Before -

 

 

I loaded the batting and the top of the quilt - 

 

For my Upstairs/Downstairs - Wild Things - 

 

I thought I would make something to hang under the frame - 

 

To help keep everything off the floor - 

 

And to help me not accidentally roll my chair over it - LOL - 

 

Something similar to the "basket" that I saw in the video - HERE -  

 

So I found some muslin in my stash - 

 

And laid it out on the table inserts - 

 

To see how long I needed to make it - 

 

I'll try to rig up something tomorrow - 

In other news - 

Buja is a thief - LOL - 

 

My daughter found this outside by the patio - 

 

And Buja stole it from the vase full of pot pourri on the buffet - 

 

After she knocked it over - 

 

 

Some of you might recognize the picture as being this puzzle -

 

That my Grandson #1 helped me mount with some backing - 

 

 

And Buja may be a thief - 

But she's cute -

 

 

 

And she likes my new frame - LOL - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Loading -

 

 

A quilt backing on a longarm - 

 

For the first time - 

 

Is an adventure! - LOL -

 

And that's as far as I got today - 

We did a "quick and dirty" attachment of the leader cloths and the backing - 

Last night before the dealer left - 

So today I tweaked it a little - 

Starting with re-centering the leader cloths with the center of the frame - 

Since the frame can be configured in either the Crib size or Queen size - 

 

Both rails connect in the middle - 

 

So I used the space/gap between the two rails as my center marking - 

And tried to line up the center-most straight line of the leader cloth with it - 

(BOB thinks that would be easier to do -

If the line extended to the edge of the leader cloth - 

and if it matched up to one of the dots -

but then again - it's probably just me - LOL - ;))

 

I re-attached the leader cloths to the rails using the velcro that came with it - 

(BOB thinks that the velcro on the leader cloths AND on the rails - 

Is an AWESOME feature -

And it beats trying to stick some tubing in a groove - just sayin' - ;))

Starting in the center and working my way out to the end on each side - 

Pressing down as I went - SO EASY!! - 

If it got a little crooked - I peeled it off - and stuck it down straighter - LOL - 

 

I had already zippered the backing in place last night - 

But I didn't get a chance to take photos - 

So here is the LEFT end - of the TOP of my BACKING - 

 

 

I was going to link to the videos on how to use the zippers - 

But then I realized that you could find those on your own - 

And that they would just be confusing anyway - 

Because I did mine BACKWARDS - 

 

I had a hard time wrapping my head around which half went where - 

So I had to sketch it out - 

Then I had my "DUH" moment - 

 

I put the sketch at the bottom of this post -

And will explain it there - if you're interested - 

If not - you can skip that part - 

 

Basically I did not want to pay for the expensive "stamped" zippers - 

Or pay the price for "longarm" zippers - HERE -

So I got some separating "tent" zippers instead - HERE - 

And I got two for the price of one -

 

Then I basted one half to the leader -

And the other half to the top of the backing - wrong side up - 

With the zipper pull at the LEFT end -

 

 

And the zipper STOP at the RIGHT end - 

Which is the BACKWARDS part - 

 

To zip it ON -

I run the zipper pull all the way to the RIGHT end - stick in the end -

And zip it up with my LEFT hand - pulling to the LEFT - 

 

I figured I needed more control zipping it ON -

Than I did zipping it OFF - that I can do RIGHT-handed -

 

 

Anyway -

This is what it looks like from the backside - 

As it gets rolled up on the take-up bar - 

 

 

I also had basted one half to the leader on the front rail -

And the other half to the bottom of the backing - wrong side up - 

With the zipper pull at the LEFT end -

 

 

And the zipper STOP at the RIGHT end - 

 

Then I rolled my first backing on a longarm - YAY!! - 

 

Mostly I rolled it all onto the take-up rail first - 

To try to get it semi-straight - 

Because I knew that I had stitched a vertical panel in -

A little off-center - 

To see if I could get it straight when I loaded it sideways - 

As sort of a "newbie" challenge to myself - 

 

Then I rolled it all onto the "backing bar" in the front -

 

And I think - for a newbie - that I got it pretty straight -

 

Now here's the part about the zippers that you can skip - 

If you're not interested - 

 

You can watch the videos - 

And buy the fancy "stamped" zippers that tell you where to sew what - 

 

Or you can follow my little sketch - 

 

It doesn't really matter - 

Whether you have the zipper pulls on the LEFT or on the RIGHT - 

You just have to be consistent - or they won't work - 

 

Anyway -

 

THIS IS HOW I DID IT -

 

You need "separating" zippers - like these - HERE -

#5 - Molded Plastic Zippers - Separating - Tent in-Outside Reversible Slide -

The "Tent" ones are cheaper than the "Longarm" ones -

And they look the same to me - 

 

You need TWO zippers - 

 

Mark the CENTER on each one - both sides of the "teeth" - 

Matching the "STOP" with the end of the "PULL" on each - 

So the center is in the same spot on both zippers -

 

Separate them - into 4 halves -

2 WITHOUT pulls - let's call them "A" - the TOP half -

2 WITH pulls - let's call them "B" - the BOTTOM half -

 

