

It's a bit of a drive coming up from Gloucestershire, so Carol and Mair spent the night in the lovely Stables Studio B&B across the street.That meant that we could have a relaxing time setting up the frame, learning how to load a quilt and playing around with lots of new line designs. We had time to go through my stack of quilts and get lots of ideas for beginning projects. Shopping for threads was fun too. I really enjoyed getting to know Carol and Mair. Sharing their New English Quilter means they'll have half the trouble and twice the fun! 

a parting shot before heading home

Straight Line Quilting

Straight line quilting on Izzy's quilt by Tina M at cruzio dot com

Last weekend, was my first visit to Ally Pally in about 10 years. I was expecting to see lots of knitters and embroiderers so we brought our 4 foot Art Quilter frame that sets up like an easel. We thought that the free motion embroiderers would love it. They did. What surprised me was that so many modern quilters were interested in our larger 6, 8 and 10 foot New English Quilter frames. 

Modern quilters are essentially no fuss minimalists. They like to use solid fabrics, improvisational piecing and asymmetric takes on traditional blocks. They often use straight line quilting that can be done on a home sewing machine. Tina at the Little Blue Cottage  whipped up the beauty at the top of the page for her daughter Izzy. She won a Judges Choice Award for this piece below. Both are brilliant examples of straight line quilting.

Adrift by Tina Michalik March 2013 Judges Choice Award at QuiltCon

Straight line quilting has some excellent features. It gets people out of stitching in the ditch! Stitching over the pieced lines creates an overall pattern that holds the quilt together visually. I do like the fresh and clean look.

Tina described this straight line method as "paying homage to the walking foot" and "not for the faint hearted". Perhaps stitching line after line does get a bit tedious. The modern quilters that stopped by our stand at Ally Pally last weekend used the words "mind numbing" and "time consuming". They wanted a way to complete a quilt quickly. Several people felt that the straight line quilting was limiting and  wanted a quilting style that could be more personal and creative. When they tried the New English Quilter frames they found just the right tool for the job.

New English Quilter frame - a great tool for the modern quilter

The Modern Quilt Guilds are a young movement. They're still growing and adapting. Perhaps those straight lines may head in a curvy direction

Happy Birthday Terri!

Terri with the New English Quilter frame

Terri's been waiting a long time to get her hands on a New English Quilter! She found us while she was searching for quilting frames on the internet. Terri's a relatively new quilter who loves fresh modern quilts and is currently taking her City and Guilds for Patchwork and Quilting. Terri's also a founding member of the Brighton and Hove Modern Quilt Guild.

Terri and Jackie having a fun day out

Terri's been wanting a frame for a couple of years. Several months ago Terri told me that this was going to be her year - the 'Year of the Frame'. She ordered a copy of our La Mer DVD back in October of last year. She loved it! The DVD gave Terri the opportunity to see the frame in action. She knew that our New English Quilter would enable her to accomplish all that she was dreaming about. Yesterday was Terri's birthday so she arranged to come for a free demo with her best friend Jackie.

Terri choosing threads to go with her fresh modern quilt

We had a lovely afternoon visit with tea and flapjacks.There was plenty of time for Terri and Jackie to ask all the questions they could think of. We took the frame apart and put it back together. We showed how to load the various layers of the quilt sandwich on the frame. Terri and Jackie stitched lots of different patterns and line designs on our practice piece with lots of different threads.Terri was delighted! She decided to order an 8 foot frame, table and a set of speed control handles called Nifty Grips to fit her sewing machine.

Magnifico for the top and Bottom Line for the bobbin thread

We put together a special 'Birthday' Goodie Bag for Terri with 100/16 Titanium coated Topstitch needles, several cones of threads designed for machine quilting from the various Superior Threads ranges, Real Thread Colour Cards to make it easy to order threads that perfectly match Terri's projects and a New English Quilter Handbook Disc. The NEQ Handbook disc is a computer friendly Green version of our original handbook, full of photos and clear directions and tips to get your machine quilting on a frame off to a successful start. The Goodie Bag comes free with the NEQ Frame. We want our customers to get off to a good start with the right information and materials. We like to make the Goodie Bags personal too so Terri choose some cones from various thread ranges in her favourite colours.

When it came time to put down the deposit, Terri whipped out this gorgeous little red bag that she's been using to keep her money that she's been saving up. She paid cash! Terri and Jackie will come to collect her NEQ frame,Table and Nifty Grips when it's ready next month  so they can take advantage of the free workshop that we offer to people who come to collect their frames. We'll have another lovely session and Terri will go home confident and inspired and ready to roll! Happy Birthday Terri!! It's going to be a great year!