Delightful Quilting & Sewing

10/12/2026

Dressed in our western wear for our grandson’s wedding this past weekend. Rain held off until after the outdoor ceremony. A blessing to enjoy this very special day with Trevor and Marissa. Ron and I were the only couple to dance the married 50 years or more.

10/12/2026

Under the needle today. Cute customer quilt.

09/29/2026

TIP TUESDAY: TO PRE-WASH OR NOT TO PRE-WASH - THAT IS THE QUESTION
I purchased this selection of fabrics recently to go into two separate projects. The fabric for both projects going into wall hangings, not typically washed. The big question, do I pre-wash or not?
To save time, no. BUT, experience has told me that you can't always depend on how the recipient might use the gift. So, I decided (as I always do, except with jelly rolls) to pre-wash. You can tell by the dye on the color catchers it was a good thing I decided to pre-wash.
My method to save time and effort.
1. Trim a triangle off each corner of the fabric (all four corners). This minimizes fraying and tangles nearly 100%.
2. Open each cut of fabric, toss into the washer with at least 2 color catchers. (Purchase at Walmart in the laundry aisle)
3. Wash with regular laundry detergent, warm water.
4. Dry on low heat for about 10 minutes.
5. Remove from dryer, shake out flat and lay on clothes bars to air dry.
6. Very little pressing required before using or storing.
Without pre-washing, you can believe that every light color in these two projects would end up with fugitive purple, gray or black, perhaps even some of the red/orange when washed.
I always pre-wash. I don't like to take chances that all of my time, effort, and money will be ruined by fugitive dyes.

09/22/2026

LONGARM TIP TUESDAY | FIND YOUR COMFORTABLE HEIGHT

Your frame height can affect how comfortably you quilt. If you’re bending over, reaching, or raising your shoulders as you work, it may be time for an adjustment.

Recently working on the applique quilt doing a lot of ruler work, the frame height wasn't comfortable. Ron decided we needed to experiment and we placed 4" blocks under the casters to raise the height. I was amazed!! Immediately my tired back issue disappeared.

Set up your longarm so you can quilt with relaxed shoulders and comfortable arms. Our fix was temporary during the ruler work. Most frames have adjustable foot pads or casters. Also, hydraulic lifts are available for most machine brands and would make adjustment to the perfect height available for every project. Your body will thank you after a long quilting session!

09/16/2026

I had a visit from the Janssen family today. This family of 8 siblings and cousins came knocking on the studio door wondering if they could come in for a visit. Ron entertained the husbands in the shop looking at the 1950 Chevy and his shop tools. The girls enjoyed seeing the longarm machines and quilts. They were all traveling in three vehicles visiting New York. The travel together regularly and were from Oregon, Florida, Nebraska, Georgia, and Iowa. From my place I sent them to Fluffys Fabric Shop on Canandaigua and on to Naples for grape pie.
What an adventure, time with family, and building memories.

09/15/2026

LONGARM TIP TUESDAY | A LITTLE OIL GOES A LONG WAY

Your longarm works hard—give it the care it needs to operate smoothly. For Nolting machines, oil the red dot "wicks" on the top of the machine head every 8 hours of actual machine operation. Over oiling is not necessary and may result in oil puddling inside the head. And, oil the hook assembly every other bobbin change. Always use canned air to blow the lint out, with the needle in the down position, place a drop of oil at the 7 o'clock position. Regular oiling in the locations recommended for your machine helps keep everything moving smoothly and reduces unnecessary wear. For other machine brands, refer to your owner manual.

Make checking your oiling schedule part of your quilting routine.

09/08/2026

LONGARM TIP TUESDAY | START WITH A RELAXED GRIP

Your longarm doesn’t need to be pushed around the quilt. A tight grip can make movement feel harder and your quilting less fluid.

Relax your shoulders, loosen your grip, and guide the machine. You may be surprised how much smoother quilting feels. You should even be able to guide the machine lightly using two fingers on one handle. And, don't forget to breathe.

Try it on your next practice piece!

09/06/2026

QUILT FINISHED AND OUT THE DOOR!
Quilts with applique are ones you ask yourself many times, "Am I done yet?" A couple of times I even had Ron come take a look to see if the center applique needed more quilting. Finally we both agreed, "It's done!"
Yesterday Marcia, quilt owner, came and picked it up. She was thrilled with the quilting and even plans to take it for show and tell at a workshop in California in a few weeks. The workshop is by this quilt pattern designer.

09/02/2026

Exciting news from Nolting. Shauna is a welcome addition who will work with prospects looking for the perfect longarm fit for their longarm quilting journey. As a dealer I look forward to working with Shauna.

✨ PLEASE HELP US WELCOME… Shauna Burns! ✨ We’re so excited to have Shauna joining the Nolting family as our new Sales/Business Development Manager. Shauna brings a love for sewing, and being creative. When she’s not talking quilting machines and projects, you’ll find her soaking up family time. 🧵❤️ Drop a quick hello for Shauna in the comments and tell her what you’re working on right now!

08/24/2026

GLIDE THREAD SHREDDING ISSUES
There has been several recent posts about Glide thread shredding, poor tension problems, etc. All of them have been because of the thread net catching the thread preventing it from flowing off the cone smoothly.
I had an issue a couple of years ago with inconsistent tension that I finally discovered was from a small tear in the thread net catching the thread as it was pulling past the tear. I took quite awhile to find that issue!
Am I changing my recommendation on using thread nets? Not necessarily, but in the photo you can see I am not using one with this cone of Glide. The problem with Glide and other trilobal poly threads is that when there is no tension on the thread, it puddles as you can see in the top photo (puddling from the shepherds hook to the cone). My solution to keep an even tension on the thread is to make sure the batting in the shepherds hook is pushed securely onto the thread. Thread forward from the hook to the front of the machine has consistent tension feeding smoothly through the machine and stitching perfectly.
If you do use a thread net, it is important to push the thread net down so that the top of it rests at the point on the cone where the thread angles up. Any position above that results in the thread being caught in the top of the thread net. And, if you run into any inconsistent tension issues or shredding - ditch the net, but initiate a method to keep consistent tension on the thread. Without this consistent tension, you WILL still have inconsistent tension on the quilt.