subject: Machine Embroidery Quilts Speedy Design Framing [print this page] We are roughing it just a little bit while we are transitioning between Greece and California. We have a nice place to live, but are sharing one 15-year-old mini truck that really cant go much over 65 miles per hour without fear of a breakdown. On California freeways, we are Public Enemy #1. Our girl still passes her smog inspections, but the freeways are too crowded for the speed demons to be able to pass our slow-moving truck. Yes, I just inferred that 65mph is slow.
This made me think about sewing machine. With the exception of new machines with all the bells and whistles, a sewing machine that is very old and very small, like the Singer Featherweight, is in high demand and quite valuable. For those of us who enjoy making quilts in a group setting, it is the machine to have. Small, light-weight and a work-horse, just like our little truck. Im not actually lucky enough to have one, but Ive got first dibs on one if my friend (who doesnt sew) ever decides to get rid of hers. Ill just have to lug my full-size machine until then.
Its funny. When making quilts at home, bigger is better when it comes to machines and the whole quilting setup. Frame quilting alone requires a large room. Then, its necessary to have a sewing area for the regular machine, a cutting area and a pressing area. If at all possible, having a large area to lay out and baste quilts is a plus. But, for classes, we want everything to be small. To me, this is funny.
When one is into quilt embroidery as I am, size is important again, as is speed. We want to have hoops large enough to add embroidery quilting to large blocks easily, and the basic 4x4 hoop just isnt enough. And, even though I have a very large embroidery area, I still must do several hoopings on some projects to fully accommodate my largest machine embroidery quilt designs. I actually took a class to learn this technique, but did it online so that I wouldnt have to lug my huge embroidery machine to class. See? Size matters. Its also important to have a speedy machine so that it doesnt take forever to finish a single design. It would take forever to stitch quilt embroidery on an entire quilt if one only had a small hoop on a slow machine. I am lucky enough to have escaped that fate!
Strangely, if I ever did have to lug all my stuff to a quilt class, my little truck could haul it all painlessly, including my big long-arm setup. It might be slow, but we would get there. If I had the small, quick car that we are waiting on, I couldnt take it all no matter how many trips I made. It simply isnt big enough.
So, while I get passed on the freeway and endure rude gestures and honking, Ill try to remember that my slow gal gets the job done, just as my sewing machines and equipment do, no matter what size they are!
