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http://www.quiltville.com
~Quilting Information and Answers to Shipping Questions!~
If you have made it this far you must have some quilts itching to be completed. I'd be more than happy to help you get those quilts out of the UFO pile!
I'm sure you noticed from the price table on the Machine Quilting page that there are several different kinds of quilting available.....from simple to ornate heirloom work. I want the quilting to add to YOUR piecing, not just cover it up.
I have over 200
stencils and other designs
that I
can use
in empty blocks, corners, borders and other areas...so just tell me
what
you have in mind! I will try to work with
those ideas
for the machine quilting and will share my thoughts and ideas with you
as well. Keep in mind that machine quilting is
more sturdy when lines are continuous, and stops and starts are
minimized.
One thing I HAVE to
mention even though I
don't
like to bring it up...Your quilt top will be quilted in the
condition it is received. Press well from the top side while piecing.
This will eliminate little folds that can form from pressing from the
back. Press the completed top well, making sure the corners are square
and true.
I wish I were a
miracle worker, a quilting
goddess, the problem-solving
fairy, but here are some things to be aware of:
If there are
puckers already in your piecing, they
will
STILL be there (and maybe quilted down) when you get your quilt back.
If your borders are too small for the center of the quilt...I can only pull the quilt as tight as those borders will allow me to, and the quilt center may still be baggy and have to be eased in or may have puckers or pleats.
Once your top is complete, make sure all seams that meet the edge are secure. For example, if you have sewn a border on your top, there will be four or more seams that come right to the edge of the quilt top. Pieced borders may have many seams along the edge of the quilt top. It is helpful to think of this as you are piecing.
The ends of these seams need to be back-tacked so they will not open when the top is stretched for quilting.
Check all seams on the under-side of your top to make sure your seam allowance is deep enough. Sometimes the bottom layer of fabric can creep away from you while piecing, and though you don't catch it from the top side when pressing, that edge that is barely caught in the piecing seam (sometimes by just a few fabric threads!) can also open during stretching/quilting. The hopping foot can fall right into that open space and stitch itself to the quilt top and it is very hard to undo. I call this being "sucked into the black hole" because that seam opens so fast and swallows up that hopping foot before you even knew what hit you!
Examine your quilt top, from the front and back and cut off any trailing threads. Trailing threads on the under-side of your top may shadow through light colored areas of your quilt. (I call these varicose-threads!) I do my best to check for these, but once the quilt is quilted, these mis-placed threads from dark unravelling fabrics or untrimmed thread tails from piecing are almost impossible to remove.
A note on Embellishing!
A note
on Fusible
Applique!
Fusible applique
seems to be quite a trend these days. It speeds up the applique
process, but is NOT machine-quilting-friendly. Some quilts come in with
layer upon layer of fabric shapes all fused together until the quilt
top is so stiff that it can stand by itself! In cases like these, I can
quilt in the background around where the fusible shapes are adhered,
but I can not quilt THROUGH them. Experience has taught me (with much
grief and angst!) that fusibles lead to skipped stitches, bent and
broken needles. Broken needles can poke a hole through your quilt.
Please discuss your fusible applique quilts with me ahead of time.
A note
on Batting!
For those of you sending batting with your quilt top, there are many kinds of batting available. I can use most of them with my machine. However, I do NOT recommend using Mountain Mist Polyester!! I have not had good luck with this product. It shreds so easily that my fingers go straight through it just adjusting the batting as I advance the quilt in the machine. There just isn't enough *glue* or whatever to hold it together! So if it shreds BEFORE you quilt it...what is it going to do after the quilt is washed? Morning Glory is the same way. It isn't bonded..just loose fibers. Quilter's Dream cotton is okay, but I prefer not to use the very thinnest weight. It is great for hand quilting, and I use it myself for that, but it stretches and clings when advancing the quilt, and it is hard to keep smooth when advancing. The medium weights of Quilter's Dream Cotton are a bit more sturdy.
