I love the Grace Majestic Frame! It not only looks cool but it really makes quilting easier and more fun. I compare it to my iPhone 4s. I had a Blackberry before I got my iPhone and I like what it helped me do but once I got my iPhone my world changed. There were so many more tasks that were so much easier to do that it made my job a lot more fun. You can quilt on any machine frame out there but when you have a frame like the Majestic you can focus more on becoming a better quilter and less on the mechanics of quilting. I want to take a moment and talk about why the Grace Majestic is such a great machine frame.
The Majestic rolls so easily that you really could quilt with just your thumb and forefinger on the handle. The secret is the carriage has 16 wheels with precision bearings that make it feel like your sewing machine is riding on air.
I talk to so many people every day that say they are just getting started in quilting so we wanted to dedicate a new page to them. We cover how to decide upon a quilting frame, sewing machine, and accessories for your frame. Below is a few of the items we cover on that page.
How to Choose the Right Quilting Frame
Finding the right quilting frame or hoop shouldn't be so hard but there are a lot of people selling quilting frames or hoops that that don't know what they are talking about so they create a lot of confusion. We will cover everything that you need to know to make your finding and buying a quilting frame process a lot easier and more enjoyable.
Getting Started
Will be hand or machine quilting? There are many people that feel that if you are not hand quilting your quilt that it isn't really quilting. While hand quilting has its place so does machine quilting. There are many people that just can't hand quilt because of physical limitations. You can really do a lot more machine quilting than you can hand quilting. If you plan on using the quilt machine a machine quilted quilt will last longer and stand up to the abuse. If you an antique hand pieced quilt you might want to hand quilt it. Whether one method is really better than another doesn't really matter what does matter is which method you enjoy. After you have made your choice you can if you want at machine frame, or a hand quilting frame or quilting hoop. How large of a frame or hoop do I need? If you are talking about machine quilting we recommend the largest frame you can fit in your quilting space. It is always easier to if you don't push your frame to its capacity every time you pin on a quilt. If your quilt is longer than it is wide you can load the quilt on with the long edge pinned to the frame rail and you will have a longer row that you can quilt before needing to roll your quilt. This really helps on machine frames because you will have less quilt rolled up inside the arm of your sewing machine. With a hand quilting frame the same is true as with the machine quilting frame. Get the largest size frame that will fit in your quilting room. There is always some room at the end of the quilting frame that is taken up by the side tension clamps that you will not be able to use for your quilt work area. The Bungee Clamps take up about five inches on either side of your frame so when figuring the maximum size quilt you might ever do add 10 inches and that will be about the size you need. Quilting in a Hoop is a little different because you have to baste your quilt together before you hoop it. You aren't limited by the size quilt, but as a general rule bigger isn't always better. The Grace Hoop2s come in 14, 18, and 24 inch size hoops. Very few people can really use a 24 properly. The way to know what size hoop to purchase is to measure from the bend in your arm to the tip of your middle finger. Mine measures 16 inches so the largest hoop I really should get would be the 18 inch. Basically you need to be able to reach to the center of the hoop. What is your quilt frame budget? Years of experience has shown that very few people have unlimited funds to spend on a quilting frame or hoop. The good news is that the Grace Company has the best quality, most quilter friendly, quilting frames you can buy. They have lower cost frames that might not be as fancy and their high end ones but they work just about as well and you wouldn't be able to tell which frame your quilt was quilted on so any Grace Frame will do a great job. Steel or wooden quilting frame? There are Grace Dealers that will tell you that only the steel frames are strong enough to do any serious quilting. The Grace Company was built on wooden quilting frames so they have them down to a science. Wooden Grace frames are every bit as good as the aluminum or steel ones are. If your budget dictates that you can only a Gracie Queen or King then you can rest assured that your frame will work every bit as good as the Majestic. Can I use my own sewing machine? When the first home machine quilting frames came out they tried to make is so people could use a regular home sewing machine. Over the years we have found that sewing machines like the Juki TL-2010Q work better than regular home sewing machines. When you are quilting on a frame if you don't have enough throat space, (throat length is the area to the right of the needle), then you will not have very much forward and back movement if you are near the end of your quilt. Eight and a half inch throat machines are the shortest we recommend. The Juki TL-2010Q stitches at 1500 stitches per minute which sounds like a lot but it is just about the minimum speed that we recommend when machine quilting. The Grace machine frames come with a speed control so you can turn the sewing machine on and off with a button on the handle of your machine frame. This control or the stitch length regulator, SureStitch, are only compatible with certain sewing machines so before purchasing a sewing machine that some sales person says is the best thing since sliced bread make sure it is compatible. Just because a sewing machine has the word quilting edition included doesn't mean that it is compatible.
