Hand quilting frame

Ok, after much thought I have decided to try once again to hand quilt
a few quilts. I have exhumed the beautiful cherry hand quilting frame
that I bought when I first started this madness. It was made by a
local 80+ year old craftsman who has since passed away. I tried to get
up and running with it a couple of years ago and didn't have much luck
with the methods that I assumed were necessary at the time having come
from a needlepoint background. Now with a better understanding of the
requirements to hand quilt I will be attempting to get this phase of
the sport firmly within the grasp of this rapidly aging brain. I
visited some Amish quilt shops this last weekend and was inspired with
the beautiful work that they have done with just a needle and thread.
I have ordered some longer poles to allow the fitting of a queen size
quilt to be made within the frame and also another set of poles that
are shorter for use with crib/lap sized quilts. Another thing I am
going to attempt is machine freehand quilting on a Grace machine
quilting frame. Not for awhile though, as the hand quilting frame set
up takes up all the space that I have in the quilt room. They both
break down and can be stored when each is not in use. I guess the
thing is to never get complacent about your skills, and always be
willing to challenge yourself. I am now looking forward to bringing
this fine piece of equipment back into the light of day from the dark
recesses of the black hole of the attic. The repository of things that
didn't go quite as you planned. Wish me luck. Here is a picture of the
frame as it emerged from the attic storage with the shorted poles in
place.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...00692635wCyIDw


John

Howdy!

Duuuuuude! What a pretty frame.

What, please, are the "requirements to hand quilt" you have discovered?
I suppose they differ from quilter to quilter; just curious as to
what opens this door for you, John.
And I hope you enjoy handquilting.

I had a nice, long frame w/ long poles and an
easier-than-installing-a-car-transmission set-up.
It worked just fine. Until I realized I really, really don't like
to quilt on a frame. g
While I can work on a frame, and will, with friends, I prefer my
12" round hoop for handquilting, no matter how large the quilt.
It works for me. ;-)

Good luck, John!

R/Sandy--who used to think people quilted by hand, first, before moving
on to machine quilting G


On 5/14/07 12:33 PM, in article
, "John"
wrote:

Ok, after much thought I have decided to try once again to hand quilt
a few quilts. I have exhumed the beautiful cherry hand quilting frame
that I bought when I first started this madness. It was made by a
local 80+ year old craftsman who has since passed away. I tried to get
up and running with it a couple of years ago and didn't have much luck
with the methods that I assumed were necessary at the time having come
from a needlepoint background. Now with a better understanding of the
requirements to hand quilt I will be attempting to get this phase of
the sport firmly within the grasp of this rapidly aging brain. I
visited some Amish quilt shops this last weekend and was inspired with
the beautiful work that they have done with just a needle and thread.
I have ordered some longer poles to allow the fitting of a queen size
quilt to be made within the frame and also another set of poles that
are shorter for use with crib/lap sized quilts. Another thing I am
going to attempt is machine freehand quilting on a Grace machine
quilting frame. Not for awhile though, as the hand quilting frame set
up takes up all the space that I have in the quilt room. They both
break down and can be stored when each is not in use. I guess the
thing is to never get complacent about your skills, and always be
willing to challenge yourself. I am now looking forward to bringing
this fine piece of equipment back into the light of day from the dark
recesses of the black hole of the attic. The repository of things that
didn't go quite as you planned. Wish me luck. Here is a picture of the
frame as it emerged from the attic storage with the shorted poles in
place.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...00692635wCyIDw


John

On May 14, 1:52 pm, Sandy Ellison wrote:
Howdy!

Duuuuuude! What a pretty frame.

What, please, are the "requirements to hand quilt" you have discovered?
I suppose they differ from quilter to quilter; just curious as to
what opens this door for you, John.
And I hope you enjoy handquilting.

I had a nice, long frame w/ long poles and an
easier-than-installing-a-car-transmission set-up.
It worked just fine. Until I realized I really, really don't like
to quilt on a frame. g
While I can work on a frame, and will, with friends, I prefer my
12" round hoop for handquilting, no matter how large the quilt.
It works for me. ;-)

Good luck, John!

