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With all batting, the scrim goes next to the backer---so it faces down. With that said, most scrimmed cotton batting has the scrim buried within the layers. The fibers are needle-punched into the scrim (a sheet of very strong and very thin polyester) and the key to placement is the direction of that needle punching. Your machine needle should go through in the same direction as the needle punching. So look at the batting---one side is smoother and has tiny visible holes (dimples). The other side will be rougher-looking and a bit raggedy (pimples). So the rule is "show your dimples---up---and

This is one I just finished for a friend. She pieced the quilt and I quilted it. I thought it turned out really well. I used Quilter's Dream Batting, and light gray thread on top with white on bottom.

Originally envisioned for the QUILT TULSA 2020 quilt show. Turned into my stay-at-home project. Took much longer than anticipated. Used left overs, class samples, rejects, cheater cloth, test blocks, random fabric, etc. Quilted in 6 parts on my APQS Millennium.

Baby quilt I made for a friend. Nursery is done in these colours and theme is sheep

Have you tried searching this forum? There have been many storage ideas throughout the years. Here's my favorite, easy to move and fairly cheap to make:

i found a stack of over 50 vintage hankies for $10 this am wow, when I sorted through them there is enough to make three nice size quilts in three colorways. That said, a few of the light ones need stain removal. Does anyone know the name of the product ypunuse to soak vintage linens. i cannot remember it.

Hi Nancy Jo! Use Retro Clean to soak the hankies. It's not expensive and easy to find. It takes hot water and if there are heavy stains, more than one treatment. Works like a charm! If you haven't seen (Quilting Vintage) on Facebook, join to see lots of projects and advice for backing and stabilizing the hankies for use in quilts. Fun!

Just straighten the eye holding the bearing so it's at a right angle to the shaft, put a drop of oil on it, and you should be ready to go. Jim

Long day, completely forgot to check the carriage fuse! All is well, no damage. Thank you.

I do this about twice a year--mostly for my hand-quilting friends. I charge a half-cent per square inch with a $50 minimum for this. But if you want, you can charge her by the hour. It may take you longer to load it than to stitch it, but you still need to be paid for your time. A moderate-sized quilt may take 2 hours total, so the $50 minimum is fair. No way is it a 10 minute job. Attached is a diagram of my quilting path for basting. It's a grid without long verticals and is very fast. Use a heavier, contrasting poly and a long stitch-length for ease of stitch-removal. Don't cross at the cor

This small quilt is a gift for a new mom to be's baby shower next weekend. I've known this lady for about 25 years since she was about 12. It took her a long time to meet Mr Right and now they are expecting their first - a little boy. This pattern is a MSQC and is in the tutorials. 2 charm packs used with poly blend batt and glide threads.

You are doing the right thing. Douse it again with WD-40 and let it sit for a while. That will soften the thread even more. Continue to pull out the visible threads with tweezers and try to rock the assembly manually. If necessary, douse again and let it sit overnight, keep working, and you should be able to loosen things up. When the assembly turns, start it at a slow speed to twirl out any thread that's left. Make sure you haven't blown a fuse with the jam. Wipe out and re-oil well with machine oil. Good luck, Jacque.

Turning you needle will help with skipped stitches, but not with tension issues. If you're using equal ruler tension in all directions, then I think it's a matter of tension adjustment. The direction you are sewing affects stitch tension by drag on the top thread. e.g. more tension in some directions, less tension in others. With very light tension the direction tension variables become magnified. My suggestion: Tighten your bobbin tension to 200 on you TOWA, then tighten your top tension enough to balance your stitches. With this tighter stitch, the direction tension differences will b

I use glide thread top and bottom not problems. Do you ask your customers where they bought the minkie? There are some really terrible copycats out there. I have problems with the cheap brands. I prefer "cuddle" over minkie, it comes out perfect every time.

Hi - Thought I would update - I spoke with the Amazing Amy and it might be I can just do a belt adjustment ! She sent me videos, and once I find Allen wrenches and do a little Yoga to slow my heartbeat down, I'll be doing this chiropractic adjustment on my machine …

You have several things to look at---it doesn't have anything to do with the brake. First, make sure the backers you load are perfectly on-grain. This can be done with tearing the fabric instead of rotary cutting. If it's always on one side, your rollers may not be perfectly parallel or level. Just a small bit high on the right side will cause that side to roll tighter, which magnifies with every advance. Use a long level to check for horizontal level. Then adjust the bolts that attach the roller to the frame until the roller is level. Unfurl your leaders when you check for level so you are on

I mounted 3 baby quilts at once. I used the same length of backing fabric for all 3 but used different battings. Used my faithful 2002 Millenium.

