Grace Start-Right Frame machine quilter totally rocks!

There seems to be a trend in the home machine quilting industry where manufacturers are making longer arm sewing machine heads and pushing machine frames that hold those machines. Do you ever feel like if you have a sewing machine with a throat of less than 10 inches you are missing the boat?

This marketing ploy by many of the midarm machine makers would have you believe that if you don't have a 16 or 18 inch machine head that you aren't a real machine quilter. I am here to tell you that you can do just as good of quilting with a nine inch Juki TL-98Q as you can with a HQ 16 or Avante 18. I will agree that you can quilt faster with a longer arm quilting machine, but if you aren't quilting commercially, can you really justify the cost?

The good thing is that the Grace Company has not forgotten those of us that don't have the means to invest in a really expensive longarm frame. The Grace Company came out with the Start-Right Frame a while back and the didn't sell like they thought they would. I have been in their factory and seen them stacked everywhere they can fit them. They have tons of them!

The Start-Right Frame is a steel frame which means it is really strong. It has smaller diameter frame rails which means the rails don't bend like the aluminum rails. These still have the cool Fabri-Fast system of attaching leader to the frame rails. You get all the benefits of the expensive frames like the Pinnacle, but at a fraction of the cost. It is literally a diamond in the rough.

Here is what is really cool, the Grace Company retails the eight foot version (Queen) of the Start-Right for $899. I can sell them now for $599, that is $300 off! These frames are very easy to set up. They take a fraction of the time it takes to set up any of the other Grace Frames. When you are quilting on it the carriage just glides like it is floating on air. Really a nice frame to quilt on. If you are looking for a Queen length frame that can fold away in a small space, or a frame that is really easy to use, you should check out the Start-Right.

Here is a special web site that has large pictures of the Start-Right Frame: www.startrightclothleaders.com

Thanks,

Lynn
KathyQuilts.com

GMQ Pro, Little Gracie II, Get a new look!

KathyQuilts.com is having their huge March Madness sale right now. Click here to visit our Specials page .

Here is a copy of our March KathyQuilts.com e-Newsletter:

Hi

I hope that all is well with you and your family. It seems that every time I go to write the monthly newsletter, that some big even has occurred. The Olympics were really fun to watch, then bam! Chile gets hit with a horrendous earthquake. At least they were more prepared than Haiti. Our hearts go out to those that survived and have lost loved ones. We also appreciate all of those that have helped in the past when disaster has struck.

The need seems to be on the rise for humanitarian efforts throughout the world. I hope that each of us will see what we can do to share what we can. There are lots of places to donate quilts and other needed items. There is a great need for us to share our talents. Quilts are something that will last a long time and will help the recipient to remember that someone in the world was thinking about them.

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Quilting Buzz

Kathy is going to start posting more to our Blog! She will have lots of great ideas and quilting related items that she will cover. Please become a follower our Blog by clicking here.

I want to let you in on some great news about the GMQ Pro and Little Gracie II machine quilting frames from the Grace Company. They have both received some updating which really makes them the best frames available at that price point. These days we all seem to be feeling the crunch of the economy, so being able to be more value for your money is more important than ever. The Grace Company realizing the need to offer more value has updated both the GMQ Pro and Little Gracie II machine quilting frames. You will now get the Pro Carriage (the same as the Pinnacle or Mini Pinni), The frame rails are also like their metal frame cousins. What this means is that you can get a lot better frame for you money now. You will have greater control over your quilting, and sturdier frame rails so your quilts turn out better and a frame that will last longer than earlier versions.

When ordering either of these frames, you need to have a sewing machine that is compatible with the Grace SureStitch or Speed Control. Click here is a link to see if your sewing machine is listed:

If you have to use a machine that is not listed, you need to either purchase a Juki TL-98Q with your frame or choose the wooden carriage. The Aluminum Carriage makes all the difference in the world. It is so awesome!

Here are some links:

GMQ Pro

Little Gracie II

Juki TL-98Q

We have some really awesome specials right now.

