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To do a Baptist fan or not?


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Hi there,

I am in the process of quilting an antique Trip Around the World that has four open corners where something really neat could be displayed, but the customer just wants something simple and it is pieced horribly!!!

I was wondering, if I use a couple layers of Poly Down Plus batting, would the Baptist Fan be something to do? I have the Hartley Fence, but haven't used it for this--do I need a lot of practice first? Would this pattern work well for a very puckery piece? Any suggestions on getting good at the HF?

Thanks so much!

Luv2kwilt

APQS Milli

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I agree that the BF do help to split up some minor waviness. BFs can be somewhat time-consuming. However, they look fabulous on traditional quilts.

You said that this had some horroble piecing. I think that the HF or even a BF panto has the same problem, you have to stay on the pattern. You won't have the control to be able to skirt around or nail down any problem areas. Plus any strict panto (like BF) would require you to divide your attention between the tool (panto or HF or CL) and the puckering quilt. You definitely have your work cut out if you have to bounce between the quilt and the tool. It can be done, though.

I hope you post a photo when your are finished.

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I did my first BF on a quilt with "personality" I was surprised how forgiving the pattern is. I used the Hartley fence and Myrna's directions do make the stitching go quickly.

TWO WARNINGS:

1- be sure you lock your stitches really well at the end of each arc.

2- be warned that everytime you drag from arc to arc there is a thread that needs to be trimmed- on top and on the back. It seems to take me forever to find them and trim them all. That's why BF is in my higher price (practically custom) price range.

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I was fortunate enough to snag a BF Quilt EZ template here a few months ago. The really sad thing is that shortly after I got it my machine died and is waiting to be picked up to be taken to the factory to have the guts taken out and replaced. Big sigh! In any case I am very excited about useing my BF when my machine comes back home. It has been down almost a month now so I have had to do other things.

Tommorow I will be quilting a customer wallhanging on my little Phaff.....................she needs it to enter in the State Fair and I really want to try to keep her a happy customer. At least the larger one she gave me she is willing to wait on.

Oh one other thing..........................someone here some time back said they use canned food on either side of the needle to kinda pull on the quilt to help when they do pantos..............suposed to help it everything is not flat. I might try that tip and see how it works when my machine comes home.

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Great ideas everyone!!! I will definately let you know how it goes and post a picture when I am done! Thanks so much for all the advise. I have heard that the soup cans can help, too, but haven't used them--I think this time I will !!!! Thanks for the reminder!

Sincerely,

luv2kwilt

APQS MILLENNIUM

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You can do the BF pretty darned quickly with the Hartley Fence. You get a rhythm going and you are done. As Leslie pointed out you DO NEED to lock your stitches at both ends , But that becomes a habit pretty quickly. After the first row or two I can get done before I have to roll my quilt. I will clip the threads on top, clean them up with a lint roller. As they come up in the back I trim those and again use the lint roller. It is fast and easy and it looks great.

Keep in mind that even if you don't necessarily want a traditional BF. Why not a BF, then go back and fill the spaces with something else. Turn it from just a BF design into something AHHHHHH such a Mexican salsa smash, a feathered beauty, etc. A fun and funky place to have hide and seek for kids quilts. Get your imagination going. And guess what ! Custom work...........MORE MONEY, that's wow to your customer. And who are they going to say did it!!!

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Myrna I like your ideas of things you can do with the BF to spice it up............................I will have to play with that some................................when my machine is fixed................today I will be working on a customer quilt on my Phaff. It has been ages since I have used that for freemotion quilting...................fortunatly is is pretty straight forward. She did a bargello and wants a few feathers and then some lines between the feathers....................I will actually be albe to do the lines with the feedogs up and they should go pretty quick.......................I hope.

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