What accessories do I need?
The way we sell the Grace frames you usually have the bare essentials but you should have a working quilting system. Like the cloth leaders, none of the other Grace dealers include leaders that are ready to use right out of the package. Lamp and Bulb - Our number one recommended accessory. If you can't see what you are working on then it will be a lot harder to enjoy quilting. We offer two lamp and bulb combos. The Grace Hoop2 and Z44 Pro use the Grace Swing Arm Lamp, we offer it with a Brite White Bulb because what good is a lamp without a bulb? The Grace Gooseneck Lamp and Bulb is for machine quilting frames. I really like the Gooseneck Lamp for machine quilting because many times your thread matches the quilt top so much that you can't see what you are quilting on so you turn off the over head lights in the room and move the lamp head down by the needle so it will cast a shadow across your quilt. Simple process but Kathy does this all the time. She loves her Grace Gooseneck Lamp and Bulb.
Gracie Laser - We really like freehand quilting for most of our quilting but every now and again someone wants their quilting done as cheaply as possible. That is when Kathy will do an over all pattern. The Linda Taylor pantograph patterns Kathy uses are more complicated than most peoples freehand quilting so the quilts still turn out great. So it is good to be able to follow a pantograph pattern. The Gracie Laser is the tool of choice. This is our second most recommended accessory.
It is hard to believe just last week I was wearing my bike shorts when I went for my bike rides up the canyon near Brigham City Utah. Now the temperature seems so cold. We have snow out on the grass. This might be a long winter! Good to stay inside and quilt!
I know there are lots of people looking to get a great deal on a Grace Frame so here it is. We are starting our Black Friday sale early. From now until November 30th we will be having the biggest sale of the year. We already have 25 - 30% off on our Grace Frames so we will have a 3 - 5 - 7 sale. That means order over $100 get an extra 3% off, orders over $500 get and extra 5%, and orders over $1,200 get and extra 7% off the entire order. That gives you up to 37% off on some of our big ticket items in our online store. The discount will be taken at time of checkout. Shop now and save!!!!!!! Click here to check out our Grace Machine Frames
The Grace Company has a new design for their Bungee Clamps.
Getting good side tension is very important in not getting puckers on your quilt back
The Grace Company leaves no stone unturned when it comes to improving their products. If there is an easier way to do something and a new part design will make something simpler then the Grace Company will find it. There are so many quilt frame manufacturers that do a pretty good job but no one works as hard as the engineers at the Grace Company to bring innovative designs to the market and make them available for all quilters.
We love the new streamline design of the Grace Company Bungee Clamps. One of the problems when quilting is the width of the bed of your sewing machine. When you quilt near the edge of your quilt the Bungee Clamp can get it the way. Either your clamp has so much spring to it that you can't squeeze them to move them out of the way or your sewing machine will hit them under your quilt where you can't see them. This new design allows the clamp to slip up on the bed of the machine and not disrupt quilting as much as the older design. When you get near your bungee clamp you can push the quick release button and move it far enough out of the way that you don't hit it at all. This new design will be great for quilters that struggle with Arthritis or just don't have that much gripping strength to squeeze the clamps over and over again. To check out more about these great new clamps visit KathyQuilts.com's bungee clamp page.
These Bungee Clamps are designed for all current model Grace Company quilting frames but you can get them to work on most frames if you drill holes in the sides of your frame. Grace Company Frames usually include Bungee Clamps but there are some exceptions.
When you are looking for a machine quilting or hand quilting frame you might be surprise how hard it can be to find the right one to fit your needs. There are several companies making quilting frames and we have tried many of quilting frames they make and keep coming back to the quilting frames made by the Grace Company.