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KathyQuilts.com March Madness Sale

We are rolling out our March Madness Sale to run through the end of the Month. For more details on how you can save from $5.00 to $200.00 click here

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Featured Products

The other day Kathy was quilting on her Gammill Premier longarm machine frame. She called me to say that her laser pointer had just died. It wouldn't work at all. That was the second laser she had purchased in the 13 years that she has owned her frame. Replacement lasers for the Gammill run about $250 or so. That seems pretty pricey so she asked me to stop by our shop and pick up a Gracie Laser. These are the Lasers made by the Grace Company for their frames. The run about $50. I wasn't sure It would work, but after getting home, I was able to get it to work without any modifications. I'll tell you what, saving 200 bucks is nothing to sneeze at. Kathy loves this laser. She says that she will never go back to the more expensive laser.

It is battery operated and comes with several lens covers that make it so you can adjust the diameter of the beam that shines on your pantograph patterns.

We usually sell the Gracie Laser for $47, but we are having a special sale that is separate from the March Madness sale. Through March we will have a special price on the Gracie Laser, Pantograph patterns, SkillBuilder, and Emma Rae's eBook for freehand quilting. These item will all be listed at a reduced price.

We want you to get the practice you need so your confidence level will grow and you can become the kind of quilter you envisioned when you purchased your frame.

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Conclusion:

We are totally committed to offering you the very best products at a competitive price. We want you to let us know if you feel that you can get a better deal so we can compare "Apples to Apples".

We are here for the long haul. We appreciate customers like you and hope to continue to serve you for years to come.

With some of the specials we are running, there is a chance that the items you order will be out of stock. We will fill orders as quickly as we can. If your order is back-ordered, it usually only adds a week or less for us to ship. We thank you for your patience.

Thanks,
Lynn
www.KathyQuilts.com
(888)826-0222

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a Machine Quilting Hint

This is Kathy this time. Did you ever realize how the actual quilting on a quilt can make a quilt shrink up? Here's a very sad (read - learning experience ;-) example. My brother and his wife did a nice addition on their older home, and they were getting a brand new master suite. My SIL wanted a special Tahitian Quilt for their bed, to replace a cover that my brother had made years ago when he was in Tahiti. This was supposed to be a big surprise for him. And it was supposed to be a full bedspread - to touch the ground, and also have a fold over for the pillows at the top of the bed. The problem was that they had all their furniture in storage, and I couldn't measure their bed to get exact measurements. My SIL said, "Any queen size bed will do." So, I used our own queen size bed for measurements, and spent hours and hours appliquing a two color quilt in the Hawaiian style. I kept trying the top out on our bed to make sure it was long enough. Then I machine quilted it, echoing the breadfruit designs half inch apart. It took a long time - so long. But it was beautiful. And expensive! She wanted certain colors, and it was so much fabric of one kind. I'm so used to piecing a quilt, and having LOTS of LOTS of different fabrics, so it was quite a challenge to use just two colors. So, I finish up the quilt about the same time that they are moving back into their newly remodeled home. And do you know what? That quilt was SO SMALL on their bed! I was so disgusted! It barely covered the mattress, not even the box springs, and you couldn't fold it over the pillows at the top. There were two mistakes made by both myself and my sister-in-law. First - their queen size bed was an overstuffed type of mattress, and their bed risers were a little higher than my own. She didn't tell me that, and it didn't even cross her mind that her bed might measure larger than other queen size beds. Second - I didn't take into account that quilting the batting into a quilt actually shrinks the quilt. I've always told people that washing definitely shrinks a quilt, but really didn't think about the fact that quilting does the same. I should have added ten inches more on all the sides of the quilt! Well, they both loved the quilt, but I was so upset to have a 'failure' on my side. It was so embarrassing because I've been doing this work professionally for over 13 years. I guess that I'm good at quilting other people's quilts, but not that great of a designer of my own. I'm sure happy to leave that to other brave souls. And I learned another good lesson to pass on to other quilters - quilts SHRINK when they are quilted! Duh! It was a lesson I didn't want to learn, but one that I'll never forget (nor repeat!)

Happy Quilting
- Kathy

Click here to check out our March Madness sale