I had been using some side canvas leaders based on the ones Sharon Schamber has on her quilting site. The only thing that I didn't like about those is that they have to be pinned, unpinned, repinned, etc. when advancing the quilt and rolling it back. So I had a thought (see pic). I just took a couple of paint stir sticks and put one on bottom, one on top, and then clamped it using the two side clamps as well as an additional quick release clamp in the middle. It works great and keeps the side of the quilt from distorting and is very quick to undo and redo. Love it!
Now there's some ingenuity at work! I used to use Sharon's side leaders on my HQ16 and loved them. When I bought my Millennium, I bought some of the Featherlite clamps which work very well, but I'm going to have to try this idea!
ReplyDeleteI also switched out my side clamps to very small ones (as I have trouble with my hands), which got me to thinking about the side tension problems that arise. My solution was to fish around in the attic for the lite weight plastic blade that comes with mini blinds. I cut them 16 inches, placed them on the side areas and turned the fabric over them once so the blades were inside and attached my mini clamps (which work great, by the way). There wasn't any sag from weight or uneven pulling. Works like a charm. BTW, when I grow up, I want to do work as beautiful as yours... I'm 56 now, I hope I have enough time...
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