I love all your coffee cups , nice and big as well as pretty. I live in Queensland Australia and watch most of your UA-cam videos. I have a sit down Q20 as I'm 83 years old and still learning.😂😂😂
Enjoyed binge watching your videos yesterday as I quilted for a good bit of the day. Finishing up this one now as I wrap up the blocks for a mystery quilt my guild has been working on. Love the hints and advice as you think and work through your quilts. ❤ It’s probably time for a few more cups of coffee to show my appreciation. 😉
Watching this not live, never seem to have the time for that but you had me laughing out loud when you said, " You guys didn't know I could be quiet this long did you"
Learning so much!! I’m a beginner and the more info I find the easier the process becomes!! Going to get the magnetic bars today! My husband just laughs😂😂Thank you so much!!
Ive given up on those side clamps. They are very frustrating and time consuming to use. A local quilt shop has a genius side clamp method that works awesome. They cut a red snapper top and bottom to fit 12" throat space and added a ribbon into the pipe section, tied a knot make a loop and then attached to the single clamps on both sides. This works so much better then the white clamps. Give it a try.
For the tape measure, I have one on my dead bar with double sided tape. Also have a second one that loops around the sides of the frame that attach with a binder clip or Velcro or magnets.
Regarding where to put your snips/scissors. My machine is the Q20, which should not make any difference. I lay the snips flat on the machine head with the handles facing me and point between the two thread holders. They stay in place just fine, unless I forget to put them back in place.
Thank you for the videos. I truly enjoy watching oyu quilt. I notice you are workign on a different machine. Any comments you can share on your decision to change long arma machine ?
Thanks for the videos. I am wondering with the way you have the backing loaded on Stella to the quilt top bar- are you having to have extra backing fabric to come up over the top to compensate for not using the top rail for the backing? It seems to me that you would have to when you get to the end of the quilt. Maybe you can show us how you would quilt to the end and have the backing ending shown how you do it? I really appreciate your time and learning from you.
Thanks for sharing your "real" experiences. Encouraging to know that even the experts can struggle with thread breakage. Perhaps a good subject for a future discussion would be how to use a Towa gauge. I understand the concept of measuring the tension of the thread wound onto a bobbin, but if you have one bobbin that's higher (or lower) than "typical", then what? What do you do with that bobbin full of thread? I would love to know, I'm sure others would, too.
A candle warmer will keep your coffee warm ( just cover your coffee while it is on the warmer). Candle warmers were called coffee cup warmers before they were called candle warmers
Late to the game seeing this vid, but I did notice that with the backing attached to that lower bar (as I also do), when you get toward the end, it is flopping down. Is that something to be concerned about and if so, do you have a fix? I got a piece of duct tape just to keep it from distracting me by flopping around. Maybe a small magnet now that I think about it. Otherwise, I do love attaching there. Still working on the red snapper loading efficiently. I keep forgetting to roll around my dead bar first on the top side.
Thanks for showing how to trim the excess batting off. Will you please show how you load on the bottom bar please. I have the Q20 and can’t stitch right to left without thread breaks. What is your top tension set on & what size needle are you using?
Needle is 130/70, top tension is 4.0. I’ll try to show the full loading including the bottom bar in a future episode. For many questions I highly recommend joining a Facebook group specific to your machine. Pretty sure there’s one for Q20 and Q24. There is a WEALTH of experience you can tap into.
Q. On the light row, would you usually do a wider wave to make it more filled in? Just wondering how much quilting is recommended or usually done. Thank you. I learned alot.
I think if I did it again I might do more. I don’t think there’s a “usual”, there’s plenty for the batting recommendations, I just prefer less puffy unquilted bits. But that’s strictly preference.
What steps would you suggest for someone who has not done any machine quilting but is interested in learning & possibly buying a long arm machine at some point in the future?
Start by test driving! There are usually several brands represented at any given quilt show, and that’s a great way to start feeling them out - what size do you like? What options are you looking for? And I always recommend starting used, simply because you may not settle into a certain style until you’ve done quite a lot of quilts. You might not know…all kinds of things 😁 Machines hold their value well, so a used one is a low risk way to experiment and figure out what your dream machine is.
I noticed you are using your ruler foot even though you aren't using rulers. I do that with my sit-down Q16 as well. Do you ever change feet? What sort of design would you use a different foot for and why? (I'm only part way thru the video when I'm asking this, so if you answer it in further in the video, I'll catch it lol)
I find the ruler foot to be all-purpose so it's generally what I leave on. The smaller darning foot or a c-shaped foot offer a bit better visibility, but I don't usually require that unless I'm quilting, say, tiny pebbles. And then I also use the spoon shaped foot when working on a quilt with bulky seam allowances. Its shape helps it skim over the top and not catch or push thicker edges. There are certainly others, but those are my go-to.
