There are a few different ways to quilt multiple quilts at a time. If you are working with a frame such as the Grace GMQ Pro and have it set up to King Size your options greatly improve. In most cases, you will want to center your quilt in the middle of your frame, but you can fudge it over to the side a little if you need the extra room for a practice quilt to be loaded to the side of your project quilt. I like to have a practice quilt that has a light color so you can see the thread, usually muslin or something similar. Once you have quilted all the way through your practice quilt with one color of thread, switch to another color the next time through. If you can stand it up in the corner, then you should probably start a new practice quilt! This practice quilt should be a fairly skinny or narrow quilt. I would suggest no wider than 24 inches wide, but at least 12 to 14 as a minimum. When I start this new practice quilt, I load it on sideways. I make it about 64 inches long or how ever long my fabric is. That way I have a quilt that is about 12 by 64, the 64 inch side being pinned to the leader. After I have quilted enough to stabilize the quilt, I usually don't pin it to the leaders again. I use clamps similar to the Bungee Side tension clamps to hold the practice quilt to the frame rails. This way if I have a feather, a wreath, or whatever to try before doing the real thing on my quilt, I hook my quilt onto the frame without having to worry about pinning to the leaders. You just use two rails, the Take Up Rail, and the Quilt Back Rail. You have to use large enough clamps to hold to the frame rail, but not so large that it gets in the way of the sewing machine. This can be a little tricky so you have to find what works best for you. I like using the clamps because I can put the practice quilt on and take it off very quickly without disturbing my project quilt.
The alternate method to using some sort of clamps to hold your quilt on the frame, is sew a casing in your practice quilt and thread the Fabri-Fast Tubing into and you pop it into the frame rail. You will have the ends of the tubing exposed if you are using a Queen Length Leader on the frame set up to King Size. It is easier if you load your practice quilt the same time you load the current quilt you are working on. If you need to load it after you are already part way through your project quilt, just unroll the Take Up rail a couple of turns, pop your practice quilt in, then roll it back up. You just need to make sure that it will hold it in place. The other end of the practice quilt needs to be clamped with clamps large enough to hold it on the quilt back rail, top rail if you are standing in front of your machine frame. You don't have to roll it up on the rail, just let it hang over the rail and clamp it. You will want to take the clamps off when you roll your project quilt or strange things will happen.
The advantage of this practice piece is that you don't have to worry about how it looks, it is just practice! Once you get the practice you need, move over onto your project quilt and do your thing! If you have to practice on a quilt, then load a new quilt, all the practice you did will be ineffective. Being able to move right over and do what you have just been working on is so much easier.
If you have several wall hangings that will be quilted similarly, then load a large quilt back, and float the smaller pieces. After quilting, just cut them out! Kathy does this frequently as it is a real time saver. You just need to make sure your batting is a little larger than the quilt top you are doing. Pin all the way around your project pieces to stabilize it to the quilt back.
There are a lot of different ideas of how to hand different situations with your quilting frame, but the main thing is that you keep trying and find out what works for you.
Happy Quilting!
--Lynn
KathyQuilts.com
Phone 1 888 826-0222
email: lynn@kathyquilts.com
KathyQuilts.com
Phone 1 888 826-0222
email: lynn@kathyquilts.com
P.S. Visit our quilting-tips page on our web site for tips on how to use your Grace Machine Frames the way they were designed to be used. Here is the link: http://www.kathyquilts.com/customer/home.php?cat=77
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