I got a great and unexpected gift over the holidays. My Quilt friend Beth Donaldson had an old Grace quilt frame that she did not have room to use. She gave it to me! Thanks again Beth!!
In order to use it I had to start by doing a bit of reorganizing so I could find space to set it up ( it is 8 feet wide). I got it all assembled and in a while I will try to load a quilt onto to it and see if I can adapt from quilting in a hoop to quilting in a frame. If nothing else I know it will be handy or basting a quilt.
I have a “small” stack of tops that are waiting to be photographed and packed for storage while they wait to be quilted. I could choose one of these to try out the new frame.
Here is a stack of “scrap” batting that I could join to make a full piece.
I don’t have backing fabric in mind so I will have to look at what I have and see if anything strikes me and then read the instructions to see how to get a quilt on the frame. I am thinking of this top so I will look for something that will match.
Not sure when that will happen but I will keep you updated.
Happy Quilting
Tim
it takes a little getting used to a floor frame after just using a hoop – like you say though if you can’t get used to it, it works great for basting.
I can hardly wait to give it a try….I see how great yours looks and have always admired it….
I just use my Grace Z44 for basting–don’t think I could adjust to quilting in it and I like sitting with my husband and quilting. What a good friend to share with you that way!
I will have to practice and see….but for simple quilting I think I can do it….time will tell
Oh Tim, you wild man — those quilt tops just cluster around you, don’t they? They just see you’re on eBay and make a beeline to Lansing.
I guess they just mail themselves to me?
That must be it — what other explanation could there be? All of them except for those that give themselves airs and value themselves too highly.
Great gift, great quilts, great ideas, great work!!
And best wishes for a very Happy New Year!
thanks Helen! you too!
Boy am I happy! I’m so glad you got it put together and found a space for it. The only tough part about quilting on a frame for me was going in different directions. Try choosing a quilt top with lines where you’re not doing a lot of turning. This post has made my day : )
Thanks again Beth! as soon as I get a quilt on it I will post again!..I can see why you didnt have room for it….it is big!! I think I will try a very simple quilting pattern to try it out….baptist fan or a grid so I can pretty much keep in one direction
For me, quilting in a frame was pretty awkward, but it was terrific for group projects! One of my favorite uses for it was when the Double Wedding Ring I was quilting for my son did a “cameo” appearance on the wedding episode of The Waltons–it was put on a frame and the cast members all took a few stitches on it for the cameras. My other major experience with a frame was a quilt we made as a gift for our Australian Sister City–I put it in a frame and took it to the park every day for 2 weeks so that people from town could come by and quilt on it. Otherwise, I much prefer quilting with it held loosely in my hands.
Tim, Would you show the process of loading the top, backing and batting onto the frame? Many quilters have never had the opportunity to see how it is done and how these frames work. Thanks!
I will do that Linda….but first I need to figure it out myself!….I am playing with it today and I didnt take any pictures as I went along….but I will do it for the next one
Lucky you, congratulations!!!
Thanks!!
Wonderful gift for you! Should be fun to try it out. I enjoyed seeing your ‘small’ stack of quilt tops too.:)
It is relatively small compared to the total…LOL
What a wonderful surprise! I wish I had a friend like that.
I am very lucky!
Really cool! Now you can keep a quilt in the frame and one in the hoop. You need to clone yourself so you can work on both at the same time!
Happy New Year!!
LOL….I will have to look into cloning…..
What a great gift, hope you enjoy using it as much as your hoop!
I am sure it is going to be a learning process….but I am excited to try
Tim, I have a floor frame that I bought about 10 yrs ago, used it once and decided I liked quilting on my couch with a hand frame better. Have offered it to several groups, but it is 12 ft long, 3 foot wide, so too big for most. Good luck, let us know what you think. I also only quilt toward myself and found a stationary frame challenging.
I will let you know how I like it….I quilt away from myself so I think I can make it work….time will tell