I personally only have it on when I'm doing ruler work. Because it extends past the nose of the longarm, it reduces the quilting space by a couple of inches. For me, I don't want to give that up....but some quilters who do more ruler work prefer to keep it on.
It’s a high-tech thread net - a lonely sock with the heel and toe cut off🤣 I found that actual thread nets were too light weight and just pulled off, so this works perfectly, and yes, I always have it over the spool.
I have a Laurastar steamer which is super effective, but if you don’t have a lovely steamer, you can pop the batting in the dryer with a wet towel and some heat. It works magic.
I am new to your channel. I wanting to get a larger longarm. I am going to a quilt show next month and try out all the longarms, what is the name of the quilt behind you, it very pretty . Thanks
I noticed that on this project you used a 1/4 basting stitch. On your previous videos you just used the same stitch as your quilting. Why did you change that?
No particular reason. I’m just exploring all the things my new machine offers. Different stitch lengths allow me to pull up excess fullness in varying degrees, so it’s fun to play with the options.
I love all your coffee cups , nice and big as well as pretty. I live in Queensland Australia and watch most of your UA-cam videos. I have a sit down Q20 as I'm 83 years old and still learning.😂😂😂
Enjoyed binge watching your videos yesterday as I quilted for a good bit of the day. Finishing up this one now as I wrap up the blocks for a mystery quilt my guild has been working on. Love the hints and advice as you think and work through your quilts. ❤
It’s probably time for a few more cups of coffee to show my appreciation. 😉
Watching this not live, never seem to have the time for that but you had me laughing out loud when you said, " You guys didn't know I could be quiet this long did you"
Learning so much!! I’m a beginner and the more info I find the easier the process becomes!! Going to get the magnetic bars today! My husband just laughs😂😂Thank you so much!!
Hey, it's the little things!!
Would REALLY LIKE more behind the scenes!!!!! Betsey Ryan
Beautiful work
Thank you very much!
I also have the tape measure attached to my dead bar.
Ive given up on those side clamps. They are very frustrating and time consuming to use. A local quilt shop has a genius side clamp method that works awesome. They cut a red snapper top and bottom to fit 12" throat space and added a ribbon into the pipe section, tied a knot make a loop and then attached to the single clamps on both sides. This works so much better then the white clamps. Give it a try.
I’m sorry they’ve been frustrating for you!
Love watching your quilting and the sharing of your longarm quilting knowledge. I don't have a longarm but wish I did.
thx
For the tape measure, I have one on my dead bar with double sided tape. Also have a second one that loops around the sides of the frame that attach with a binder clip or Velcro or magnets.
I can see the value in two👍🏻
My Innova classic is set up similar to your Stella. I'm going to try your loading method as it seams quicker . Thanks for all you do for others
You’re welcome!
Regarding where to put your snips/scissors. My machine is the Q20, which should not make any difference. I lay the snips flat on the machine head with the handles facing me and point between the two thread holders. They stay in place just fine, unless I forget to put them back in place.
Good idea! I currently have my thread clippings cup in the way of that, but it's good to keep in mind different options.
Thank you for the videos. I truly enjoy watching oyu quilt. I notice you are workign on a different machine. Any comments you can share on your decision to change long arma machine ?
I talked about it a fair bit during this episode….perhaps 1/3 of the way through.
Thanks for the videos. I am wondering with the way you have the backing loaded on Stella to the quilt top bar- are you having to have extra backing fabric to come up over the top to compensate for not using the top rail for the backing? It seems to me that you would have to when you get to the end of the quilt. Maybe you can show us how you would quilt to the end and have the backing ending shown how you do it? I really appreciate your time and learning from you.
No extra is needed at the bottom end - the extension of distance is all covered with the leader.
What is the quilt behind you…love it
It’s my own design, and straight out of my scrap bins.
Thanks for sharing your "real" experiences. Encouraging to know that even the experts can struggle with thread breakage. Perhaps a good subject for a future discussion would be how to use a Towa gauge. I understand the concept of measuring the tension of the thread wound onto a bobbin, but if you have one bobbin that's higher (or lower) than "typical", then what? What do you do with that bobbin full of thread? I would love to know, I'm sure others would, too.
Great suggestion!
