Tuesday, November 15, 2016

New Tricks for an Old Dawg


Recently I have been 'trying out' the sit down quilting machines at my sister's store. They feature the Babylock Tiara and it's pretty fabulous. My friend Mary has the Juki and it is also pretty fabulous. I've been trying out all over quilting designs on both of these, assuming that they would help me quilt a larger functional quilt in a super hurry. 
Smooth, Adjustable Table Included: Juki TL-2200 QVP Quilt Virtuoso Pro Long Arm 18 inch x 10 inch Quilting Machine Sit Down Package w/Sit Down Quilting Table:   
I practiced some patterns I found on Pinterest and felt ready to quilt SOMETHING. I do have a bunch of tops waiting in the wings, including these two that are about the same size. Mary invited me over to play on her machine Sunday afternoon, so I quickly sandwiched these two tops into one and hurried over there. Keeping in mind that these are nap quilt tops, about 45x60", the idea was to get them quilted and ready for use, so they need no fussiness for the quilting.

Lily: The Yellow Quilt. A mix of cotton prints and solids, including the big Marimekko floral from my old bedspread! 48x62", unquilted.: August 6th, because I couldn't think of a better name. Machine pieced cottons, 48x63.5", unquilted top.:
I learned some new designs, but still incorporated some of my old stuff into the mix too. The difference in the quilting machine was the ease of movement because of the table. And the huge bobbin allowed for hours of quilting without having to change the bobbin. I learned one important thing that made a huge difference in the reverse side of the quilt. I pulled up the bobbin thread at the start and that left the back looking better. Not that it matters but that is something I never usually did.
 

 Here's the back, which because of the busy prints, the quilting is difficult to see.
  It took about three and a half hours to quilt the thing and I am really jazzed about the experience. I am ready to quilt up the remaining 10 tops waiting in the wings.

7 comments:

  1. I've got a Tiara and love it. I've even managed stitch-in-the-ditch with it (not well). About to set it back up again. I got a Tiara without the cabinet that comes with it and ordered the HandiQuilter table that drops the machine into the base. When it's not in use it takes up much less space in my studio. Hardest part was making sure the Tiara fits in the HQ table.

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  2. Check out the Innova sit down quilting machine before you purchase anything, and Bernina has one also. Enjoy researching these machines.

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  3. I have been considering putting something like this on my Wishlist, so am grateful for your reviews and those of your readers. What are the most important features too look for, how do the brands differ, and is this a reasonable purchase for someone who has ruled out a long arm? My older Bernina works fine for piecing, but the short throat makes free motion quilting anything bigger than a small baby quilt a challenge. Thanks for the advice!

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  4. Well Jazzy, at the rate you are going you are not going to need to purchase a machine to finish up your tops..... your hipness might get the rest of us moving on those tops in a pile....

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  5. Does the Tiara have a stitch length regulator? What is the approximate cost?

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