Baste an "A" to the bottom of the top leader -

Baste a "B" to the top of the backing - wrong side up - 

 

Baste an "A" to the bottom of the backing - wrong side up - 

Baste a "B" to the top of the bottom leader -

 

I basted mine to the leaders - for the time being - 

Later I may actually SEW them on - to make them permanent -

If I like them - and so far - I DO - 

 

You want zippers as long as your leader cloths -

I got mine 2" longer - accidentally - but it worked out for me - 

Because they were still shorter than my rails - 

And you want to BASTE them in place -

Starting at the CENTER of the zipper - 

Matching the CENTER of the leaders and backing - 

And stitching to each end -

 

That way the centers will line up -

No matter what size backing you have - 

The excess will just hang off the end -

But be careful that it doesn't get in your way - 

Or interfere with your machine quilt "space" - 

 

I BASTED mine to the backing - temporarily -

In a color that I can SEE -  

Because - when I'm done -

I want to take them OFF - 

And use them again on another backing -

 

And removing basting stitches - 

Is a whole lot easier than UNSEWING the dang things - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

Christmas in September -

 

 

 

Ever since I decided to "exchange" - 

 

My Q-Zone Hoop Frame - HERE - 

 

With the dual track upgrade and table inserts - 

 

 

  

For the larger Q-Zone Queen frame - HERE -

 

I've been like a kid waiting for Christmas - 

 

And today was Christmas - in September - 

 

My new frame came today! - 

 

YAY!! -

While the dealer was dismantling the old one - 

 

And setting up the new one for me - 

I sewed the other half of some zippers on the leader cloths - 

So that I could load the backing -

For my Upstairs/Downstairs - Wild Things - 

 

And when he got it all together - 

He helped me attach the leader cloths to the rails - 

 

And we zipped the backing on - 

 

Easy peasy!! -

 

I was afraid that I had messed up when I ordered 90" zippers - 

Because the leader cloths are only 88" - 

But the zippers worked nicely - 

I have plenty of room at the end of each rail - 

 

The 88" is the maximum reach before the leg of the machine hits the side rail - 

So I was able to load the quilt backing on sideways - 

Just like I wanted - 

 

By the time he was finished it was about 7:00 PM - 

So I took a quick photo after he left - 

And wrote up this post - 

 

Tomorrow I'll do some tidying up and put some stuff away - 

And re-roll the backing nice and neat - 

Then add the batting and the top - 

And take some more photos - 

 

So far - I LOVE IT!! -  

It's doubled the size of top that I can quilt in one pass -

 

And I can still SIT DOWN down while I quilt -

 

I'm going to have LOTS of FUN playing with my new toy -

 

I still have a closet full of tops - 

 

Just waiting to be made into "real" quilts - LOL - ;))

 

 

 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

 

Same -

 

 

As yesterday - 

 

The day got away from me again - 

 

And I didn't get a chance to prepare that other backing - 

 

But I'm not sure the frame is coming tomorrow anyway - 

 

The guy hasn't called me to confirm yet - 

 

So I think that he might just be getting back from vacation - 

And that should give me more time to get ready - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -

Texture -

 

 

Was all I was going for when I quilted - 

 

My Antique Squirrel - BIG BROTHER version - 

 

I'm still learning how to control my new machine - 

 

And my quilting is not that great yet - 

 

But I think I nailed the "texture" part - LOL - 

It should look awesome when it's washed -

 

 

Today I got it trimmed - 

 

Then I cut the strips for the binding - 

 

The BROWN was cut from the backing trimmings - 

 And will be the main color - 

 

The TURQUOISE was cut from the same yardage as the "squares on point" - 

And will be the flange color - 

 

I'll set all of this aside tomorrow - 

 

Because I want to prepare another backing - 

 

In case my "zipper" one doesn't work - 

 

I plan to baste the other halves of the zippers to the leader cloths -

 

While the guy is dismantling the old frame and building the new one - 

But that might not be possible - 

 

So I should probably have another backing ready to pin -

 

And another piece of batting - and another quilt top ready to go - 

 

Just in case - 

 

I like to have "options" - LOL - ;))

 

 

 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

Trimming -

 

 

My Antique Squirrel - BIG BROTHER version - 

 

Was on the agenda for today -

 

But I haven't even started - 

 

And this sucker is HUGE - 

 

 

I spent too much time on the computer today - 

So maybe I'll make some progress tomorrow - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

Quilted -

 

 

My Antique Squirrel - BIG BROTHER version is quilted - 

 

Yay!! -

 

 

I opted to turn it around and pin it to a leader cloth - 

 

To finish the last two rows -

 

And that worked out just fine - 

 

It won't win any awards - 

 

Because the stitching is pretty wonky in areas - 

My machine kept "snagging" on something - 

Who knows what - maybe the bungee clips in the back - 

 

But the texture will be really nice when it gets washed - 

 

It still needs to be trimmed and bound - 

 

So tomorrow I can play with making some binding - 

And finishing it up -

 

My new frame should be here on Tuesday - 

 

And I can hardly wait - ;))

 

 

 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

 

Almost there -

 

 

I have the rest of this pass - 

 

