Your Extension table for the Phoenix Frame comes with the table and two brackets to hold the table to the machine. These instruction will help you get the table ready and the brackets in place so that you can attach the table and start using your rulers.

1. Removing the four leg parts from the Extension Tables.

a. You may want to use some needle nose pliers or a

socket to hold the nut on the bottom side with the black leg part, and a phillips screwdriver.

b. Remove the leg parts

c. Save the screws from the legs as you will be using these parts to secure the table to the brackets.

 2. Placing the brackets on the carriage next to the machine.

a. Loosen the front screws holding the carriage to the machine.

b. Looking at the brackets you will see four tabs

1. Two tabs have nuts attached to the bottom this is the top of bracket attach to bottom of table

2. Two tabs are blank these slid under the side of the machine.

c. Angle the bracket towards the back of the machine and slide between the machine and the carriage.

d. With the tab below the side of the machine slide the bracket forward so that you can get the front tab below the machine.

e. Slide the bracket back so that both bottom tabs are below the machine.

 3. Setting the table on and securing to the brackets.

a. Place the table on top of the brackets and line up the screw holes with the top tabs.

b. Using the screws you removed from the table in step

1. Secure the table to the brackets at the four (4) points.

c. Once the screws are secure slide the table and brackets back so that the table is against the machine.

d. Tighten the front screws on the carriage which secure the machine to the carriage.

You are now ready to use the extension table with your rulers while you are quilting.

To remove you will want to reverse the steps and remove the table first then the brackets.

Note: If you remove the machine first the table will fall as it is not attached to the machine.

Hopefully everyone is finally beginning to emerge from the fog of Christmas quilting.  With the mad rush almost behind us we can breathe a little easier . It’s time to enjoy some Christmas cookies for the endless hours of quilting creations we have created with Lizzie. Here at TinLizzie18 we are thankful to be part of such a great community.  We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with endless quilting designs with Lizzie.

Of course we never want to admit that we have had to un-quilt in the past, present and I am sure to come in the future!   But in case that it does happen to you, here are 2 tips that might help.

 1.Ripping out stitches has a method that works if you follow it and have normal sized stitches.

First pull the thread tail from the underneath stitching. Pull until you pucker up or gather the thread as far as you can go before it breaks. Second, scratch at the stitching on the top in the area that you just pulled from and grab the loose tail of the top thread. Pull the top thread  until you gather the thread as far as you can go until that top thread breaks. Then go back to the underneath thread and repeat. If you alternate back and forth from top to bottom you can pull that stitching out in just a short time and have eliminated the use of a seam ripper and the chance of cutting your quilt.

2. After the stitches have been pulled out you might see the stitching holes where the sewing was. You can eliminate those holes by brushing with a wet toothbrush.

You asked for it TinLizzie18 Listened!

Announcing the New RULER FOOT now available.

With the New Ruler foot using the many different rulers to enhance your quilt just got easier. Not only does the ruler foot have a fence on the edge but it also gives you more visibility of the needle. Our Expert Quilters pair it with the TinLizzie18 Extension Table. Call today to order !

Retail $62.50

Introductory Price $49.95 plus shipping. Expires 12-31-11

We are excited that we have our new TLC ( TinLizzie18 Chronicles) available for download!   http://tinlizzie18.com/newsletters/

We strive to give educational information to help our TinLizzie18 community, Written by Quilters for Quilters.  

Do you have a topic you would like to see in our upcoming TLC? We want to hear from you.

by Janie a Professional TinLizzie18 User

There is nothing more exciting than starting a new project. Here’s one that is fun and easy to accomplish on a TinLizzie18 longarm machine. You will be making two 18″ pillows.

Load a 45″-square quilt sandwich onto your longarm frame. Choose two 18″ quilting designs for each pillow—one for the pillow front and one for the back. Quilt the designs, placing the front design above the back design and leaving 1 1/2″ between the quilted designs. Using chalk and a ruler, mark 18″ squares around the quilted designs.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Center an 18″–22″ nylon zipper, right side up, in the 1 1/2″ space between the quilted front and back designs for one pillow, placing the beginning of the zipper teeth at one corner of the chalked squares. Tack down the zipper tabs at the beginning of the zipper. Open the zipper and twist one side to align the teeth with the chalk line on one side as shown in Photo 1. With one hand holding the zipper and the other hand guiding the machine, sew the zipper down using the chalk line as a reference to keep it straight. Stop stitching just over the chalk line. (If you prefer, use pins to hold the zipper in place, removing each pin as you approach it with the machine.) The zipper teeth serve as a guide for the foot allowing it to glide with ease along the zipper. Stitch down the second side of the zipper in the same way. Photo 2 shows the tail of the zipper with both sides stitched down. If you have a zipper longer than 18″, do not worry about the excess at the end as it will be buried inside the pillow. Zip the zipper almost to the top, leaving an opening large enough to put your finger through. Repeat to stitch a zipper between the second set of quilted designs.

