Well, I finally got mom to take the plunge! She's quilted for many years, but has pretty much taught herself everything (other than attending a total of three classes in 15 years or so). She's been a "lone wolf." (God how I hate that saying. It makes wolves sound cool by being by themselves. They're of the dog species, so they really stink! NOTHING a dog of ANY kind does is cool.) She's at a place where she really needs the communion with other quilters as well as it being a way for her to tie her passion for quilting with her love of helping others together. Making baby quilts and other type quilts for charity is a very exciting thing for her and she's jumped in with both feet to participate!
.
So, she's joined the Webster Quilt Guild in Webster, New York and went to her first meeting yesterday. She told me while she was installing her Top Tension Guage from Superior Threads on her machine tonight that the ladies were wonderful, welcoming and friendly. They were eager to make her feel at home, and because my dad drove my mom (he likes to say he's doing it for her so she doesn't have to worry about getting somewhere, but mom and I both know he loves everything about quilting, except making quilts himself, so he really wanted to go), he stayed and the ladies were tickled at this and welcomed him with open arms, even encouraging him to join so he can come to the meetings and officially help with stuff we need men's help with. Mom is trying to get him to join and start quilting. I hope she gets him to. I know he's really busy with work and whatnot, but I think he'd enjoy it if he took that last step and started sewing himself. But I digress, as usual.
Anyway, the ladies of the quilt guild were eager to get mom involved and she had several ask her to join different projects they're doing. She said that she felt overwhelmed with all the information that was given in an over four hour meeting (it was the first for this year, so lots of stuff had to be covered), but with the gentle guidance of a couple of long-term guild members at her table, she got her feet wet by joining the Block of the Month program, signed up to bring treats and hostess in December, signed up to help make Christmas tree ornaments for the Webster Library's Christmas tree, and agreed to make two baby quilts for the guild (at least) during the year. I think this isn't too much and she feels very happy about it. There are other guilds she wants to look into now, but dad has encouraged her not to get herself involved in too much stuff right away as she's got a growing business and that needs to be her number one priority regarding quilting right now. I let her know this was a good idea and she agreed.
I think I'll go sprawl on her bed with her right now. I also have to remind her that she's getting together with Jay's significant other tomorrow and they are going to design and start making a t-shirt quilt. (Jay's my big "brother," mom's oldest son). Mom really wants to learn this and make it part of her quilt business, although she's not 100 percent keen on making commissioned quilts, she does see where making a certain type from start to finish could be...profitable and fun, so she's going to try it. She also thinking about maybe trying private sewing or quilting lessons in the future after some consultation with a particular customer. She homeschooled her kids when they were young and has always enjoyed teaching. So, I've suggested that she put the idea on a back burner for now and focus on improving her quilting skills even more so that she can have more very pleased customers like she did recently. She's getting really good at all kinds of quilt patterns and has already invented a few of her own.
Well, I'm going to go now for sure. I have to remind her to see if there's a way to post photos to this blasted blog. I'm telling you, I'm thinking of trying to talk her into getting her own website so she can easily add extra pages and whatnot to her private site without all the headaches.
Night all and remember...
Paws are best used for quilting!
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Tutorial 1 - Proper Application of Borders
I'm not going to belabor anything about this today. Mom's got her first tutorial ready. We decided to post on the proper way to apply cornerstone and capped borders as they are the most popular. She'll cover mitered borders in a later tutorial.
Why this tutorial on borders? Well, it turns out that that is one of the biggest problems that presents itself when someone wants a quilt quilted...wavy borders. Mom has even got a couple of quilts that she has had lying around for awhile that have wavy borders. She wants to share this vital information, some parts which can also apply to adding block borders and even sashing, so that when someone brings a quilt to her or other professional longarm quilters they're not sent back with a request to reapply the borders.
So, without further ado, check out the following:
Tutorial 1 - Proper Application of Borders
Why this tutorial on borders? Well, it turns out that that is one of the biggest problems that presents itself when someone wants a quilt quilted...wavy borders. Mom has even got a couple of quilts that she has had lying around for awhile that have wavy borders. She wants to share this vital information, some parts which can also apply to adding block borders and even sashing, so that when someone brings a quilt to her or other professional longarm quilters they're not sent back with a request to reapply the borders.
