Quilting Secrets of A One Woman Show

How does one woman load a King Size quilt onto her quilt frame in a garage all by herself when the floor is dirty? I did sweep and vacuum it, but there is still an unbelievable amount of dust. I know, because I clogged the filters in 4 vacuum cleaner bags.

Well, first you set up the quilter, then you lay a king size flat sheet on the floor and put bricks on each corner.Then you get your backing fabric and lay it over the middle roller good side facing down, and let the backing fall onto your sheet, instead of the dirty garage floor.Pin it, and roll it up.Then get your batting and quilt top stretched across your rollers, adjusted for proper length and width on top of the roller with your backing, then let it fall onto the sheet on the floor.Then roll it up and pin it in place.I was really disappointed last night when I realized I might not have enough varigated green top thread. I didn't have any green for the back in The Bottom Line thread either, that I usually use. 'I CAN'T WAIT TIL NEXT WEEKEND! I'VE WAITED LONG ENOUGH! I WANT TO GET THIS QUILTED THIS WEEKEND!' (Whew, yes, I almost did have a little tantrum!) So I started looking at the thread that I had, and decided I would have to make something else do. 'Ahhh....yes. I should try this Magna-Glide Fil-Tec bobbin thread I bought. What the heck!' I found matching thread for the top, although, it really wouldn't have mattered, but as I said, I had no green that would work, and I had no black. I really didn't want to use black anyway.So the directions say to remove the little tension spring from the bottom of the bobbin holder. Ok, I can do that. (Michelle, make a mental note which way the spring was in there! Check!)See those little plastic thingies on my wrist magnet? Those are the core of each bobbin. Of course, you cannot reuse these bobbin centers yourself, but I saw online where some places are taking them back and giving your credit for them. Smart idea. I think I'll hang onto mine. Maybe I can repurpose them into something else, or save them til I have a bunch. The black part is a magnet, and you put the magnet towards the bottom. It replaces the spring, and it keeps the tension consistent, like it resists free movement, keeping the tension taut. Can I just say I LOVE MAGNA-GLIDE bobbins!!!!!!!!!The tension was PERFECT the whole time. I did not have ANY trouble with the bobbin thread, and it looked tight and consistent the whole way through. There are no thread glitches towards the end with these bobbins. When you run out, you run out. That's it. Renea and Kate! If you haven't used your Magna Glide bobbins yet, try them! You will love them! I used Signature Mercerized Cotton on the top. I made NO adjustments to the bobbin case WHATSOEVER! The next picture is a rare specimen, and 'sightings' are seldom and rare. Catch a glimpse while you can! (DARN that Louie!) It took me about 7 1/2 hours from setting up the frame to cutting the quilt off the frame. I used 4 1/2 bobbins. Had I used regular quilting thread in my bobbins on a quilt this size, I could have easily used close to 20 bobbins. Here is the quilt right after I cut it from all the excess. After all that, I took a break. The big white blotch on the left hand lower corner is sunshine coming in under the curtain on the window. (Time: 3:45pm)

Well, you know me! I didn't take too long of a break. The binding is on the quilt, and the quilt is on the bed. (Roughly 9:30pm)Thanks for letting me share my pictures.

Be blessed!

Michelle