I reserve the right to refuse your batting if it is not compatible with longarm machine quilting.
A note
on Backings!
Make sure that your back is pieced, and is squared up before sending it to me so that it rolls up on the rollers right. Press the seams on your quilt back OPEN. It makes for a smoother backing with no seam ridges. Your backing should measure at least 6" longer and 6" wider than the top. This gives me a 3"margin all around the outside of the quilt top to allow for stretching and attaching to the rollers and leaving room for the side clamps.
I have used sheets
for backings in the past
with
mixed results. The main problem with sheets is that the weave is
different than with traditional quilting cottons..more dense and
tightly woven..not as soft.
Not all sheets are 100% cotton, so you get to deal with all the
poly-blend problems as well.
Many sheets
(especially cheap ones) are
wrinkle-free-perm-pressed-poly-blended and SUCH a dense weave
that they are a terrible culprit for causing skipped stitches or
worse. Sheets have hems to deal with, and rarely is a sheet even or
square (on grain in both directions) when you open the package. When
quilting and moving the machine
over the quilt, the needle is built to flex, but the stiffness of a
sheet
can cause not only skipped stitches but also broken needles. Broken
needles can leave a hole in the quilt. :c(
Flannel sheets are okay if they are 100% cotton....and some 100% cotton sheets if they are prewashed til soft and the thread count is not too high are passable. You will need to remove all hems and selvedges and re-square it. Please avoid all sheets with polyester in them!
Please be aware that
if you piece several
random
pieces of your stash together to use as a backing that the same rules
apply to backings
as they do to tops. If your backing is not square it will not roll up
right
and there will be sagging, bagging and puckers that are unavoidable. I
will not claim responsibility
if you chose to use a "back of many pieces". All I can do is promise to
do
my best! Be sure to check both sides of your pieced back for trailing
threads that might shadow through.
Try NOT
to have a
center back panel framed by even borders on all four sides for a
quilt back. I am able to center the quilt length-wise, or
width-wise,but since the quilt backing is on a separate roller than the
quilt top, and both are going to advance a bit differently, I can NOT
guarantee that your center panel on the back of your quilt will be
exactly aligned with the center of your top. If you must piece your
backing to make it big enough, and you are trying to be creative with
different pieces of fabric, shoot for something asymmetrical. Let
a stripe or something be purposely off center and let the seams fall
where they may on the quilt back. It adds interest and doesn't draw
attention to a framed panel that isn't centered exactly.
A note
on Threads!
What color of thread
you would like? The
first
color of thread is included in the price....each additional color is
$5.00 more. I also have metallics, varigateds, and other decorative
threads available for an additional cost.
(Not included in quilting prices.)
Thread color does
make a
difference with the backing fabric you chose. Sometimes I can
use one color
in the bobbin, and another color on the top, but if it is dark on the
top,
and light on the bottom, or visa versa....There are bound to be either
light
dots occassionally on the back, or dark dots occassionally on the
front.....its
just the nature of the beast! (Just like a regular sewing machine.)
I usually need to match bobbin thread to the top
thread to avoid contrasting color show-through to the front of the
quilt. Show-through with contrasting bobbin threads is usually most
evident when pulling the bobbin thread to the top and anchoring threads
by stitching in place.
Starts and stops with dark on the bottom and light on the top are very
visible on the top since the bobbin thread is pulled up and stitched in
place to anchor threads.
For instance, if I used yellow on top, and green on the
bottom, you'd
see green dots coming to the top in places where I started and ended
stitching, and perhaps in areas where I turn a tight curve because
tension increases on the top thread when turning a curve and pulls the
bobbin thread up higher than when stitching a straight line. It's like
turning a banked curve in the Indy 500....tighter curve, tighter
tension on the top thread.
