Tables for Templates!

Thinking about getting a longarm quilting machine? Congratulations!

Do you wonder what the longarm table extension is used for and why you might need it?

If you use a regular sewing machine for machine quilting it already has a bed to support the item you are working on.

With a longarm quilting machine there is only a small area where all the action takes place. The needle only goes up and down (never sideways), and since the design is created by moving the machine instead of the quilt, there are no feed dogs. 

You can see in the photo below that the needle plate on a longarm has only that one small round hole for the needle to pass through and no feed dogs. (By the way, this is my Innova 22" longarm, which I dearly love!)

This is all the work area you have to pay attention to when doing freehand work like meandering scrolls, loops, pantographs or using a computer program to guide the machine.

 

This small sample quilt shows just how much area is supported when stitching. (These photos are just to demonstration the amount of support in the area around the hopping foot - a full quilt would be mounted in the frame and not sag that much on the sides.) 

When you use rulers and templates, there is not enough flat area to support them properly and you can run into all sorts of problems. This is where the extended base table becomes an essential part of your machine.

 

Pop on your extended base table and look at all that support area now for your work! 

And there you are! All ready to stitch-in-the-ditch, sew piano keys, crosshatch areas, and do all sorts of other designs with rulers and templates.

Have fun!

The template shown in the photos above is our new rotating Dahlia template. Videos of the  Dahlia and all our other templates and pricing information for them can be found on our website www.TopAnchorQuilting.com. 

Happy Stitching!

Betty

Ancient UFOs - the Quilty Kind

What's your oldest UFO?

(That's quilting shorthand for UnFinished Object or quilt.)

Without counting, my guess is that I have around thirty or so ranging in age from just started this week to ones I started in the 1960s.

My grandmother ordered the iron-on pattern for the state flower blocks when Alaska and Hawaii were still territories so that tells you how old it is. I've been working on embroidering it and have 27 done, barely more than half of the blocks. These blocks were with me through my teen years, through marriage and three kids (now grown), and have moved with me from one side of the country to the other and back again. I wonder if I will ever see them finished and sewn into a top.

 

Everything has been kept in a 1950's tin.

It had contained a delicious fruit cake that was a gift from my father's boss in the coal mines.

With all the moves, it's no wonder that poor tin has gotten a bit battered!

 

The embroidery thread has seldom been exposed to light and is still as bright and strong as when I bought it.  Check out the thread photo; some of it only cost five cents a skein.

The pattern is crumbling with age and needs to be scanned and preserved as a pdf or at least photocopied. It's amazing that it's still readable. The red ink is stamping ink and a few years ago I tested it to see if it would still stamp. It did. Amazing!

These are just a few of the blocks I embroidered. I have to wonder if I'll ever get another one done or even the whole quilt. Guess it gives me something to plan to do - sometime.

From time to time we read about a family inheriting such treasures and not knowing what to do with them. Way too often they end up on craigslist or eBay. I'm determined that this won't happen to any of my UFOs or even my fabrics, tools and sewing machines. Everything is in my will so that I know someone will get them who will take care of them and not dump them at a yard sale. I am also making a list of everything to tell my family what to do with it all.

So what is your most ancient UFO? Share your comment below and on our Facebook page where you can include pictures. We want to see them!

Happy quilting!

Betty

PS: Your comment might not appear immediately because we've had to start moderating to weed out all the spam. If you are not a spammer, your comment will be posted.

How We've Grown!

From our humble beginning with just one template 17 months ago, we are now awaiting the shipment of our newest templates!

After the Baptist Fan template came the Feather Wreath template, followed by Five-point Star templates in two sizes, an Eight-point Star template, a Multishape template, and now the Dahlia template in two sizes. 

 We have videos posted on our website showing how to use these innovative tools to make great designs on your quilts with the least effort!

Here are some of the shapes you can make with them:

(The temporary Dahlia template demonstration is currently only posted on our Facebook page and a better one will be posted with the others soon.) 

We owe our continued success to our supporters, many of whom are repeat customers as each new template comes out. Many thanks to you for telling your friends about our templates and helping to spread the word.

God is good!

Happy Stitching!

Betty
http://TopAnchorQuilting.com

Sitdowns, Midarms & Rotating Templates

Watch the videos at http://topanchorquilting.com/  to see how the rotating templates from TopAnchor Quilting work. Let us know if you have any questions.

Happy Stitching!

Betty