Photo 3

Photo 4

Stitch around the pillow front designs on the marked chalk lines, stitching over the zipper ends twice. Cut 1/2″–1″ outside the chalk lines along the top edges and down the outside edges of the two pillow fronts. Roll the fabric so that the pillow backs are between the rails. Referring to Photo 3, fold the pillow fronts down over the pillow backs, matching the design areas as much as possible. The zippers will be inside the folded edge at the top of your machine. Pin the layers to hold together. Stitch around all four sides of each square directly on the previous stitching lines, again double stitching the ends of the zipper for reinforcement.

Remove the pillow covers from the machine and cut apart. Trim the seam allowance to 1/4″. Using a sharp, pointed pair of scissors, make a small hole just to the inside of the reinforced stitching at one end of the zipper fold. Cut along the length of the zipper as shown in Photo 4. Open the zipper and turn the pillow covers right side out. Stuff with fiberfill or insert an 18″ pillow form to finish.

We are excited to announce the Great Lizzie Giveaway. Enter for your chance to win your very own TinLizzie18DLS with Phoenix frame or a TinLizzie18 Sit Down Quilting Machine.  The Winner will be announced at Quilt Festival/Houston in November 2011. Not sure which wonderful prize to set your sights on visit your local TinLizzie18 Dealer and have your customized Hands on Demonstration.

Let’s Go! With a Panto!

Quilting the same design, in rows, edge to edge, on a quilt, using a laser light to follow a paper pattern is called pantograph quilting. We have just nicknamed the process quilting with a “panto”.

Some of the longarm quilters absolutely love following a panto as they feel secure in the fact that they know exactly what look they are getting before they start on the quilt. Pantos can be purchased in just about every theme so you can customize the pattern to the quilt or to the quilt owner. Also, the learning curve for running a panto is very short and most longarm quilters agree that once you learn, all the pantos are the same as far as difficulty. A new owner of a longarm is encouraged to learn panto style quilting first to gain control of the movement of the machine and it is considered one of the easiest forms of longarming.

First, qualifying the Quilt.

Deciding to use a panto usually has to do with a couple of factors. It is considered the fastest form of finishing a quilt, so maybe you want to complete your quilt quickly. The quilt will end up being evenly balanced as far as the quilting and that makes a nice quilt to sleep under. Maybe the quilt that is to be finished would be laundered frequently and with a panto the quilt is secured with stitching all over and would hold up better. The quilt itself might have enough dominating patchwork on it so that a custom quilt pattern selection wouldn’t be seen, so why spend the time if you cannot enhance the quilt with a custom job. Therefore, panto would be a great choice.

Second, prepare the quilt

I know, we all hate the math but, you will get good results if you plan and also you will get good at estimating. We want to place chalk marks on the edge where the rows should begin so that we are sure about row placement. It is important to place the chalk marks because typically a 100 inch quilt will stretch on the longarm frame to approximately 103inches. In order to come out at the end of the quilt with full rows and not with a half a row you should estimate the number of rows you would be quilting.

If you measure the quilt in a relaxed state and place the chalk marks on the quilt it doesn’t matter where the gained inches from stretching occur as when the quilt goes back to the relaxed state the rows will still be evenly spaced.

When doing the math you must remember that a good rule of thumb is a ¾ inch spacing between the panto rows.  Plan a little spacing at the beginning and at the end of the quilt. You can choose a small space or a large one. If you choose a large space at the end you might want to consider meandering or something to fill it out to the end and keep a balanced look to the quilt. I know that all of you that are perfectionists you will be figuring down to the last 1/8^th of an inch but will a product as large as a quilt you will not see small amounts of variances, so don’t  sweat the small stuff.

One thing you might consider when you get your pattern and quilt on the machine frame is where the center of the quilt is and where the center of the pattern lays under the laser light. Just Bring your sewing needle to the center of the quilt and position the pattern where you want it with considerations to where the center pattern goes and what part of the pattern will fall on the outside edges.

1 inch allowance on each end

Measure the space remaining and divide by the width of your pattern plus the ¾ inch spacing.  You only need to mark the left side with chalk as that is the starting place for the machine.

