Fudging It!

Sometimes we want these arcs to go exactly where we want them but they are off a little bit. What a pain!
Here is a neat little trick that will help you out a bit.


This is where you want your arc to end. What to do? Never fear!

If you want that arc to end somewhere else, you can fudge it a bit.
This would be the normal placement of the anchor post, but you can move the post
and change where your arcs will end.

Lay the EZ ARC template with the notch over the point where you want your arc to end

and the hole for the anchor post near where it would normally be positioned.





Move the anchor post as necessary to make the end of the arc line up. 
When you stitch the arc, it will end where you want it.

Piece of cake - fudge cake!

Happy Stitching!

Betty

By Request!

 

Several of you have asked for more detailed instructions on how to use the Baptist Fan longarm quilting template.

Here it is! Plus a few more.
http://topanchorquilting.com/pages/videos

Happy Stitching!

Betty





















 http://topanchorquilting.com

The Way the Toes Go!

 

While stitching footprints using the new feather wreath template, I discovered that it makes a huge difference which way you stitch circles for the toes. You can see this difference plainly in the photo above. The line connecting the toes needs to be under the toes (left) and not on the outside (bottom right).  (Smaller stitches will help smooth out the design as well, but that's another subject.)

 

 

Stitching these was so much fun! This is a design I'm sure to use often in baby quilts, as wreaths but mostly just in arcs or even part of an overal freehand pattern. Love those footprints!

 

Feather Wreath Template Update

The graphic artist sent new artwork for the feather wreath template, which I signed and returned. He is sending a prototype for approval, and then next comes pricing and production. How exciting!

 

Create-A-Wreath Contest Update

The contest entries have been coming in and they are amazing! You folks are way beyond creative! I wish I could share them but you will have to wait until the contest is over.

Contest entries are due in another week so keep working on them! Anyone can enter even if you don't have a longarm quilting machine. It's the design that counts; you can send pictures of pen or pencil drawings, or stitched designs.

 

Don't forget you have until

midnight on January 31 to enter the

Create-a-Wreath Contest!

http://topanchorquilting.blogspot.com/p/create-wreath-contest.html

 

Happy Stitching!

 

Betty

One Step Closer!

It's been one month and one week since the EZ Arc quilting template was first offered to the public. Seems like a year!

 

It's been great, though. Our first order from the manufacturer has almost sold out and more are on order. The EZ Arc tool and all the others to be introduced in the coming months (including the feather wreath shown below) use the same TopAnchor system, which allows the template to rotate around a stationary post fastened directly to the top of the quilt in the stitching area in front of the machine.

 

 

Great News!

The artwork for our new feather wreath template arrived from the manufacturer today for approval. What do you think? The pink will be a much lighter pink when screened onto the acrylic and will help make the guidelines more visible.

Complete instructions will come with the template, but basically you stitch around one teardrop section, rotate the template and stitch the next section. After completing that part of the wreath, tie off the thread and start in the other section and repeat all the way around again. Piece of cake!

I am the furthest from a precision longarmer as you can find, and this new tool makes even my work look good! Here are some samples:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TopAnchorQuiltingTools/photos/album/2016458195/pic/list

I can't wait until it is available to share with you all. I'm still shooting for the end of this month, but we'll have to see what happens.

Don't forget you have until

midnight on January 31 to enter the

 

Create-a-Wreath Contest!

 

http://topanchorquilting.blogspot.com/p/create-wreath-contest.html

Happy Stitching!

Betty

Top Down or Bottom Up?

What is the best direction to stitch a Baptist Fan pattern when using the EZ Arc quilting tool?

 

 

Way back in the last century, I learned the Baptist Fan pattern when I first did hand quilting with experienced quilters.

To draw the first fan, a string was pinned to the bottom right corner and a pencil on the other end of the string was moved in a wide arc to mark different sized arcs. The pin/pencil/string was then moved to the bottom of the outside line and the arcs of another fan were drawn. With fans drawn completely across the quilt, several of us could quilt at the same time.

We sat in front of the frame with one hand under the quilt and the other hand on top with the needle and thread. We buried our knot at the one end of a line, stitched the arc, and tied the knot at the other end, then cut the thread and started again on the next line, continuing until a fan was completed.  We stitched one row, and then rolled the quilt and stitched another row above the first.

Sewing from upper right and down to the left is the natural sweep of the arm for right-handed folks (the opposite is true for lefties), so that pattern was very easy for me to do right to left, and that is still the most comfortable movement for me today.

We worked from the bottom of the quilt up to the top, which is the normal way of stitching most of the quilts rolled on these handmade frames.  With a longarm, my favorite way to quilt is to work from the top down, and that is completely different from what I was used to doing for the Baptist Fan. No problem! 
 

You can easily start at the top with the fans swinging down because the EZ Arc quilting tool lets you stitch in any direction. In fact, you could start at the top right and work to the left if you want. Use the method that has the most natural movement for you.