R/Sandy--who used to think people quilted by hand, first, before moving
on to machine quilting G

On 5/14/07 12:33 PM, in article
om, "John"

wrote:
Ok, after much thought I have decided to try once again to hand quilt
a few quilts. I have exhumed the beautiful cherry hand quilting frame
that I bought when I first started this madness. It was made by a
local 80+ year old craftsman who has since passed away. I tried to get
up and running with it a couple of years ago and didn't have much luck
with the methods that I assumed were necessary at the time having come
from a needlepoint background. Now with a better understanding of the
requirements to hand quilt I will be attempting to get this phase of
the sport firmly within the grasp of this rapidly aging brain. I
visited some Amish quilt shops this last weekend and was inspired with
the beautiful work that they have done with just a needle and thread.
I have ordered some longer poles to allow the fitting of a queen size
quilt to be made within the frame and also another set of poles that
are shorter for use with crib/lap sized quilts. Another thing I am
going to attempt is machine freehand quilting on a Grace machine
quilting frame. Not for awhile though, as the hand quilting frame set
up takes up all the space that I have in the quilt room. They both
break down and can be stored when each is not in use. I guess the
thing is to never get complacent about your skills, and always be
willing to challenge yourself. I am now looking forward to bringing
this fine piece of equipment back into the light of day from the dark
recesses of the black hole of the attic. The repository of things that
didn't go quite as you planned. Wish me luck. Here is a picture of the
frame as it emerged from the attic storage with the shorted poles in
place.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...00692635wCyIDw

John

I thought that you shoved the needle into the quilt at a 90 degree
angle like you do for needle point. When I tried that I did not get
very far without a large amount of pain in my hand and very slow
progress. Just recently I discovered a book with great pictures that
showed how to load up a needle with 3-5 stitches before pulling it
through. That, and rocking the fabric from underneath and the use of a
spoon, if needed, on the underside to protect your delicate little
pinkys from those nasty needle punctures. The book, if anybody is
interested is"Quiltmaking by Hand" by Jinny Beyer ISBN 0-9721-2182-
X
I am somebody who is comfortable in learning a new skill from a book
so it has helped me to have this one for reference. The book also goes
into hand piecing to a great degree as the woman does mostly that
style of quilting. Very beautiful stuff. I used to needle point on a
frame as I was not comfortable doing it when held in the hand. I guess
it is a case of to each, his/her own. I can't wait to get started on
this next development in my ongoing fixation with quilting.


John

That's really lovely. Isn't that cherry wood a gorgeous colour.
I'm sure you'll enjoy hand quilting - but, you'll have to be prepared
for it to be slow. Judging by the speed you have done everything else
so far, you might have to give yourself a little talking to in
preparation!
..
In message . com, John
writes
Ok, after much thought I have decided to try once again to hand quilt
a few quilts. I have exhumed the beautiful cherry hand quilting frame
that I bought when I first started this madness. It was made by a
local 80+ year old craftsman who has since passed away. I tried to get
up and running with it a couple of years ago and didn't have much luck
with the methods that I assumed were necessary at the time having come
from a needlepoint background. Now with a better understanding of the
requirements to hand quilt I will be attempting to get this phase of
the sport firmly within the grasp of this rapidly aging brain. I
visited some Amish quilt shops this last weekend and was inspired with
the beautiful work that they have done with just a needle and thread.
I have ordered some longer poles to allow the fitting of a queen size
quilt to be made within the frame and also another set of poles that
are shorter for use with crib/lap sized quilts. Another thing I am
going to attempt is machine freehand quilting on a Grace machine
quilting frame. Not for awhile though, as the hand quilting frame set
up takes up all the space that I have in the quilt room. They both
break down and can be stored when each is not in use. I guess the
thing is to never get complacent about your skills, and always be
willing to challenge yourself. I am now looking forward to bringing
this fine piece of equipment back into the light of day from the dark
recesses of the black hole of the attic. The repository of things that
didn't go quite as you planned. Wish me luck. Here is a picture of the
frame as it emerged from the attic storage with the shorted poles in
place.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...00692635wCyIDw


John


--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

On May 14, 3:24 pm, Patti wrote:
That's really lovely. Isn't that cherry wood a gorgeous colour.
I'm sure you'll enjoy hand quilting - but, you'll have to be prepared
for it to be slow. Judging by the speed you have done everything else
so far, you might have to give yourself a little talking to in
preparation!
.
In message . com, John
writes



