Summary: In this episode: 5 ways to love to your longarmer 1. Prevent wavy borders, by measuring and properly attaching them. There are a couple ways to do this. One is to measure through the center of your quilt top, cut your borders to that length, and pin and ease as you sew them on. Run them through the machine with the border fabric up and the quilt top against the feed dogs. Another is to fold your quilt top in half and lay it on a long table with the folded edge (center) toward you. Lay your border strips on top of it, and mark them for length. Move your top out of the way and cut where you've marked. No measuring! and it's still accurate. Then pin and ease as necessary. 2. Stay Stitch around the entire edge of your quilt, in the seam allowance. It will prevent stretching, and be hidden inside the binding when you're done. 3. Press your top, paying special attention to making sure your seam allowances are pressed consistently where possible. (especially if you are requesting ditch quilting) 4. Clip any stray threads that have been caught in your seam allowances on the front side. 5. Make sure your backing is big enough. Ask your longarmer how much extra they prefer. Press your backing too! *Bonus points if you trim your batting to size. It should be as big as the backing. Sometimes my customers bring in a king batting for a twin quilt because that's what they had. I have to trim away the excess so it fits neatly and the clamps are easily accessible, and where they need to be. Ideally, you want your batting to breathe a bit before it's loaded, so I like when they take it out, and trim it down before bringing it to me. I have a favourite customer who does this, and also stay stitches her quilt tops. She is a joy to quilt for! **As always, ask your particular longarmer for their preferences. Communication is key for a positive experience. You want your longarmer to he happy while working on your quilt! p.s. PLEASE remove any pins before dropping off your quilt. I HAVE SCARS. Some thoughts on Modern Quilting I adore the aesthetic of modern quilts. The clean lines and negative space make my heart sing. What I hope to see in the future of modern quilting is a continuing focus on the do it yourself attitude, while gently embracing the idea of always learning, always improving. I don't want to see a complete lack of quality workmanship for the sake of just making something pretty. I think it's important to embrace both ideas, and merge them into one. A quilting world where no one is too intimidated to try, but is always wanting to learn more, and get better at their craft. What I've been working on My Doctor Who quilt. You can find the block patterns and layouts on Fandom in Stitches Silent Film Outlander stitch along blocks. Listen to the episode to hear more details about these projects. Two books I've read Drood by Dan Simmons The Surrogate by Tania Carver Happy Stitching!