Tip: If you decided to eliminate a row and have larger end spaces you might wish to freehand meander those ends. It really looks nice and finished that way.

Third, get the laser light ready

Be sure that your laser light is tight and will not move during operation.  We do not want that light to slip and reposition the rows while we are sewing along.

Fourth, get the paper pantograph ready.

 Secure the rolled pantograph pattern with tape or with a plastic pattern protector made for pantographs so it cannot shift during use.  Even if you decide that you want to stagger the rows you will do that entirely by moving the laser light and never by shifting the paper pattern.

Fifth, line up your quilt with the pantograph.

 Tip: I like to use the little dot stickers that you can buy at the office store to help me mark my laser light positioning for each quilt. If you have pattern protectors you can place the little stickers on there to help you or some of those pattern protectors can be marked with a dry erase marker and then wiped clean.

Tip: When sewing with the machine, side step at selected points of each repeat to keep from showing any wiggle in the pattern from stepping. I usually choose a point or tip where the pattern changes direction because I can actually stall there undetected for a moment while I move my feet.

Tip: Remember the term “lowest”.

Bring the machine to the center of the quilt frame and place a dot on near the edge of the machine but on the panto. Each time you re-measure you will come to that same spot with your machine.  Then bring the needle to the “lowest” spot on the quilt that you want that first row of stitching to come to. Last, position the laser light to the “lowest” point of the pattern, and even if the light falls between the themes of the panto make sure that the level that you adjust your laser light to is the “lowest” point of the design itself(not the paper). Tighten up on the laser so that it cannot jiggle loose while stitching. Tip: Always start your pantograph row to the right if you are standing on the back of the machine.(The back has the power cord on it.(Standing on the front would make that starting position on the left). End on the left. (Standing on the front would make that the right). Cut your thread and roll the machine back to the right to begin the repeating rows.

Sixth, roll your quilt and repeat.

When you complete the pantograph rows that fit into that space nicely then you are ready to roll the finished quilt area up onto the pickup roller. Leave a little of the last row visible because you are going to want to double check your spacing between rows and you will need to see that portion of the last row.

   First, let me say that there is always more than one way. The whole point of getting the fabric onto the frame is to have no wrinkles in the layering of the quilt. Any way that you have devised to achieve this is ok-in-my-book

 Quilters are geniuses in all that they have invented at home with limited tools to work out the wrinkles and keep the quilt tight in spite of the fact that pieced quilts can be baggy, out of square, or even have variables in the stretch of the fabric.

 It doesn’t really matter which method you choose to use as long as you arrive at the point where the quilt sandwich is smooth and ready to be quilted together

  The variables in loading the longarm frame can be either the roller direction, the choice of which roller carries the top fabric or the attachment method.

  On the TinLizzie steel Phoenix frame, roller direction is permanent and the choice of which roller carries the top fabric shouldn’t be changed as the top roller of the two has to be able to open and lift upwards or you won’t be able to use the batting access option. So therefore the top roller of the two carries the top fabric and the lower roller holds the backing. The only variation or choice on this particular frame would be if you wish to “pin” totally or if you wish to “float the top” method.

 On the TinLizzie wooden Falcon frame you can choose the direction you wish the fabric rollers to go simply by flipping the gear on the pole as the gears have a slant to the teeth and grip better with the ratchet. You also can choose which pole you want the top fabric on as you can have the batting exposed or by choosing the lower pole you can have the top fabric wrap up and over the batting. Either way works, but I personally like to be able to tug on the batting and get a wrinkle out if needed, so I like the top roller to carry the top and the lower roller to carry the back. I also like my ratchets to roll a certain direction so that the layering comes together immediately which seems to eliminate a little bit of bounce in the fabric as it is being quilted. You will always have the choice of “pinning” or “floating” a top on. Check out the pictures below.

Choosing the right TinLizzie18 Longarm Quilting System is an important decision.  Once you’ve chosen your Longarm Quilter, it’s time to decide the best way to finance it.   As a company we pride ourselves on offering an affordable Longarm Quilter that meets every quilters budget from our sit down model to our fully automated system. As important as it is to offer an affordable, quality Longarm quilting machine, it is just as important to offer an affordable, easy, quick response financing solution.   We are thrilled to announce our new 0% same as cash finance options. Why put off your dreams of owning a TinLizzie18 Longarm, when it’s this easy!

Apply Today!  http://tinlizzie18.com/financing-your-tl/