The Quilter

Since this blog is Tales of a Quilters Husband, it's only fair that you learn something about the quilter.  Judy is more of an arts and crafts person than a quilter.  Making things is in her DNA.  Her father was a Master Machinist in the Aerospace Industry and her grandfather made some of the most beautiful furniture I have ever seen.  Judy has been sewing since she was 6, but that was only one of her crafts.  Macrame, decoupage, stained glass, crochet, knitting, needlepoint, you name it.  In the 1980's her primary focus was stained/leaded glass.  During that time she attended art school and opened a stained glass studio.  Toward the end of her stained glass career she was creating kiln-fired slumped plates and glass buttons.  She also sold stained glass pieces and other craft items at trade shows and conventions.  Our most fun times were selling at a Star Trek convention and Science Fiction "Cons".  In 1994 Judy was invited to a Learn to Quilt class by a friend and the rest, as they say, is history.  Quilting was a perfect match for her sewing skills, her eye for color and her skill in 2 dimensional design.

During our long and happy marriage,  every now and then I get a look from Judy that says "How could you say something so stupid."  The first time I got that look (from something quilting related), was when I asked, "Do you really need all that fabric?  If you're going to make a quilt, why not just buy the fabric for the quilt?"  If you don't understand why I got "the look", just ask any quilter.  The second time I got "the look" was when Judy told me she needed a quilting machine.  She said that she was sending quilts out to be quilted and that was expensive.  I asked "why can't you quilt on your sewing machine?" - the look.  Shortly thereafter a Viking "MegaQuilter" with aluminum frame arrived at our house.   A couple of years later when Judy announced that she needed a better quilting machine I knew to keep my mouth shut.  The type of new machine she wanted - called a "long arm" machine - is an industrial quality sewing machine designed for quilting (the photo is Judy's machine).  Long arm quilting systems, referred to as a head and a frame, sell for $11,000 to $35,000.
In all fairness, Judy's new Gammill Premier with a 14 foot frame took a chunk out of her 401K, so I didn't have to pay for it.  However, I did go with Judy to the maintenance class for the "Gammill".  I learned how and where the machine should be oiled, and how to set the timing.  That was the beginning of my being drawn into the world of quilts and quilting.