Ok, after much thought I have decided to try once again to hand quilt
a few quilts. I have exhumed the beautiful cherry hand quilting frame
that I bought when I first started this madness. It was made by a
local 80+ year old craftsman who has since passed away. I tried to get
up and running with it a couple of years ago and didn't have much luck
with the methods that I assumed were necessary at the time having come
from a needlepoint background. Now with a better understanding of the
requirements to hand quilt I will be attempting to get this phase of
the sport firmly within the grasp of this rapidly aging brain. I
visited some Amish quilt shops this last weekend and was inspired with
the beautiful work that they have done with just a needle and thread.
I have ordered some longer poles to allow the fitting of a queen size
quilt to be made within the frame and also another set of poles that
are shorter for use with crib/lap sized quilts. Another thing I am
going to attempt is machine freehand quilting on a Grace machine
quilting frame. Not for awhile though, as the hand quilting frame set
up takes up all the space that I have in the quilt room. They both
break down and can be stored when each is not in use. I guess the
thing is to never get complacent about your skills, and always be
willing to challenge yourself. I am now looking forward to bringing
this fine piece of equipment back into the light of day from the dark
recesses of the black hole of the attic. The repository of things that
didn't go quite as you planned. Wish me luck. Here is a picture of the
frame as it emerged from the attic storage with the shorted poles in
place.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...00692635wCyIDw

John

--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

I am hoping that it will be. I am prepared to take all the time
necessary to do it right. Even if it means not turning out as many
quilts. I can always machine quilt something fast if I need to produce
something fast. The hand quilted ones should be more complex in nature
due to the patterns of quilting in contrast to the stitch in the ditch
way I have done the others.

John

Howdy!

Oh, good book.
http://www.jinnybeyer.com/
Jinny used to hang out here on RCTQ, years ago;
we were "along for the ride" one summer when she picked up
her daughter at college & they traveled home w/ daughter driving
and Jinny hand-piecing in the car. ;-)

One other suggestion to help get the needle thru' the fabric:
finger cots. I use my thimble on the middle finger, a finger
cot on the "pointer" finger; both are invaluable (to me) to
get that needle thru' the fabric w/ ease.

Btw, not all quilting needles are created equal, and the
thimble that works best is the best thimble. Test drive. g

Good luck! Speed is not my objective, quilting is. ;-)

Cheers!
R/Sandy -- love to quilt 8-


On 5/14/07 1:31 PM, in article
, "John"
wrote:


http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...00692635wCyIDw

John

I thought that you shoved the needle into the quilt at a 90 degree
angle like you do for needle point. When I tried that I did not get
very far without a large amount of pain in my hand and very slow
progress. Just recently I discovered a book with great pictures that
showed how to load up a needle with 3-5 stitches before pulling it
through. That, and rocking the fabric from underneath and the use of a
spoon, if needed, on the underside to protect your delicate little
pinkys from those nasty needle punctures. The book, if anybody is
interested is"Quiltmaking by Hand" by Jinny Beyer ISBN 0-9721-2182-
X
I am somebody who is comfortable in learning a new skill from a book
so it has helped me to have this one for reference. The book also goes
into hand piecing to a great degree as the woman does mostly that
style of quilting. Very beautiful stuff. I used to needle point on a
frame as I was not comfortable doing it when held in the hand. I guess
it is a case of to each, his/her own. I can't wait to get started on
this next development in my ongoing fixation with quilting.


John

wow...Jinny Beyer used to hang out here?

--
Kathyl (KJ)
remove "nospam" before mchsi
http://community.webshots.com/user/kathylquiltz
"Sandy Ellison" wrote in message
...
Howdy!

Oh, good book.
http://www.jinnybeyer.com/
Jinny used to hang out here on RCTQ, years ago;
we were "along for the ride" one summer when she picked up
her daughter at college & they traveled home w/ daughter driving
and Jinny hand-piecing in the car. ;-)

One other suggestion to help get the needle thru' the fabric:
finger cots. I use my thimble on the middle finger, a finger
cot on the "pointer" finger; both are invaluable (to me) to
get that needle thru' the fabric w/ ease.

