The Holly and the Ivy

Here's a special Merry Christmas from Superior Threads.
Martha made the quilt,
Emily quilted it on the JUKI QVP and
Ellie created and performed her original version of the Christmas carols.

We hope you enjoy it and would love to hear your comments. Coming soon is a post about how we made it.

Why men like our frames

As you might guess, the Festival of Quilts is overwhelmingly a women's event. So it is fun to see how the occasional man reacts to our New English Quilter frame. Men tend to stand in the background with their arms across their chests quietly watching. They watch as the ladies glide the sewing machine across the quilt top. They see it move 'just like a jigsaw'. Men notice the quality of design.

Men are impressed with the beauty of the ratchets and the durability of the wood finish. They appreciate the thought that has gone into all the frame features that make it easy for women to use and put together and take apart. They recognize that it's built to last a lifetime. And to be honest, they're just glad it's not more fabric!

I wish my husband said this!

This year we noticed a man who kept coming back. Later in the day he brought his wife over to the stand and made her give our frame a try. He said "I've been everywhere today and this is my favourite thing in the whole show." She was a hand quilter and not really interested in machine quilting, but he made her try the New English Quilter anyway. She was surprised at how easily the frame moved. She liked our no-mark hand-guided approach to quilting. She realized that we shared a similar philosophy of stitching to the hand-quilter - we were just pushing the needle where we wanted it to go  a bit faster. As she left the stand, she smiled and said, "Well, I'm a convert!"

Our New English Quilter frames give you the same freedom of movement as a long arm, for a fraction of the cost. They set up and take down so quickly and easily that you won't need a studio either. Isn't that a relief!

This clever group quilt was by the same ladies who did the MeerKat Quilt and the Sun Bonnet Sue Olympics quilt. So clever and funny! Emily took the photos this year but I can't find the name of the group to credit them. Can anyone help?

Eureka Moments

New English Quilter frame on the Franklins Stand at the Festival

Another great show has come and gone. As the dust settles we are tired but happy to have shared our machine quilting passion with thousands of people. It's a perfect chance to find the machine quilting frame that's the 'right fit' for each persons space and pockets.

Ikuko, Clarissa and Martha at the JUKI stand Festival of Quilts 2014

After making the rounds, many people are surprised to find our New English Quilter frames. People appreciate the simplicity of design and the freedom of movement. They especially like the variety of sizes to fit in a variety of homes, not to mention the affordable pricing!

feeling the movement on the Art Quilter frame for the first time

During our demonstrations there are 

three 'Eureka' moments. 

The first is when we persuade people to actually move the sewing machine. People are often shy and hesitate to touch the machine. But when they do, they're astonished by the freedom of movement. It's like magic - so easy and effortless!

Martha demonstrating the New English Quilter frames

The second Eureka moment is when they realize that they will never need to baste pin or tack again, ever! Each layer of the quilt is tensioned separately so there are never any rucks or wrinkles, even on the back. The frame creates a perfectly tensioned surface all steady and ready for you to draw with the needle.

The third Eureka moment is when we take the frame apart. Most people say, "No, don't bother to take it apart!" And we say, "It's no bother, it just takes a minute." We lift the fabric poles out, take off the sewing machine, lift of the carriages, unclamp the side arms and lift off the tracks. Suddenly the penny drops and people realize that it really is just that easy!

Rosie showing how the 6 foot frame comes together

We do this hundreds of times every day of the show and quilters discover that our New English Quilter frames offer the same freedom of movement as the long arms for a fraction of the cost. Our frames are designed to easily fit into your car and your homes.  It's exciting to find that free motion quilting can be fast, fun and affordable too.

Rosie and Martha taking the Art Quilter frame apart - it's so easy!

Christmas in July

I know it's August. But Christmas in August doesn't have the same ring to it! And I did practice the 'Christmas lights' line design yesterday, when it was still July. It began with a doodle. The design started as a retro telephone handset that I'd seen on a T-shirt while shopping last week.

But as I was doodling the design on paper it morphed into Christmas lights. The loops made it easy to 'travel'. And I thought it would be fun to scale up and down. Then I had to try it out with thread and fabric. The 4 foot Art Quilter is just right for this sort of thing. I loaded some black fabric and some fleece and tried out some different kinds of thread.

The luminous qualityof this Rainbows Northern Lights #803 worked well.

Then I tried a glow in the dark thread, which would look great in winter!

This photo is a bit more in focus. And to finish, I might as well include the reason for those cat hairs!! The cats do think the frames are special hammocks! I've got plan to use this line design on a Christmas tree quilt. So wait and see, or better yet make your own.

Thread Painting

I had so much fun today! I started in the morning between shifts. My big kids are out of the door by 7:45 and my little guys don't need to get up til 8:05. That 's my morning breather, when I check my emails or get a second cup of tea.

Today I started doing some line drawings of my daffodils. I'm not a proper artist. I've no training but flowers aren't all that difficult, are they? And when things go wrong there's always the eraser! I began with a view from the front. Six shield shaped overlapping petals, with a circular frilly bit and six stamens in the centre.

So far so good. Now I tried some alternate views. I found these more challenging to get the perspective right. 

I enjoyed doing the still life drawing. I often use pencil and paper to draw line designs as a warm up activity before I start free motion quilting on the frame. But this morning as I drew the daffodils, it was very satisfying to get a design directly from nature.

Then after some displacement activities, like really cleaning the kitchen sink, I loaded fabric and fleece on the frame and started free motion quilting various line designs with the different threads I'd chosen for the project. I wanted to see how the various threads showed up against the fabric. All these threads look gorgeous sparkling in the sunlight, but some will show up much better than others against the fabric. I've got some great photos but as this post is getting long, I'll follow on with the rest tomorrow.