So, without further ado, check out the following:
Tutorial 1 - Proper Application of Borders
First off, I've GOT to figure out how to get all of these pages under one heading, but for now, here's the Border Tutorial.
Hey everyone. Pumpkin decided that this was too boring to post for, so she's told me that I must do the tutorial on my own. She said she trusts me to not mess it up. Wow, I never thought I'd need approval from a cat to make a blog post!
Anyway, I want to talk to you all about applying borders properly. This isn't going to be a very long, drawn out tutorial. It doesn't need to be. However, this is something that is SO important when it comes to quilting...either on a domestic or longarm, although longarms feel it more when a border is out of whack. So, here we go.
I'm like a lot of people and sometimes buy premade kits because they're quick and easy to make most of the time. The problem with these kits is that they give you a number of inches of a material to cut for each border, but this amount isn't always accurate. In fact, it rarely is. We all have our own 1/4 inch seam allowance, even when using wonderful tools like Guidelines Precision Tool to make sure that we've marked a clear, scant 1/4 inch on our machines, we still often have differing sized 1/4 inches. They can be off a thread or two in the woven fabric and, believe me, that adds up over the surface of the quilt and by the time you add the border, you can have a quilt that doesn't come out the dimensions listed on the pattern or kit. So, what to do?
Well, this is the first step. We'll use an example of a capped border, as I call them.
1. Once the quilt top is finished and ready to apply the outer border, make sure to measure THROUGH THE CENTER of the quilt, both vertically for the side borders and horizontally for the top and bottom borders. This is the most crucial part to me. This gives you a true idea of what size you need to cut the border length.
It's also a good idea to measure near the edge of the borders just to see if there's a large discrepancy. If there is, you may want to take a good look at your quilt to see where it's not laying flat and go back to that area and see if there are any mistakes that need to be fixed, such as crooked seams, etc. After you've repaired your quilt, if necessary, and it lies nice and flat when laid out fully on a flat surface, take the measurements as instructed above.
Once you have your correct border measurements, go ahead and cut your border fabric to those measurements. Now, step number two:
2. When you are ready to apply your border, the first thing you want to do is fold the side border (using the example from above) in half and carefully mark it with a pin or safety pin. Do this on both sides. Now take the borders you cut for your sides and fold them in half and carefully pin that spot as well.
Step three: Pinning.
3. A lot of people don't like pinning when they sew, but I find that it saves a lot of time correcting errors to take the time to pin before sewing fabric together, especially when applying borders or sashing. This is why. You have to match those pinned quilt sides to the borders pins and, well, pin them together. Then you go out to each end of the border and match the edge to the edge of the quilt and pin it there. Then you can break it down further and work your way on each side of the center pin dividing each side continually until you have enough pins to hold it securely. Sometimes you might find that you have too much fabric. In that case, if you cut accurately (double check your border length if this happens) and it's not a large amount (I'm talking an 1/8 of an inch or less here), you can ease the fabric in. This could cause a small bit of a wave when the border is applied, but it's not something that can't be worked with when quilted. Now take your quilt to the machine and sew on the borders.
You would do the same for the top and bottom border. The only difference would be that, if you're applying cornerstone borders, it's imperative that you make those border seams intersect with the cornerstones are accurately. Usually, you apply your cornerstone to one border set (usually the top and bottom) and then you would just treat the whole as one border when measuring it and attaching it to the quilt.
I CANNOT express how important it is to follow these steps when applying outer borders...or ANY borders (say you have a quilt with two or three borders). In fact, I've found that using this technique when applying block borders or sashing to my quilt makes my quilts turn out wonderfully flat and the corner meets are crisp and true.
So next time you're getting ready to apply a border, try these methods and see if your border doesn't look a whole lot better when you lay your quilt out to inspect it prior to either quilting it yourself or sending it out to a longarm quilter to get it done.
