New Feathered Collage Collection from Linda Lawson

[TinaCollins]

CHECK THIS OUT !!!

(Click these words to see the new collection!!)

Aren't these sooo pretty???

I can't wait to quilt these out!!!

[quiltaholi_518]

Hmmmm, is there a link missing???

[JudyL]

You can see them here: http://www.compuquilterpatterns.com/

[TinaCollins]

Caron,

Isn't there a link where it says "Check This out"??? It *should* turn into a weblink when you put your mouse over it???... unless I messed it up!!:mad:

[Grammie]

This is her best yet. I have all the others and will be getting this one soon. Hers stitch out really nice and look great on a large scale too. This month its Debs turn. Won't be long and I should have almost all of Debs. lolol I haven't stitched one I didn't love but more importantly that my customers love. I love love love ETE patterns.

[GERRY]

O.K. now I really really want a CQ, those patterns are to wonderful, they seem a bit pricey, but since I have no idea what is a normal price range is.

I'll have to wait though, since I've made a wopping $100.00 so far I have a ways to go, now I have something to shoot for.

[thequiltqueen]

Oh, geez. See what you've done.....Now I have to get a CompuQuilter!

[TinaCollins]

Linda does a GREAT job digitizing-- Her curves and lines are very smooth and her designs always sew out wonderfully!!

The Feathered Collage Collection includes an awesome edge to edge pattern, block motif, triangle motif, border pattern, corners, and a layout guide to show you the different ways you can arrange these patterns. Considering that many hand-guided longarmers pay between $15 to $20 dollars for one pattern.... I really thought this collection was priced very reasonably!!

Besides, in all honesty, Linda could have charged double that amount and I would have still bought this collection because it is absolutely gorgeous!!! LOL!!!

[Darlene Epp]

I agree about the price Tina. When you think of the possibilities just using the triangle shape and the CQ Wreath Array feature? OH MY!!

[Grammie]

The price is more than fair. To think you can use it as MANY times as you want and it will never wear out. And the resizing capabilities is like having many designs in one.

What I love about designs that are intricate is the fact that we can use many different colored threads without such a worry. Perfection is color. OOOOHHH LA LA

And CD's are much easier to store that is for sure.

Just imagine. 100 Pantos or a little CD file box on your desk. Too cool.

[Phyllis Wright]

Those designs are just BEAUTIFUL! How long does the CQ take to stitch say an 8" feathered wreath, compared to doing the circle with the circle lord and the feathers free hand? I recently looked into purchasing a PCQuilter system, but it seemed very complicated and rather slow. (of course it was a much cheaper price).

Phyllis Wright, Victoria, BC

compusewfun@shaw.ca

http://community.webshots.com/user/ilovetoquilt

[Grammie]

I used her Log CABIN border for example which is very intricate.

An 80" border at 7.5 inches will take 38 minutes.

This is a feather border with ribbon and flowers. Very intense. A simpler border can take at little at 10 minutes.

The CQ does in DEED save you save you TIME and give you what would (for me anyway) five times as long.

No stencils just using the boundary feature and it fits just where it is suppose to. From edge to edge. Too cool

[chickenscratch]

OOHH, I want a Compuquilter. I really want a compuquilter. Those patterns are super and super inexpensive. What a great deal.

[APQS]

Hi everyone

If the designer supplies you with .dxf instead of .cmd you can edit the files, adding a flourish here or take away a bit there making a different design to fit the space you want to quilt in. A square design can be changed to fit a triangle - thats value for money.

Sue in Australia

[BarbWetzel]

Yes Compu Quilter is excellent... I have had mine for a month now, but only done one quilt so...far.. .(that darn job I have). I can't wait until I have more time to dig in and use it. I have ordered a few designs so far... Can't wait to use them...

Barb

[Darlene Epp]

I made my 8 year old granddaughter a "horse" quilt with diagonal flying geese sashings and connecting "posts". Inside the posts my CQ will be stitching MANY little "brands" that I designed using Maddie's initials. Hopefully, I'll get it stitched SOON (It's only 7 months late now!) and will post some pics when it's finished. The border will be a galloping horses pattern by Deb Giessler.

Phyllis, if you want to see the CQ at work, just hop on a ferry and come on over to play.

Here's a close up pic before the pieces were put together. The borders are on and sashings are now all ditched. Any suggestions for the blocks??? They're about 9" across.

[mrsbishwit]

How about horse shoes in the blocks? that would be fun and stay with your theme.

Joann

[jeanros]

Nice quilt Darlene, my little Grand daughter would love that, she is a horse lover and is riding a horse in the peach festival Aug 19. About 3 to 4 years ago I made all 5 of the Grandchildren quilos, but hers was butterflies.

Hmmmm? This would be a good idea for the near furture.Thanks for sharing.

Jean

[Darlene Epp]

I had thought of putting horseshoes in the blocks. That pattern comes with the package I bought from Deb Geissler, BUT, I really don't want to distract from the horses. My original intention was to outline the horses and do a loopy (lasso) meander around them. That was before I started fussy cutting the fabric! I soon realized I did not have enough to center a horse in each block.

I got the horse fabric, and the light and dark woodgrain fabric from eQuilter.com. The fabric is beautiful quality, and the color is exactly the way it looked on my monitor. I've been VERY happy with their fabrics and their service.