The Grace Company has been around for over 25 years. What sets the Grace Company apart from other companies is their drive to make the best product on the market. They don't worry if there is another company that is larger than they are they just look at what the quilter's needs are and find a way to make a more quilter friendly product. They make machine and hand quilting frames, and many accessories that make quilting a lot of fun. It isn't just that their frames are awesome but the are a great company to work with. When we have a customer that has a problem with a Grace product, the Grace Company wants to be right there to help solve the problem and make sure any customer that has one of their products is happy. The Grace Company isn't perfect but 99 out of a 100 times they can stand up to their reputation.
We know the owner and many of the office staff personally. Over the years they have expanded so it is hard to know all of their workers but they are all very polite when we visit the warehouse. The reason we like their products isn't just because we are friends but because of them we have a business. The Grace company listens to us when we tell them features or options we need on the frames. Kathy consulted with Jim and Jaren when they were working on their first machine frame, the GMQ (Grace Machine Quilter). Since that time they have made tons of changes so they can supply us with frames that we know are going to work.
KathyQuilts.com is successful because we offer products that work. You can finish a quilt on just about any frame but how much you enjoy it will come down to what your frame can do, how it does it, and who is there to help you when you have questions about quilting. KathyQuilts.com has a learning library where we offer help for quilters of all skill levels. Getting a great frame like one from the Grace Company is an important step but learning how to get the most out of it is something that we can help you do.
We will start posting more articles about the various frames and how they compare to each other.
Machine Quilting is in my blood. It didn't used to be but several years ago Kathy from KathyQuilts.com wanted to buy a longarm machine quilting frame. I had seen one in a quilt shop once and it looked awesome. Kathy has been sewing since she was a little girl and had made a living sewing night gowns, or sewing for people. It was her passion but not mine. I loved it when she would make me bike shorts, board shorts, shirts, or other items but it still was her hobby and not mine.
About 15 years ago Kathy's aunt told her that once she started quilting it would take over her life. She was right! What I didn't know was that it would change my life too. We started a business venture with one of the local quilt shop owners and it has blossomed into KathyQuilts.com
After all of these years I ask myself what is it that KathyQuilts.com does? Are we in the machine quilting frame business or is it more than that? Sure we sell Grace Quilting Frames but it goes deeper than just trying to make a living. We are passionate about quilting.
I get the chance to take pictures of every quilt Kathy quilts. Whether it is for a customer, a family member, or who ever, I get to take all the pictures. Kathy has quilted nearly 4,000 quilts in the past 15 years so that is a lot of pictures. When I see the quilting that Kathy does and then look at the quilts in many of the quilting magazines it makes me wonder why would someone ruin such a beautiful quilt by just stippling it? Those feathers... are those feathers? What were they trying to do? Wow that is horrible quilting and this is in a nationally published magazine? What is the publisher thinking? I know how much quilting fabric costs. It makes buying diesel for my Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax seem almost a good deal. Why would someone want to spend all that time piecing a gorgeous quilt and ruin it? Don't they know that quilting is much more than just taking a quilt top, quilt back, and batting and sewing them together? I wonder if the same people call a quilt a blanket? Look at all those open spots they didn't quilt!
I don't mean to sound so harsh but I do want to say that with a little more effort that a mediocre quilt can become a work of art. What is comes down to is learning what your quilt is saying and help to showcase the personality of your quilt. The quilting on your quilt should help to bring out that personality and not detract from it. There is a better way to quilt that doesn't always involve meadering or stippling.
Kathy and I want to help any quilter that would like to see their quilts turn out better. All you need is a good quilting frame like the Gracie King or Majestic machine frames for machine quilting, or a Z44 Pro for hand quilting, from the Grace Company, and the desire to learn to freehand quilt. It isn't hard but it does take a lot of practice. Please visit KathyQuilts.com or call (888)826-0222 and get started today.
This post was also posted to the GraceMachineFrame Yahoo group. I am posting it here because it covers some good information about becoming a better machine quilter.
Hi Arvilla.
