Edge-to-Edge or Custom Quilting? Part 2

So now that we know about overall/edge-to-edge quilting, (you can read my first post on that here) what exactly is custom quilting? Custom is any type of design that does NOT completely cover the quilt top with one pattern. There are actually different levels of custom quilting. I sometimes break them down into semi-custom, simple custom, full custom, and heirloom. (Other quilters may have different terminology.)

An example of semi-custom quilting. An overall design in the body of the quilt, with separate border treatments. (Click photo to enlarge)

The distinctions between levels is not clear cut. The simplest form (semi-custom) is an overall design in the body of the quilt, with a separate design in the border. But just as there is a wide variety of quilt tops, there are also many variations of custom quilting. Each time an additional treatment is added to a quilt, it adds time, complexity and cost. (A ‘treatment’ is each differing design, border, sashing, stippling around applique, etc.)

So if a quilt is made of 60 blocks, but they are all the same, I might only need to decide on one block design, one sashing design, and one border design. Another quilt may have only 30 blocks but they are all different. Now much more time needs to be spent on how to quilt each of the blocks. Therefore the first quilt might be simple custom (only 3 treatments), while the second quilt would be full custom.

Simple Custom – the same design in each block, with a different design in the sashing. (Click photo to enlarge)

A word about stitch-in-the-ditch (SID). Many customers come to me and say “Do something simple like SID”. When you are quilting on your regular sit down sewing machine, SID is fairly easy, as you have feed dogs to guide the quilt sandwich and pull it evenly through the machine. However, on a longarm machine it is quite different. Not only do we not have feed dogs, but we are ‘driving’ the machine around on the fabric, rather than pushing the fabric through the machine. It is very difficult to move the machine perfectly along the (hopefully ) straight line of the ‘ditch’. Most longarmers actually use an acrylic ruler to help guide the machine in that straight line (or along the twisty windy path around an applique design), and slow down considerably. So SID and other types of straight-line quilting are technically more difficult and slower than other types of LA quilting. For this reason, some longarmers do not offer it, or if they do they must charge a premium price for it. I actually like doing ruler work, and if you’ve seen the custom quilting I do, I often combine straight lines with other treatments. I love the way it looks, but it is time consuming, so it does cost more than other types of treatments.

Ruler work in the black sashing and outer border. These treatments take extra time to space evenly, mark, and sew with templates. (Click photo to enlarge)

Heirloom quilting is the top-of-the-line show quilt stuff. I could quilt two identical tops with feathers, but one could be full custom and the other could be heirloom. What’s the difference? On a full custom quilt my feathers would be more freeform random feathers that are not necessarily symmetrical or identical. Background fills would be medium to small sized. There would be some SID to separate perhaps the body of the quilt from the borders, but no extensive SID or ruler work.

Informal feathers – these are not marked and may be more randomly spaced. (Click photo to enlarge)

Quilt B (heirloom), would have more formal feathers, usually using marked designs to keep them looking alike. Background fills would be smaller, there would be more SID, and many of the designs would require measuring and math to be sure they are spaced evenly.

Formal feather border (Click photo to enlarge)

Center of applique quilt with heirloom quilting. (Click photo to enlarge)

I also try to come up with unique designs to fit the top – for instance once I had a quilt with a fleur-de-lis design in the fabric, and I repeated that design in open areas of the quilt. Which means I often custom design a motif just for that quilt.

Center of Wilderness quilt with custom designed pine cone motifs. (Click photo to enlarge)

Now that you know about some different types of quilting, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself in order to determine which type is right for your quilt. I’ll cover those questions in my next blog post. To be sure you don’t miss it, subscribe to my blog for future updates (on the upper left of this webpage, or below if you’re on a mobile device). You can also “Like” my page on Facebook. And feel free to share my site with your friends!

Part 3 of this article has been posted here

Edge-to-Edge or Custom Quilting? Part 1

When deciding to work with a longarm quilter, or quilt your own top on a standup frame system, one of the first decisions you need to make is whether to have your quilt custom quilted or finished with edge-to-edge quilting. How do you decide? And what exactly are the differences?

Edge-to-edge quilting, also known as overall quilting, ignores the pieced design of the quilt top. A random, usually repeating pattern is stitched on all portions of the quilt. Sometimes this is done from the back of the machine, tracing a paper pattern called a pantograph (panto for short), with a laser light or stylus. An overall design can also be worked from the front of the machine as a freehand design – in effect the quilter is ‘doodling’ on the quilt top, making up the design as she goes.

An edge-to-edge pantograph quilting design

If you are a beginning longarm quilter, there are many things to learn – how to load the quilt on the frame and keep it square as you are quilting. How to choose threads and balance the tension between the top and bobbin threads. How to move the machine smoothly and evenly to get a consistent stitch length and lines that don’t wobble. If you are then trying to think about what design to stitch and how to not get boxed into a corner at the same time, sometimes it can get frustrating and overwhelming.

Using a pantograph pattern can support you like training wheels on a bicycle do. The wheels keep you from falling over while you are learning to pedal, steer, and keep your balance. A pantograph pattern gives you a map to follow, so you can focus your attention on keeping your movements smooth and even, instead of thinking of where to go next, and how to control the spacing so the design is even. Once you have quilted an entire quilt with a panto, I think you will find you have much more confidence in your ability to control your machine. Compare your first rows with the rows near the end – I bet your stitch length will be more even, and your long sweeping lines of stitching will have fewer wobbles.

