A Dream Come True

I have wanted to have my own quilt shop for as long as I can remember. I love fabric! I love to look at it, feel it, work with it, etc. So, after lots and lots of thought, agonizing and list making, it's now or never! My new internet quilt shop, Ionia Quilt Works can be found at http://www.ioniaquiltworks.com/

I am so excited. I have big hopes that someday, when I am able to retire, that I will be able to open a real brick and mortar shop here in Ionia, Michigan.

In addition to loving fabric, I love sewing machines! I have a little Singer Featherweight that was born in 1953. She is in great condition. She sews beautifully and still has gorgeous gold decal work.

I also own a Singer 301A. This little work horse will give you a precise, perfect seam every time! This is the machine that I use for piecing my quilt tops. It is the most accurate machine that I have ever used. She's not too pretty, but I love her.

I also own a Brother ULT combination sewing/embroidery machine. I have a love-hate relationship with this machine.

The embroidery module is fun and the decorative stitches are nice, but she's not very accurate for achieving that 1/4" seam! I do use her for putting on quilt bindings as the walking foot is very good.

I also own two sergers, one of them an old White ATS workhorse that needs to be threaded with tweezers - who the heck invented a sewing machine that needs to be threaded with long pointy tweezers? And, because I don't see like I used to, a new Babylock Imagine which threads with a "poof of air". I love this machine, but I am ashamed to say that I don't use it as often as I should. I must admit though when you need to add a ruffle or elastic, once you use a serger - you will never go back to the "old fashioned way".

Now I want to tell you about my pride and joy. Her name is "Lucy" and she is a HQ16 quilting machine outfitted with a ProStitcher computer and and 12 foot Quiltable. I love this machine!

I originally started machine quilting on a frame due to some problems with my joints. Once I could no longer work on my hands and knees, I needed to start doing everything sitting and/or standing. Now, I'm hooked. I started quilting for other people several years ago and I really, really like it. I've learned a lot about machine quilting and I learn something new with each quilt that I do.