I am glad
that you finished your quilt.I cannot
say enough about practicing and the difference it will make in how quickly you
get to the skill level you hoped for when you purchased your quilting
frame.There was some expectation that you
had set at some point and thought that you could do you own quilting and save
money.I hope you will take some time to
think back and see in your mind’s eye what you imagined your quilting would
look like.Using visualization can be
very helpful in helping you progress with your machine quilting skills.You can practice doing feathers and other
more complicated quilting techniques.
Do you
remember, “Wax on, wax off,” from the, “Karate Kid”.Mr. Miyagi had Daniel waxing his car, sanding
his deck, and painting his fence.Daniel
focused on the repetitious tasks and didn’t understand the underlying principles
of what he was being taught.Once he discovered
what he had been taught he could move onto more complex training.He had to be taught those basic movements so
they would be second nature when he needed them.There are a lot of quilting techniques that
Kathy uses that she doesn’t have to think about, she just does them.After you have done over 3,500 quilts you
learn a lot.
I know
this is a long way to say that you really need to practice on a quilt that it
doesn’t matter what it looks like.In “Machine
Quilting Magic”, the eBook that Kathy and I wrote we recommend that the first
quilt you do on your frame is a couple of pieces of muslin and some thin batting
like Hobbs 80/20.You quilt through your
quilt with a bright colored thread.When
you finish you unpin your quilt top leader, roll the quilt back up on the quilt
back rail, then quilt it again like it was a blank quilt ready to be
quilted.You can do this several times
with different colors of thread.You
spend more time quilting and less time pinning and unpinning.Don’t waste time stippling, that won’t help
you become an awesome quilter.Check out
the Gallery on KathyQuilts.com.That
shows a lot of different designs you can practice.Just keep quilting and soon things will start
to fall into place.Here is a link:
I was just visiting with one of our customers and she said that the blogs that talk about Juki sewing machines say that you can purchase a Juki in Utah. That isn't true because we sell Juki's and we are based in Utah. The store we ship everything from is Stylish Fabrics in Logan Utah. You have to mention to the that you heard about it from KathyQuilts.com or Lynn and Kathy or they might not be so helpful. It is better to deal directly with us and not involve the store. They ship things for us but they are not our employees.
We totally love the current model TL Series Juki's. They are very reliable and great to quilt with.
What is the difference between the Grace SureStitch and Grace Speed Control?
I wanted to write a little blurb and compare the Grace SureStitch and the Grace Speed Control. There is a big difference in price so for those of you that are wondering whether you should get the SureStitch or not I will tell you why it is money well spent. Machine quilting can be lots of fun but it can also be really frustrating learn. There are two variables that you need to keep in mind when quilting, machine speed and speed of the carriage as you move it around. If you move the carriage too fast with the machine running too slowly you will get huge stitches. The opposite is also true when the machine is running too fast for how fast you have your carriage you will get tiny stitches.
Getting good even stitches can be achieved without a stitch length regulator with enough practice. If you just don't have the money for a SureStitch or you don't have a sewing machine that is compatible then take heart and just quilt with what you have. Wishing your quilts done hasn't ever worked for me so buckling down and just quilting is what it takes. When you can, I recommend upgrading.
When you are quilting on a machine frame there are times when you start, quilt for a bit, then stop. It is very easy to bump the speed control knob and have the speed either slowed down or sped up so the next time you hit the on button the speed might be really slow or really fast. With the SureStitch you don't have the problem. It is a lot easier to have a stitch regulator that when you turn it on the needle moves slowly up and down. As you move the carriage around it will speed up the sewing machine. As you slow down it will slow the stitches down. This really makes regulating your stitch length a lot easier. You can focus on your quilting and less on whether your stitches look good or not.
KathyQuilts.com has some videos that show actual quilting on real quilts not just some lame practice quilt. Click here to check out our videos.
Check out our sale one the SureStitch - stitch length regulator made by the Grace Company by clicking on this link
Quilting is a very interesting hobby. It is one of the few hobbies that not only can divert you from the stresses and pressures of day to day living but the end product leaves you with a tangible thing that can be used to keep you warm on a chilly evening or an heirloom to pass down to family or friends.