What I usually do is load the fabric, batting and quilt top and sew across the top, then baste lines about 8" apart with large stitches back and forth across the quilt all the way down to the bottom, rolling the quilt on the back or upper bar as I go. I start stitching the Baptist Fan pattern at the bottom and work my way back up the quilt the way we always did when hand quilting in a frame, removing the basting stitches before quilting the fans. 

That's what works best for me even with the EZ Arc quilting tool, and you will find what works best for you as you continue to use the tool.

The EZ Arc tool can be fastened anywhere on your quilt and the fans stitched in any direction you want. Practice moving the tool to see which way is more comfortable and works best for you.


With this new tool, we are no longer limited by the swing of the arm the way we were when hand quilting, so just try different positions and movements until you find your favorite, then stitch away.

The answer to the question, 'Top Down or Bottom Up?' is 'Any Direction!'

Whatever works, I say. No problem!

Happy Stitching!

Betty

PS - remember to watch for Feather Wreath Contest details on January 15!

 
 

How Many Ways Can You Quilt A Baptist Fan?

Baptist Fans are one of the most popular and traditional ways to quilt, both by hand and machine. It's the first pattern I learned to quilt way back in my younger years while sitting at a handmade quilting frame with female relatives.

Most of us were right handed and sewing from the upper right to the lower left is a natural movement of the arm and quilting hand. These arcs are easy to stitch, and when sewing concentric circles, they naturally become the Baptist Fan pattern. It's fast, it's easy, and when close stitching was needed to secure the batting, it was the ideal pattern to stitch. We always worked from the right across to the left, and bottom to top. After each row, we rolled the quilt forward and started at the right with a new row.

Batting available today can often be safely quilted up to 10" apart, but 'way back when' folks used carded wool or cotton, or even cotton batting (often still containing the cotton seeds), close stitching was necessary to keep it from separating and migrating to other areas inside the quilt. Very old well-used quilts will often still have little balls or bunches of batting in between the close stitching, but I like to think those are just indications of the age of such a treasure.

Below is a link to Bonnie Hunter's post on hand quilting Baptist Fans with lots of great information. http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2010/05/questions-on-fans.html  Bonnie's method uses a hoop, quilting the fan all around the outside of the top and then filling in the center with fans.

I have always thought that machine quilting this pattern would be a bit more difficult so I've never tried it. Some folks mark the entire quilt and freehand over the lines as with any pattern, or use different machine quilting techniques and have beautiful results. My hat is off to them.

Longarmers are blessed in that we have many tools available to help quilt Baptist Fans. Folks lucky enough to have a computer guided system can just tell their computer and longarm machine what to stitch. Some devices work from behind the machine, such as an apparatus to make circles, grooved boards used with a stylus to guide the machine, and pantographs that can be followed with a laser. Many rulers and templates are available that can help in the spacing and formation of the Baptist Fan arcs, and these have the advantage that they are used at the front of the machine.

The newest device on the market that can help make beautiful Baptist Fans is our own Baptist Fan quilting template pictured above. The anchor post fastens to the top of the quilt in the work area, and the notched template fits over and rotates back and forth with the hopping foot to create arcs for designs. At the end of each row, 'walk' over previous stitching up to the next row.

No matter what technique or tool you use, our rotating Baptist Fan template can help make your quilt a wonderful work of art.

Happy Stitching!

Betty
http://TopAnchorQuilting.com

Happy New Year! and a Sneak Peek!

New Year, New Beginnings, New Everything. Goodbye 2012!

I'm hoping your new 2013 will be everything you hope for.

It's a new year and lots of great new experiences to look forward to!

To celebrate this new year, I'm giving you a sneak peek at the new feather wreath template that will be available later this month. Not the actual template, but a few things I've done with it.

First up is an actual feather wreath! LOL!

There are actually several wreaths in this photo intertwined with tons of different kinds of background fill. Don’t look too closely or you will see all my mistakes, but yeah, the template works pretty well.

Up next we have the work of a happy gal at play. Wondering what kinds of designs I could make in the individual sections, I decided on scroll loops. Yeah, they are horribly uneven and not at all uniform, but you get the picture.

To get the facing patterns, I simply stitched half the wreath, then flipped the template over and stitched the other half. One of my friends says this is her favorite of all my wreaths.

Can you tell yet how much fun I’m having? LOL!

And the last I’ll show you today is another play design that has great possibilities. I think it looks like a sunflower or chrysanthemum. However, a sunflower would have alternating petals, not stacked ones. Back to the drawing board!

 

Happy New Year, Everybody!

Betty

 http://TopAnchorQuilting.com

Out With the Old

The clock is ticking away the last few hours of 2012, and there's nothing we can do about what has happened this year.

In wondering what I could do differently next year to improve my life, I thought about something I probably should have done long ago.

In the new year of 2013, I want to get rid of thoughts and concepts that just haven't worked for me in the past.

In quilting, this means I need to quit being so picky about my own work.

It’s good to be your best and always strive to do better, but at some point you have to say that the work is done and you don’t have to go any further so stop fussing with it.

