Cover Up: Me and My Brother PQ1500S

Fox ↓

Wed, Nov 12 2014, 9:15 am

When Rubber Ducky asked whether I'd be interested in a Hobbies subforum that would include sewing, needlework, et. al., one of our main concerns was keeping the forum active. After all, how many times can you post pictures and say, "Look what I made!" and have everyone politely congratulate you?

Another goal we discussed is providing the opportunity to introduce one another to new crafts and hobbies. Many of us have fallen into a particular creative pursuit and don't necessarily realize how our interests and skills can be transferred to other crafts.

So I'm going to get the ball rolling by telling you about my near-obsessive quilting hobby and my fabulous enabler, my Brother PQ1500S sewing machine.

My Quilting History
I come from a long line of quilters. My family still has most of the quilts made by my grandmother and even a few made by my great-grandmother. Their quilts were made with scraps of fabric from the garments they made, and it was common for women in that era (early 1900s) to trade scraps on a regular basis.

Still, I didn't become interested in quilting until both my great-grandmother and grandmother were long gone. I fell into it because I'd purchased a ridiculous amount of navy and burgundy flannel fabric on sale. My intentions were to make pajamas for my kids, and I did make a few pairs. But kids don't really need that many pajamas!

What could I do with all that fabric? Somewhere, I got the idea to make a quilt. Without consulting a single online source, book, article, or experienced quilter, I pieced 6-inch squares in a diamond pattern. I then added 100 percent wool batting and more of my ubiquitous flannel for the back. If you recognize foreshadowing, you are correct: two layers of flannel plus wool batting made a quilt that could be used as insulation in an igloo. However, one of my DDs claimed it and uses it on the coldest nights.

I made more quilts -- one for each of my kids. No matter how lousy my final product, sibling rivalry dictated that everyone bray for his/her own quilt. Gradually, I improved. I started reading quilting magazines and watching videos, and I started acquiring all the tools.

Quilting Machines
I was getting better at the design, layout, and piecing of my quilts, but the quilting itself was still a problem. Hand-quilting takes forever, and I'm just not that patient. Machine quilting was a good option, but my sewing machine (a Singler Futura) had a very small harp (the space between the needle and the motor). I had to bunch up my quilts in the small space, and I was always catching stray folds in my quilting seams.

Of course, the free market came dashing to the rescue. Quilting magazines had fabulous ads on glossy paper advertising long-arm quilting machines that apparently did everything but make the bed. Curiously, most did not include the price in their advertisements. A quick search online revealed why: these machines ranged from $10,000 up, and they were really designed for professionals. Plus, the operator had to stand up at the machine while quilting. That sounded more like working in a textile factory than a hobby!

One machine was appealing, however -- the HandiQuilter. This was a medium-arm machine that was designed for hobbiests (and was operated from a seated position!). The price was $6000, which was still far too expensive for a dilettante such as myself.

Enter the Brother PQ1500S
While browsing the web in search of used or mysteriously underpriced HandiQuilter, I began seeing references to the Brother PQ1500S, a sewing machine designed for commerical use with an unusually large harp. Amateur quilters waxed poetic about it, and I soon felt I'd found a solution. My parents purchased it for me as a birthday gift a year ago, and it is perhaps the best sewing machine I've ever used.

The most important thing to note is that it does one thing, and one thing only: it sews forward and backward with a straight stitch. No zig-zag. No bunnies or ducks or decorative stitches. However, the feed dogs can be lowered effortlessly for free-motion quilting, and there's plenty of space for the quilt. And fast? It's like driving a racecar. Most important: you can find one online for $500-$600. Still a lot of money, but a lot less than $6000!

What I Make
I've made six twin-size quilts since getting my machine a year ago as well as approximately eight baby quilts. I can do the actual quilting in a total of eight hours or so on a twin-sized quilt, and a baby quilt can be quilted in an evening.

When I first started quilting, DH assumed this was a money-saving endeavor (ha-ha!). "Wouldn't be cheaper to get blankets at Wal-Mart?" he asked. Of course! While there are definitely a lot of quilters out there who recycle fabrics, somehow the batting, the backings, the thread, the pins . . . everything adds up.

But quilting is a form of nurturing just as is cooking. When my kids go to bed, they snuggle under quilts that express their interests or even reference private jokes. And no one else in the world has the same quilt -- one that was made by their mother, not an anonymous factory worker in China!

BTW, I'll try to post some pictures soon!

Brother PQ1500S Sewing Machine

↑ Fox ↓

Wed, Nov 12 2014, 9:55 am

If you're interested in getting started, put the word out that you are looking for a free or low-cost machine. I'm not sure about Israel, but I've discovered that sewing machines are like stray cats. Let the olam know that you sew, and it's like putting out a saucer of milk.

