Stitches per minute

Getting a nice line of stitching requires a certain amount of speed. 

Professional long arm quilting machines are designed for higher speeds to create those beautiful lines of stitching.  Speed puts stress on thread.

So machine quilters using long arms need threads that can cope with high speeds. Lets look at stitches per minute and compare stitch speed across a range of popular quilting machines.

APQS long arm machines can go  up to 3500 stitches per minute

Gammill long arms can so up to 2700 stitches per minute

JUKI's new QVP  goes 2200 stitches per minute.

Innova 22 inch long arm goes 2000 stitches per minute

Avante HandiQuilter runs up to 1800 stitches per minute

JUKI TL98P semi-industrial straight stitch  1500 stitches per minute

JUKI TLQVP Mini semi-industrial straight stitch 1500 stitches per minute

Bernina 820 goes 1100 stitches per minute

Janome Horizon goes 1000 stitches per minute

Most domestic sewing machines go just under 1000 stitches per minute. That's NOT very fast. Most threads will run fine in sewing machine limited to or near the  1000 stitches per minute mark. Even though they have a longer arm the Bernina 820 and Janome Horizon fall into this group. 

Feathers created with 1500 stitch per minute JUKI TL98P

Once you move up to 1500 stitches per minute you need better quality thread. I discovered this when I upgraded from a much beloved old Bernina to the JUKI TL98P. I had all sorts of tension problems and thread breakage.That's when I discovered Superior Threads designed for long arm quilting. The large cross wound cones come in lots of ranges. Some long arms are pickier than others where threads are concerned. If you're having thread problems with your long arm ring me for a consult. Machine Quilter has been selling thread to long arm quilters here in the UK for 10 years. We can help you choose the ideal thread for your machine quilter whatever the speed. 

Ring or email Martha at Machine Quilter for advice about which threads to use with your sewing machine.

martha@machinequilter.co.uk

01526 553366

Magnifico from Superior Threads Perfect for machine quilting

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.
.

Quilting a Christmas Card

The whole time that my mom was piecing the Christmas Tree card quilt, she and I were discussing how to quilt it. We decided that we wanted to quilt a garland of holly and ivy in the wide red border.

For me, the first step in quilting a new pattern is always to practise it on paper before I even think about approaching the machine. I have a huge long roll of tracing paper that I like to use for practising my quilting designs. I practised the pattern below for a couple hours (the image is slightly grainy because tracing paper doesn't seem to like being photographed!). Mom even brought me in some ivy from the garden so I could try and copy it more accurately!

Then came the actual quilting! We loaded the quilt onto the frame, and then auditioned some threads to see which ones we would use first.  

We ended up using  King Tut #988 Oasis for the garland. The King Tut creates a beautifully bold line, and we really wanted the quilting to stand out. In the image below, you can see the end of the garland. this is actually two layers of thread - I used Twist, and then King Tut #988. The berries were done using Magnifico. 

Next was the Christmas trees themselves! I used King Tut again (this time #981 Cobra) for the branches. It was a very striking effect, and I like how every tree is slightly different - almost like real life! 

Between the Christmas trees, I used Fantastico #5170 Pixie Dust to create curls that looked a little bit like swirling snow. This thread was beautiful to use, and it wasn't a thread that I would have immediately thought to use with a white background. On the cone it looks a lot more colourful! It blended beautifully, leaving behind a wonderful, snowy texture. 

The final quilt looked a LOT like the original Christmas card that mom based her piecing on. We like the quilted version better though! 

Beyond Straight Line Quilting

Terri Tester showing me her amazing sampler quilt

I love it when my customers bring quilts to show me! Terri came last Thursday to collect her 8 foot frame, speed control Nifty Grip handles and the new upgraded purpose built table. Terri brought this little beauty to show me. It's a sampler quilt project that's absolutely gorgeous! And a stunning example of the modern straight line quilting that keeps popping up in my posts.

a sampler quilt by Terri Tester - detail

 I was particularly struck by the how well the colours worked in this quilt.

Terri Tester sampler - machine quilting detail

I like how the bright red sings through the the low contrast of the greys and whites.

Terri Tester's sampler

This quilt so demonstrates Terri's mastery of the straight line quilting technique! 

I liked this modern block

But Terri, like many of the other modern quilters that I've come across in the past weeks, is eager to move on and explore other line designs. 

Terri brought another unfinished top that she'll be machine quilting on her new 8 foot New English Quilter frame. In the beginning of the year, Terri emailed me to say that this was going to be the 'year of the quilt frame'! She had gone as far as she could go with machine quilting sitting at the sewing machine and Terri was ready for a new tool that she could use to take her machine quilting to a new level. The 8 foot New English Quilter frame will give Terri the capacity to quilt far more than straight lines. I can't wait to see what Terri does next!

Show Threads

We're in the same place this year stand A46 B36-38

 The Festival of Quilts will be here before we know it. I'll be putting a big Superior Threads order through on  Friday for the Show. Many people have placed orders to be collected at the show. If you'd like to collect your pre-ordered threads at the Festival of Quilts send me an email or give me a ring before 9 pm on Friday.I'll have your threads bagged and ready to collect at our stand.

Gorgeous and strong light reflecting tri-lobal polyester £9.99 for 3,000 yds

There are 4 new ranges from Superior Threads 
designed particularly for Long Arm quilters.

So Fine #40 - just like the original but variegated and a bit thicker so it shows £15.95

Magnifico - a gorgeous and strong light reflecting tri-lobal polyester in 200 plain colours £9.99

Fantastico - just like Magnifico but variegated! £11.99                  

OMNI - poly wrapped poly core in clean bright colours £10.99

You can try the new threads on our machine quilting frames

We're all very excited about the new Juki 18 X 10 inch long arm the Quilt Virtuoso Pro. The sewing machine guys ran it through it's paces yesterday and were very impressed. Emily and I can't wait to try it ourselves. If you're looking for a long arm this is going to be the machine to try this year.We'll have our more affordable machine quilting frames that fit everyone's homes and pockets too.

. 

See you at the Show! We're working with JUKI UK in the same place as last year 

stand A46 B36-38 that's all the way on the right as you walk through the quilt exhibitions facing the back of the Halls.

Call or email Martha

01526 378057

martha@machinequilter.co.uk

New Thread!

Superior Threads has just come out with a new line of threads called Magnifico!I included a few cones in the September order so I could try it out. I love the silky glow of this thread. I followed the sunshine around the house this morning to try to capture the glowing sheen. It's made of trilobal polyester. This means that each stand of every fibre is trianglular shaped so it reflects the light. Bob explains how it works on the link above.

What's unique about this thread is the strength. Most pretty thread is a bit tricky to work with for professional long arm machines. But Magnifico is designed to handle the stress. Magnifico is the newest range from Superior Threads. It's available here in the UK from Machine Quilter. Use the American site as a shop window and ring or email Martha with your order.

Magnifico available now in  the UK

 for the amazing price of £9.99 

email martha@machinequilter.co.uk

call 01526 378057

• available in 200 colours
• ideal for embroidery and quilting
• high sheen reflects colour vividly and clearly
• heat set which eliminates shrinkage
• made up of 192 micro filaments resulting in spectacular sheen and strength