A stack of quilts to finish

I took advantage of a rainy day, to pause on the outside work, and laid out some quilt tops that I’ve made. Six or 7 years ago, I started my first block-of-the-month quilt, and I’ll talk about why in another post, but here are 3 of them.

I could quilt edge to edge, but I’m in no hurry, so I’ll custom quilt them. Edge to edge is a single, repeating design over the entire quilt. It can be intricate or simple and the possibilities are endless. Custom quilting is like it sounds. As you might have guessed, custom quilting takes a lot more time.

And neither is more right than the other. As with all things quilting, you get to choose what works for you, what you have the time and budget for.

The funny thing I have discovered, on quilts with lots of prints or piecing, simple can be just as good; lines, grids, wavy lines. Once it’s washed, you don’t notice the quilting as much, as it gets that wonderful crinkly texture.

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From left to right: Getting to Know Hue, Color Love, Judie’s Album Quilt

But, it’s a fun challenge, so these three quilts will be custom quilted.

And, I’m going to load the first one on the left, because I think I know how I want to start!

Have a great day,
Your Friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter

Can you sew over pins?

Can you sew over pins? Yes, you can.

Should you sew over pins? I’ve talked to a few technicians in my day, and they all say, no.

Most of the time, if you sew over a pin, slowly enough, the needle will move the pin aside if it hits it. But, if it’s a thicker pin, the needle might hit just right and dull the needle. Or, worse, shatter the needle; little bits flying into your machine, around your table, possibly in your face.

What about using the super fine pins? Most of the time, with those, if a needle hits it dead on, the pin will bend. (Bye bye pin, needle is still duller, even if it didn’t break.) It’s also a very sad day, when that super fine pin bends enough to be forced down into the machine. And, I’m told, that happens. Then, that devil-may-care attitude about sewing over pins, will cost you a service call and time without your machine!

Ultimately, it’s your machine, pins and needles.

But, when someone comes to sew at my house, or if I’m teaching them to sew, I teach them the very best habit of simply pausing the machine a stitch or two before the pin to slide out the pin, and continue sewing. As an experience sewer (I really don’t like the term, sewist, so I’m going to use sewer and you just have to know that I’m pronouncing it as one would, when referring to sewing,) I can slow my machine without stopping and remove a pin. But, what’s the hurry, really?

I have throw away a lot of bent pins and sewing machine needles that go thunk, thunk into the fabric, after I’ve hit a pin. I’ve had to take my machine in, to get out the extra bits of broken needles. It’s really as simple to remove the pin as you sew, as it is to sew over it and remove it later.

Do yourself a favor, and make it a habit not to sew over pins!

Your friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter

You’ve never seen a longarm and “Mid-Arm” quilting machine described this way

So, here is my simplistic, real life way of describing the differences in a sewing machine, a “mid-arm” quilting machine and a longarm quilting machine. I keep adding quotes to “mid-arm” because it’s not a specific machine like a domestic sewing machine or a longarm. I explained that in the previous long, confusing post. Hopefully, this will educate and possibly amuse the home sewist trying to figure out what the differences are.
[None of the pictures are mine, they came off the kubota and Chevy websites. I am not associated with either company.]

Option 1: A domestic sewing machine

It does it all, comes with attachments and feet for all kinds of tasks. And, you can quilt with it. All-purpose. There are really big domestic sewing machines now, that have so much throat space, if you are just wanting to finish a quilt or 2 a year, and for the rest of the year, piece quilts, sew other projects from dolls to bags to curtains, and possibly even embroider on stuff, look at a domestic machine.

Option 2: “Mid-arm” quilting machine

A marketing term for a souped up domestic sewing machine, bigger and faster, with no attachments or fancy feet. It gives you more space to quilt and more power in the machine, for less money, than a longarm. A “mid-arm” is a heavy-duty, single purpose machine, but you can sew on it, if you want, sometimes. You just don’t need an industrial machine for most home sewing. (This and other confusing descriptions and differences in what is referred to as a “mid-arm” can be found in my previous post.)

