As I sit here trying to put off quilting a monster big quilt, I was thinking of how nice it is when the quilting machine is all blown out and oiled and ready to go for the day. It's so nice to be able to just jump right in and start. Isn't it fun when the quilt has already been attached to the frame the night before? When I'm sooo tired and ready to stop for the night, I think of how just 10 minutes would get the next quilt on the frame and make it so that I can start quilting right off in the morning. So, I put on my headphones, turn on the 'book' to listen to, and get that quilt on the frame.

Now, I've decided to tell everyone what some of my best quilting 'tools' are. My favorite tool is my Quilting Apron. I like an apron that covers my whole shirt and doesn't hang around my neck. So, I like an apron with shoulders that ties in the back, or one that slips over my head and ties up on the sides. It protects my nice shirts and dresses so that they don't get dirt and oil and snags from the pins when I lean on my quilt or frame. The apron has to have BIG pockets, to hold my other favorite tools. What tools go into pockets? Well, I couldn't live without my long tweezers. These are some that I took from my serger, and are so handy when I have to thread the needle over and over. And I love the 'hemostats' that I got from the emergency room when my son needed stitches in his finger. These are great when you have to unpick and entire row of a quilt! I grab the top thread with the hemostats, and tug on it, bringing the bobbin thread up. Then I use the seam ripper with my other hand, and gently cut the bobbin threads. Over and over, but if the top thread doesn't break while I'm pulling it, then the unpicking is so much faster. I have to have lip salve in a pocket. Quilting is a hard job, and I want to be comfortable. I keep a pair of small nail clippers in there, too, for when I get a hangnail. In the other pocket, I keep my invisible pen (which sometimes loses it's cap and turns my pocket dark purple. But, hey! It disappears! I keep a few tissues in one pocket to wipe the oil from underneath the quilting machine and also clean off the needle area, for quilts that have lots of lint. And my all time can't-live-without-tool: My Scissor Retractor! It clips on the neckline of my apron, and I always keep a pair of those little elementary school scissors there. The brightest ones that I can find (because bright colors make me happy.) I find that they're sharp enough to cut the thread easily, but dull enough that they NEVER cut the fabric on the quilt. And I don't lose them. They're always around my neck.

I get so used to wearing my apron when I work that I'm always dropping 'important' things in the pockets. Coins that I find on the floor, bobbypins, important papers (like checks), my cell phone, and notes from the kids. I have to empty the pockets quite often, as I feel as if I'm a child collecting rocks. The apron seems to get heavier and heavier, and it's amazing how much lint and dirt the pockets collect. I love the apron because I can throw it in the wash. It reminds me of my mother, because I can remember her wearing a house dress and an apron to cover it when I was a child. I could have a dozen aprons. My daughters are great to make me surprise aprons for holidays. Isn't it fun to get a practical gift that you love and you didn't have to make for yourself? EVERYONE should get themselves a quilting apron!

Problems with the Batting on my machine frame

This is a copy of post that we made to the gracemachineframe Yahoo group when Josie was having problems with her batting every time she rolled her quilt. This is Kathy's reply:

Hi Josie,
This really isn't a problem. Each time you roll - no matter what quilting frame you have - the batting has to be adjusted. Everyone has to do this. So, this is what you do. Once you are finished quilting a row and you're ready to roll, go ahead and roll the quilt until you get to the next area you want to quilt. Then, only lock the cogs on the quilt backing. Don't tighten anything else up yet. Look underneath to make sure your backing is nice and straight and not puckered. Then, make sure the quilt top is VERY loose, so that you can reach underneath and adjust the batting. Pull the batting from each side to straighten it. If your rails pivot (some frames have this feature and some don't), then use that feature to look right at the batting. Pull it from each side and smooth it down with your hand. Smooth the batting toward the front rail until there aren't any folds or puckers that you can see. Pat it gently in place with your hand. Then, lower the quilt top gently down on top of the batting. Pull it to each side to get it nice and even, and smooth it toward the rolling rail with your hand to get it nice and flat. THEN tighten the cogs on the quilt top. If your rails don't pivot up, then make sure the quilt top is loose - very loose - so that you can see under it and reach across that quilt with your hand to gently tug and pat that batting into place and make it flat. Once you see it's flat, then gently lay the quilt top down on top of this, and pat it down with your hand, too. Don't just roll that quilt top rail up, because it will grab the batting again. Pat it into place, and then gently roll the excess quilt top back onto the rail. Then you can clamp the sides of your quilt.

Because batting is so 'grabby', it tends to fold and grab onto both the quilt back and the quilt top very easily, causing it to get out of place almost every time you roll. There are very few quilts that this won't happen to. Perhaps if you use a very slick quilt top or back, or a slick silicone poly batting, this won't happen - on just that one quilt. It's really not a problem with your frame at all, but just a common thing that happens because all those fibers are touching each other. I quilt professionally with a huge Gammill quilting frame, and this is just what happens every time.
Don't let it get you frustrated, but just know that getting everything into place is a part of what you have to do each time you roll your quilt. It doesn't matter if you have a huge, super-duper quilting frame, or the smallest home quilter. It's all the same. You can't change the fibers in a quilt, so it has to be adjusted each time you roll. You have to pat and adjust and tug and watch. And ALWAYS look underneath the quilt when you have it in place - just in case there is a pucker. If you see puckers, then undo a Side Clamp and pull the quilt backing slightly to each side until you can't see that puckering anymore. Put the side clamps back on, and now you're ready to quilt.

Thanks for bringing this up. After 13 years of machine quilting, I never thought about it, but I realize that it's just something I do each time I roll the quilt. I never thought about it being frustrating because it happens each time. But I do see that many quilters wouldn't realize that this is just part of what happens when you roll a quilt. Quilts and batting are very 'grabby' to each other, and that's what makes them so nice and warm and cuddly to us. As each layer comes together, it's an effort to make that quilt nice and flat without puckers, but it is VERY common that you have to do this each time you roll the quilt. Just work on it, and you'll find your fastest and most reliable way to do this without even thinking each time you roll your quilt. It's just part of the process of quilting.

If you have more specific questions about this, I'd be happy to answer them. I'm sure that this is something all quilters have happen to them, but may think it's just their fault, or their frame's fault, and they're not doing something right. Nope - it's just what happens and you work with it on each rolling of the quilt.

Happy Quilting!
Kathy

P.S. Check out the Start-Right Frame by the Grace Company. We have a special sale where you can save about $300 off the retail price. You can get an all steel frame for what you would spend for a Little Gracie II but have frame the is better than the Pinnacle! Here is a link:

StartRightClothLeaders.com