Here's the last quilt of the year off the frame. It had lots of fullness issues so I had to heavily quilt it. I also got to use my quiltazoid to make the stars. I also meant to put a star in the middle but I forgot. There's so much fabric under there though that its probably best that I didn't try. Jess Mariners compass by butterflyjess03, on Flickr image by butterflyjess03, on Flickr image by butterflyjess03, on Flickr image by butterflyjess03, on Flickr

I have my customers put the parts in a seal-able bag (like a big Zip-loc) and drop it in front of my garage. I put out a wire bin on a small table that is under cover. We may talk at a distance. They put any instructions in the bag. I wear protective gloves, wipe the bag thoroughly with a disinfectant, then it goes into an un-used, un-heated shop for three days (or longer). I phone to discuss choices of thread and quilting. After quilting, she picks up in the same way and she uses whatever method she's comfortable with to assure it's safe. I'm in Washington State where people are advised to d

Yep as Sharon says. You need to release it to advance or roll the quilt. I did some adjusting of mine at first without loosening the brake....yikes....what a mess.....the Velcro did move out of place leaving a goopy mess.....I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol I believe...it took a while....then ended up applying a new valcro strip.....good news though....I haven't had to replace it for several years.....I have had to take my Allen wrench and tighten the handle a few times though.....I bought one of those multi sized allen wrenchs that had the same size in it.....I like it better because you h

The purpose of the brake is to keep the roller from moving, so be sure to release the brake before you advance or "rewind" your quilt. You should have received an angled "Allen" wrench with your APQS machine. You may find that over time, the brake handle doesn't hold the rollers as firmly as it once did. The angled wrench is used to set the handle in a position that will enable it to hold firmly. If you purchased a used machine, you may or may not have the instructions for this, but you can find info with a quick forum or google search. And you are correct, there are NO stupid questions.

Ditto on missing the old gang!

I agree, people DO think that is easy. I got a last minute quilt last year, for a parent's 50th wedding anniversary. All blocks with photos or drawings. She wanted a "quick" "simple" stitch in the ditch. She was shocked when I explained that this was a custom job and how difficult so called simple stitching is. Super king size and she'd budgeted only $100. LOL Wanted me to bind it too. When I gave her the cost, she almost fainted. Finally took it on after she talked to the rest of the family and they helped with the cost, but she decided to bind it herself too. She still had to pay over $600.

Custom work using rulers - this is a highly specialized skill that take months, if not years to perfect. If it were me, I would charge by the hour, not by square inch. Don't underestimate your time and skills. I rarely do ruler quilting for customers because it's so expensive. I find other ways to quilt, or I choose to use minimal amount of rulers and then freehand the rest (combination) Find the going rate for custom heirloom quilting in your area, or ask other quilters in your area what they charge for ruler work. If I were doing ruler work, I would charge at least $35 per hour. For estimate

Thank you! I got the joints back in alignment easily by loosening the hex nut just underneath and then retightening. A drop of oil fixed the awful squeak! APQS said to use WD-40.

Thank you Cagey, Betsy, Sue, and Sewingpup for your thoughtful responses. I have been checking for used machines as well. I guess that I am leaning toward the Lucey (with the deluxe table, bliss, and auto fabric advance.) My husband thinks that is the one I should purchase as well. Now I just need to find a spot for her. Pam

Gerald, You do understand the post if over 10 years old. Plus, Matt; the individual you quoted, has not visited the forum since 2016. If you hover over the poster's name you can see when they last visited the site. If you do an internet search for "anti-fatigue floor mats" you will find a number of possible solutions. Best of luck shopping. Cagey

I am selling my Liberty to upgrade. She’s a 2006, had full spa treatment in 2018 with: new M&M wheels installed Automatic fabric advance (can’t imagine life without it!) stitch regulated 12’ table. 10 pantograph patterns A few needles and bobbins micro-handles Manual and a couple of books Just reduced to $4,200.00 I am only the second owner. I am in the South Central Ohio (45601) area. Buyer responsible to pick up, un-assemble and reassemble at your site. Serious inquiries only.

