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

Happy Hobbit Day

Source: hem.bredband.net via Martha on Pinterest

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of  The Hobbit 
by JRR Tolkien. First published in 1937, the Hobbit has captured the imagination of readers young and old just about everywhere. For all intents and purposes, this book and the Lord of the Rings triology which followed, created an entirely new genre of literature.

I read The Hobbit for the first time when I was 17 on a cross country trip with my family. We'd made it from Baltimore to Colorado in a pretty small station wagon/estate car, with all the arguments that come up when you put 4 teenagers in one back seat. I found a box set of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings at a gift shop in Estes Park, Colorado.

Estes Park, Colorado

During the day, while we were driving I read the books out loud to my twin sister and two younger brothers. It was magic! All the irritations ceased as we listened to the story and looked out the car window at the magnificent scenery.  At night in the hotel room, the three oldest read ahead silently, sharing the only book, so we could find out what happened. I've gone on to read the book many many times, for my own pleasure, to the children I taught at school and to my own children. Such a memorable first reading and it delights me still.

illustration by Michael Hague

Source: tolkiengateway.net via Martha on Pinterest

To celebrate Tolkien's enduring legacy people are invited to enjoy a second breakfast today. Here's a little quote just in case you're not sure about second breakfasts.

Aragorn: Gentlemen! We do not stop 'til nightfall.
Pippin: But what about breakfast?
Aragorn: You've already had it.
Pippin: We've had one, yes. But what about second breakfast?
[Aragorn stares at him, then walks off.]
Merry: Don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevensies? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he?
Merry: I wouldn't count on it.

Breakfast is my favourite meal, besides dessert. So I'm rather fond of having it twice.

Here's our family's Flapjack recipe. I sent the kids off to school with some of these this morning, so they could have their own second breakfast. Now all I have to sort out is, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper!

Flapjacks from Lincoln-SHIRE

In a saucepan
 melt one slab of butter (8oz) and
 4 rounded Tablespoons of Golden Syrup. I used a maple flavour version here.

Take the sauce pan off the heat and add:
add one cup of brown sugar
32 oz rolled oats or (two pint sized measuring jugs)
4 pinches of salt

Stir all this together. This is the basic recipe and you can add all sorts of things to make it interesting. Today I added chopped pecans, raisins and chocolate chips.

Spoon the mixture in a suitable baking dish, I used a 10 X 12 inch pan and cook in a medium oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Try to catch it just as it is turning golden. Let it cool,  cut into 'fingers' and enjoy.
I'm going to enjoy mine with a nice cup of tea and a chapter of The Hobbit.

Source: tumblr.com via Martha on Pinterest

Leaf Butterfly

This project started out as a leaf card. I cut out leaf shapes from some new and old fabric and stitched them to brown card using a raw edge appliqué technique. Then, I started stitching some designs around the leaves but they just didn't turn out the way I'd hoped they would. So I cut the leaf shapes out of the original card and realized that they'd make a lovely butterfly.

Here I'm stitching down the centre part of the butterfly on my JUKI Exceed 600. I use this machine for all my piecing and crafting work.

I've used a variegated thread from Superior Thread's LAVA range on top and a pre-wound bobbin of Bottomline in the bobbin. I've got a 100/16 Topstitch titanium coated needle in the machine. It goes through multiple layers of fabric and card with no problem.

The finished card all ready to fly away to my sister in Baltimore. The butterfly card is a good example of how mistakes can morph into something unexpected.

Source: bit.ly via Martha on Pinterest

Road Trip

Source: jenzahigian.blogspot.com via Martha on Pinterest

We're heading south for the weekend to visit some friends. We'll be back on Tuesday. We'll catch up with you then and post reason number 5. Meanwhile, have a great weekend!

Front or Back

Being able to see what you're doing is a big deal! There was so much to post about this 4th reason that I needed to break it up into 3 posts. This post deals with which side of the frame is best to work from and why. That's why it's called Front or Back?