[Phyllis Wright]

Now I'm getting really interested in the CQ and I have LOTS of questions. If those of you who have a CQ could spare a few moments of your valuable time to answere one or two, I would be very grateful.

1- If you already have the Hartley Fence or Circle Lord, do you still use them, or do you use the CP for the designs you would have previously done on those other pieces of equipment?

2- Darlene taught me to knot and bury all my thread tails, can you still do this with CQ?

3- How come there is a price difference of $500 us. from APQS dealers and S & D Stitches?

4- If you use the CQ for all these beautiful feather designs etc. and not do them free-hand any more, are you risking loosing the skill you have taken hours and hours of practice to achieve?

5- What kind of quilting do you still do free-hand?

6- Do you charge more for something useing CQ and if so, what percentage more?

7- Don't your customers think that you are cheating if you have quilted by computer?

8- Probably the most important, just how easy is it really to get to grips with this system? I had purchased the PC Quilter, but found that it was so complicated that I never completed setting it up and ended up selling it unused. The CQ is a WHOLE lot more expensive than the PC Quilter and I wouldn't want to make an even bigger mistake by purchasing it and not being able to use it. I know that someone comes to set the system up for you and give you training and I think that is just the greatest thing.

I'm sure I will think of more questions the more I lay awake at night thinking about those gorgeous designs, but for now, this will do.

Thank you for any and all opinions, and Darlene, I just might take you up on coming over to see it in action sometime. :

Phyllis Wright Victoria B.C.

APQS Millennium

compusewfun@shaw.ca

http://community.webshots.com/user/ilovetoquilt

[Phyllis Wright]

Sorry, my first question should have said 'do you use the CQ for designs' and not 'QP'

Phyllis Wright Victoria B.C.

APQS Millennium

compusewfun@shaw.ca

http://community.webshots.com/user/ilovetoquilt

[Sue E.]

Phyllis, I own the CQ and I can answer some of your questions, but not all of them. So here goes (this is fairly long) --

1. When I got my CQ I was very new to longarm quilting and hadn't spent hours learning how to quilt. I do have the Hartley Fence and all the stencils but I had only used it once on a practice piece. I still have not used the Hartley Fence and do 99.9% of my quilting utilizing the CQ.

2. Yes, you can pull up the threads and bury the knots in the thread tails.

3. I don't know the answer to this, probably because APQS needs to get paid for having their reps and installers go out and install the system for you.

4. I never could (and still can't even though I have practiced and taken classes) do beautiful feathers, but I sure do get beautiful feathers using someone elses designs!

5. I do some background fillers and meandering freehand. Not much else.

6 & 7. I only quilt for myself. However, I don't think your clients need to know whether you are freehanding or using a computer. They are primarily interested in the finished product. How you achieve that finished product really shouldn't concern your customer. I know from my wordprocessing business (I've owned it since 1984), I charge an hourly rate depending on the difficulty of the project. For the most part, my clients don't care how I achieve the results needed, as long as I do a good job and get the job done on time.

8. There is a learning curve to using the CQ (just like anything else), but I found it fairly easy. You do need to go through the manual and do the practice exercises. (I actually went through the manual several times doing the exercises before I felt comfortable). Digitizing designs is a whole other ballgame and it is not as easy as everyone says. AutoSketch is a huge program and we only use a small portion of it. Digitizing is not for everyone. There are more and more people digitizing designs for the CQ and we have more and more to choose from than just a year ago. I purchase most of the designs I use and have just started digitizing. I found I had to learn my Millie and the CompuQuilter before I could feel comfortable and not overwhelmed trying to learn everything at once. I learned I needed to take baby steps and not giant leaps.

When I purchased my Millie, one of my first questions to APQS was, "Is it able to be setup with a computer?" The answer to me at the time was maybe as the CQ for the Millie was still in R&D. I was also told that it looked real promising and I leapt in and felt confident it would be a reality. I was the first person to get the CQ installed on an APQS machine. I knew I needed and wanted to have nice results fairly quickly and I knew that I needed the computer. I am not artistic or very creative on my own, but I can get the results I am extremely satisfied with using the CQ. I know that some people who are extremely creative love freehanding and find the CQ restrictive. The CQ CANNOT do everything you can do freehanding. Some things still need to be done without the computer, but I sure do love what I have done so far. I work full time and have not become as creative as Tammie (Grammie), but I'm happy with my results.

If you have any other questions, ask away. I'm sure someone will be able to answer them.

[azblondie]

Thanks Sue, great info. I have been playing up a storm. I have about 5 or 6 customer quilts done w/CQ and you are sooooo right. There is definately a learning curve. I have had Buzz, (my millie) since 2002, adding CQ (June 06) w/easy, and I think it would have been a real challenge to get them both at the same time. WOW! My hat's off to you. You had to learn both at the same time. That's impressive. It is soooo much fun to play w/CQ, but the best part of getting it, I didn't realize until I started doing my customer quilts, is "It took away almost all of the stress that came with any custom quilt, and it also removed body stress". My husband has even noticed. His comment was "It is so much easier on you!" Thanks S&D for this wonderful machine. Very soon I will be contacting you about the digitizing part of it. Thanks again.