nineva Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Ok, so a year ago I bought the side clamps from Tomorrow\'s Heirlooms everyone was talking about. I did like them. While they worked, which was not for long. They soon lost the elasticity that made them useful and after that I struggled to get them clamped. Finally two of them completely broker apart. Being the impatient person I am, I tried Sharon Schamber\'s method of stablizing the sides and I am sorry to all of you fans, but I am NOT going to do that everytime I roll. :( Instead I spent three days googling side clamps everywhich way I could think of. All that came up are the inferior ones noted above. So finally, here is where I can say Holy Side Clamps Batman, I think we have a solution. :D:D I found a wonderful set of clamps that do what Sharon\'s method does, only no pins. :P You can see the clamps at www.thecalicokitten.com Wow, I ordered them two days ago, got them today and fell in love. I can fasten them easily, unfasten easily and they put an awesome even tension across the entire 18" of space I have. :D:D The are made of two parts of PVC pipe. Linda says she has been using hers for 8 years and finally had to replace the top part that snaps down. It costs $2 to replace. I am impressed. I love them. If you do not want to pin your sides everytime you move your quilt, you might want to try them. At $24.95 they as more inexpensive as Tomorrow\'s Heirlooms clamps, but much sturdier, and you don\'t have to buy two sets to cover the entire quilting area, which doubles your cost. I\'ll post a pic soon. ;) Nancy:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattyJo Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Hi Nancy - I just tried to go the web site you posted and got an error message "Web page not found". I\'ve been wanting to look into the side clamps also, but I\'m not into pins (that\'s why I bought zippers & machine baste my backing to them). Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nineva Posted March 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Patty Jo, it works for me. Google Linda Mae Diny. It will bring up her website. She is the one that came up with the idea. Sorry. I\'ll double check, but I googled it and it came up www.thecalicokitten.com. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nineva Posted March 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Here ya go: http://www.thecalicokitten.com/catalog_product.aspx?prod_id=53 Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Nancy, You just have an extra . after .com I removed it and it takes you right to the site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 For those of you going to MQS, they usually have a booth there and you may be able to take a look at these in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 NancyJo, don\'t use the period after com, even though I think you meant it to be the end of a sentence, it won\'t let us connect. I deleted it and it worked fine.. no picture though. the second you posted, shows the pict... thanks for the tip.. no idea how it fastens to the quilt.. RitaR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nineva Posted March 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Rita, I t is a small piece of PVC pipe about 18" long.. Then it has another shorter small piece with grippers on the inside that pops over the first piece. Picture a sandwich. PVC pipe under the backing fabric. Then pop the top piece on with the fabric in between. And for those of you that are "I can make it cheaper" people, the top piece has these gripper strips going the length that holds the fabric nice and firm. I don\'t think I could find this kind of pipe locally. You clip your pony clips to the elastic piece and tighten to your preference for how tight you like your side tension. You only clip the pony clips on one time ever. Then you use tighten the pony clamps as you usually would. Very easy to use. They don\'t seem to catch on the extended base either. Nancy Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherryjack Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 My featherweight clamps from Tomorrow\'s Heirlooms have broken, also. Less than a year old. You can make yourself a pvc clamp like the one Nancy describes if you have a Q-Snap pvc square quilting hoop. Take it apart (you will have 4 sections) and run a piece of thick cording thru the hollow inside of one section for each clamp. Knot the two ends of the cord together and hook onto the cord with the pony clamps. Works for me. I ordered a new set of featherweights which are on back order--think I\'ll cancel. Sherry Millie CQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattyJo Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Thanks for the tip Nancy. I got to the site with the second address you posted. My DH, being a former landscape irrigation guy has so many pieces of pvc laying around here, I think I could make these for little or no $$$. Great idea on the Q-snap quilting hoop, I\'ve got one of those too. I\'m sure that one or both of those will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Nancy, Thanks for sharing! I have a Q-Snap frame, probably a couple of them so I\'ll give it a go. I love having Sharon\'s side clamps but like you said it does take time. I love this board!