Hello everyone again, welcome to the Quilters Quarters Newsletter for this week. It’s been another busy week for me. I’ve presented one quilting class and one lecture (200 kms apart of course!). The class was an Introduction to Machine Quilting, the lecture was on Copyright for Quilters (I’ll be posting an article on the BellaOnline Quilting website about Copyright for Quilters in the near future – watch this space!).

The Introduction to Machine Quilting is a fun class, as there are so many “light bulb” moments for the students. I love to teach techniques, probably more that I like to teach projects. I get a real buzz from being able to enhance a quilters’ knowledge and skills, which of course leads to a greater personal satisfaction with their completed creations.

One of my students in this particular class suffers from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She is coping well, three years on from her diagnosis, but keen to get on and do the things she’s always wanted to do in retirement, and eager to overcome her disabilities as much as she can. Even with the tremors, and slower movement, she was able to achieve a huge amount of successful skill building from the class – in fact; she was stippling very well at the end of the day. Well done Janet!!

I posted my second article in the series of Accurate Rotary Cutting for Accurate Machine Piecing last Sunday and I’ve already had some positive feedback. This article concentrates on the skills of trimming your fabric, and cutting strips (without the dog leg) and then cutting shapes in readiness for machine piecing. Here’s the link to that article. http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art796.asp

I’ve also posted a forum for readers to raise any questions they may have regarding the instructions for Accurate Rotary Cutting for Machine Piecing. Please feel free to post your questions here. If I’m not clear in my instructions, let me know and I’ll happily clarify for you. Here’s the link: http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=43

My little gift to you this week is something that constantly baffles quilters – Do you ever wonder how to calculate the amount of thread you will need when machine quilting? You sometimes have to purchase one or two reels; how much do you need. Here’s a rule of thumb that has worked for me.

For a Crib sized quilt (39” x 44”) if you intend to just quilt lightly you’ll need 200 yards of thread for the top. If you intend to quilt a medium amount you will need 400 yards for the top. If you intend to quilt heavily you’ll need 600 yards of thread for the top. If you intend to use the same thread in the bobbin for any of the above quilting, you need to double this estimation.

For a Twin (39” x 74”) if you intend to just quilt lightly you’ll need 400 yards of thread for the top. If you intend to quilt a medium amount you will need 800 yards for the top. If you intend to quilt heavily you’ll need 1200 yards of thread for the top. If you intend to use the same thread in the bobbin for any of the above quilting, you need to double this estimation.

For a Queen (60” x 80”) if you intend to just quilt lightly you’ll need 600 yards of thread for the top. If you intend to quilt a medium amount you will need 1100 yards for the top. If you intend to quilt heavily you’ll need 1600 yards of thread for the top. If you intend to use the same thread in the bobbin for any of the above quilting, you need to double this estimation.

For a King (78” x 80”) if you intend to just quilt lightly you’ll need 700 yards of thread for the top. If you intend to quilt a medium amount you will need 1300 yards for the top. If you intend to quilt heavily you’ll need 2000 yards of thread for the top. If you intend to use the same thread in the bobbin for any of the above quilting, you need to double this estimation.
Cheerio for now, and have fun quilting,

Judie Bellingham, Quilting Editor
http://Quilting.bellaonline.com

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