Machine Quilting

When I started machine quilting fabrics for placemats and bags in the late 70's, there wasn't much written on the subject. Quilts were made by tracing cardboard templates onto fabric, and cutting on the pencil lines with scissors. Batting was always polyester...unless you carded your own wool. Quilts took days to cut, weeks to sew, and months to quilt.

We've come a long way, girls (and boys?). Machine quilting is certainly faster than quilting by hand, but don't let anyone tell you it's easier. It is a skill to master just like cutting with a rotary cutter, sewing perfect ¼" seams, matching points, and hand quilting. The more you practice, the better you get. You don't need a fancy machine to do machine quilting...my 20 year old Bernina works just fine...