So, that's all for now. Pumpkin has arrived to inspect what I've written. She seems pleased, which is a good thing because she's can be a harsh task master sometimes.
So, as she says...
Paws are best used for quilting!
Hey everyone. Pumpkin decided that this was too boring to post for, so she's told me that I must do the tutorial on my own. She said she trusts me to not mess it up. Wow, I never thought I'd need approval from a cat to make a blog post!
Anyway, I want to talk to you all about applying borders properly. This isn't going to be a very long, drawn out tutorial. It doesn't need to be. However, this is something that is SO important when it comes to quilting...either on a domestic or longarm, although longarms feel it more when a border is out of whack. So, here we go.
I'm like a lot of people and sometimes buy premade kits because they're quick and easy to make most of the time. The problem with these kits is that they give you a number of inches of a material to cut for each border, but this amount isn't always accurate. In fact, it rarely is. We all have our own 1/4 inch seam allowance, even when using wonderful tools like Guidelines Precision Tool to make sure that we've marked a clear, scant 1/4 inch on our machines, we still often have differing sized 1/4 inches. They can be off a thread or two in the woven fabric and, believe me, that adds up over the surface of the quilt and by the time you add the border, you can have a quilt that doesn't come out the dimensions listed on the pattern or kit. So, what to do?
Well, this is the first step. We'll use an example of a capped border, as I call them.
1. Once the quilt top is finished and ready to apply the outer border, make sure to measure THROUGH THE CENTER of the quilt, both vertically for the side borders and horizontally for the top and bottom borders. This is the most crucial part to me. This gives you a true idea of what size you need to cut the border length.
It's also a good idea to measure near the edge of the borders just to see if there's a large discrepancy. If there is, you may want to take a good look at your quilt to see where it's not laying flat and go back to that area and see if there are any mistakes that need to be fixed, such as crooked seams, etc. After you've repaired your quilt, if necessary, and it lies nice and flat when laid out fully on a flat surface, take the measurements as instructed above.
Once you have your correct border measurements, go ahead and cut your border fabric to those measurements. Now, step number two:
2. When you are ready to apply your border, the first thing you want to do is fold the side border (using the example from above) in half and carefully mark it with a pin or safety pin. Do this on both sides. Now take the borders you cut for your sides and fold them in half and carefully pin that spot as well.
Step three: Pinning.
3. A lot of people don't like pinning when they sew, but I find that it saves a lot of time correcting errors to take the time to pin before sewing fabric together, especially when applying borders or sashing. This is why. You have to match those pinned quilt sides to the borders pins and, well, pin them together. Then you go out to each end of the border and match the edge to the edge of the quilt and pin it there. Then you can break it down further and work your way on each side of the center pin dividing each side continually until you have enough pins to hold it securely. Sometimes you might find that you have too much fabric. In that case, if you cut accurately (double check your border length if this happens) and it's not a large amount (I'm talking an 1/8 of an inch or less here), you can ease the fabric in. This could cause a small bit of a wave when the border is applied, but it's not something that can't be worked with when quilted. Now take your quilt to the machine and sew on the borders.
You would do the same for the top and bottom border. The only difference would be that, if you're applying cornerstone borders, it's imperative that you make those border seams intersect with the cornerstones are accurately. Usually, you apply your cornerstone to one border set (usually the top and bottom) and then you would just treat the whole as one border when measuring it and attaching it to the quilt.
I CANNOT express how important it is to follow these steps when applying outer borders...or ANY borders (say you have a quilt with two or three borders). In fact, I've found that using this technique when applying block borders or sashing to my quilt makes my quilts turn out wonderfully flat and the corner meets are crisp and true.
So next time you're getting ready to apply a border, try these methods and see if your border doesn't look a whole lot better when you lay your quilt out to inspect it prior to either quilting it yourself or sending it out to a longarm quilter to get it done.
So, that's all for now. Pumpkin has arrived to inspect what I've written. She seems pleased, which is a good thing because she's can be a harsh task master sometimes.
