Free Motion Quilting a Baby Quilt with Minky Backing & Simple Piecing

[@ocean_hummer]

Yet another great video! What a sweet baby quilt. I agree that having both cameras on the same side makes it easier for us viewers to follow along. Thanks much! 💜

[@StitchedBySusan]

Good to know!

[@lynnemccarthy-my5mi]

Love the paisley. Love the hints to manage minky.

[@melaniekey-k4o]

I like the camera view in this!!! Thank you for the paisley as 😅 am fixing to start a quilt and I think the paisley will work well. As I am learning and I watch you videos as much as I can. I really would like to see the coffee bean again . (I’m the Texas girl that asked when you were in Richardson). I really like that and would like to learn more on it…. Ty

[@kthybrown007]

Hi from Oregon! It is SO good to see someone else loading / floating on the longarm like I do. I feel like everything is in good control with the front bar (“belly”) being another “dead” (hate that term) bar and I use the magnetic bars also. It is not what the manufacturer says and I couldn’t find anyone else doing it that way. BUT it works really well for all the reasons!

[@elenabchrist4226]

So so evident your authentic love and enjoyment in your live work as my very first day impression that lured me to watch more and more of your videos, Ms Susan, my brain is willing to understand and learn to play like you do with your huge Bernica machine. Thank you thank you for your generous kind soul sharing your quilting skills and technique tips clearly and efficiently communicated !

[@JaniceMacBride]

my 2 daughters, 2 grandchildren and I went on our usual March Break adventure this week and stayed at a hotel with a pool. Sadly all the carpets in the hallways were very plain. I consoled myself with a visit to a new fabric store. My 10 year old grandson picked out fabric to sew himself a pillow case!

[@StitchedBySusan]

Plain carpets! What were they thinking?😂

[@vickigrauel]

I love the paisley quilting design on this quilt! Simply beautiful💜

[@lynnehrmantraut9167]

LOL I am mesmerized by hotel carpets…I have photos from carpets around the world, great inspiration!!!

[@StitchedBySusan]

I know, right? I mean, why re-invent the wheel? Professional designers somewhere are thinking up those interesting and pleasing designs.

[@kabjhill]

Thank you for revisiting the back rail loading. I just didn't get it before. I'm used to a gammill with a single rail, yet trying to help someone with a system like yours. I was confused! Thank you for clarifying! -annette roth

[@StitchedBySusan]

You're welcome!

[@pooie0116]

I don't (yet!) have a longarm machine, but I love watching you work and I learn so much. Thank you so much for sharing your processes and information. When I do get a longarm, I'll have way more confidence to dive in and quilt right off the bat than I would have, had I not watched and listened to all your golden nuggets of wisdom and experience. Regarding quilting around flanges: I have put a flange on a few of my quilts, between the main body of the quilt and a border and I always quilt the main body first, then add the flange and border all around, then quilt the border. That way I can quilt right off the edge of the main body without running the risk of wreaking my flange. (I'm also extra careful to not quilt over the flange when quilting the border ;-) )

[@susieqmcf]

I’ve always made my paisleys a bit smaller than these. I can’t wait to give these bigger ones a try. Love the look!

[@jakchoe7183]

Thanks for this video! Super timely since I'm about to quilt one this week.❤

[@ourblessedhouse]

Couldn't make the live today, but really enjoyed the youtube replay! I finally tried the paisley recently, just need to get a photo posted on facebook. Enjoyed you tips on minky! Thanks Sue & Dave!

[@kathiglomb9490]

Side by side is the best camera angle

[@karenhendrix6666]

Love watching your videos

[@paulablackburn9141]

Susan, can you find out from this client what the name of the quilt pattern and where she got it from? I have been looking on the web but have not been able to find it. Thanks!

[@daisyduck61]

Q I wanted tell you thank you I used your method on my last quilt. It came out awesome the S up S down.

[@StitchedBySusan]

Awesome!

[@judymccune8275]

My longarm journey will begin in a few weeks.. I purchased a pre owned Innova. Just free motion. How do you keep your back and arms in good health. My wrists already let me know when I have overused them.

[@lynnehrmantraut9167]

Ahhhh - now I can see the leader under dead bar!

[@carrieso83]

Thank you for these wonderful videos! They are very helpful as I gather information while contemplating my first longarm. Since you do many minky backed quilts, perhaps you could improvise side clamps using if a pair of those handy magnet bars on each side?

