An updated Sewing Room post - and my 2 years new long arm.

I was looking back through my blog posts over the last two years and could not find a picture of  my wonderful HQ Amara.  Well, here she is.

We're coming up on our two year anniversary and the honeymoon has definitely not worn off.  I am still in love and learning more each time I use her.  I added some Command hooks to hang scissors & screw driver for the needle (the idea suggested on an HQ user video).  Also some tattoos just to dress her up a bit (from www.urbanelementz.com)

I had sewn on a pre-owned HQ 16 for several years but had been looking at the new machines at shows lately.  Wow, lots of differences between brands, both machines and tables.  I realized I really love the HQ frames/tables.  The bars can be removed easily, allowing me to use the table as a pressing area - very helpful when making t-shirt quilts (see photo on left). Plus room to put LOTS of storage underneath.  I wasn't willing to give those features up.

I also wasn't sure I wanted to learn how to use a different LA brand either.  Sewing machines (and LA's) are kind of like cars.  Some people are Honda people, others are Ford folks, and others BMW devotees.  You get used to a certain feel and are comfortable with that.  I have been happy with my HQ - it had served me well over the five years (or so) I had owned it.  I just wanted a newer model, hopefully faster and bigger, with some new bells and whistles (sounds a lot like a car, doesn't it).  It was time to trade up.

After all this research (rationalizing) I decided on the HQ Amara 18.  A bit larger than my 16, some really cool features (laser on the needle, low thread warning, infinitely adjustable handles) and a more powerful motor (meaning I could move faster).  The frame is designed similar to my old one, but more stable (still storage room underneath) and with two different sewing positions for the bars.  I was even able to sell my old machine to another quilter who was very excited to have her first long arm.  Wins all around.  Here  you can see how I've adjusted the handles, the right one down low (because I'm short) and the left one up out of the way as I don't use it much.  Those handles and the laser on the needle were big selling points.

As mentioned, I usually have the poles stored when not quilting.  On my old table I could fit them underneath but this table hangs down lower than the old one.  In order to have the machine at the needed height I pulled the storage baskets out enough to put the bars on them.  I can't reach the table as well from this side as work surface, but I typically stand on the other side when sewing anyway.   

I put a wing nut on the arm so that I can lift it up out of the way when the bars are stored to lessen the chance of someone running into it (me).

Here you can see the nifty way HQ designs their frames.  There is a pressure fitting where the bars snap in and out easily.  No disassembly needed - though sometimes an extra set of hands is helpful to get them lined up properly.  So slick.  Much more flexible than any other frames I've seen.  

This next photo shows the bars installed and in one of the two positions possible with this frame - this one is designed for ruler work.  I prefer it because it gets the backing bar out of the way so I can see better (I am short, remember).  This little hallway leads to a bathroom and walk in closet.  I typically put the bars away unless I'm quilting partly because I'm worried about them being damaged. 

For my design wall (on the right of the hallway) I moved the fleece covered boards to the wall next to the LA to make it easier to use and allow me access to all of the wall without having to move any furniture.  More steps to the sewing machine but it's never blocked and I can still see it from my machine.

I put the Horn cabinet under the lighted shelf and have gone back to using that as the cutting table.  I found I rarely walked around to the other side when I had the cutting table on the LA table.  And when I did, I had to lean over to cut - it just wasn't comfortable.  And now with putting the bars next to the LA table I have to lean even more.  Not ideal.  If I am trimming an especially large quilt I'll move the cutting board over there just so I can spread out.  And sometimes I'll roll the Horn table out from the wall and cut from both sides.  But not often.  My cutting surface (and pressing boards - see above) are pieces of 1/2" particle board.  Very easy to move and not too heavy.  When I am using the LA table for quilting, I put the smaller pressing table on top of the cutting table and just use the small cutting board on a folding table next to my machine.  The large pressing board stores behind a door.

Turning to the right from the cutting area is my sewing table.  When I'm working on bindings or joining long rows together, I will turn the table sideways, backed up to my extra folding table.  This provides support behind the machine and gives me more room to maneuver the quilt.









When when piecing I have it facing the wall so I can use the rolling table to hold blocks and supplies on my right. I'd like to have more of a U shape around the sewing table and some sort of extension table on the back but I've not quite figured out how to accomplish it and still keep the area flexible.  So for now I move tables around.  I did find a small stack of storage boxes that fit nicely under the main sewing table.  I can pull it out if needed but I had to remove the rollers to get it to fit.











My sewing room is a lot like a large RV.  I move things around depending on what I need at the time.  Working on binding, move the sewing table to support the back of the quilt.  Use the LA, lower the side arm and install the bars.  Guests coming, put away the extra folding table, move the rocker and pull out the sofa bed (and stash the cushions in the bathtub in the next room).

It would be nice to have enough room to spread out and not have to move things around so much.  But I know I'm incredibly fortunate to have an entire room (and adjacent walk in closet & bathroom) just for my sewing and long arm table all in one room and all inside my heated & air conditioned house.  Lots of folks quilt in stolen corners of kitchens or dining rooms (I've done that too), or hot/cold barns.  I love this room - I call it my happy place.  Thanks for visiting!