So, as she says...
Paws are best used for quilting!
Friday, September 6, 2013
Injuries
Well, the last few weeks have been interesting for me and mom and the family. Mom was working on a quilt about three weeks ago, basting it down along the top side, getting it ready to go, when the needle jumped and went through her middle finger. She yanked her hand back so fast that (gross out factor here, FYI, in case you get...you know, grossed out) and pulled it out through the front of the finger from where it went it. It was a reflex action and all happened so quickly that she didn't realize how bad it was until she ran into the bathroom to wash it out.
Well, it was very bad and off to the Urgent Care she went with my "dad." They were, somehow, left sitting in the waiting room while they saw person after person who had come in behind them be taken in, which didn't sit well with mom and she started making comments out loud about it (I would've done more, like hiss and spit and done other unsavory things to get the humans' attention if it had been me or I had been with them...maybe a well placed yowl would've worked...). They finally got in to the exam room after about 90 minutes in a place that had an empty, basically, waiting room.
Anyway, after having it x-rayed and cleaned out, it turned out that the few stitches it needed couldn't be done because the (gross out number 2 here) tissue was, basically, hamburger. I know. I know. GROSS! Mom's a trooper though and she was back at work within a few days, wearing a splint over the finger to protect it from getting banged against something.
She worked really hard on the quilt she was doing, but found that it had some difficulties she'd never encountered before. She ended up having to unpick her stitch in the ditch in different areas and it took her three tries before she threw her hands up in the air and decided to quilt the quilt old-school style. She says it was kind of freeing to realize she didn't have to follow all of the "rules" about how to quilt on a frame. The quilt turned out really nice too. I gave it a good look over and was very pleased.
Mom's also been working on a few other quilts at the same time and has a recommendation for a quick way to load/unload and change quilts on the frame (I hardily concur, by the way):
RED SNAPPERS by Renae Haddadin (from over at quiltsonthecorner.com) as well as her Red-E-Edge Side Clamps!
Mom has moved her loading time down from over an hour (for a King Sized quilt) to just over 40 minutes (counting the basting and side clamping). These are, in the kitty vernacular, cool as a catnip mouse! They are these plastic rods attached together with dowels that are then fed into a sleeve-like area on the edge of the canvas leaders on the frame. Once in there, the quilt is laid over the area with the rods and in no time at all a "snapper" is clipped over the quilt on the canvassed rod and the quilt is attached! How much faster than pins is that? I've told mom to put in a link to Renae's Video on this amazing product, which will be posted at the end of this...post.
These side clamps don't just take a small bite out of the side of the loaded quilt, but clamps the whole length of whatever size you've ordered! This provides a full, even tension, with NO GAPS where it's on the quilt at making the tensioning of the quilt on the frame SO much easier!
I have to say that most of the other kitties don't appreciate the snapping sound when she applies them to her quilts, but I love to hear it and watch her apply them...when I'm allowed in the quilt room when she's working on her own quilts. I do feel badly, a bit, for nagging her to death to be in the room with her when she's working because she then has to thoroughly clean it again before starting a customer quilt. She says it makes her be extremely picky and thorough when she does her cleaning, so I guess I won't feel too bad about it. It is, after all, my business to. Otherwise it wouldn't be named after me!
Anyway, I'm digressing again, as I so often do. Mom wanted me to let everyone know she's not affiliated in any way with Quilts on the Corner. She just wanted to share what she thinks is one of the coolest products she's ever used for her quilting. Anyway, if you're a longarm quilter, please take a look at these products. They can really speed up your load times. Mom says she just wishes she'd found them a lot sooner.
So, as I've said, an interesting week. We had something that could've been very bad happen and we've had something that really improved mom's work time. It's almost like it was meant to balance each other out! So, here's the link to the YouTube video of Renae's amazing product, Red Snappers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udj94FQ1juE
As well as the Red - E - Edge video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6l5lq_lttI
Let us know if you try these products. I know mom would really like to know, as would I.