[@StitchedBySusan]

I think they’d be too heavy - they’d really weight down the quilt. The individual clamps do a pretty good job as I don’t need much tension, Minky’s not prone to wrinkling. But thanks for the suggestion, I appreciate it!

[@debbieragsdale1312]

Watching the replay, did you tell about the quilt behind you, on the wall? It is beautiful!

[@StitchedBySusan]

I did...somewhere in the middle. It's called "Fan Faire" by Krista Moser.

[@dphock]

Sorry I missed the live presentation but I appreciated seeing you rock with Minkie.have you ever left out the batting on a minkie quilt? Wondering it it’d be too heavy with batting and too light without.

[@StitchedBySusan]

It is heavier with the batting - which is super snuggly, but maybe a bit much ib a warm climate. I don't think I've done Minky without batting, but I have done fleece, and that worked just fine.

[@lynnehrmantraut9167]

It looks like you didn’t take the minkie under the dead bar, was that intentional?

[@CindyHamilton-c5j]

Is 10 stitches per inch your favorite stitch length?

[@StitchedBySusan]

It is on my Bernina. I used to do mostly 12 on my Gammill - it seemed about the same 🤷‍♀️

[@sandyrockwell2421]

Do you keep your ruler table on all the time

[@StitchedBySusan]

I don't, because it reduces my quilting area, and ruler work is such a small percentage of what I do, so it doesn't make sense to me to leave it on. But it certainly doesn't hurt anything, so you could if it suits your style.

[@beverlygiesey5324]

Does Minnie have more lint

[@StitchedBySusan]

In terms of stitching at the longarm, no. It just sheds when you're cutting it.

[@barbaralazier8352]

Are you going to set the bars on the sides to keep the fabric taught or not on stretchy materials like minky

[@StitchedBySusan]

I did not use the bars because the Minky won't fit in the channels, but I did ver gently apply my clamps to each side.

[@Stella7d]

I’ll be starting my first attempt with minky backing so this tutorial is very helpful and timely! ❤ Q…this might be a silly question but is there more risk of minky stretching with a larger sized quilt? Mine will be 72x72. Also I will be doing hand guided e2e. Thanks!

[@StitchedBySusan]

Well, there's more of it, so in a way yes. But it's not any stretchier, so the exact same principles apply.

[@Stella7d]

Thank you!! 😊

[@aprilblood1854]

Can you tell us about that quilt behind you?

[@StitchedBySusan]

The pattern is Fan Faire, by Krista Moser

[@kathiglomb9490]

QQ I have a client who I have been quilting quilts for for a few years now. Her quilt tops are NEVER square. It can be very frustrating. I do my best, and they almost always come out beautifully quilted. (I always quilt e2e) That said, do you have any suggestions?

[@StitchedBySusan]

Watch my social media over the next few days - I’m releasing an ebook with some tips on that very topic. It’s small, but hopefully helpful. I also did an episode a couple of years back called the 2” Minimizer where I talked about ways I deal with very full borders too.

[@loriloff2520]

End clips?? Can I see what they look like? The clips that hold the leader up.

[@StitchedBySusan]

They're simply the straps that I clip to the sides of the quilt when it's loaded. When there's no quilt on, I clip them to the corner of the leader to hold it up over the the rail, ready for loading.

[@daisyduck61]

Good morning Sue

[@caitlinmatthews1401]

Susan can you share the name of the quilt pattern hanging behind you in this video? Thanks

[@StitchedBySusan]

It’s Fan Faire by Krista Moser. It’s in the description too if you need to refer back to it.

[@cozyquiltsforscholars1787]

What is the pattern name of the quilt behind you?

[@StitchedBySusan]

Fan Faire, by Krista Moser. It’s mentioned in the video a couple of times if you want more info.

[@debrah4241]

Suddenly I'm craving a vegimite sandwich.

[@sewingSue]

couldn't see the stitching

[@StitchedBySusan]

I'm sorry you found it limited. Sometimes that's the case on a light-colored quilt. Please remember that these episodes are intended to be more about the project in its entirety than specifically the quilting path.

[@joeylynn77]

I found long side clamps of the same design as the E edge red snappers you use on Etsy, but the channel opens much wider. They should work with minky or flannel

[@StitchedBySusan]

Interesting. Any idea who makes them?

[@joeylynn77]

@@StitchedBySusanKerrandDesigns Hold Taut side clamps. I had to look it up since I've had them for awhile. I really like them. The E edge ones where too frustrating for me!