Adventures in Long Arm Quilting | Mod Tiles & The Chemist Quilts | Finished Quilts

A few weeks ago, I went to get my Long Arm Rental Certification at Time Flies Quilt and Sew. I've been dreaming of a long arm for many years now, but just haven't been able to justify the cost and where to put one, especially in our current home. So when I found out the Time Flies offers long arm rentals, I knew I had to give it a go.

I tried free motion quilting (FMQ) on my domestic machine, but it just hurt my shoulders so much, that I stopped. I pretty much just do straight line quilting or use a decorative stitch, but with larger and larger quilts that is just a lot of weight to be pushing through your machine. I have 3 large quilt tops that I have been dreading doing the quilting because they will be a pain in the butt. But now after trying FMQ on a long arm, I'm in love again with FMQ.

The quilt above is my practice piece. It took a few minutes to get into a rhythm but I was able to find it and just flow with the machine. Moving the machine versus the quilt is amazing. I am now looking forward to quilting those 3 large quilt tops! I stitched up this quilt top, Mod Tiles after I designed the pattern. Then of course it sat, being that it was 36 inches square it made for the perfect practice top.

For this quilt, The Chemist, I did a custom orange peel quilting design on it. I used wool batting with this one, so the quilting really pops. I really enjoyed quilting this one, it took longer than my first piece, but well worth the time and effort.

Needless to say, I love long arm quilting and plan to quilt up my last 3 large quilt tops with my rental time. I guess it is time to save up so I can get my very own one day!

Happy Stitching!

Quilt Stats (First quilt pictured)
Pattern: Mod Tiles, designed by me
Dimensions: 36 inches x 36 inches
Quilting: FMQ loops
Fabrics: Cloud 9 Cirrus Solids

Quilt Stats (Second quilt)
Pattern: Basic patchwork
Dimensions: 45 inches x 54 inches
Quilting: Orange peel
Fabrics: Science/Chemistry Themed fabrics, mostly from Robert Kaufman and a few other designers