Oh, on the unposted tutorials, well, you can understand why she hasn't done that yet, I hope. She's realized that she might go with a more basic first tutorial than loading a quilt on the longarm, but will focus more on what to do to add borders to quilts to get a nice square quilt when you're finished, which makes it turn out better when longarm quilted.
So, until then, remember:
Paws are best used for quilting!
Well, it was very bad and off to the Urgent Care she went with my "dad." They were, somehow, left sitting in the waiting room while they saw person after person who had come in behind them be taken in, which didn't sit well with mom and she started making comments out loud about it (I would've done more, like hiss and spit and done other unsavory things to get the humans' attention if it had been me or I had been with them...maybe a well placed yowl would've worked...). They finally got in to the exam room after about 90 minutes in a place that had an empty, basically, waiting room.
Anyway, after having it x-rayed and cleaned out, it turned out that the few stitches it needed couldn't be done because the (gross out number 2 here) tissue was, basically, hamburger. I know. I know. GROSS! Mom's a trooper though and she was back at work within a few days, wearing a splint over the finger to protect it from getting banged against something.
She worked really hard on the quilt she was doing, but found that it had some difficulties she'd never encountered before. She ended up having to unpick her stitch in the ditch in different areas and it took her three tries before she threw her hands up in the air and decided to quilt the quilt old-school style. She says it was kind of freeing to realize she didn't have to follow all of the "rules" about how to quilt on a frame. The quilt turned out really nice too. I gave it a good look over and was very pleased.
Mom's also been working on a few other quilts at the same time and has a recommendation for a quick way to load/unload and change quilts on the frame (I hardily concur, by the way):
RED SNAPPERS by Renae Haddadin (from over at quiltsonthecorner.com) as well as her Red-E-Edge Side Clamps!
Mom has moved her loading time down from over an hour (for a King Sized quilt) to just over 40 minutes (counting the basting and side clamping). These are, in the kitty vernacular, cool as a catnip mouse! They are these plastic rods attached together with dowels that are then fed into a sleeve-like area on the edge of the canvas leaders on the frame. Once in there, the quilt is laid over the area with the rods and in no time at all a "snapper" is clipped over the quilt on the canvassed rod and the quilt is attached! How much faster than pins is that? I've told mom to put in a link to Renae's Video on this amazing product, which will be posted at the end of this...post.
These side clamps don't just take a small bite out of the side of the loaded quilt, but clamps the whole length of whatever size you've ordered! This provides a full, even tension, with NO GAPS where it's on the quilt at making the tensioning of the quilt on the frame SO much easier!
I have to say that most of the other kitties don't appreciate the snapping sound when she applies them to her quilts, but I love to hear it and watch her apply them...when I'm allowed in the quilt room when she's working on her own quilts. I do feel badly, a bit, for nagging her to death to be in the room with her when she's working because she then has to thoroughly clean it again before starting a customer quilt. She says it makes her be extremely picky and thorough when she does her cleaning, so I guess I won't feel too bad about it. It is, after all, my business to. Otherwise it wouldn't be named after me!
Anyway, I'm digressing again, as I so often do. Mom wanted me to let everyone know she's not affiliated in any way with Quilts on the Corner. She just wanted to share what she thinks is one of the coolest products she's ever used for her quilting. Anyway, if you're a longarm quilter, please take a look at these products. They can really speed up your load times. Mom says she just wishes she'd found them a lot sooner.
So, as I've said, an interesting week. We had something that could've been very bad happen and we've had something that really improved mom's work time. It's almost like it was meant to balance each other out! So, here's the link to the YouTube video of Renae's amazing product, Red Snappers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udj94FQ1juE
As well as the Red - E - Edge video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6l5lq_lttI
Let us know if you try these products. I know mom would really like to know, as would I.
Oh, on the unposted tutorials, well, you can understand why she hasn't done that yet, I hope. She's realized that she might go with a more basic first tutorial than loading a quilt on the longarm, but will focus more on what to do to add borders to quilts to get a nice square quilt when you're finished, which makes it turn out better when longarm quilted.
So, until then, remember:
Paws are best used for quilting!
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