Finishing Threads When Machine Quilting

Hi,

We had one of our friends ask us about how to finish threads when machine quilting. This is the short answer version:

Hi Julie,

We understand there is a problem with the sound and if we can ever afford the software to fix it we will see what we can do. Believe it or not we shot these videos using a iPhone. They aren't the best quality but they seem clear enough to get the job done. The biggest problem we had in the past was having a camera and the software to make these videos. Sorry about the sound. I know it is loud at the beginning but it seems a little more professional to have the sound in the intro.

We will put finishing stitches on our ever expanding list of things to film. There seem to be three major thoughts on how to finish your stitches. There are people that feel you have to back tack your stitches or they will come undone. There are also people that think you need to use a needle and make a knot. Kathy and I feel that if there isn't a significant benefit to a certain method, go with what is easiest.

Kathy will bring her bobbin thread up and just clip it when she is finish up the stitching she is working on. I like to use a Juki TL-98Q when I quilt. I just use the thread trimmer button and I cut the quarter inch thread that it leaves behind. There will be people that think that the thread will unravel but as of yet I haven't seen it happen to any of the quilts that I have done. Remember to worry about important things and don't sweat the small stuff. :)

Please visit us on YouTube.com where you can see the awesome videos that we have completed so far. If you subscribe you will be alerted when we upload new videos. Here is our video on pinning a quilt on a machine frame:


Thanks,

Lynn
KathyQuilts.com

Why I like the Grace Start-Right Frame

Here are some really great reasons the Start-Right frame is a great machine quilting frame to get started with:

• Better tracking system than any of the other Grace Frames which gives you better control over your quilting. It really makes learning how to machine quilt a lot easier.
• The frame is over half way set up right out of the box. The Start-Right frame is the easiest frame to set up because much of it is already assembled.
• The Start-Right Frame is made from steel with a powder coated finish. It really makes it nice for dusting it off and keeping it looking like new.
• The steel frame rails are thinner than the aluminum rails on the other frames. Steel is stronger so the rails are less likely to bend or bow. With a thinner take up rail (the one that the quilt gathers up on as you quilt on your frame) you can get more quilt rolled up on the rail before you don't have enough room to do your pattern. The room inside the arm of your sewing machine really comes at a premium so having a thinner rail that is stronger is a great asset.

How much laundering can polyester batting stand without bearding?

Hi Carol,
Hmm, it's not the bearding that I find to be the problem with polyester batting. It's losing 'loftiness' that I notice first with it. I've washed kids quilts for years and years, but I find that they get flatter and flatter, and finally resemble cotton batting after a time. I noticed that hand-tied quilts tend to have the polyester batting separate and find torn spots in it, but not machine quilted quilts. So, after years of quilting and washing (I have 6 kids, and they like puffy quilts, so I usually put poly batting in their quilts), I don't think that I've ever seen the quilts have bearding. Only a few spots in my older tied quilts (before I had a quilting machine), and these were just a few spots where the yarns had pulled the batting through right when I quilted them. But you do lose loftiness. It's not a problem if you have a low loft batting though. Just keep in mind that the more a poly quilt is washed, the flatter it will become.
Are you hand quilting or machine quilting? In either case, I really don't think you'll have much of a problem with bearding if you're using today's polyester batting. I used to have poly battings spun for me on each quilt, and these would have more tendency to split and beard, but with today's methods, I think the battings are more stable than in the past.

Good luck with the quilting! Even though I use about 95% cotton battings now, I still have great success with the poly battings on the market today. (I don't use Mountain Mist batting though, as it tends to tear too easily to use for either hand quilting in a Grace frame, or machine quilting. That brand tends to be for only hand quilting on an old fashioned full frame, as it just falls apart when you roll the quilt with other frames.)

Kathy

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

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

Comparisons in Machine Quilting Frames from the Grace Company

The Grace Company has been the number one seller of machine quilting frames as well as hand quilting frames. Kathy and I love to go to their factory in Salt Lake City Utah and see what new innovative thing they will come up with. They are always working on something new. They are quickly becoming the Machine Frame industry's frame maker. They are just awesome.

With that being said, there is a problem, which Grace Frame is right for me? Choosing the right frame can present a challenge. Kathy and I have been selling Grace quilting frames for about 13 years. The GMQ or Grace Machine Quilter has been around for about seven years. When the Grace Company was developing the Original GMQ they had Kathy be on of their technical advisers.

They would ask what do you think about this or that? Grace was planning on only having handles in the back of the carriage. We said you need to be able to quilt from the front and back. When the GMQ came out and all the other machine frames they made, they have it so you can quilt from the front or the back. This is really important because you freehand quilt from the front of the frame where you can watch the needle of the sewing machine. When you follow patterns, like pantograph patterns, you trace along a pattern with a laser or stylus. Since you are following a pattern, you stand at the back of the machine frame. There are machine frames out there that differ from this but most frames you quilt from the back when using a pantograph pattern or quilting template.

The Grace Company has wooden and metal machine frame models. The metal ones are usually quite a bit more than the wooden frames. The metal frames are the "Professional Series", frames because there are specific sewing machines that are designed to work with them. The wooden frames like the GMQ Pro and Little Gracie are designed to work with most sewing machines that have at least six inches of throat length. If you measure the length to the right of the sewing machine needle, this will give you the throat length. It is also called the "Arm". If you have heard of a longarm quilting frame, that would be a machine with 18 or more inches of throat length. If you are looking for a machine frame and it comes with a sewing machine that has a nine inch throat, that isn't a longarm. One reason I am writing this is to help people make an informed decision about which frame is right for them and the sewing machine that will give them the best results.

Wooden Grace Machine Frames

GMQ Pro - This is my favorite frame the Grace Company makes. When you upgrade the carriage to the Pro Carriage you have the best frame available for the money. It handles like frames that cost $1000 or more. The GMQ Pro has the same diameter aluminum frame rails (poles) as the Pinnacle. The ratcheting system is much simpler so there isn't anything that can really go wrong with it. It will allow you to do quilts up to 126 inches wide. The Pinnacle will only let you do quilts up to 114 or so.

The GMQ Pro allows you to put a machine on it with a throat from six to 18 inches. The frame rails pivot which lets you look under the quilt without throwing your back out!

Why we recommend this frame:

If you have the room to set the GMQ Pro up to King size and the money to purchase it, then this is the best frame for general all around quilting.

It is January and we are hoping for some warmer weather. We have had snow on the ground for several weeks now. Kathy is quilting up a storm since there isn't a lot to do outside. I hope that everyone that is reading this will find some time to quilt.

KathyQuilts.com is now on Face Book I hope you will become a friend of Kathy Quilts! (that's Kathy with a space and Quilts with an ! at the end)

We have a sale on with our Grace GMQ Pro's right now. We also have a coupon where you can get an extra $55 off through the end of January. Here is the code:

GMQPro55

I will be writing articles about the different Grace Frames and how they compare to other frames as well as frames from other manufacturers frames.

bye for now,

Lynn
KathyQuilts.com