Quilts are pieces of your life. The more effort you put into your quilt the more meaning it has for you. Once you have pieced your quilt and you are ready to quilt it you have a decision to make, do you quilt it yourself or trust your treasure to someone else to quilt? I have been a part of the quilting industry, more especially machine quilting, for about 15 years. As I have watched Kathy develop as a professional machine quilter I have had also developed ideas of what is good and horrible quilting. When you have someone that is extremely talented quilting and you have to take all the pictures of every quilt you get a good idea of what looks good.
I have seen some horrendous quilts come in from customers and leave Kathy's quilting room looking really cute. If you don't understand the roll of quilting and what it does for a quilt then you won't understand what I am talking about. Quilting takes layers of fabric and batting and bonds them into a finished product that can have many uses. That is the theory of quilting but there is much more to it. The way a quilt is quilted will determine if it would win a ribbon at the state fair, find a place in your heart, or have you ooooing or ahhhhhhing over how awesome the quilt is. Quilts should have a personality. There are really busy quilts that don't fall into this category, but quilts that show motion, have a theme, tell a story, or quilts that have large areas where artistic quilting can be done, can be master pieces or total flops.
Kathy had a customer that brought her a quilt that had already been quilted by a "professional" machine quilter. It was an, "Over the River and Through the Woods" quilt so it had a winter scene. The lady had seen a quilt that Kathy did for a shop and after taking the class this lady wanted her quilt to look like the quilt she saw in the class. This was the first quilt that this lady had ever done so after spending a chunk of change on the quilt kit and taking the class she took it to someone else, (not Kathy), to quilt. After paying the quilter for finishing her quilt, she took it out at home and cried, "This doesn't look anything like what I envisioned my quilt would look like. It's ruined!" The problem was that just because someone charges for their quilting doesn't mean they will quilt any better than you could. This professional quilter had stitched in the ditch around everything. Technically she had quilted it but there wasn't any quilting that made you think it was a cold Wintery scene. You didn't get the feeling that you were on a sleigh ride to Grand Mother's house. The lady went to the quilt shop where she took the class and she got Kathy's number so she could have Kathy do her quilt. Kathy's customer unpicked the whole quilt and then brought it to Kathy. She really didn't need to unpick the quilt because Kathy could have just added the right quilting and totally changed the whole look and feel of the quilt.
When you have a quilt that you are thinking about starting, you need to find out who the best quilters are in your area. See if you can view their work in quilt shop class samples. Talk to people at the shops and ask them who is (are) the best quilter(s) they know. If you are going to spend time and money piecing a quilt you don't want to skimp and go cheap on the quilting. Remember that the quilting can make or break your finished quilt. Call the potential quilter and see if they have a waiting list. If they are only out a week or two you might want to call someone else. Kathy almost always has about seven to 12 week backlog on her quilts. Kathy has people call and get on her "list" before they even start the quilt so when their quilting date comes up Kathy will only have had their quilt for a few weeks. Get on the list if they have one!
Here are some things to make sure of so your quilter will be more likely to be successful. First make sure to press your seams when piecing your quilt. There isn't anything that is more annoying than getting a quilt from a customer that they haven't thought enough of their work to press the seams. Find out from your quilter if they want the quilt back to be a certain size larger than your quilt top. Make sure you measure it or watch the people at the shop measure it to make sure it is the correct size. Find out if they want you to supply the batting or if they will supply it. Find out the cost so you know ahead what you are looking at cost wise, surprises are not fun. Find out what type of quilting your quilter does. If all they do is pantograph patterns find someone else. For some quilts pantos are fine but if your quilter can't freehand quilt then they are still a newbie and you should find someone else. People have to start somewhere but unless you know they can quilt don't give them the chance to ruin your quilt. If you have someone that quilts and doesn't charge very much again you need to know why. Kathy will usually get around $200 to $300 for a queen size quilt depending upon if it is custom or pantograph pattern quilting.
I know this is a lot to digest all in one setting but when you are trusting someone with your priceless heirlooms you need to make sure you know what you are getting into. If you have questions please email me at lynn@kathyquilts.com and I will be happy to answer them.
