Jump to content

Update: Memory Quilts and a FREEDOM Purchase!


Recommended Posts

UPDATE:   I am not getting the Millie I had planned on. But I'm still very excited. Because I bought a very lightly used 2009 Freedom - and it was only 65 miles from my home.  It has the quilt advance and hydraulic leg lifts, and I am upgrading the table to Bliss!!

Hi ladies and gents, I haven't been on here in ages after going through a second shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff and impingement problems.  My last surgery was 1 1/2 years ago, and I have been back to my heavy textile repair sewing and longarming for just a few months.  I never regained all my strength back in my arms/shoulders so it's been a struggle to move my Ulti I around and get the smooth circles and feathers I used to do. I have M&M wheels on it and Intellistitch stitch regulation, but spending a lot to get a new table that could be blissed just didn't make sense to us.  Sooo,  I am making the jump!! Head first!! To a blissed Millie!!! God is good!  My Ulti I is still, and has been, an amazing machine set up.  I bought it from the original owner who sewed duvets and lined drapes together. She didn't use it much and eventually took it down and stored it for years. I bought it in 2011, added stitch regulation in 2012, quilted as I could while going through all the shoulder issues, and now am upgrading myself! I will be selling my Ulti soon, but I want to wait until my new one is here and going as I do memory quilts and other customer quilts.  At that time I'll list the Ulti for sale here.  I just have to keep pinching myself - this is real!

I wanted to share a few pics of the memory quilts I recently made. These were made with personal love and tears as they are made from my younger brother's Lee's shirts.  He passed away at only 50 years old, and I made quilts for his daughter, grandson, and mom.  It is amazing how comforting these were to make, and so much more to see them bring comfort to them.

 

Blessings to you all,   Marci, Ulti I w/Intellistitch & M&M's

Marci's Quilting & Sewing

IMG_0056.JPG

IMG_0059.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, mlsa3 said:

Beautiful quilts and I know your brother would be honored if he could see the quilts.  I also love the background for your quilt picture...love the outdoors.  Really makes the quilts pop.

 

Thank you, David. He was definitely an outdoors person. My clothesline comes in handy sometimes, lol. ;) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree...very nice quilts and quilting........I lost my brother suddenly a few years back, he was 63.  We were only 1 1/2 years apart and in our younger years, folks thought we were twins....I miss him so much.....I too had rotator cuff surgery this spring...they fixed the rotator tear, cleaned the joint, and removed part of my collar bone....I am just getting back into piecing and am hopefully going to get a quilt on the long arm to start doing some quilting again....I have a blissed Lucey so she is easy to move....a little scared....I know I will have to take breaks for a while.....and probably don't have the muscle control so plan on just doing over-alls at first...thanks for sharing.....Lin  I started posting this yesterday....then the internet went down for me....glad it saved what I wrote as a draft....I am 4 1/2 months post surgery...still don't have full range of motion and strength....but at least I don't have the pain I had for the first three months...they say it is really important to keep doing the exercises so I will...see the doc again in a few months....this sure is a slow recovery...but they tell me it can take up to a year.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Marci, welcome back.   I love seeing what has been done for memory quilts.  The ones you have pics of are beautiful.  I really love how you did the ties.  So sorry to hear about your brother.  There's a lot of new quilters in the forum and many of us "old ones".  A lot of APQS quilters are in the "I love APQS" facebook group instead of here.  Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome back Marci!  I am glad you are feeling better and how exciting - a new Millie!  Your quilts are beautiful and the one you made of your brother's ties will be a cherished one...I hope making it helped in the healing process for you and now when you see the quilt it brings only good memories for you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/15/2017 at 12:45 PM, Cagey said:

Marci;

When you made the tie quilt, did you cut of the extra fabric on the back of the ties, and did you alter the width of them to get them to form the circle properly?

