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loraquilts

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loraquilts last won the day on August 30 2023

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About loraquilts

  • Birthday August 18

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    http://www.thimblebee.com

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  • Gender
    Female
  • Location
    El Cajon, CA (near San Diego)
  • Interests
    Quilting! of course. Sewing, machine embroidery, camping, gardening, and computer games.

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  1. Every year I tell myself that I need to finish three UFO (Unfinished Projects (don't know where the "0" fits in)). This year I've set the goal at 3 completely finished projects for the year and my stretch goal is 6 fully completed projects for the year. I've also committed to not starting any new projects until I completely finish at lease 3 UFOs. Well, my friends, it's only February 21, 2024, and I've already completely finished 3 UFOs. *insert fireworks here* Okay, to be honest, two of the UFOs just needed binding, but they had been sitting around unfinished for a very looooooong time. Now they are done. The other UFO I finished was a block swap quilt top with 25 different 12" blocks. The top has been finished for several years, but I was never sure how to quilt it. Well, I just put in on the frame and custom quilt each block, simple sashing and feather borders, roll over binding, and voila, it's done! I'm so proud that I actually finished this one. It has been intimidating me from the corner for far too long. ; ) Now I'm working on two more UFOs. #4 is a flannel pinwheel square in square baby quilt. I need to make 8 more blocks (maybe more depending on how big the finished quilt will be). Then quilt and bind. #5 is 30 embroidered inspirational blocks (27 were already done). I've already embroidered one, just need to embroider two more blocks and then add sashing, borders, quilt and bind. #6 ???? ooooh there are sooooo many to choose from, but now that I'm on a roll, I'm really excited to get these old projects finished. I started making an inventory of unfinished projects and it is a little daunting -- over 25 (mayby close to 40 or 50 quilt tops, but some of those were my mom's that I brought home with me after she passed), a dozen totes and other bags, half a dozen table runners and coordinating placemats, and a few miscellaneous projects. I think I'll do at least two quilts for every three UFOs that I work on. Does anyone else out there have UFOs? What is your strategy for getting them done?
  2. I've been working on several quilts with no problems at all. Then the other day I was cleaning my Millie and noticed that the front stabilizing wheel wasn't touching the rail at all. The entire bolt that the wheel is attached to is at an odd angle away from the rails. It didn't seem to affect anything, but this really confused me. I tried to push it back in place, but the bolt is very strong and I couldn't budge it. I'm not even sure if I'm calling it the right thing or not. I'm working on a Millie 30 with Bliss and IQ. I'm talking about the diamond-ish shaped wheel that is under the center of the carriage on the front of the machine. Is this something that is covered under the lifetime warranty? Is this something I need to fix? Help! I'm not sure what to do.
  3. Moving. Well that's definitely one way to deal with an aggravating customer. hahahaha. I'm glad you are well settled in and that hubby is doing well. Best to you both.
  4. Hello all, Up for your consideration is an APQS Ultimate I with the Intellistitch stitch regulator. It has a rear mounted laser site, 14' table, 26" throat space, new canvas leaders, motorized fabric advance, red snappers, tons of paper pantographs (I haven't counted them, but probably over 30), bobbin winder, tons of bobbins (approximately 100), TOWA tension gauge, circle lord, metal base extender (rare find), zipper leaders already installed and I'll even throw in a second set of zippers for the quilt top so you have two quilt sets. Additionally, I can provide free lessons to anyone local interested in the machine as well as help with take down and install in the new owners home (within 50 miles of San Diego, CA). It has been a great workhorse of a machine and is still in top working order. I've loved the Ultimate I, but I recently updated to the Millie 30, so need to sell this beauty. I'm not sure what to ask for it, so am willing to entertain any reasonable offer. Feel free to write with any questions. Thanks much,
  5. If you don't want to use batting, you could use a layer of flannel instead. I've done that for lighter weight quilts and it works well.
  6. Jim, That's what I figured. Oh well, just looking for an easier way lol. : )
  7. I just remembered a couple of other things that are included with this machine. I have the metal base extender and zippers are already installed on the leaders. I will also include an extra set of zippers for the quilt so that you can have two sets in total.
  8. That is a real beauty! I love block exchanges. You never know what you are going to get, but it's always fun putting them together. Great job!
  9. My son is convinced that Alexa and Google listen to EVERYTHING (and they do!). He is very entrepreneurial and always coming up with invention ideas. Whenever he has what he considers a really good idea, we have to go out into the middle of the back yard and whisper, so none of the smart devices can eavesdrop on our conversation. At first I thought it was a bit ludicrous, but not after I saw an ad for one of his idea only a couple of months after we talked about it in the house.
  10. Like many others, I've had my share of nightmare customer quilts. I always call the customer, explain the difficulties I'm having with their quilt, and provide a couple of solutions (and associated prices). One lady (a dear sweet thing) doesn't care what I do, she just loves getting the finished product. She does a lot of "circular" quilt blocks (marier's compass, etc.) which never lay flat, so I "practice" various stitch patterns in each wheel and end up quilting out a masterpiece (her words, not mine). She's happy, and I've been able to practice some new patterns. Win-win. I have another customer who, bless her, is very picky about how things are quilted and she wants everything as cheap as cheap can get. Mind you, her piecing is horrendous - going from a 1" seam allowance to a 1 thread seam allowance in the same 12" block. She expects me to fix all of her boo-boos and do it without complaining. Quilting for her is not a joy, so I very tactfully (or at least as tactfully I could muster) recommended that she might be better served by another quilter who has more time to devote to her quilts. Now she only comes to me when she needs something quilted for show or custom quilted. I don't have the heart to outright refuse, so I give her a price quote that will compensate me fairly for my time (and trouble) and she usually decides to go elsewhere. Whew! Another win. ; ) I agree with the other comments and would definitely tell her that you cannot work on a quilt if it is full of pet hair and smells bad. It is a health concern for you as well as for any other customers you may have who could be allergic to pet dander. She should be able to understand this and adjust accordingly. Limiting her to one quilt a month is also not a bad idea. This give you time to work on other quilts and still work on some of her quilts as well. Who knows, if she ends up making many more than one quilt a month, she may end up finding an an alternate quilter anyway.
  11. Okay, just asking, but what is Monopoly thread? I've never heard that term before. : )
  12. I use a program called Quilter's Lightbox. It was very inexpensive. You take pictures of your quilt blocks (or a whole quilt). You can rearrange the blocks to your heart's desire. Then the most wonderful thing is you can audition thread and quilting patterns on the "finished" quilt. It's a nice little program. If you are looking for software to design quilts, I use Electric Quilt or Premier+ ECQ by Husqvarna. In both of these, I can take pictures of my actual fabrics and then create quilt blocks using those fabrics. Hope this helps.
  13. I understand how to put the binding on with the LA on one side, but if you wanted to stitch it on the reverse side by machine, wouldn't you still have to use your domestic machine? If there's a better way, I'm always open to suggestions. : )
  14. If the seller gives you an opportunity to try the machine out before you buy it, take them up on it. I live in Southern CA and am selling an Ulitmate I. It's been a fabulous machine for me, but many of the quilts I do (Hawaiian quilts) have extra large blocks, so I updated to the Millie 30. Had it not been for all of the Hawaiian quilts, I would have been perfectly happy with the Ultimate I forever. It's a great machine. Anyway, just ask the seller if you can test drive the machine before you commit to buying it. If they don't want you to do that, I would consider that a red flag.
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