Sharon Deming

Hi everyone. Got a question for you. I recently saw a video by Annie of ByAnnie.com, talking about how they send out 2-yard cuts of fabric to their longarmer to be quilted with soft and stable. I am about to start on a series of ByAnnie projects and would like to quilt the tops and linings on the longarm in one big sandwich and cut my project pieces from that. Please share what you recommend for how to best load 1 or 2 yard fabric pieces with soft and stable, what to watch out for, needle size, stitch length, add leaders(?), etc. Thanks so much!

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. We ALL had to learn about the brake! Be blessed as you fall in love with longarm quilting!

Hi Kathy, I think your concerns about "pin creases" can be eliminated by using smaller pins. If I know I will be unzipping and re-zipping my quilt, I will use the 1" bent safety pins - and pin the backing to the zipper tape. For normal quilting projects, I use straight flower-head pins. Whether the backing fabric raw edge lines up with the edge of the zipper tape or the teeth is a matter of preference and ease of pinning, just get the pins close enough together to reduce / distribute the stress on the fabric. Blessings!

He DeeDee - those of us who do pantographs have been in your shoes. There are some good videos online. Just google something like: How to quilt using a pantograph on my ____________ machine. Just insert the brand of your machine. You will hopefully find a few demos that will be helpful. Blessings!

I understand what you are feeling. We put our talent and Hearts into our work, and we want that love and care to be appreciated. Unfortunately, not everyone is taught to be grateful and appreciative for gifts of any kind. Chalk it up to her forgetfulness or lack of character. But please, continue to share your love and quilting with others. I encourage you to be sure to put a label on all of your quilts, including baby gifts, that identify YOU as well as your blessing for the gift receiver. Eighty years from now, your work may eventually be appreciated by someone who picks up your quilt at an estate sale or flea-market. Maybe include a picture of you quilting the quilt at the longarm, or of your piecing the quilt and a personal note of congratulations along with your quilt. At least you will know they DO know that it is handmade by you personally. Blessings!

Are you using the recommended brand and needle size for the thread type? Superior recommends size 18 (a.k.a 4.0) for SoFine #50. Are you using the correct type of needle for your longarm brand. See Superior's chart at: Longarm Needle Reference Guide Select the "Longarm Needle Guide" document. What type of fabric / batting are you working with? If the quilt is thick or heavily pieced, you may want to consider a larger needle, slowing down the machine head, and/or going to a smaller stitch to reduce drag on the needle and thread. Don't hesitate to contact Superior customer service or your longarm brand's customer service, as well.

Try https://www.urbanelementz.com/design-boards/design-boards-blocks/boards-blocks-by-designer/r-s-designs.html I googled r&s design boards.

I am so sorry to hear that your mother has passed away. Mother's are our lifeline to reality, sometimes. You will be okay. I am praying for you and your family. About her longarm: My suggestion is to locate the serial number on the machine head and call customer service at the A-1 company. They can tell you how old the machine is and possibly a resale value. From the dust on the machine, it may have not been used for several years (?), so be sure to tell buyers that. Don't try to run it without servicing it. Check with longarm dealers or sewing machine dealers for people in the area who could come to service it. If you are in NE Tenn, I know just the right guy. Here is a link to the A-1 contact info: http://www.a1quiltingmachines.com/contact.php. When you are ready to let people know about it and the other quilting supplies, contact the local quilting guilds. The members are always looking for a good deal on supplies! Just google "quilting guilds near me"

You are not doing anything wrong. My very biased opinion is that the wide backs are "economical" for a reason - manufacturers still need to make a profit so quality suffers. If I get a chance to encourage a customer to make her/his backing from regular yardage, I will. The issue is with the wide back, not the batting! The holes will "heal" over time. Washing will help - but not all quilts will be washed. When you take the quilt off the frame, let it rest (unfolded) for a couple of days if you can before returning it. The holes will probably diminish some. Reassure your customer that the holes will close over time. When quilting a wide back, I often use a one-size smaller needle - if the thread choice and type of quilt will allow - to make smaller holes. You are doing fine. I keep Warm and Natural and Warm and Plush on the roll. No problem with consistency - always the same.

Hi Trudie. I use a 14' long tape measure called longarm centering tape - you can find it on Amazon. I attach it to the sides of my frame and position it so that it is just within my quiltable space. I "trap" it with a long flower-head pin (not poking through the tape), or you might be able to use your clamps. (Found this picture online.)

