Lotta Stitches

So, how do you fit a longarm machine into a Manhattan apartment – very carefully.

This past November my Handiquilter 16 with ProStitcher arrived. Allan Anderson from The Quilt Basket came to my apartment and helped put it all together. Kathy and Allan Anderson run this wonderful store in Wappingers Falls, NY – If you are ever in the Hudson Valley of NY State – you have to take some time to stop by their store and say hello. Here is a short video of the installation of my machine.

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True to form – the machine has a name. Carlotta Stitches – or Lotta Stitches for short. Lotta is doing just fine in my apartment. All she needs is a quilt a day – feed her some thread and give her a drop of oil, and off we go for a ride on the Rig. Here are a few shots of Lotta in her new home, loaded up and ready to lay down some thread on the quilt top.

Here are a few friends of mine – Salt and Pepper – they keep me company and help keep Lotta in line.

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A view from my window

There are very few things that can bring NYC to a standstill (well maybe not a standstill – but at least slow it down). Mother Nature has sent down a blanket of snow on the city and slowed things down today. Here are some views from my apartment windows. It’s a day to stay inside, crank up the Big Rig, and do some stichin’.

Some snow covered water towers – if the apartment building wasn’t in the picture you could think that you were out in the country on a farm. (OK – I have a good fantasy life!)

A shot of a church roof top – how would Monet paint this view?

Yes, even my NYC backyard gets snow drifts, So…. if you had a chance to get onto this roof top what would you do? Build a fort? Make snow angels? Build snow people? Or….

Time to crank up the Big Rig and lay down some thread!

My journey into the world of the longarm

I as many other quilters have had many tops building up – the tops are done, but they were not getting finished. So, my desire to own a longarm quilting machine began. I tried out various machines at shows, and rented some time on a Handiquilter at the local quilt store. My desire to own one of these babies grew. But -there were two questions to be answered – where do I get the money (so I started saving it) but the bigger question is where do I put it! You see, I live in the middle of New York City in a 600 square foot apartment that is already filled with stuff. As someone told me – my studio is 600 square feet! Through some careful purging and creative storage solutions I found some some room in the living room. My long arm (Handiquilter 16 with
ProStitcher) now sits on the wall directly across from my
sofa.

One of the first quilts I completed on a longarm is entitled Picnic. The playful colors of this quilt suggested to me a picnic, and each of the blocks is quilted with two or three circles – reminding me of plates stacked on top of one another after everyone has eaten more than they should have. The quilt was chosen to be in a show sponsored by The City Quilter  – a quilt store here in NYC. The show was held at the Williams Club this past fall. The full size picture of the front of the quilt (above) was taken at the opening of the show. The back of the quilt was pieced using fabric that resembles ticking. It creates a fun visual interest on the back – especially when the quilting is added to the mix. You can also view a youtube video of this quilt – ENJOY