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!'

Perfectly Tensioned Layers

Reason Number 1: A machine quilting frame perfectly tensions the layers of your quilt so you NEVER have to baste, pin, glue or tack again. Ever! When I was machine quilting sitting at the sewing machine, I hated trying to get all the layers of the quilt sandwich to stay together, steady enough to machine quilt without shifting while I was stitching. No matter how many hours I spent on my hands and knees and no matter how many safety pins I used, it was never quite right. Despite my best efforts, there were always some rucks and wrinkles on the back.

Our Machine Quilting frames tension each layer of the quilt separately so that the quilt sandwich is perfectly tensioned without all that hassle. No more hours pinning or tacking, no clouds of asphyxiating spray glue, no money wasted on gadgets that punch price tag plastic through your quilt. No more hours of doing something I really hate! A machine quilting frame is worth every penny just for this!

Brit Flag Quilt on our frame with the JUKI TL98 straight stitch

Loading the quilt on the frame just takes 20 minutes and when I'm finished, I know the layers will be perfectly tensioned and the back of the quilt will look gorgeous when I take it off the frame, with no rucks or wrinkles - even the first time! I hated the pinning part. My Machine Quilter frame lets me skip it!  By taking care of the parts I hate, machine quilting frames let me focus on the parts that I love...that would be the quilting!



If you're still wondering just how a frame tensions the layers of a quilt sandwich have a look at these links.

• Pinning the purple pumpkin seed shows how to load 3 layers on a frame; a quilt top, the wadding or batting in the middle and the backing underneath

• This Loading Fleece tutorial featuring Rosie's Uni quilt shows how to load a quilt with 2 layers on a frame

Come see for yourself at the Festival of Quilts. Read all about us in the online Show Guide. You'll find Machine Quilter at STAND D17  right next to the Juki stand.



p.s. I just found this pie graph and I had to add it to the post. It's a response to an American quilter's survey. I'm happy to say that I'm in the blue on this one! Having a quilting frame is brilliant because I never have to baste or pin or glue. EVER! Get happy and join the blue team!

The Big 5

We're busy getting ready for the Festival of Quilts. We love the show! The fun of preparations, ordering the threads and completing the display quilts, the buzz when we get there on the Wednesday and greet the familiar faces of the other stall holders and show staff. Then it's all go as we unload the car, find the stand and set up the frames and hang up the quilts and arrange the threads. Everyone all around us is busy creating order from all the jolly chaos as one by one the stands are finished and the Festival of Quilts gets ready to open the doors for yet another year. There's nothing quite like it. 

Suddenly it's Thursday morning and the bell rings and thousands of people pour into the Halls to participate in the biggest Quilt Show in Europe. From the minute the doors open on Thursday morning until the Show closes on Sunday afternoon, we at Machine Quilter are busy answering two big questions:

"What's so great about machine quilting on a frame?"  

"How do our Machine Quilter frames and JUKI sewing machines give you more value for your money?"

Bob Purcell, Paul Hayes and Martha Milne

We've been demonstrating machine quilting frames ever since the very first Festival of Quilts in the summer of 2003. Sixteen years of personal experience and the responses of  thousands of people trying a frame for the first time, all  boils down to 5 reasons.

Five Reasons Why machine quilting on a frame is so great!

Come and test drive the NEW JUKI on our frame

You can read all about it in the next few posts.

Better yet, come visit our stand listed under
 Machine Quilter Company D17 and test drive it yourself!

Best of Both

Here at Machine Quilter we celebrate how American innovation meets British ingenuity!

Our Machine Quilter frames are an American idea that has been brilliantly adapted to fit into English homes. Right from the start we've been keen to make American machine quilting products more readily accessible to the English quilter.

Demonstrating the frame at a Christmas in July Shop Party

We're right here in Lincolnshire, UK; we can give our customers ongoing support, education and inspiration. Quilting is all about connecting with people. Because our frames are made here in the UK we are able to give our customers personal service. We offer free demonstrations and workshops for people interested in machine quilting frames. We also offer workshops, and Retreats so that you can keep on learning and growing. We also offer online support with website blog posts & video tutorials, Facebook and Instagram but we think that meeting face to face is vital. 


We became the original UK Distributor for Superior Threads so that we could offer the newest machine quilting thread ranges, just as soon as they come out. We wanted English and European quilters to be able to get the latest threads while they were still new and exciting.We began in 2003 and we've been connecting British and American quilters ever since.

The 6 foot Machine Quilter frame with Kimono Silk threads from Superior Threads

Fantastico #5027 Cha Cha from Superior Threads

Bright Blue Bottom Line from Superior Threads

Fantastico my favourite variegated machine quilting thread

funny how red white and blue works on both sides of 'the Pond'

On this day in 1989 I left Amercia with my brand new British husband. Now 6 kids and 30 years later we still celebrate the Best of Both. Happy 4th of July from machinequilter!

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

Pussy Willow

Every Easter Saturday

we make an Easter tree. We get some branches and wedge them in a pot with rocks and place it on the table by the window in our music room. Then we get our collection of Easter eggs and hang them on the tree.

It takes a while to find the right sort of branches. Some years we've used blossom, which is so pretty but it doesn't last long. This year we found some pussy willow across the street and down the lane where we walk our dog. It was perfect and it lasted for ages.

Like the Christmas tree, the Easter tree is a German custom transported to the melting pot which is America by the Dutch settlers and then to our Lincolnshire farmhouse by me. I'm grateful for the way the customs from all over the world can enrich our lives. 

I've been collecting Easter craft ideas on my pinterest board. 

All during the year I find neat customs and craft ideas. The pinterest board keeps them in a place where I can find them when the right time comes. It works great as a place to keep track of  quilty ideas too!

Better than chocolate Superior Threads Easter baskets for Quilters

 Superior Threads make great Spring presents for quilters. Such pretty colours and no calories!And while it's still so cold and wet outside, I'll keep happy stitching with pretty spring fabrics and threads.

Happy Easter! Hopefully Spring is coming soon!

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