Below are many of the questions I frequently get, however if there is a question that isn’t answered or you’re curious about, please contact me!
- I’m new, how does this work?
- Where are you located?
- How long have you been quilting?
- How long have you been longarm quilting?
- What longarm do you have now?
- How hard is it to longarm?
- What did you do before longarming professionally?
- Do you have any employees or anyone you work with?
- What is loft?
- Why do you need 4″ all the way around the quilt?
- How do I decide what batting to choose?
I’m new, how does this work?
First, contact me and let me know what you’re looking for (type of quilting) and your timeline. I suggest calling by phone for quickest response! I can give an estimate for the quilt, but it won’t be complete until the quilting is done.
Next, we will get together and meet. Generally I meet at my house in Bothell, but occasionally, if I’m in another area, we can meet elsewhere. Once together, we will go over your quilt (please bring the finished quilt top, seamed backing and, if you have it, any batting!) and talk design. I have catalogs of designs to look through for Pantographs and if freemotion all over or custom, we will talk about specific designs. If you have a specific design in mind, please bring a photograph! We will also discuss batting (if needed), thread, and any finishing services you need. At anytime if you feel overwhelmed or unsure, I can help you make a decision.
Finally, I take your quilt and place it in line with the others to be quilted. If I am running behind (which rarely happens), I will contact you, otherwise look for a phone call or email from me letting you know it is complete! I will give you a final invoice at this time. Once complete, you can pick up the quilt at my home or other venue we agree upon. Payment is due when you pick up the quilt.
Your quilt will be completely quilted as specified. However you will have excess batting and fabric to trim off from it yet as well as binding to apply.
Where are you located?
I’m in Bothell, Washington, which is just Northeast of Seattle. Contact me directly if you need an address.
How long have you been quilting?
Though I’ve been crafting since I can remember, I took up quilting about six years ago. How time flies when you’re having fun!
How long have you been longarm quilting?
For a little over five years. I knew right away that I wanted to quilt my own quilts, so within a year of starting quilting, I had my first setup. My first setup was a short-arm, a Juki TL98Q, on a Homesteader quilt frame. That lasted about a year and gave me a tantalizing taste of what I could do! Then I upgraded to my first Longarm, which was a Homesteader. Since I longarmed so much the Homesteader couldn’t keep up with me and I wanted a better machine, so I upgraded to an A1 Elite.
What longarm do you have now?
I quilt on an A1 Elite, and when I’m doing computerized program, with a system called QBotV3.
How hard is it to longarm?
It’s not physically difficult to push a longarm around, but it is a challenge getting it to look good!
I spent more than five years honing my craft nearly every day to get my feathers, motifs, background fills and even overall meandering designs up to my standard of quilting. It was a lot of fun, but hard work.
Computerized systems have their own set of challenges. Its like learning a whole new skill set! I have spent quite bit of time familiarizing myself with its features and capabilities. It helps that I’m pretty computer savvy!
What did you do before longarming professionally?
I was and currently am a Mom. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to be at home as he’s grown. Before that I was a computer security architect for Washington Mutual (now Chase Manhattan), and several other banks and companies, including Microsoft, before then. Quite a change, huh?
Do you have any employees or anyone you work with?
Right now it’s just me. I am quite active in the local quilting community, so if you have need of a different quilter or something related, don’t hesitate to ask!
What is loft?
Loft is, essentially, how “puffy” the batting is. Lofts can measure 1/8th all the way up to ¾”. Yet, there is really no standard to apply to loft at this time. What we do know is that low loft batting is often lighter, cooler and gives a more “antique” like look to the quilt (especially cotton). Medium Loft adds a bit of plushness to the quilt. High loft, like the wool, can even add dimension to a quilt when fine quilting is done. Super high lofts (Fatt Loft) like the ¾” high loft by Warm and Natural are often meant to be tied quilts or used in Trapunto.
Why do you need 4″ all the way around the quilt?
There is actually several reasons for this:
- Longarmers use about and inch just in attaching the quilt, at the top and bottom, whether it be with pins or red snappers (which I use).
- In addition, room is needed at the top and bottom to keep the hopping foot of the longarm away from the edge.
- On top of the above, if we are doing a pantograph or all over for you, it will go off edge – this gives it a more natural look. We need room, at least a few inches all around, to be able to do this.
- For the sides, you will occasionally see a small swatch of fabric with random quilting on it – that is the longarmer making sure that the thread tension is appropriate.
- Finally, at any time, we may, for access or design purposes, turn your quilt. What normally goes on top to bottom, may go on side to side and all the needs above are then applied across all sides.
- For all these reasons, we need a good 4″ all the way around the quilt. For me, if you wish to add more, that is fine as well. Just not less!
How do I decide what batting to choose?
When choosing a batting, think about how “fluffy” you want it, it’s breathability as well as its color. The only batting I carry that is white is the Hobbs Cotton/Poly blend, the others are cream colored. If you have a white background to your quilt, I highly recommend going with a white batting as a cream batting subtly shows through and “dampens” the brightness of your white background.
When heirloom quilting a quilt, I frequently use two battings. This can make motifs “pop” and, if there is an applique, make it look like trapunto. My favorite is a cotton on the bottom, wool on the top, but if white is required then two layers of Hobbs 80/20 works great as well.
Do you know what bearding is? This is a normal phenomenon that occurs as little “tufts” of batting hairs come up through the needle holes. This is quite normal and goes away after a small amount of use – usually by the time you put on your binding! I find this is especially true for batik quilts and wool batting. You may want to keep a lint brush on hand to help clean up the quilt.