This page was last updated: Thursday, July 19, 2007
This is what a hand guided quilting machine looks like. This photograph was provided by Gammill Quilting Machine Company of West Plains, Missouri, U.S.A. They have a wonderful web site that we would encourage you to visit. http://www.gammill.net
This is the start of
a bedspread.
This view is from the operator's position on the quilt end of the
sewing machine arm. There are switches on both yokes. The left one lower or raises the
needle per each push of the button. The right button starts or stops the sewing each time
the button is pushed and released.
The
finished product on a bed. The pillows are covered with a reverse sham which is attached
at the top of the quilt cover. The small pillows were made with scrap from the project.
This is a distance shot with the pantograph side of
the work surface nearest the camera. This show the location of the roll of batting.
This is a close-up of the laser light. You can see the reflection
of the light on the clear plastic overlay that holds the pantograph in place.
This is a double wedding ring
(queen size)
.
Jeff's Trivia: I was trying to see if I could find the difference between "duvet" and "comforter". This lead me into some new words. These definitions are quotes from various printed sources. None of us necessarily agree with them all, but it demonstrates the lack of standardization within the industry. Not bad, not good, just the way it is. <g> Enjoy and if you have some others please feel free to send them. Email is at the bottom of each page.
comforter- a pieced bedcover usually tied and not quilted; also, a narrow, long, typically woolen neck scarf
channel quilting- the stitching of parallel lines. The quilting lines may be diagonal, vertical, or horizontal. They are usually evenly spaced. (This is something the Gammill quilting machine can do very nicely.)
counterpane- a cover for a bed; a bedspread
duvet- a quilt, usually with a washable cover, that may be used in place of a bedspread and top sheet
Here is a nice message I received from Liz Montgomery. It is reprinted here with her permission.
-----Original Message-----
From: Liz Montgomery liz@cobar.net.au
To: jeff@houseofhanson.com
Date: Monday, May 31, 1999
Subject: Duvet
Dear Jeff,
Just to add to your confusion about a "Duvet", here in Australia on the Eastern side anyway, we call them "Doona" I make a wool filled Doona
on my Gammill. I buy pure Downs type wool, that has been washed and carded into a thick bat. I load on a wide calico or I think you call it muslin,
and carefully lay the wool bat down then bring up the top and quilt it using the channel lock. Only really need to quilt it across but sometimes I turn and quilt it the other way. I bind the edges by machine. This is then put into a doona cover which is really just like an over size pillow case, 210cm X 210cm (think that is about 82" square for a queen size bed) the wool I get is made to 4 blanket thickness. These have been around for a long time and blankets are a thing of the past. Sleep on top of one of these and all you back problems will disappear. Then have one on top. For extra warmth, get rid of the top sheet. Don't ask why that works but it does. On the Western side of Australia I think they could call them Duvet and they call them something really queer in New Zealand.
Liz Montgomery
Cobar NSW
Australia
Here is a nice follow-up message I received from David Britten. It is reprinted here with his permission.
-----Original Message-----
From: Britten, David David.Britten@adis.co.nz
Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002
To: jeff@houseofhanson.com
Subject: Duvets in NZHi Jeff
I was interested to see Liz Montgomery's letter on your web site about "doona" versus "duvet". In New Zealand we call them a "duvet" and don't call them anything "really queer", although I've read or heard "quilt", "continental quilt", "counterpane", and "comforter" all being used.
The first time I came across "doona" was on the Big Brother television programme. Can you shed any light on the derivation of the word? Yellow highlighter is Jeff's emphasis.
Yours sincerelyDavid Britten
Auckland
New Zealand
fat eighths- rectangle shaped pieces of fabric consisting of one eighth of a yard of material. Since most fabric is 45 inches wide, one yard of fabric would be 36 inches by 45 inches. Or one-eighth of a yard would be 4.5 inches by 45 inches. Since these dimensions are limiting for making into quilt "squares"; convention has doubled the 4.5 inches to 9 inches and halved the 45 inches to 22.5 inches. So the standard has become 9 inches by 22.5 inches for a fat eighth.
fat quarters- rectangle shaped pieces of fabric consisting of one fourth of a yard of material. Since most fabric is 45 inches wide, one yard of fabric would be 36 inches by 45 inches. Or one-fourth of a yard would be 9 inches by 45 inches. Since these dimensions are limiting for making into quilt "squares"; convention has doubled the 9 inches to 18 inches and halved the 45 inches to 22.5 inches. So the standard has become 18 inches by 22.5 inches for a fat quarter.
frog stitch- reverse sewing.....ribit, ribit <g>
hap- something that serves as a covering or wrap (as a bed quilt or cloak)
meandering- a free flowing pattern of randomly stitched lines that can be used to fill either large or small spaces in a quilt. The stitching lines in meander quilting can touch or even cross each other in some designs, while in others, they may never touch. Either way is acceptable, unlike stipple quilting, where the lines do not cross each other. (see "stipple quilting" listed below).
outline quilting- stitch about one-quarter inch or 6 mm from the seamline, starting at the corner.
puff- a quilted or tufted bed covering filled with down or fiber
pouf, pouff, or pouffe- other ways to pronounce "puff"
quilt- a coverlet or blanket made of two layers of fabric with a layer of cotton, wool, feathers, or down in between, all stitched firmly together, usually in a decorative crisscross design.
serpentine- stitching that is characterized as winding, snaking, flexuous, sinuous, sine wave or S-turn like. The width of the stitch very close to the same size as a standard zig zag stitch. It is also called the wiggle stitch particularly when sewing on a longarm as ones derriere tends to wiggle from side to side as one sews.
stipple quilting- The most common form of stipple quilting is vermicelli quilting. This is an overall pattern of curving lines that look similar to slender, intertwined pieces of vermicelli pasta. Traditionally, to qualify as true stippling, the spacing between lines should be no more than 1/8 inch. When the intervals between the stitching lines become larger than 1/8 inch, the correct term is actually meander quilting. However, the term stippling often applies to lines of stitching that are spaced from as much as 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart. And finally, lines of stippling can come close but should not cross each other.
stitch-in-the-ditch quilting- Stitch over the seamline, stitching in the well of the seam. Often shortened to just S.I.D.when typing it out in short.
trapunto- (pl. trapuntos) Quilting in which the design is
outlined with two or more rows of running stitches and then padded from the underside to
achieve a raised effect [Italian]. Another definition: a decorative quilted design in high
relief worked through at least two layers of cloth by outlining the design in running
stitch and then padding it from the underside by the insertion of yarn or cotton
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