You Can Get There From Here: First Steps in Short Arm Quilting
Let me begin by saying how much I love quilting. I never imagined I would love it the way I do. Is it a passing phase? I really can’t say for sure. I have lots of interests, some that wax and wane while others I dabble with daily. Computers, gaming, miniatures, dogs, dolls, gardening, and beekeeping are just a few. What I can say for sure is that I love quilting today, and that I have a sneaking suspicion, my interest in the world of quilting is here to stay.
I’m drawn to machines and fabric. What person involved in sewing isn’t, right? My fabric stash...lets not even go there. We all have one, and most of us keep compulsively adding to it. I have a machine stash, too. Could be a symptom of some sort of hoarding disorder, but I think sewing and hoarding might be somehow related medically. (Probably not, but it makes me feel better about my “collection” to imagine a connection).
I learned to sew when I was around 30. I took a quilt class with my mom and a friend that I wsn’t remotely interested in, and learned to use a machine. It was a BOM (block of the month) class, and I was either gonna have to learn to use the machine, or be left in the dust by my mom and my friend, Debi. Why did I take a BOM quilting class when I didn’t know how to sew? Purely peer pressure. My mom and her friend could sew, but neither Debi or myself had ever machine stitched anything. We had taken an old fashioned hand piecing and quilting class a few months earlier, and Debi wanted to try this one despite not having a machine or knowing how to use one. (Feel free to insert your own brand of hilarity right here.)
In that class, the instructor taught me the basics of her Janome. Later that week, my mom went with me to the local Singer/Janome dealer to look at machines. I was shocked at pricing, and not ready to commit hundreds to thousands of dollars, but there was a used Montgomery Ward machine for $50 that rode home with me. I don’t remember much about the machine and later gave it to another budding seamstress, but it was my very first machine and holds a special place in my heart.
My current collection includes two Singer 247s, a beautiful Singer 15-91, Brother Innovis 2000NX (my primary machine), Brother 4000d, Brother 435, Brother cs6000i, Brother 1400d serger, an older Babylock serger and my dear Louise, a Brother pq 1500sl. I also recently purchased a secondhand Handi Quilter Sixteen.
Louise is the Brother PQ 1500sl that I really want to tell you about. It is a mechanical straight stitch only machine that stitches up to 1500 stitches per minute, has a thread cutter, feed dogs that lower, easy to adjust thread and presser foot tension, 8.5 inch harp space, needle up/down feature, and bright led lights. Best of all, it is an affordable machine and is carried by multiple online retailers. My favorite is Amazon, and you can find the machine here. I really love this machine.
So, Louise is the machine I've been learning to quilt with. I think she would be great to piece with as well, but I have never set her up on a table. She is exclusively used on my Little Gracie 2 frame. Grace manufactures a whole line of quilting frames that are reasonably priced and also sold by many online retailers. They can be purchased alone or in packages with various machines. The machines I've most commonly seen in the packages are the Juki 2010q, Juki 2000qi, and the Janome 1600p. I originally wanted the Juki 2010q, but decided on the Brother 1500sl because the cost was significantly less. (like hundreds of dollars less) I do not regret my decision. In fact, I'm thrilled with my decision.
Once I decided on my machine, I needed a frame. Allbrands.com has several options for the frames and frame/machine combos. Being a smart shopper (aka cheapskate), I started looking and second hand options. I found a Little Gracie 2 (LG2) wooden frame with an upgraded carriage for around $500. We had to drive about 4 hours each way to pick up my treasure, but for me, it was worth the effort. Little Gracie has about 6 million parts and pieces, but we only minimally disassembled for transport and there were pdf manuals online, so it was a pretty easy reassembly and set up in the spare bedroom. The LG2 is now discontinued, but the Grace Company still carries many parts and accessories, as well as several new metal models to choose from. I don't think I would care much for the Q Zone frames because it seems that continually taking the quilt off the frame would be a pain, but they have the Continuum frame that looks pretty nifty.
The LG2 has the following specifications:
Little Gracie 2
When setting up a domestic machine on a frame, there are several necessary items. The frame and machine, a carriage and speed control (both of which should come with your frame), a set of cloth leaders, bungee side clamps (these also typically come with the frame). Other items include long pins to pin your quilt to the leaders, scissors and quilting thread. Some folks also use a stich regulator. I'll go over the items I use in an upcoming post as well as detail how I learned to quilt on a frame.