A pantograph pattern on the back of the longarm machine.

Practicing a panto pattern also helps you learn to freehand. As you are following the pattern, notice how you need to slow down your movements on the long straighter sections (to keep the stitches from getting too large), and speed up as you are doing smaller, tighter motifs. When changing directions, you need to move in and out of points quickly or there will be a buildup of thread, resulting in a knot or the thread breaking. Pantos are a great way to learn the basics of longarm quilting, and while you are learning, you are finishing some of your quilt tops as well!

Although it’s been 12 years since I got my first longarm, I still remember the awe I felt at what this marvelous machine could accomplish, and my pride at finishing my first ‘real’ quilt top (I practiced on lots of muslin first), even though I just used a very simple panto on it!

The first quilt ever done on my longarm.
Quilted with the panto “Cotton Candy” by Norma Sharp.

In another post I’ll talk about Custom Quilting. If you don’t want to miss out, be sure and subscribe to my blog on the left side of this page (or down below if you’re on a mobile device) to be notified when I publish it!

Happy Quilting!

Part 2 of this article has been posted here

What Does Steak Have to do with Quilting????

Have you ever been to a restaurant that served many, many, MANY types of food – Italian…. Steak…. Mexican…. Chicken…. Chinese…. American…. etc? Usually when trying to prepare many diverse things, none of them are done particularly well. Then you visit the restaurant that serves ONE thing – let’s say steak. Big steak …… or little steak ……. is the only choice. You KNOW you are going to get a great steak at that place.

I’ve been feeling like that first restaurant lately. Longarm quilter……pattern designer…..quilting teacher……retail store owner…..website manager…..bookkeeper…..blogger…..retreat organizer…… I don’t feel like I’ve been doing any of those as well as I could if I weren’t spread so thin.

So I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about which parts of the business I’m best at,  which ones I enjoy the most, and which parts fit in best with my personality quirks  (I’m not good at long term planning, and I have the attention span of a gnat – both things that are not conducive to running a fabric store!). I find that I need to create – not plan things out six months in advance…….not haggle with vendors over mistakes on orders…….not guess which fabrics to order that people will want to buy, only to find out my crystal ball was broken that day…..not spend a lot of time on marketing and merchandising and trying to convince people to buy things they probably don’t really need anyway. (I mean……really……how many of us are actually in danger of running out of fabric?!?!?!?!? LOL)

After much consideration, I have decided to narrow the focus of my business. I’m going to concentrate primarily on the longarm quilting, and possibly some time spent designing patterns. I really love the creativity of these parts of my business. I’ve had pattern ideas in my head for a long time, but just not enough uninterrupted time to get them worked out (there’s a lot of math involved in writing patterns!). I’ve also toyed with the idea of designing digitized quilting patterns for the computerized longarm systems. And I’ve still kept in the back of my mind the requests to teach longarm quilting classes. (Gee, that doesn’t seem like I’m really letting some things go, does it???)

Anyway, in order to free me up for these pursuits,

I’M HAVING A CLEARANCE SALE!!

New Sale Prices in Effect beginning Aug. 11, 2012 – all regular width fabrics $6.99/yd or less! Everything else has been reduced by 30% (sale prices not valid on batting or wide backs)

(CLICK HERE TO SHOP NOW)

I’m going to clearance out all of the retail quilting supplies, other than batting and wide quilt backs, which I will continue to carry. So all of my 44″ wide fabrics, pre-cut fabrics, notions, books, kits, etc. will be first come-first served, while supplies last.

I also need to take some time off this summer to recharge my batteries. I will be open Tues, Weds. and Thurs. from 10 am to 5 pm for July & August, other days will be by chance or appointment. The best thing to do if you are coming from out of town is to email or call to see if I will be open. And if you are not already on my mailing list, sign up here and/or Like Me on Facebook to be kept up-to-date on my hours. (I’ll probably be taking a full week off late Aug. or early Sept.)

I’m sorry for the inconvenience this may cause, but hopefully the great buys on sale items will make it up to you a little bit. And keep in mind, while in the future the Studio may no longer have the most extensive ‘menu’ around, you’ll know that what we do offer will be the tenderest, juiciest, most flavorful ‘steak’ ever!

(CLICK HERE TO SHOP NOW)

Why to Tear Wide Backs Instead of Cutting

When fabric is rolled on a bolt, it often goes on crooked. You may have noticed this if you cut strips from your fabric and they form a “V” instead of being nice and straight. Due to the extra width, and being folded an extra time, wide backs are more susceptible to this.

Here is a wide back I received recently. When it’s unrolled it from the bolt, it seems fine, doesn’t it?

But look what happens when I align it so the selvages are even:

That’s almost a 4 inch difference!! By the time the backing was squared up, there might not be enough left for your longarm quilter to load it on the frame.

Tearing allows for straight edges on both sides of the yardage, and those edges will be at a 90 degree angle to the selvages. A square back means I can quilt your top without pleats or puckers on the back – something that will make both of us happy!

Visit my website to shop for a wide backing that will be torn so you’re sure you’re getting the right amount!