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Many Thanks Nancy Jo. Sounds like it\'s a relief for the back, too. That will be the best part. RitaR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nineva Posted March 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 Hey Patty Jo That\'s not fair. I don\'t have an extra irrigation guy laying around. You go girl. I just didn\'t want anyone to get frustrated looking for parts that are not available. See how smart all of you are. I don\'t have a Q frame so did not know about that either. I learned something today. Yayyyyyyy.. For the rest of us that may not be as handy, they are a pretty good deal to order, open the box and put them on. I admire all of the people that come up with these ingenious ideas to make our quilting lives easier. I too LOVE THIS LIST. Y\'all are my extended family. :D:D Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 I don\'t understand how the backing \'fits\' over the PVC tubing. Can you post a picture or explain? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susanri Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 I think I got it! I have a q frame I was getting rid of now I can use it as side clamps I do like the one even side clamps thank you!! for the tip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katydids Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 I bought those side clamps from Calico kitten at MQS 3 years ago and I love them! You just need to make sure you have enough extra fabric on the sides cause you will bump into them (if you don\'t) and they stop you in your tracks! You also have to support your clamps with a curtain rod or other means under the elastic. Because of this, I was considering switching over to those featherweight clamps. Glad I didn\'t do that now. Thanks for the info on those not lasting. My pvc clamps have been dropped, kicked, probably stepped on a time or two and they are still like brand new! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtreusch Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 I bought these clamps at MQS last year and got rid of them fairly quickly. The problem was that I seldom had a quilt with enough extra backing. So I was constantly bumping into them. On the occassional quilt where I did have enough extra backing they were great. Debbi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckeindl Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Thanks for the tips and ideas! Did you get a chance to take a photo yet - would love to see in action. For the make it yourselfers - where did you find the bungy cord stuff? And you must have used thinner PVC so it wouldn\'t be too heavy? Might be cheaper to buy from Calico Kitten for some of us? Happy Quilting! Cathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nineva Posted March 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Right now I don\'t have time to post pics. I have a gazillion pics on my camera from our classes so I need to download them first, then take one of the side clamps. The top one is like a half circle pipe that pops down over the full pipe with the fabric in between. Does that make more sense? You lay your backing fabric over the top of the full pipe that has the elastic on it. Then you pop the top half-pipe over it to hold it securely. Since it is 18 inches long, it holds the entire side securely. I have not had a problem with my extended base running into the sides as I do use the curtain rods to hold it slightly up. But I had to do that with the featherweight clamps too, regardless of what they say. Anyhow, Myrna is leaving on Wednesday and so am I so it will probably be the weekend before I can post any pics. Maybe someone else could help out here?? Nancy Jo:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lsilver Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 I adore the featherweight clamps. They just need a little TLC in placing on the quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junebug_one Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Hi Sherry, I have the featherweight clamps that have broken, also. I just put the clamps that came with our machines on them to hold them in place after putting them on to the sides of my quilt. I love them they are so easy to use and I like just clamping them on better than I did with the velcro straps that came with them. Its much faster. Mine broke where the straps fastened to the clamps, ofcourse if they broke else where, it wouldn\'t work. I hope this helps. Carolj. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nineva Posted March 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 My featherweights took 3 hands to get on the quilt. Ask the ladies at our NW gathering. Terrible to try to maneuver. These new ones can easily be done with two hands, pop on and off. And the customer service was awesome. I didn\'t like paying out $40 then having to make do. You should contact them, Carol. They say they will back up the product. That is not my experience, but maybe you\'ll have better luck. happy Quilting y\'all. Nancy:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliagraves Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Anyone that cross-stitched probably has the Q-snap - there were posts awhile back that talked about using these. I\'ve used it for a year now and it\'s worked great. Sounds a lot like these. Julia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Here\'s a link to the topic from a couple of years ago. There are pictures of the clamps I made from an old QSnap frame I had. I continue to use these clamps to this day. http://www.apqs.com/quiltboard/viewthread.php?tid=3838&page=1#pid29745 Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbijoyeklow Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 Brilliant idea on the side clamps. I have a q snap frame that i haven\'t used in years. I think I got it 20 years ago. I also bought a three section recycling bin many years ago. It is meant to hold up plastic bags for recycling and it came with clamps. I bought two of them for about $7 each, and used to use them as hand quilting frames. Robbi Eklow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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