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This is a pattern by Jacqueline De Jong and paper pieced by my customer. Not all of the areas fit together nice and flat and there were a few pleats. My customer bought the variegated thread in Paducah...I was relieved when I saw it was So Fine... 40 wt, but would have preferred a lighter weight. In the body of the quilt, I used Nemeshing for the first time in the black areas. No quilting shows whatsover in the black and silver area, so a good spot to try this out. https://flic.kr/p/u5kjw1 Lots of pix on Flickr if you are interested.

And here''s my I Spy quilt with its recipient! (I added a few Star Wars blocks.) What a Blessing!

I bought a charm pack of solid white just for labels. I use freezer paper, iron on back of charm square. I print straight from my tablet to printer. I take the freezer paper off, fold over about a 1/4 of inch or more depending on the size I want, iron that 1/4 inch down all the way around, then hand sew it into the bottom right hand corner. I now do this before binding since I read about some people are taking off labels and claiming they made the quilt. Non of mine but it was a news story I read about. Other than the charm pack, I didn't have to buy anything extra for labels. Ok ok I might

For any of you who are interested in my on going up-grade project on my Ult, Zelda, I'm proud to announce that I've built an LED light for her. I bought a number of LED components on line and just finished fabricating a light consisting of three Cree XTE - 3-up for her. The light assembly mounts on the bottom side of the head, and straddles the presser foot/needle bar assembly. The light platform is made from 16 ga aluminum sheet stock, and also acts as a heat sink for the LED's. The wires are strung through holes I drilled in the platform and come together on left side of the head and ar

I know a lot of you aren't interested in my continuing modification of Zelda, my APQS Ult 2 longarm system, but for the few that are, I want to share my latest upgrade. For the last four years, I've been turning Zelda's rollers by gripping the roller itself, and turning it. The rollers are about 1.5 inches in diameter, and don't give you a lot of leverage (Zelda's rollers turn very easily because of the ball bearing pillow blocks they're mounted in) to move the machine and the quilt back and forth, and with the take up and backing rollers unlatched, they want to unroll all by themselves.

Sometimes the best thing to do is admit we can't do something. I recently returned such a project to a customer. She should have anchored these pieces on her domestic machine. I will never accept another project of this type...ever. Too much time and too much trouble..and too much stress over the results. No other profession is expected to do the impossible. Why should we?

I agree with Heidi. You need the tiny stitch length for tiny background fills so that the shapes are smooth. Bigger stitches would make the tiny shapes more blocky. At least that is what Sue Patton said in my class at MQS. She also suggested we turn off the stitch regulator for the tiny work. I tried it and liked it!

I'd try sewers aid and a bigger needle.

If you are getting a new Lenni it will arrive with the new style table and the brakes already on it.

Charlotte, I don't know that there are any specific rules on stitch length but this is what I use - Panto - 10 - 12 depending on density Feathers or curvy designs - 12 - 15. The smaller the feather the smaller the stitch. micro work 15 or smaller depending on design, fabric, threat etc. If you aren't in SR mode then you slow down the machine enough to be able to do the technique well while keeping your stitch length consistent. I often go to non-SR for fill work.

Trinity: Here are the pics of Zelda's installation. I finally got them in my computer where I could find them. The first one is of the LED light itself. The second is of the wire routing on the machine.

Jim.... WE HAVE TO SEE THIS To add pictures just click on the "More Reply Options" lower right, next to the "Post"... Now you can use the "Attach Files" under the reply text box... Find your picture on your computer You now will see your picture "Done (uploaded...)" Click the "Add to Post" it will add the attachment "code" into your message And last "Add Reply"

Jim... Can we see some pics? Sounds awesome! I replaced my fluorescent on my Millie and added an adjustable "back light" just under $100.