Thanks Sharon! I have not tried it yet, but Longarm quilting is mentioned in the instructions. I’m planning to make four Power Up cases for gifts and I was hoping it would save a lot of time by using my Longarm. I will definitely post again after I try it. Your instructions are very helpful. Thanks for your help! Carolyn

Thanks @mark ! I just wanted to verify that 4'5" is the absolute minimum space a machine takes up when not used. I completely understand needing to have room around it to use it, but I'm trying to figure out "storage" footprint when not in use (every inch helps!) Michelle

I have just finished a wall hanging that is approximately 40 inches square. It is a pattern called "Mexican Stars" and now the quilting part and I don't have a clue of where to start or what pattern to quilt. Do I keep it simple (and safe) and just do stitch in the ditch or something a little more challenging? Help!!

APQS Hydraulic table lift 500.00 obo Taken off machine we bought like new price new completely nuts 1600+

Is this machine still available?

2014 Lenni with Bliss table. Asking 4,000.00. Located SW Wisconsin.

From 2017, posted as multiple pictures.

So cute!! Love the quilting!

I use a car cover to cover my Millie and it works great. They're plenty big and cover the whole machine and mine packs up in the little case that is attached to the cover.

Your quilt is beautiful. I would be interested in getting this pattern. Where could I get it?

Cathy, It turned out wonderful. I am sure the will be absolutely pleased with it. Though after looking at it on the bed, she may need to lie down to steady her equilibrium. Outstanding job, thank you for sharing. Cagey

Baby lock long arm with pearl table for sale like new front and back handles and laser 5,000 includes shipping jrogers54 @yahoo.com

The above suggestions are the best I’ve seen so far. I too have struggled with pricing. By the inch at .015-.02 should be only for the most simple edge to edge pattern PLUS a fee for loading, squaring up, winding bobbins and machine set-up. If all that is done right you get great results but not if you rush it. So my thought after 25+ years is anything other than edge to edge simple stippling (or similar) should be at least triple that amount. I think if you run the figures it makes sense. Our work is skilled, artistic and valuable.

We purchased a school projection screen off of the surplus site to try to create a design wall. My plan is to use fusible fleece to attach to the screen. The fleece is thin; has some stickability to it and hopefully will roll up. We are looking at a $20-25 cost (screen was $5) and will let you know.

Patty, APQS on You Tube and Quilted Joy Clubhouse (Angela Huffman)on You Tube are both great sites for videos. I'm not sure if Myrna Ficken has videos but not sure if she has them online but your could google her. Be sure to join the I love APQS group on Facebook also. This should et you started.

I still find it amusing that folks think stitch in the ditch is an easy and cheap way to get their quilt quilted.

Fought the battle of pokies for so long using Hobbs batting and stitch form never really hit the quality level I was looking for.. Finally learned my lesson. Without sounding like a Quilters Dream salesman, I will never switch back to anything else. The "Select" thickness is fine, and it helps with stitch form inside the quilt. The "Deluxe" thickness is even better with stitch form but be ready for a heavy quilt. Also I'm leaning toward 50 wt. poly thread rather than 40 wt. Good luck.

your daughter is lucky could have such nice bag

When I had sent in my 'special' quilts for custom work, I was always asked what my budget was. Then they would work accordingly. If my budget was too low then, they would tell me that this quilt needs a $600 or $900 custom job and that would let me know what I was looking at for cost. So, ask them what they are thinking they want to pay for custom on this quilt. Their expectations could be quite low dollar wise and that will open the conversation up for you to let them know that this quilt is going to be in the ..... range for light custom or this .... range for heavy custom

Hi - I'm not sure if this thread is active, but is there a pattern I can purchase for this quilt? It is so beautiful. Thank you.

Depends on how much quilting there is. Normally I start and finish an entire section before I roll forward however if there are going to be some dense quilting areas and I'm worried about it pulling in too much I would do some of the stitching, pin the snot out of it and roll forward to the next section. When I get to the bottom I would finish the bottom and roll back toward the top. I never float my tops I always use the upper bar to load my quilt. Also on the backers for king quilts as I load them I roll them onto the take-up bar, then onto the back bar, then back one more time because I

Anna, You probably could loosen your bottom tension a smidgen too. Actually, the Trilobal thread (40wt) is a heavier thread than the (50wt) So Fine. The trilobal thread actually has 3 diagonal cuts (tri) making it a triangular shape and this is what weakens the thread. I had no problems running the 40wt on George. You just need to play around with that top tension and you will probably need to go a little slower. You will need to loosen your tension A LOT. Also, try going through just 2 holes in the 3 hole pre-tensioner guide. You can also move that guide to adjust tension. Go back