And two more rows to quilt - 

 

On my Antique Squirrel - BIG BROTHER version - 

 

I didn't put the front clamps on so you could see the last two rows - 

 

 

I'm able to get about 1-1/2 rows quilted in one pass - 

 

So after the next pass - 

 

I'll be 1/2 row short -

 

And have to make another pass -

 

So I might just do one row at a time - 

 

Then it won't look like I did a 1/2 row at the end -

 

Or turn it all around - 

 

Do the "top" row and 1/2 - 

 

Then fill in the "missing" 1/2 row - 

 

Haven't decided yet - ;))

 

 

 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

My mojo -

 

 

Came back this afternoon - 

 

And I made one more pass across the rows -

 

On my Antique Squirrel - BIG BROTHER version - 

 

I only have 7 more rows to go - 

 

 

I could have started sooner - 

 

But - well - you know - 

 

Someone was taking a nap -

 

And she looked so comfy - 

That I couldn't bring myself to make her move - ;)) 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

More -

 

 

Of the same -

 

Same as yesterday - 

 

 

The progress on my Antique Squirrel - BIG BROTHER version - 

Came to another screeching halt today - 

 

When those dang "chores" came to visit again - 

 

As soon as they showed up - 

 

My mojo took off for parts unknown - LOL - ;))

 

 

 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

 

Same -

 

 

As yesterday - 

 

 

My progress on my Antique Squirrel - BIG BROTHER version - 

Came to a screeching halt today - 

 

When those dang "chores" showed up again - 

 

Guess it's a Monday thing - LOL - ;))

 

 

 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

 

Moving right along -

 

 

With the quilting - 

 

On my Antique Squirrel - BIG BROTHER version - 

 

 

I realized that I had another project called Antique Squirrel - 

That had 3" units and 9" blocks - 

 

So this one is actually the BIG BROTHER version - 

With 6" units and 18" blocks - 

 

Hopefully I can get it quilted by the end of the week - 

 

The design is very forgiving - if I miss a spot -

Because the thread blends in so well -

And sometimes I can't see where I already stitched -

I just echo around until I get to where I need to be -

 

Thread that blends is both good and bad - 

Good - it hides the boo-boos - 

Bad - sometimes I can't see where I stitched - 

And leave gaps that I have to go fill in later -

Or stitch too closely to what I already did - 

 

Good thing it isn't going to be judged -

Just washed to get the texture and to be napped under - LOL -

 

It IS moving right along now -

So I should have it done before I get the new frame -

It still takes me longer to re-hoop for the next "zone" - 

Than it does to actually quilt the design - 

 

I'm looking forward to being able to do one complete pass - 

 

Before having to "advance" the quilt - ;))

 

 

 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

 

First pass -

 

 

Is quilted -

 

On my Antique Squirrel - 

 

With a little help from my friends - 

 

I opted for an all-over design - 

 

It should go fairly quickly - 

 

And not show my starts and stops - 

 

 

It's kind of a flower - 

 

And shows up nicely on the TURQUOISE - 

 

And pretty much disappears on the rest of the fabrics - 

 

It even looks OK from the back -

 

It doesn't really show this much - 

 

But I lightened the photo so that you could see the quilting - 

 

So - the first row - and a half - is done - 

 

And I only had to re-hoop it once to get across the row - 

 

Only 13 - and a half - more rows to go - LOL - ;))

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

Ready to go -

 

My Antique Squirrel is "hooped" and ready to go - 

 

With 12 (6") blocks in a row -

And 15 rows -

 

I was hoping that my "workspace" was large enough - 

To quilt 6 blocks across and two complete rows -

 

Before I had to re-hoop it - 

 

But I can only reach 5 blocks across -

 

And I'm short a couple of inches on the second row - 

 

So I guess I'll just settle in -

 

This is going to take me a while - LOL -

 

And - before you ask - 

 

The new frame will allow me to quilt an entire row across in one pass - 

 

But - to get a larger throat space - 

 

I would need to upgrade the machine - 

 

And that is not in the budget right now - ;))

 

 

 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew - 

 

Decided -

 

 

To play with my Antique Squirrel next -

 

A friend (Gene) suggested that I could get it quilted - 

 

Before my new frame is delivered in two weeks - 

 

So I pulled out some cones of thread to audition - 

 

That weren't BROWN or too LIGHT -

 

I don't want to have to change colors - 

 

And I don't have a cone of TURQUOISE thread - 

 

So I got it down to these two - 

 

The BLUE is called CHICORY - 

 

And the WINE is called RED CURRAN - 

 

 

I "puddled" both colors on the TURQUOISE - 

 

And the BLUE disappears -  

There's a big blob of it in the top corner that you can hardly see - 

 

So the BLUE wins! - LOL - 

My stitching isn't that great yet - 

So I will feel more comfortable with a thread color that "blends" - 

And that will let the quilting be more "texture" than design - 

It should also hide my boo-boos - 

 

Tomorrow I'll try to decide what I want to quilt where - 

 

There are SO many options - 

 

I need to narrow them down a bit - ;))

 

 

 

Talk to you later - gotta go - gotta sew -