Option 3: A Longarm quilting machine

Longarms have one purpose, to get you from point A to B, from finishing a quilt top to finishing the quilting, in style, more comfortably and with less strain on your body than with options 1 and 2. Simply put, you quilt with a longarm. You load it up with your quilt and take it on long, comfy rides. You don’t piece quilts with it, you don’t sew clothes. You quilt with it. Period.

Well, there you have it. I’ve been told my mind works in strange and interesting ways, coming up with comparisons that don’t really make sense to some, but definitely make sense to those who think like I do.

Have a beautiful day. I hope you do something you really enjoy, even if for a few minutes.

Your friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter

Let’s just get more confused: Long-arm or mid-arm

I collected a bunch of questions from potential long-arm quilting machine buyers on reddit, so I don’t just ramble on and on. Because if there’s one thing I can ramble on about, it’s quilting.

Mid-arm is a relatively newer term, and quite confusing, depending on whether you are talking to a dealer or a consumer. From my understanding, it’s really more of a marketing term, not a specific type of machine, which is why it’s confusing.

A mid-arm machine can have feed dogs or not. So, what that means to you, is, a mid-arm is simply a more industrial, stripped down version of a home sewing machine, with a stronger, faster motor, OR, it’s a smaller longarm machine, that they are calling a mid-arm, which has no feed dogs, for lower budgets. So, are you more confused now? I kind of am, so don’t feel bad!

A longarm quilting machine, is designed to do one thing well; move over a quilt, whether manually or computerized, quickly. It has no feed-dogs, and the needle is in one position. It doesn’t even straight stitch, technically, because unless you or a computer is moving the machine around, it’ll stitch in the same spot forever and ever, amen. You can’t piece quilts with a longarm, although there are some fun projects that you can accomplish, other than quilts, but no one would ever invest in a longarm to piece quilts.

Let’s forget the terms, mid-arm and longarm for a second.

What are you hoping to do with this machine you are thinking about buying? Are you going to set up a quilting service as a home business and quilt for others? Do you want to finish your quilts more quickly or with less strain on your body? Maybe you want to do a little of both?

Here’s why I personally chose the longarm that I chose; I had the space, the budget, and I already had a regular sewing machine that I love. I was tired of basting my quilts with safety pins and adhesive spray. And moving and maneuvering a quilt under the needle can have some physical impact on your whole body, as you already have figured out, if you quilt on a domestic machine. Yes, standing at a longarm can also be physically exhausting, so I’ll cover that in another post.

The more I try and explain mid-arm, the more confusing it gets, because it’s not really a specific thing. With a mid-arm, you are going to move the quilt sandwich with your hands. If you are moving the machine, and it’s more petite, then it’s a smaller longarm.

Longarm quilting machines have one main job, quilting.
“Mid-arm” quilting machines can simply be a souped up domestic sewing machine, with a heavy-duty motor, with feed dogs and a wider throat. If it’s being called a “mid-arm” and it has no feed dogs, then it’s a longarm, but smaller and at a lower price-point.

No wonder there are 30 minute youtube videos explaining the difference! Gotta love marketing.

Do you want to stand and quilt, or sit? Do you want to move the quilt around, or move the machine? Do you want to pre-baste, or ditch the basting and load the backing, batting and top, directly onto a frame. You can probably guess my answer to that by how I phrased it!
Why do longarm machines cost so much? Can I recoup the cost of a longarm? How many hours does it take to finish a full-size quilt on a longarm? Is it really quilting if the computer runs the machine? (Oh, please…that’s a question? I’ll answer that now. YES. Sheesh.) Where do you learn how to use a longarm quilting machine? What are other options available if I don’t have the space for a longarm?

Those and many more questions, will be answered in the following posts. Or, I might change out of my Covid-19 quarantine daily outfit, you know what I’m talking about, get real clothes on and answer in a video.

Your friend,
Anne Dovel - The Fit Quilter