Good for you! I do a good bit of teaching quilting classes and have a few thoughts. I assume from the subject of your post that you will teach at a resort, rather than at a quilt store. I also assume that the resort management (or you, yourself) are aware that there are people at the resort who are quilters or who sew. I sure would not want to see you go to the expense and effort of developing a class just to have no one sign up, or have folks interested but do not have a machine to sew with. You may want to explore with the resort about advertising the class to draw outsiders into the resort to go to the class. Are there quilt stores in your area? Google them and check out what they charge for their classes. That might give you an idea of what the market will bear in that area. I suggest a class no longer than 3 or 4 hours, something easy, and that can be finished or nearly finished within that time. Make a finished product well ahead of time so a picture can be posted with the invitation. Since this is a resort and not a quilt store, it may be good to offer a kit at extra cost. I usually have a prep-sheet with yardage and pre-workshop cutting instructions, and a handout of some sort at the workshop. If you use a copyrighted pattern - you cannot just give the participants a copy of yours, they must own a copy of their own. Three, very important things about quilting workshops. People like to have fun at a workshop - laughter is a good thing - keep it lighthearted. YOU are supposed to have fun, too! So no stressing over how you "perform" or whether you do everything "right". Just be a happy quilter who loves to share what she/he knows. AND, don't sell yourself short. Whether you have ever done a workshop before or not - you DO know what you are talking about. So, charge the going rate in the area - don't sell yourself short! If you would like to have a discussion about this privately - just message me with your email address. Blessings!

I use the book-ring and plastic sleeve method. I primarily use pantographs, so I pull the thumbnail image from the seller's website, enlarge it to fit on a regular piece of copy paper, put it in a sleeve protector, and voila. The rings work better than a binder, because I can easily "audition" the printed sample on the quilt top to see if it seems suitable.

Marilyn, sorry it took so long for me to respond! I am saddened to hear about your situation. Whether there is a cure for hoarding is a question for a serious professional. But I really understand about "invasion of my space". Since I was a child, I have needed to know that what's mine is respected by those around me. My ex-husband was a "sophisticated" hoarder. His collections of choice were clothes, magazines, newspapers, and a variety of hobby stuff. He started invading my sewing space in the first house we owned. After that, I determined that where ever we moved to, there would be some sort of personal, un-invadable space for each of us. And, now with the love of my life as my husband, I am grateful there is no issue with that. As is my custom, our home has his/hers office space, and his/hers hobby/activity space. Not ideal spaces - a freezing cold semi-finished basement for all but my office - but we both have our own space Another example is a friend of mine who tends to hoard - she is not a compulsive buyer, really, but lives in a small house that has no room for the type of storage she needs. The main issue is that she doesn't discard much except normal garbage and daily trash. She and her profoundly patient husband have resorted to renting 2 or 3 storage pods and storing them on their property. So, you are not alone with your dilemma. The solution that will work for me may not work for you. Yet, you deserve your own space, free from the constant risk of invasion. However you are able to negotiate that with your husband, I pray that you find a way. Blessings!

Today, my mojo is saying "Don't bother me - I'm resting." I don't want to start construction on the new quilt, I don't want to quilt. Lately, I have been sorting through the small fabric stash of my dearest friend who passed away about a year ago. Getting it ready to sell. Today all I want to do is sit with her fabric. I miss her. I have things to do for the new quilt, though. I make patterns and construction handouts for my quilts so I can teach a workshop on them. So there are a few files I create to document yardage calculations, cutting table, etc., EQ8 file to update, make sure I have all of the border sizes correct, etc. So today, I have my computer with me in the studio. I get to sit with Dorothy (her DNA is all over the fabric), and get some documentation going -- maybe. Or just sit. I will have a satisfying day either way.

Pamela, It's okay for your mojo to just sit down for a while. It is not required to "be productive" all of the time. You have just come off of the holidays, coping with your husband's surgery and recovery, and whatever else may be going on, and your energy and coping reservoir have been drained. It's okay to rest. When I complete a quilt or have no customer quilts staring at me, I sometimes feel a little lost. I have been known to just go into my studio, sit down at the sewing machine, talk to Miss Margie (Millie), or just look around. Usually, there is something to put away or to read or to touch or something, and my interest begins to be renewed. If you really want to get moving - invite a quilting buddy (someone you don't have to clean house for) to come and spend the day sewing. You will enjoy the company while you get to play with fabric. Blessings!