Charmaine

Such a sweet and sad story! . Your quilt must have provided her with many hugs even though you could not meet in person.

Bright and beautiful!

The size of the panto you want to do is determined by the number of times you like to advance the quilt. The Millie.throat space is 26 inches so you can do larger pantos. Larger pantos are what I look for when doing community quilts. I like quick and easy with enough stitch density to make them durable. There are a number of factors to look at to see if a certain panto will meet your needs: Look at the spacing of the drawn lines of the panto to see the density of the design. Look at whether the designs are nested in the rows. Look at the complexity of the lines and whether you must back track on the lines as you trace the pattern. Look at whether the designs are quite exact and symmetrical or whether the designs are free flowing and not so exact that a wobble or stitching off the traced line would show. Hope this helps! Have fun!

I do not quilt as a business so cannot help with the pricing aspect but I do have a caution on a project that would require lots of stitches through bulky denim seams. Perhaps it would be okay but I would hate to risk my longarm machine , its needles and timing for such a project. If you use a ruler, it is time consuming and doing an X would require stitching on the joins where it is the thickest. You have invested time and money into your set up and I would not risk it if it was me. Perhaps someone who has done denim quilts could chime in, but I have not.

Your quilting is beyond FABULOUS! Thanks for posting this beautiful quilt. What a treasure!

Thank you all so much for your kindness and support. It means a great deal to know that you understand my reaction to this incident. I have resolved to keep my eyes and my heart on the aim of supporting cancer patients and to let the negative issues go. I appreciate all the efforts of those who do their best to provide quilts for others that are in need of comfort; with pantos, computers and hand guided. If our hearts are giving, that is what counts! I certainly want to get back to my happy place and wish you all happy quilting as well. Charmaine

Wow! Your post is so encouraging and validating! I have had 2 songs running through my head as I have been trying to decide whether on not to quit the group of volunteers providing quilts for the cancer patients: 1. Let it Go ... thinking about the goal of comforting cancer patients and ignoring criticism. 2. You don't know what you've got till it's gone ... thinking about being criticized and disheartened and quitting the group that does not value my efforts. After reading your post, the song that is the loudest is the Let It Go! Many thanks! Charmaine

You may wish to do more free hand free motion quilting from the front of the machine so you can use all that muscle memory you stored when you used your previous machine. That way you can get used to the feel and freedom and the lovely stitches Lenni and you can produce.

I have been volunteer quilting for an organization for about 6 years and typically do the quilting on about 4 lap sized quilts a month. I do some pantos but enjoy the creativity of freehand "graffiti " sort of quilting sometimes. I was surprised and dismayed when one of my quilts was held up as a sample of what NOT to do during one of the work bee meetings. They said that the quilting was too dense and that the quilt would be too heavy and stiff for the cancer patients the quilts were destined for. I felt humiliated to be called out in that manner Here I thought that the creative designs could be traced and enjoyed as the person went through the treatments and that the quilt would be durable through the washings that it would need. I have a personal quilt that I did that sort of freehand quilting and it has been washed and is definitely not stiff and uncomfortable. I have included a photo of that quilt. I did a search on thread density and the few posts I found backed my assertion that a more densely quilted quilt will withstand wear better as there are more threads to take the strain of bed making, pulling and washing. I realize that matchstick quilting is not appropriate for a lap quilt and that is not the density I aim for. The joy and creativity that I used to feel is certainly diminished. While I agree with the aim of comfort for cancer patients, I am feeling like the little kid with the ball and bat that wants to quit the game. Has anyone else encountered such a complaint?

Lovely quilting!

Gorgeous feathers and the binding will be extra durable and decorative as well! Great gift!

Lovely quilting! Awesome as always!

What a treasure you both have made!

What a wonderful quilt for a young man! Well done!

Fabulous quilting!

I used to use painters tape to attach the plastic cover from a shoelaces package over the flywheel when I did not have the APQS manufactured flywheel cover. The window from the shoelace package was just the right size to cover the opening. Look in your recycling bin to see if you have something that might work. LOL

So much fun to see the close up photo of your quilt! I bet you had a great time deciding what character would peek out of each window. Well deserved win, too! Congratulations!

I got a blissed Lucey after using a Lenni for a number of years. I kept the micro drive handles that were on the Lenni and installed them on my Lucey. The handles are raised above the surface of the quilt more than they were on the Lenni but that turns out to be a good thing for me. I can use rulers with the micro handles just swivelled up out of the way and the mechanisms of the micro handles do not get in the way of the ruler work. Then when I want to have more control for feathers or intricate designs I can swivel the handles down and proceed. While I can get good control with just the u shaped handles with the bliss table, I think I do better back tracking on the feathers with my left hand on the micro drive handle and my right hand on the u shaped handle. That is just my experience but I hope this helps. Good luck!

I read the rules for the contest but am still unclear on whether the winner must be a resident of the United States. Could a Canadian win? I sure hope so! Charmaine

Wish I knew what to suggest. I do not have quilt path so I cannot really help. All I can offer is my sympathy. Did you change your needle? Is your bobbin thread wound consistently? Can you watch the machine as it sews to see if the thread is whipping out of any of the thread guides as it stitches? Is the thread catching as it comes off the cone? Good luck!

It is wonderful!

Wonderful as always. Such talent and inspiration! Thanks for posting.

That is gorgeous already and you haven't started your quilting magic yet. I am sure it will be over the top once you have quilted it!

When I had my Lenni, I used a wooden dowel with an embedded metal screw holder that the knob from the removed bar would screw into. That way I could use the normal clamp that holds onto the 2 bars. I took off the top roller bar and took one of the knobs that held it on the frame. Then I went to the hardware store with the knob that I wanted to insert, the circumference measurement of the bar and asked for a wooden dowel about 4 or 5 inches long with that diameter and the metal piece that would match the knob. The person at the hardware store drilled a hole in the wooden dowel tapped in the metal screw receptacle and I was all set. When I got home, I was able to use the normal clamps to hold the quilt set up in place. Hopefully this makes sense to you.

Oh my, what a sad update to your tale of Madison! Good for you for being a stable loving presence for her. Best wishes for your journey continuing to care for her!