Btw, not all quilting needles are created equal, and the
thimble that works best is the best thimble. Test drive. g

Good luck! Speed is not my objective, quilting is. ;-)

Cheers!
R/Sandy -- love to quilt 8-


On 5/14/07 1:31 PM, in article
, "John"
wrote:


http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...00692635wCyIDw

John

I thought that you shoved the needle into the quilt at a 90 degree
angle like you do for needle point. When I tried that I did not get
very far without a large amount of pain in my hand and very slow
progress. Just recently I discovered a book with great pictures that
showed how to load up a needle with 3-5 stitches before pulling it
through. That, and rocking the fabric from underneath and the use of a
spoon, if needed, on the underside to protect your delicate little
pinkys from those nasty needle punctures. The book, if anybody is
interested is"Quiltmaking by Hand" by Jinny Beyer ISBN 0-9721-2182-
X
I am somebody who is comfortable in learning a new skill from a book
so it has helped me to have this one for reference. The book also goes
into hand piecing to a great degree as the woman does mostly that
style of quilting. Very beautiful stuff. I used to needle point on a
frame as I was not comfortable doing it when held in the hand. I guess
it is a case of to each, his/her own. I can't wait to get started on
this next development in my ongoing fixation with quilting.


John

In article .com,
John wrote:

I thought that you shoved the needle into the quilt at a 90 degree
angle like you do for needle point. When I tried that I did not get
very far without a large amount of pain in my hand and very slow
progress. Just recently I discovered a book with great pictures that
showed how to load up a needle with 3-5 stitches before pulling it
through. That, and rocking the fabric from underneath and the use of a
spoon, if needed, on the underside to protect your delicate little
pinkys from those nasty needle punctures. The book, if anybody is
interested is"Quiltmaking by Hand" by Jinny Beyer ISBN 0-9721-2182-
X
I am somebody who is comfortable in learning a new skill from a book
so it has helped me to have this one for reference. The book also goes
into hand piecing to a great degree as the woman does mostly that
style of quilting. Very beautiful stuff. I used to needle point on a
frame as I was not comfortable doing it when held in the hand. I guess
it is a case of to each, his/her own. I can't wait to get started on
this next development in my ongoing fixation with quilting.


John


That's a great book, John! Jinny used to come visit us here years ago --
she can hand piece more quickly than many people can machine piece! And
her work is jaw-dropping exquisite. Even better, though, she's a truly
nice person.

I'm like you -- I like to have the printed page in front of me whenever
possible so as to be sure of what I'm doing -- written explanations and
lots of pictures are great. That said, I also enjoy classes -- but I
still prefer it when the teacher gives us some written instructions,
too.

Good luck with the hand quilting; it's a very relaxing activity.

--
Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas
sfoster 1 (at) embarqmail (dot) com (remove/change the obvious)
http://www.sandymike.net

What a truly beautiful quilting fame, John. It's a treasure. Thank you for
sharing it with us. Polly

On May 14, 12:33 pm, John wrote:
Ok, after much thought I have decided to try once again to hand quilt
a few quilts. I have exhumed the beautiful cherry hand quilting frame
that I bought when I first started this madness. It was made by a
local 80+ year old craftsman who has since passed away. I tried to get
up and running with it a couple of years ago and didn't have much luck
with the methods that I assumed were necessary at the time having come
from a needlepoint background. Now with a better understanding of the
requirements to hand quilt I will be attempting to get this phase of
the sport firmly within the grasp of this rapidly aging brain. I
visited some Amish quilt shops this last weekend and was inspired with
the beautiful work that they have done with just a needle and thread.
I have ordered some longer poles to allow the fitting of a queen size
quilt to be made within the frame and also another set of poles that
are shorter for use with crib/lap sized quilts. Another thing I am
going to attempt is machine freehand quilting on a Grace machine
quilting frame. Not for awhile though, as the hand quilting frame set
up takes up all the space that I have in the quilt room. They both
break down and can be stored when each is not in use. I guess the
thing is to never get complacent about your skills, and always be
willing to challenge yourself. I am now looking forward to bringing
this fine piece of equipment back into the light of day from the dark
recesses of the black hole of the attic. The repository of things that
didn't go quite as you planned. Wish me luck. Here is a picture of the
frame as it emerged from the attic storage with the shorted poles in
place.

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...00692635wCyIDw

John

Oh, wow. That is a beautiful frame. I *so* would love to have one like
that.
Good luck, and I'd love to hear how progress is going.
Sherry
p.s.--I never have gotten the hang of the spoon-thing. I finally
bought some of those
sticky little finger-pads. Ouch, ouch. First quilt I ever did ended up
with blood all
over the backing.