A series of Black & White Experiments

Sometimes I have trouble getting inspired (and then no quilts for months).  And then other times one idea leads to another. And another.  And another.  That's what happened last fall. 

I had just finished this rainbow stripes with black sashing for my husband's co-worker.  I've used this pattern before and liked the result.  I was able to use LOTS of novelties including a bunch of browns that had not been used much.

I got to thinking that the same pattern would work well with black and white novelties with bright tone on tone fabrics for the sashing.  And it turned out just as colorful as the first one, even more bright and cheerful.  And I got to use a bunch of those white fabrics that had been in my stash but were rarely used. Which got me to thinking.  What other patterns that I've made before might work well with black & white novelties. 

 How about this Wild Thing pattern that I had gotten from a Fons & Porter magazine  and made so long ago that the original quilt recipient is now in college.  The original I used black & white but only purple for the half square triangles (her favorite color).  This time I did rainbow tone on tones instead.  Wow, it really pops.  And I was able to raid my stash of bright triangles that I had been saving for some day.  I did starch all the HSTs very crisp to minimize the distortion and trim them to size just because I wanted everything to fit together right.  I used black for the large 6.5" squares so I could use a few larger prints.  I was discovering the fun of playing not only with the novelties, but with those bright cheerful solid/tone on tones.

Wild Thing

 

By now the ideas are rolling so I started putting kits together, I was having such fun planning & cutting.  What next? How about the old standby Disappearing 9-patch.  I made sure to use small scatter prints for the black in the center squares so you could still see the novelty.  It worked out well too (and very fast).  This pattern always makes me feel like I'm cheating somehow, it goes together so fast.  Getting the pictures turned the right way took some thought but still quick and easy.

 The last time I made this lattice pattern I alternated red & blue as the lattice colors and used lots of colors in the squares.  It was fun to make but I wasn't all that thrilled with how the colors worked together.  This time with the black & white, I didn't have to worry about novelty colors vs the sashing/lattice.  Piecing the pattern took some serious planning, getting the colors laid out right.  And lots of trips back and forth to the design wall, sewing each block one at time to make sure I got the right colors on the right edges & corners.  And yes I obsessed a bit about getting the colors distributed across the quilt evenly. I could not decide on a border, so ended up carrying the lattice out one more segment so each black square was completely surrounded.  It was on this quilt I realized I had actually used up some bright yellow fabric I had kept for YEARS.  Snd of course I needed one more strip for that last round/border.  After ransacking my sewing room all I was able to find was some bias left from a pieced binding.  So I starched it stiff as paper, basted the edge and used it any way.  How did I not notice I had used the last bit when I was cutting?  I still think I may find a 4" scrap somewhere at some point, probably put away folded up in a piece of red or orange. Or else it's with my silicon pressing mat that disappeared 10 years ago. Sewing gremlins?

The next idea was  to try this pattern called Hugs & Kisses.   I had found it in my Ami Sims Picture Play book, the book that started this whole novelty I spy silliness twenty (?!!?) years ago.  I had made it and swore I never would again.  But hey it's been about 14 years (that child is in high school now), maybe my skills have improved.  I decided to only do the colored squares every alternate intersection, so only half as difficult.  And I was wrong, it still wasn't that fun.  Lots of pins required as well as planning to make sure the checkerboard black & white pattern worked.  And yes I spent way too much time trying to scatter the colored squares evenly.  By the end I gave up; yes there are 3 greens in one diagonal row.

I'm not looking forward to quilting this one - it may hang in the closet for a while.  I think I'll have to do a simple all over meander, avoiding the 3-D squares.  This one is not as colorful as the others despite the colored diamonds.  I fiddled with the sashing for a while then decided since it was already so wild, I'd just run with it.  Hmm, I like the earlier experiments better, but it's still a fun quilt.

One more idea rolling around in my head.  What about Quilter's Cache Frugal Patch.  I've done that one several times using piano key sashing and it always turned out great.  But before I used colored novelties instead of black.  After making the blocks, I put them on the design wall.  But when I added the piano key sashing it was just kind of blah.  No twinkle or shine.  It needed more color somehow.  So I went looking through my binder of previous quilts looking for ideas.  I ran across a pieced sashing with 9 patch corner stones that I had used on a string quilt, using muslin with strings from the quilt.  That might work, but what color?  As I was looking through my baskets of fabrics, I noticed some rainbow striped fabric that I never found the right use.  Aha!  The perfect place and of course it needed black Kona to make it really stand out.  All of a sudden the sashing is the star.  It's very bright and very fun. And it's new owner loves it.

Phew.  My black and white novelty baskets are much empty-er than previous and it was fun trying some new things.  And my tone on tone jewel colors are much depleted as well (need to go shopping for some more orange & red & bright green TOTs).   But I miss the novelty colors.  I think I'll be diving back in the reds, greens & yellow baskets soon.  2018 - 2019 may have started out slow for novelty quilt production, but I made up for it towards the end.  So fun when the ideas start rolling