Quiltingboard Forums - To all you long armers

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Quote:

Originally Posted by amandasgramma (Post 5490739)

Thank you! I agree 100% with feline fanatic. There IS a lot of work before we even start on the quilts. I'll add one of my peeves --- the backing!! If you don't have the room to lay the backing out totally flat, then please don't piece it!! I know, I'm asking a lot -- but I get a lot of them that aren't sewn straight and the backing is wonky. Also -- just because the corners are squared --- doesn't mean the backing is straight across. Folding a 108" wide backing 4 times and cutting will NOT, most of the time, make it straight across. Nine times out of 10 you'll have a wavy line. We have to pin or attach that wonky backing on the a straight bar. If it's not straight -- we battle it. I have one customer that just doesn't get my hints, so I automatically have to re-cut. I HATE that -- I'm always afraid I'll screw it up!!!

Make sure all your seams are sewn TIGHT!!!! I quilted a paper pieced quilt last winter -- was to be for a competition. We're not sure what happened, but toward the bottom, after I'd finished 90% of the quilt, the seams started coming apart............it looked like she'd basted the seams. SAD!!!

Oh -- one other pet peeve --- LOL --- if your quilter requires 8" total extra for the backing, please, please, please don't just add lots more!!! I had one come in with the backing being 3 YARDS longer than I needed.....yes, I had to cut it off....totally unnecessary!!! She'd bought it, wanting the extra fabric, and didn't trim before it came to me.

Okay -- that all being said -- I'm not a witchy person ------ I just want to get the word out. I appreciate all those who have sent me quilts, I LOVE LAQing, and have had the time of my life since buying my machine. My BP did raise at times, but we're over that. :) :) :) I love the variety of quilts that come in, the color choices, have now discovered I REALLY DO like purple!!!!!!!

well said.there is so much more to it than most realize.

I too, am a longarmer and really appreciate the good words. Sometimes, when I get a quilt that needs a little extra LA love, I just try to do it and hope the maker will give me another chance as (s)he improves...what I totally LOVE about the whole process is when it's finished and the owner picks it up....you just can't imitate that look on their faces when they see the end results.

My sister has a long arm, and I know how much work it is even before you can get started. It doesn't look like any fun at all. Just getting a quilt "straight" on the rollers can take an amazing amount of time. And then, there are so many things that can o wrong. My hats off to long armers everywhere!!

Dina

I like all the processes but I am not proficient at doing things on my DSM so it is safe to say that a lot of us really depend on you LA quilters to finish our quilts, and we all appreciate the skill that goes into it

Well, one aspect I can share is the self doubt I often feel as I put someones prize possession on my rails. I start every quilt with a prayer that goes: Dear Lord, please don't let me screw up this ladies quilt.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcrow (Post 5488005)

I want to thank you all for not giving up when you first got your machine and felt you got in over your heads. I just read the "old" thread about how so many of us don't own long arms and I'm one of them. I send all mine out. I bought a long arm table with my regular machine (went together) but ended up selling it after I watched on YouTube how you put it together and then how you attached a quilt. After I saw all the work that went into attaching a quilt, I realize that long armers are very special people. There is so much work involved in quilting my quilts. I don't know anything about the work involved by the long armer. I always think of the LAer just doing feathers or something pretty, not the work of putting the quilt on the machine or any other aspect of it that I don't know about. Would any of you like to share some of the different aspects of long arming someone's quilt? And really, thank you all so much for you who quilt other people's quilts. You are a Godsend.

Topstitch -- ME, TOO!

I took my last (giant) quilt to a long-armer for him to baste it for me - it was larger than my 8' square basting table, even before I put the borders on it!

Well, the quilt was square and neatly pressed and laying flat on the back, so I didn't give him any issues with the top - but I had miscalculated the size of the backing (TWICE!!!!!) and it only 1-2" larger than the top on all sides and by the time he got done basting, one side was about 4" short.

After a phone consultation, we decided that he would leave that end "open" for me so that I could piece that edge of the backing fabric and sew it on. He did a WONDERFUL job of getting that quilt placed as squarely on the backing as a human being could do. It was expensive, but it was so worth it not to have to try to pin baste - I'd have gotten it on cock-eyed, sure's shootin'! :D

Watch out for that "simple" math - it can foul you up! The quilt came out just great, though and the piecing along one edge of the backing looks intentional. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by thepolyparrot (Post 5500236)

measuring a relaxed quilt is a different size than once on the frame with tension-the bigger the quilt the bigger the difference.

would you believe i've had more than one person piece their backing without cutting the bias off. just try rolling that on a bar - impossible. i've had to cut it off if it's wide enough then sew it back together and press the seam open then roll it on Lizzie. yes lots of extra work for the long armer.
donna

Thank you for your kind words. Some people think a longarm machine is a magic wand---you hand the quilt top to the longarmer, and *Presto*!--it comes off the frame an hour later, ready to bind and hang at Paducah! The truth is, an hour later, I haven't taken the first stitch yet. Someone in my club longarmed her huge quilt on a friend's HQ16, bragged that she got it on and off in about 2 hours, then asked me to come and give her a lesson on keeping the quilt square, lol! People are soo funny! Gotta love them!