Batting Battle Field Report

Hello,

If you've just stepped over from The Tulip Patch, welcome.  Welcome if you are here by another means too...and go check out Mary's batting battle post at The Tulip Patch.  Today she is talking about Fairfield's Bamboo.


From my perspective - Bamboo is a fun way to add a little luxury to a quilt project....any project really.  The fiber produced by this otherwise uninviting bit of panda food is silky with a nice drape.  I have found it to be cuddly and just enough warmer and lighter than cotton to make me wonder if I am imagining things.  The price might make it prohibitive....but look for it on sale.

Thank you Mary for pointing out that the anti-bacterial properties make the processing of bamboo a step easier.  I had never thought of that before.  (So that is what those dark bits in  cotton batting are...bug legs and carcasses....just kidding. I really have no idea.)  I do however suspect that the overall processing might be a tad more complicated.  Think about it - wool and cotton are both in a fibrous state when they are harvested.  They have to be cleaned before they can be turned into bat....but they are already kind of thready.  Bamboo, well, it is pretty much a stick that needs to be beat to death to extract the fibers. 

A Special Welcome & The Anatomy of a Long Arm

Hello,

I'm glad you could stop by this morning. What a treat it is to have visitors from The Tulip Patch.

Today is the first in a series of Saturdays when Mary of The Tulip Patch is hosting "Shout Out Saturday". I am her first guest. How awesome is that?! Thank you Mary for having me. If you haven't been there already, take a moment to go visit her. You can learn a little about me....and get some tips on long arm quilters. As an addendum to that information I've created a little, minuscule, pictorial tutorial on what it is those mystical beings do to your quilts.

It all starts here. This is my long arm machine....it is a Gammell Optimum with a Statler Stitcher. I call it Waldorf. All long arm machines are basically long necked sewing machines. They work the same way a domestic machine does. What is different is the way the fabric gets moved through it.

When you free motion quilt on a domestic sewing machine (a skill I do not possess) you move the fabric. The machine sits just where it always does and you do the work normally done by the feed dogs. The quilt has to be basted before hand and rolled or folded so that it will fit through the neck of the machine so you can work on the middle of the quilt.

On a long arm the pieces of the quilt are secured on a big table and the machine is moved around.

Tables are usually between 10 and 14 feet long. Mine is 12. The length of the table limits the size of the quilt that can be quilted on it. The shortest side of a quilt has to be less than the length of the table in order to mount the top. This isn't usually a problem....a king sized quilt is approximately 108"x95". A twelve foot table is 144".

Every table has three winding rods. There is one to hold the quilt's top; one to hold the backing; and one to hold the completed quilt as it is taken up. The top and the backing are attached to fabric leaders that are attached to the rods.

At the front of every table is a bar. This is the front most edge. The top, back, and batting all pass over it before they are quilted. The "belly bar" serves as a fixed, and straight reference point for the long arm quilter. It also keeps everything nice and flat.

Quilts are also secured at the sides. Long, straps of velcro extend from the sides of the table to the backing material. These straps have big clips on the end of them. The clips are fastened to the backing and batting and keep it taught from side to side.

When a quilt is properly mounted on the table it isn't going to go anywhere. It is taut, but not so tight that you could bounce coins off of it. My cats think it makes a lovely hammock, and it probably does if you only weigh 7 pounds. I discourage their use of customer quilts in this manner.

Sometimes they sneak past me.

Thanks for stopping by....and have a great day.