Cagey 

Cagey, I didn't use ties. I just used pieces left from his shirts after the first two quilts. I sewed them together and then appliquéd the large circle on the backing. Then appliqués the little center circle over the inner blad ends, then quilted.  I had a small template for the blade from MSQC but I made a plastic one larger for this. I believe each blade was 11 1/2" long, both for the center and the four corner quarters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/16/2017 at 12:19 PM, Primitive1 said:

Welcome back Marci!  I am glad you are feeling better and how exciting - a new Millie!  Your quilts are beautiful and the one you made of your brother's ties will be a cherished one...I hope making it helped in the healing process for you and now when you see the quilt it brings only good memories for you!

Thank you, Vickie. i have an update on that, but I'm still just as excited! I found a lightly used 2009 Freedom only 65 miles away, went and test drove it and purchased it. It has the hydraulic lift as well as the quilt advance, and I'm upgrading the table to Bliss. So all the things I need!   I'll be bringing it home at the end of the month!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/16/2017 at 12:01 PM, Gator said:

Marci, welcome back.   I love seeing what has been done for memory quilts.  The ones you have pics of are beautiful.  I really love how you did the ties.  So sorry to hear about your brother.  There's a lot of new quilters in the forum and many of us "old ones".  A lot of APQS quilters are in the "I love APQS" facebook group instead of here.  Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

Thank you, Gator. I wondered where everyone was at. I'll have to check that FB group out. But I do like the forum here. I just was hurting for so long that I could seldom use my machine and stopped participating. But I hope to engage here again and meet new people and gain new ideas and hopefully help others, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/15/2017 at 8:54 AM, sewingpup said:

I agree...very nice quilts and quilting........I lost my brother suddenly a few years back, he was 63.  We were only 1 1/2 years apart and in our younger years, folks thought we were twins....I miss him so much.....I too had rotator cuff surgery this spring...they fixed the rotator tear, cleaned the joint, and removed part of my collar bone....I am just getting back into piecing and am hopefully going to get a quilt on the long arm to start doing some quilting again....I have a blissed Lucey so she is easy to move....a little scared....I know I will have to take breaks for a while.....and probably don't have the muscle control so plan on just doing over-alls at first...thanks for sharing.....Lin  I started posting this yesterday....then the internet went down for me....glad it saved what I wrote as a draft....I am 4 1/2 months post surgery...still don't have full range of motion and strength....but at least I don't have the pain I had for the first three months...they say it is really important to keep doing the exercises so I will...see the doc again in a few months....this sure is a slow recovery...but they tell me it can take up to a year.....

Sewingpup, I'm sorry for the loss of your brother, it's hard to process the loss of a sibling so young, isn't it?  As for your shoulder, I know exactly what you're going through with your recooperation. I wish you a full return to movement and joint freedom!  My first one took almost a couple years to not be hurting, but they did extensive bone work because of a defect in the bone shape from birth. I just wish it hadn't taken so many years to get them to deal with it.  Then five years later they did the left one, same problem but with a tear as well. That one took about a year and a half, but I knew what to do and not to do.  Both surgeries also included the AC joint like you had as well.  Keep up on your therapy, and do use ice - icing my shoulder was my friend.  Regular sewing still gives me some pain. I think it's the sitting and arms forward moving fabric under the needle.  But I truly can't complain compared to what I dealt with before. 

ETA: I used a mix of half isopropyl alcohol and distilled water in a double layered freezer bag and freeze that. When I need to ice my shoulders I take it out of the freezer and break it up easily and it forms to the shoulder so well, it's like hard slush.  Keep a hand towel between your skin and the bag, though, and only for up to 20 minutes at a time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow...you really went through a lot......I mostly don't have pain anymore.....still working on the range of motion, at least I can sleep a bit better now.....I love your recipe for an ice bag....I have a couple of bought ice packs....but they don't really fit the shoulder well...one almost fits....but warms up quickly......I don't use ice as much as I first did....only when I do something that causes a bit more pain.....I am starting to use my arm more when I am not thinking about it....which is a good sign...but I need to be aware of what I am doing....yesterday, I did a bit of light raking ....and it went ok...got a little sore but recovered nicely overnight.....enjoy your new to you Freedom.....I am sort of longing for a freedom or millie also as the controls are on the front...not on the side like Lucey.....I finally did put a small piece on the frame two days ago...and I was able to at least meander although reaching to the back I could feel the stretch......I am happy about it though....I have missed being able to quilt....Lin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...