Our smaller 4 and 6 foot Art Quilter frames are designed to work from the back. There are good reasons for this. Long arm quilting machines work from the front. This is because the longer arm positions the needle closer to that end of the frame. Long Arm quilting machines can have arms that range from 18 to 30 inches. That's a long arm! They have better visibility working from the front because their eye-to-needle distance is much closer from that end of the frame.. This eye-to-needle measurement is really important because the closer your eye is to the needle the better you'll see what you're stitching.

On this APQS long arm called Lenni the girls using it can see better working from the front or needle side of the sewing machine.That's because this machine has a whopping 20 inch long by 8 inch tall arm.

Sue Schmieden and Angie Gibbs working from the front 

Choose the side of the frame that puts your eye closer to the needle. It's the length of the sewing machine arm that determines which side of the frame you should work from. If you have a long arm sewing machine, that's an arm between 18 to 30 inches, then work from the front. If you are quilting with an ordinary domestic sewing machine your eye is much closer to the needle working from the back.

Martha working the JUKI TL98P from the back at the Petwood Retreat

My ancient and much beloved Bernina 808 (a great starter machine for FMQ on a frame BTW) has a 7 inch or 17.5 cm arm. My current favourite piecing machine, the JUKI Exceed HZL600, gives me 8 inches or 20cm of under arm space. My straight stitch JUKI TL98 P gives nearly 9 inches or 22 cm of space under the arm. All these machines will operate better from the back, because the distance between your eye and the needle is shorter from that side of the frame. Once your sewing machine arm is more than 15 inches then it becomes better to work from the front.

Emily working from the back on her Uni quilt

Our larger 8 and 10 foot 7 inch NEQ2 frames can work from either the front or the back depending on the size of your sewing machine. The closer your eye is to the needle, the easier it is to see what you're doing. The rule of thumb is as follows: if your arm is less than 15 inches work from the back. If it's more than 15 inches then work from the front.

Back from the Festival

We had such a good time at the show!  We're catching up on emails and still unpacking and sorting. All the new orders are now under way. I'll be contacting everyone next week to let you know about the progress on your Art Quilter and NEQ2 frames, Tables and Nifty Grip speed control Handles.

 Meanwhile here are a few photos. The days seemed to fly by and so I tried to catch a few photos of the stand on Sunday afternoon.

One of our favourite things about the show is watching the faces of people who try our frame for the first time. And this little guy really does capture the astonishment and fun of being able to draw so easily with the needle.

His mum had a try later.

 Emily's keeping up with the paperwork. It's Sunday afternoon, she's been demonstrating for 4 days, taken the Art Quilter frame apart and put it back together over a hundred times and she's still smiling!

Super Show Time Sale

We're heading off to the NEC this morning for the Festival of Quilts.We've just packed our biggest ever selection of Superior Threads. To celebrate Festival of Quilts 2012 we're slashing our Superior threads prices for the duration of the show. All our prices are seriously slashed and there's a discount on top for multiple purchases. Come see us at the JUKI/MachineQuilter stand A46, B36 - 38  and try our JUKI sewing machines with Superior Threads on our New English Quilter and Art Quilter frames. We hope to see you there!

If you can't make the Birmingham Show this year, no worries, you can still take advantage of the show sale.

Simply use the American site:

 www.superiorthreads.com 

as a shop window 

make a list and

 email your thread order to:

martha@machinequilter.co.uk

Put your list and your contact information in the email and we'll give you the show sale prices when we get back. To take advantage of the sale send us your list in an email. The online shop on our machinequilter website will charge the full price. So be sure to send us your order by email. This sale only lasts for the duration of the show. Email us your list, after the show, we'll email you back the Super Show Sale prices and you can decide if you want to purchase the threads at the Sale price. If you do, then we'll process the payments and ship you the threads.This way, everyone can take advantage of the Show Sale.

Have a great week!

Martha and Emily