Wow! I am going to add my thank-yous to the previous positive opinions. Your comments were so very helpful and prewashing my yardage fabric is now going to become the norm and not the exception. Probably won't prewash any of the kits or jelly rolls, charms, etc.

The info in your post is one reason I do my own quilting on my Juki TL98Qe or Babylock Jane. I am glad I have no room for a long arm. That way I won't ever be tempted to buy one.I quilt in rows and quilt around thick intersections. I have really pieced the backing and press those seams open. I have never had a problem quilting over them. I found your post very informative and makes me appreciate my quilting. I only quilt for myself, I am hard enough to please. I would think most others would br even more so. Have a great day.
P.S. I have always pre washed my fabrics.

Thank you all for the information... posts like this helps me understand the process even better, and too appreciate the LA even more..

Love the knowledge on this board!

I agree with everything you just said. My Longarmer told me about a lady who started quilting for others and did such a bad job that people came to her and asked her to tell the women to quit ! My longarmer is 82 years old and has been doing this for over 30 years, does a fantastic job. She could tell some stories too. Thanks for your information, I will try and follow through the next time I take a quilt to Marie.

Excellent post. Thanks for taking the time to explain quilting from a LA perspective.

Thank you for wonderful information. You are right ,right and right again. Thanks for taking the time to post .

Thanks so much for all the info!! Very much appreciated and I will be printing this out and reading it over and over if and when I ever have enough $$$ to send one of my quilts out to be longarmed. :) Thanks again.

Sharon

Wow - Lots of information. Thank you. It will be helpful to keep these kind of things in mind when working on a project that is to be loaded on a frame.

Thanks for such an informative and eloquent posting...Its difficult as a Long Armer to convey how important all these things are. It's easy to place blame on others. We never give a price on any quilting until we have inspected and measured a quilt...so many things such as ironing, multiple seams, lumps, hills, valleys, waviness and puckers can cause dire problems. We also require 2 inches extra ALL the way around. So glad you posted this valuable lesson for everyone.

One disclaimer I use on my website: My stitch-in-the-ditch is only as good as your pressing! If your pressing instructions are followed, my SID can be wonderful. If not.....well, I do my best. When I talk to customers, I offer suggestions for better piecing or application of borders (this seems to be the most common challenge I run into). I am not paid to judge their quilts. I am paid to quilt them. I do my best with each one and will help any quilter who wants it....as a quilting instructor, I can offer this. It is just like when we were all in school. Some kids wanted to finish first on a test and didn't mind making a few mistakes. Some kids took their time to make sure they got all the answers right......