A candle warmer will keep your coffee warm ( just cover your coffee while it is on the warmer). Candle warmers were called coffee cup warmers before they were called candle warmers
I actually have one….but it requires a cord which I know I will then trip over 😆
Late to the game seeing this vid, but I did notice that with the backing attached to that lower bar (as I also do), when you get toward the end, it is flopping down. Is that something to be concerned about and if so, do you have a fix? I got a piece of duct tape just to keep it from distracting me by flopping around. Maybe a small magnet now that I think about it. Otherwise, I do love attaching there. Still working on the red snapper loading efficiently. I keep forgetting to roll around my dead bar first on the top side.
I don’t quite follow the question about the back flopping down, sorry. Hopefully other videos will clarify that for you.
Thanks for showing how to trim the excess batting off. Will you please show how you load on the bottom bar please. I have the Q20 and can’t stitch right to left without thread breaks. What is your top tension set on & what size needle are you using?
Needle is 130/70, top tension is 4.0. I’ll try to show the full loading including the bottom bar in a future episode.
For many questions I highly recommend joining a Facebook group specific to your machine. Pretty sure there’s one for Q20 and Q24. There is a WEALTH of experience you can tap into.
Q-Are you just used to where to stop quilting at the bottom before advancing? I have so much problem with that.
Yes, I am. But you could easily lay a line of painters tape so your eye can see the boundary.
Q. On the light row, would you usually do a wider wave to make it more filled in? Just wondering how much quilting is recommended or usually done. Thank you. I learned alot.
I think if I did it again I might do more. I don’t think there’s a “usual”, there’s plenty for the batting recommendations, I just prefer less puffy unquilted bits. But that’s strictly preference.
What steps would you suggest for someone who has not done any machine quilting but is interested in learning & possibly buying a long arm machine at some point in the future?
Start by test driving! There are usually several brands represented at any given quilt show, and that’s a great way to start feeling them out - what size do you like? What options are you looking for? And I always recommend starting used, simply because you may not settle into a certain style until you’ve done quite a lot of quilts. You might not know…all kinds of things 😁 Machines hold their value well, so a used one is a low risk way to experiment and figure out what your dream machine is.
I noticed you are using your ruler foot even though you aren't using rulers. I do that with my sit-down Q16 as well. Do you ever change feet? What sort of design would you use a different foot for and why? (I'm only part way thru the video when I'm asking this, so if you answer it in further in the video, I'll catch it lol)
I find the ruler foot to be all-purpose so it's generally what I leave on. The smaller darning foot or a c-shaped foot offer a bit better visibility, but I don't usually require that unless I'm quilting, say, tiny pebbles. And then I also use the spoon shaped foot when working on a quilt with bulky seam allowances. Its shape helps it skim over the top and not catch or push thicker edges. There are certainly others, but those are my go-to.
Do you quilt with or without the ruler base when free motion quilting but only use ruler base when ruler quilting?
I personally only have it on when I'm doing ruler work. Because it extends past the nose of the longarm, it reduces the quilting space by a couple of inches. For me, I don't want to give that up....but some quilters who do more ruler work prefer to keep it on.
What is wrapped around your coned thread & do you normally use this on all your threads?
It’s a high-tech thread net - a lonely sock with the heel and toe cut off🤣 I found that actual thread nets were too light weight and just pulled off, so this works perfectly, and yes, I always have it over the spool.
Do you trim the quilt before giving back to your client?
I do, yes. I don’t think many quilters do….but it seems like quite a number of my clients are elderly and it’s a nice service for them.
Q - how do you get the creases and wrinkles out of your batting?
I have a Laurastar steamer which is super effective, but if you don’t have a lovely steamer, you can pop the batting in the dryer with a wet towel and some heat. It works magic.
I am new to your channel. I wanting to get a larger longarm. I am going to a quilt show next month and try out all the longarms, what is the name of the quilt behind you, it very pretty . Thanks
I call it Birds of a Feather. It's my own design, all from my scrap bins and stash. I've not published it to date. Maybe one day😁
Hi. What the name of the Magnets?
There's no name at all on mine, but I've put a link in the show notes to some that are available online.
@StitchedBySusan Thanks Teacher. Quilting is my Medicine.
I noticed that on this project you used a 1/4 basting stitch. On your previous videos you just used the same stitch as your quilting. Why did you change that?
No particular reason. I’m just exploring all the things my new machine offers. Different stitch lengths allow me to pull up excess fullness in varying degrees, so it’s fun to play with the options.