I’m drawn to machines and fabric. What person involved in sewing isn’t, right? My fabric stash...lets not even go there. We all have one, and most of us keep compulsively adding to it. I have a machine stash, too. Could be a symptom of some sort of hoarding disorder, but I think sewing and hoarding might be somehow related medically. (Probably not, but it makes me feel better about my “collection” to imagine a connection).
I learned to sew when I was around 30. I took a quilt class with my mom and a friend that I wsn’t remotely interested in, and learned to use a machine. It was a BOM (block of the month) class, and I was either gonna have to learn to use the machine, or be left in the dust by my mom and my friend, Debi. Why did I take a BOM quilting class when I didn’t know how to sew? Purely peer pressure. My mom and her friend could sew, but neither Debi or myself had ever machine stitched anything. We had taken an old fashioned hand piecing and quilting class a few months earlier, and Debi wanted to try this one despite not having a machine or knowing how to use one. (Feel free to insert your own brand of hilarity right here.)
In that class, the instructor taught me the basics of her Janome. Later that week, my mom went with me to the local Singer/Janome dealer to look at machines. I was shocked at pricing, and not ready to commit hundreds to thousands of dollars, but there was a used Montgomery Ward machine for $50 that rode home with me. I don’t remember much about the machine and later gave it to another budding seamstress, but it was my very first machine and holds a special place in my heart.
My current collection includes two Singer 247s, a beautiful Singer 15-91, Brother Innovis 2000NX (my primary machine), Brother 4000d, Brother 435, Brother cs6000i, Brother 1400d serger, an older Babylock serger and my dear Louise, a Brother pq 1500sl. I also recently purchased a secondhand Handi Quilter Sixteen.
Louise is the Brother PQ 1500sl that I really want to tell you about. It is a mechanical straight stitch only machine that stitches up to 1500 stitches per minute, has a thread cutter, feed dogs that lower, easy to adjust thread and presser foot tension, 8.5 inch harp space, needle up/down feature, and bright led lights. Best of all, it is an affordable machine and is carried by multiple online retailers. My favorite is Amazon, and you can find the machine here. I really love this machine.
Louise on her Grace Carriage wearing butterfly decals
So, Louise is the machine I've been learning to quilt with. I think she would be great to piece with as well, but I have never set her up on a table. She is exclusively used on my Little Gracie 2 frame. Grace manufactures a whole line of quilting frames that are reasonably priced and also sold by many online retailers. They can be purchased alone or in packages with various machines. The machines I've most commonly seen in the packages are the Juki 2010q, Juki 2000qi, and the Janome 1600p. I originally wanted the Juki 2010q, but decided on the Brother 1500sl because the cost was significantly less. (like hundreds of dollars less) I do not regret my decision. In fact, I'm thrilled with my decision.
Once I decided on my machine, I needed a frame. Allbrands.com has several options for the frames and frame/machine combos. Being a smart shopper (aka cheapskate), I started looking and second hand options. I found a Little Gracie 2 (LG2) wooden frame with an upgraded carriage for around $500. We had to drive about 4 hours each way to pick up my treasure, but for me, it was worth the effort. Little Gracie has about 6 million parts and pieces, but we only minimally disassembled for transport and there were pdf manuals online, so it was a pretty easy reassembly and set up in the spare bedroom. The LG2 is now discontinued, but the Grace Company still carries many parts and accessories, as well as several new metal models to choose from. I don't think I would care much for the Q Zone frames because it seems that continually taking the quilt off the frame would be a pain, but they have the Continuum frame that looks pretty nifty.
The LG2 has the following specifications:
- Work area: 64" wide crib or 98" wide queen sizes
- Carriage will move 11" forward and back
- Minimum frame depth: 27"
- Maximum frame depth: 43"
- Frame width: 68" (crib) or 102" (queen)
- Carriage: 9" wide x 18" long x 14" inside height (will hold sewing machines that fit within these dimensions)
- Can fit a machine with up to 16 inch harp space
Little Gracie 2
When setting up a domestic machine on a frame, there are several necessary items. The frame and machine, a carriage and speed control (both of which should come with your frame), a set of cloth leaders, bungee side clamps (these also typically come with the frame). Other items include long pins to pin your quilt to the leaders, scissors and quilting thread. Some folks also use a stich regulator. I'll go over the items I use in an upcoming post as well as detail how I learned to quilt on a frame.
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