If you always think there’s something else that you should do to make it better, that means you don’t think your work is finished yet, that it’s not good enough.  That’s not a good feeling, and it sometimes keeps me from starting new projects or even trying to complete old ones.

There are many great quilters that I admire, and they produce some of the most beautiful and perfect quilts anyone can possibly imagine. I could look at those quilts all day long. I seriously doubt that my own work will ever come close to what they do, and that's just fine. My quilts are meant to be used to keep people warm and comfortable, not to be put on display in competitions or museums.

My customers like my work and they are the ones whose opinions count. I like most of my work as well. That doesn't mean that I won't try to get better at quilting, it just means that I'll quit being quite so hard on myself if every square inch of my stitching isn't perfect or if a design doesn’t turn out like I imagined it would.

 There's an old saying, "My house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy." I think I'll adapt that to say, "My quilting is precise enough to be pretty and 'off' enough to be comfortable."

Happy New Year, everyone!

Happy stitching!

Betty
http://TopAnchorQuilting.com

Baptist Fans on First Try

Today's spotlight is on another new EZ Arc longarm quilting tool user, Joyce Fratini. On her very first try, she was able to quilt these beautiful Baptist Fans.

The TopAnchor system allows you to move the templates around

and conveniently put your arcs anywhere you want them.

Joyce started at the top left and worked her way to the right. Great results, wouldn't you say!

Joyce also bravely stitched a complete circle using the EZ Arc tool, and did quite well for the first try!

Circles take a lot of practice because you have to control the circular motion of the tool with one hand while moving the hopping foot completely around it. It's almost like rubbing your head and patting your tummy at the same time - you can do it, but it takes practice and concentration. ;D

Thanks for sharing your work with us, Joyce.

Happy Stitching!

Betty 

http://TopAnchorQuilting.com

Accents and Interest

Combining different styles and designs can add movement and interest to quilts. One way to accomplish this is to vary the pattern you are quilting. The pictures below show a few examples.

Freehand feathers give a soft edge to these Baptist Fans and add to the beauty of the design.

Feathers inside a Baptist Fan are easy to make and give a welcome rest from stitching the same patern repeatedly.

Notice the area in center top - this is where I attempted to make birds but that will take some work to make it look the way I want it. Maybe someone else can figure it out and show me how!  The same type of technique could easily be used for bows as well. Gotta work on that!

Happy Stitching!

Betty

http://TopAnchorQuilting.com

Doodles gone wild!

Take a look at the work of Joyce Bowers unleashed.

This was her first time using the EZ Arc longarm quilting tool.

 
She just had a ball making arcs on this practice piece and adding in whatever designs came to mind. What fun!

Feathers, clamshells, loops, scrolls, pebbles, anything!
 Don't you just love the look of the clamshells inside the feather arc. Stunning!

Can you imagine these designs fanned across an entire quilt like that. Beautiful.

Thanks, Joyce, for showing us how easy it is to get great results when you set your imagination free, you wild thing!

Find us at http://topanchorquilting.com

Background Fill Around Applique

This is the very first attempt Judy Ross made using the new EZ Arc longarm quilting tool. Don't you just love the way she was able to put Baptist Fans in the background around her applique. Awesome!

How creative and great work, too!

Great job, Judy!

My personal thanks to you for showing us a new way of using the EZ Arc longarm quilting tool!

Betty Bland

http://www.TopAnchorQuilting.com

Baptist Fan longarm quilting tool

After nearly two years developing the Baptist Fan longarm quilting tool, it was finally announced to the public and made available on December 10, 2012. The response has been tremendous and better than we hoped!  YEAH!

What makes this tool unique is the patent-pending TopAnchor system that allows the template to rotate around a stationary anchor post; the template and hopping foot are both moved together at the same time to create the stitching pattern. This is very different from using other longarm templates, which remain stationary while you stitch around them.

All work is done directly in the stitching area with no need to walk behind the machine or reach under the quilt, and no other parts or accessories are needed to make it work.

The Baptist Fan template is the first of several longarm tools using the unique TopAnchor system. Watch for announcements in early January 2013!

The question asked most often is whether these tools can be used with regular sewing machines and the answer is sorry, but no. Since the template and hopping foot both move over a stationary quilt, it can only work with a longarm machine. However, there are other tools on the market for use in machine quilting, and youTube demos of them. 

Update: after extensive testing, we have determined that the Star & Dahlia templates will work for free motion quilting as long as you have a round foot like the hopping foot on a longarm quilting machine. Check out the information on our website here:  http://topanchorquilting.com/collections/templates

We now have a webstore set up at http://TopAnchorQuiltingTools.com and a new Yahoo! users group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TopAnchorQuiltingTools  is open to everyone whether they have the tool or are just interested in seeing how it works.
On facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/TopAnchorLongarmQuiltingTools?ref=ts&fref=ts.
You can even see the Baptist Fan template used to create a quick and easy continuous Baptist Fan on youTube:  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwgNaIbJqm4&noredirect=1.

Stay tuned! There is much more to come!