I currently own a total of five sewing machines: a Singer Futura that does embroidery; the aforementioned Brother PQ1500S; a Singer Featherweight; and two sergers. My bedroom could double as a garment district sweatshop! However, I laid out my own money for only one of the machines. One was a gift, and three were given to me by people who had inherited them but didn't sew.

Many times, when elderly family members are niftar or are downsizing, the old sewing machines are the first things to go. But people ideally want to give them to someone who will use them. The great thing is that those old sewing machines were made unbelievably well! My Singer Featherweight was made in 1941. I had it cleaned and oiled, and it works as well as the day it left the factory.

In addition to my five machines, I get a few calls a year from people who are looking to give away machines. So put the word out that you're interested, and you may end up with more sewing machines than you could possibly use!

↑ Fox ↓

Wed, Nov 12 2014, 11:14 am

chickpea_salad wrote:

The bit about trading scraps is fascinating!

The "quilting culture" of earlier eras is fascinating. My grandmother was known as a meticulous hand-quilter, but since I've started quilting, I've been eyeing some of her earlier quilts with a more practiced eye.

One quilt never fails to crack me up. It's one of the ugliest things I've ever seen. Clearly, she had a lot of very busy yellow and brown floral fabric which she decided to use as large blocks, setting off nine-patch blocks made of scraps.

The quilt is tied rather than quilted, but I noticed that a small patch of it in one corner had been quilted. And instead of binding the quilt, she just wrapped the ends over as if she were hemming a skirt. Looking at it, I can tell exactly what happened. She thought it was ugly, too, and decided to cut her losses and just finish the darned thing.

Looking carefully at that quilt made me feel a lot better about some of my own less-than-stellar products!

My great-grandmother and grandmother scheduled their work so that piecing was done in the summer and quilting was done in the winter. My great-grandfather constructed a wooden quilting frame that apparently took up the entire living room, and it stayed there all winter. My father, who is 85, k"ah, remembers being constantly scolded as a boy because he would run through the living room and knock into the quilt frame.

My great-grandparents and grandparents lived in the city, so they didn't have access to the feed bags that provided a lot of quilting material, but my grandmother traded scraps with a number of farm women.

However, no one in my family participated in "quilting bees." Apparently we didn't play well with others.

↑ Fox ↓

Wed, Nov 12 2014, 1:41 pm

Yep, we're long-time Americans! People definitely quilted in the shtetl in Europe, but most of us don't have history going back to the time when even people in cities made their own bedding. Even by mid-19th century, mass-produced bedding was being produced by machine.

What Is A Tied Quilt? What Is a Quilted Quilt?
A quilt consists of three layers: the top, which is usually decorative; the middle (called "batting") which is a layer of wool, cotton, polyester, or bamboo fiber; and the backing, which is usually plain.

A quilt top can be made out of pieces of fabric sewn together or it can simply be a single piece of fabric with a design or texture. Most quilters enjoy "piecing" or creating a design out of smaller pieces of fabric.

The batting is usually purchased, though in the old days, they often used goose down. You can buy various thickness or "loft," depending on how you plan to use the blanket.

The backing is the part of the quilt that faces down when the quilt is put on a bed. It's usually a single color.

The definitive process in quilting is how you join these three layers. There are essentially two methods:

Tying, which means tying knots at intervals over the quilt; and

Quilting, which means taking tiny stitches either by hand or by machine.

Tying a quilt is relatively easy -- in fact, you can make a tied baby quilt without a sewing machine. I'll post about that tomorrow.

Quilting is considered higher up on the status bar of quilts, but as you can see, it takes a lot of skill and patience, even if you're using a machine.

So there are basically three stages to making a quilt:

1. Piecing the top (not necessary if you're using a single fabric)
2. Making the "sandwich" of three layers (top, batting, and backing)
3. Joining the three layers by tying or quilting them together.

Hope that clarifies what I'm talking about!

↑ Fox

Wed, Nov 12 2014, 1:49 pm

Why was quilting seasonal work?

Even a lightweight quilt is really heavy, and if you're quilting by hand, you end up having the thing draped all over you as you work.

So back in the day, women generally made the decorative tops in the summer and then actually quilted the layers together during the winter.

I remember my grandmother would work all spring and summer on her quilt tops (she did piecing as well as embroidery) and would then put them aside. As soon as the weather turned chilly, she would "sandwich" them with batting and backing and start quilting. The quilt actually kept her warm in the evenings while she worked on it!

My mother made mostly baby quilts (she didn't like big projects), but even she didn't care for having a quilt draped over her lap in the summer. She would turn the air conditioning up to compensate until my father would protest. She finally turned to a seasonal schedule, too.

Since I quilt primarily by machine, I don't have to have the quilt spread out all over me, but bigger quilts definitely spill over and cover you up when you least expect it.