I do
find
that a medium colored print backing rather than a solid or tone-on-tone (Please avoid muslin or white!) does
look alot
better when you are
changing top and bottom threads. It also helps to hide all the starts
and
stops. It is my preference to always match the bobbin thread to the top
thread
to avoid problems with dots showing. If you send a dark backing and I
am quilting light areas on the top, consider the light bobbin thread
against the dark backing as a form of thread art. It can really be
quite beautiful!
Here are a couple
shots
of the back side of a lone star I quilted. You can see the quilting
detail and where I had to use the light thread for her setting squares
and triangles, and a narrow border:
And here is a pic
of the
quilt from the front!
You can see why I
had to
use the light thread in the bobbin because the dark purple would have
shown through to the top in these beautiful cream areas. And I like the
result! As pretty on the back as on the front....
More contrasting thread beauty:
Here is the front of a quilt made by Julie Sefton
When you mail your top and back to me...(you can either include your own batting, or I can supply it for you) send it in a box big enough to fit the completed quilt for return shipping.
It is important that
you lable your top,
backing and
batting with your name, address and phone number for identification
purposes. Post-it notes dont always stick, so please pin!
Due
to changes in postal shipping rates, I have had several people prefer
to
send me quilts via UPS or Fed Ex ground. This works wonderful for me
since
UPS has a great tracking method, many drop off spots now that Mail
Boxes,
Etc are now The UPS Store, and Office Depots and Staples now have a UPS
counter as well.
Insurance on your quilt is much more affordable through UPS than
through
the post office....where sending a package from the post office has
become somewhat ala carte.....charging
you extra for tracking numbers, extra for insurance.
Of course UPS ground will take a couple days longer to get to you, and
if this is something
you need quicker, I can return your quilt to you via Priority Mail.
There
may be additional charges due to how the post office charges.
A Note
on Payment
Methods!
I accept Visa/Mastercard and Check or Money Order. Visa and Mastercard are really easy because I can just add the return shipping and any extra thread/batting costs for you.....and I don't charge your card until I have emailed you the charges, or talked them over with you personally.Your card will be charged when the quilt is shipped back to you.
If you are sending a
check we need to get down
to
the nitty
gritty details before hand! I have prepared a simple quilting order form
for you to help figure charges. Remember to add the return shipping
cost.
Not sure how you want the quilt quilted and want me to look at it
first?
No problem! I have had some ladies send their quilts to me.....then I
call
them back when it's in my hands and I have a better idea of what we
will
be doing with the quilt. Then they mail the check out seperately before
I
return the quilt to them.
Currently I am running on a "By Appointment" basis which seems to be working well for everyone! I can only quilt so many quilts a week, and have set appointments and reservations for those days. Would you like a quilting date? Let me know and I will tell you the next available date. You dont have to get the quilt to me right away and I will notify you when the time is close so you can finish appliqueing or piecing while you are *standing in line* on my list!...... So think ahead...and reserve your spot while you are still putting that top together!
Bonnie
Hunter
136 Teague
Ct
Winston
Salem NC 27107
(336)749-3202
~~~~Small
Print!~~~~
I value my reputation as a professional machine quilter and I guarantee the quality of the quilting I do for you, my valued customer. If you are not happy with the quilting on your quilt, please let me know within 72 hours. I will try every means possible to make it right for you. If that is not possible a refund in the form of credit may be indicated. Please know that Quiltville Custom Quilting will issue a credit for cost of Quilting Labor only. Batting, backing, binding and/or thread charges are separate charges and are NOT included in the credit. The Credit is good for three (3) months from the issue date (excludes the months of November and December). If the credit/refund issue is not resolved to the customer's satisfaction, the issue shall be resolved by binding arbitration in Winston Salem, NC under the then applicable rules of the American Arbitration Association.
Questions
or Comments? I would love to hear from you!! © Bonnie K Hunter & Quiltville.com 1997-2011 All Rights Reserved. No part may be used, copied, sold, distributed or otherwise
altered without express written permission from the author/webmaster.