Patsy Thompson’s Quilt Suspension System and a Beautiful Spring!
I received a note from a reader this week asking me about my experience using Patsy Thompson’s Quilt Suspension system-thank you for the note Betsy! I forgot that I had not written about my experience with Patsy’s system so I’m reporting in.
The system is super simple and comes in 2 styles:
System #1 ($94.99) clamps to the back of a table with one arm that has two cords to hold the quilt.
System #2 ($109.99) has two separate arms that clamp on to each side of your table. This is the system I have. Her website makes it easy to tell which one you’ll need. It takes less than 2 minutes to set up and the components are made to be a little loose so it is easy to break down and move, yet holds the quilt firmly. This system could very easily go to retreat with you-how cool!
See how simple that is? I can leave it set up and it’s not in the way. If I went to retreat, I just loosen the clamps, take the arm out and I’m on my way! The clamps are made for a woman’s hand-small and easy to open, you don’t need two hands to open them. It could easily be set up on my portable SewEzi table.
The learning curve is easy and short. All you are doing is clipping the quilt to the frame. That lifts the quilt up off of the sewing surface and dramatically reduces the pull on the quilt. It makes a huge difference when you take gravity out of the picture. I wish I had had this system when I quilted a queen-sized quilt with Warm and Natural batting!
So a quick tip, you’ll probably think that the quilt should be firmly suspended in between the clamps:
I found that I had to move the clamps much less often if I let there be a good deal of slack in between the clamps:
See how much more slack there is here? This is what you want. The quilt is still virtually weightless but you will have to move the clamps much less often.
But it really shines when it comes to doing ruler work! One of the hardest things about ruler work on a domestic is getting everything to move smoothly together. When there is virtually no tug on the quilt, it makes ruler work a breeze:
This is a really old wholecloth-I never pin baste anymore! I thought I would try some ruler work on this 52″ x 64′ piece-not huge, but definitely easier with the quilt suspended, especially the ruler work. I am slowly being sucked into the Ruler Work Vortex. I really didn’t want to like ruler work…
I do like Patsy Thompson’s Quilt Suspension system. I like the price, the portability, the ease of set-up and take-down and how simple it is to use. It is very effective in its task of making machine quilting easier. My stitching is better and my body is thankful! Honestly, I am perplexed by some of the ornate systems out there that do that same thing. This one is simple and I’m done with looking!
May I show off my yard? Northern California has received the most annual rainfall ever recorded and it is making the entire area look like a Seattle test garden! Even neglected yards are looking good. It is kind of odd: the 3 year intense drought brought the most spectacular and colorful fall most of us have ever seen here. With the abundant rain that followed, we have had one incredibly spectacular year. I love living in northern California!
When it’s your yard, you notice things like the juxtaposition of so many textures and colors in one view.
The back yard is crazy pretty this year!
I adore the blooms on this Echiveria.
Not all of them are big-love these tiny little Sedum. I must have 10 kinds of Sedum here and there.
Um yeah, had quite a few of these. Hubby and I spent many hours pulling these guys. It was a real bumper crop!
These two are special. My Mom had a long row of Peonies and they were glorious! Oh such beauty and fragrance. I found it charming how the ants were all over the Peonies. They are a bit of a challenge here in northern Ca so I was pleased that I got good bloom this year.
Ah, Lily-of-the-Valley! Again, incredible fragrance and those bell-shaped flowers are so cute! These have real significance to me; see my story about my Mom’s Lily Bed quilt.
I’m on my way to the SAQA Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska today! It is such a creative rush to be around all my fellow art quilters. I’ll post to Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday. I do hope you check out the links-it is one of the best round ups of links around. Thank you for reading!
I am always amused when I see this system. I look for the puppies since this is 2 groomer arms. Anything to take the strain off your shoulders is good!
Your gardens are gorgeous. Lovely variety of color, size and leaf shapes. Have a great time at the conference.
I’ve been told it looks just like grooming arms. It’s just a great setup. Thank you for the compliment!
Thanks for the quilt suspension pictures. After seeing Caryl Bryer Fallert’s system in her studio (when she was in Paducah), I’ve been interested in something similar but not able to do the hanging from the ceiling thing without help. This looks quite doable!
Beautiful yard and plants!
I saw her system too, and I was really impressed. This system is easy peasy and nothing goes on the ceiling!
Your garden is magnificent!
Thank you!
Very interesting. I’ve never seen anything like that before, and it would make my life easier. Due to the CAD exchange rate and cost of shipping from the U.S., I’m going to do more research (contact Patty) to see how well suited it would be to what I have for a set-up and to what I do…Who knows? It might make me enjoy FMQ and do more of it!
Wish I could drive mine over for you to try!
Your gardens are gorgeous!
Thank you Deb!
Jenny, thank you so much for the information on Patsy Thompson’s Suspension System! It is exactly what I need, and just ordered one. And your garden is stunning! How do you have time to make it so beautiful? I do not have the gardening gene, so I admire those who do. Thanks for sharing! Hugs, Diane
I am very interested in your experience with the suspension system Diane-please let me know how it goes. And I must confess, I weed my plot but have a maintenance company do the heavy lifting of normal maintenance as well as planting! I design, they execute.
Thank you for the review. I’ve been thinking of getting a Sweet Sixteen and would want to be able to hold up the quilt. This system is perfect for moving from one machine table to another.
Your garden is GORGEOUS! I love succulents too, and we can actually grow some of the same plants here in Western Massachusetts.
Oh I’m surprised we can grow the same plants! I do like the quilt suspension system-if you get one, please let me know what you think so that I can pass that along.
What a great idea! That weight is always a killer when quilting.
Your garden is beautiful. Peonies are one of my favorite flowers, and ours only bloom every couple of years here in Texas. It doesn’t look like they are going to bloom this year. I’m jealous!
Ah, peonies, my favorite too! They are marginal here also so I was thrilled with their bloom this year with its extraordinary rainfall. The suspension system is great! So nice the hang out with you a bit at Conference!
Jenny,
You mentioned that you don’t pin baste anymore. I have yet to find a good way to hold the layers of a large quilt together. Do you mind sharing how you do it?
So I don’t do large bed quilts very often, my project are usually no larger than 60″ square. But if I did, I would use the split batting method I describe in my book. The summary is to take the batting for your quilt and cut into thirds using a randomly gently waving cut. Make sure to clearly mark each section. Assemble the quilt in the normal manner using spray baste but only spray the center third and add that batting. Quilt, being mindful to leave an inch or so unquilted on each edge to blend the different quilting passes well. Then spray baste a side section carefully butting the two edges together, maybe doing a ladder stitch with silk thread to secure them if you’d like, quilt. Then do the other side. This way you never have to have more than one third of the batting under the harp. I also like to use some sort of suspension system to lift the weight of the quilt off of the table. I use Patsy Thompson’s quilt suspension system. You will need to think through your quilting plan before cutting the batting. It’s not hard, just think it through so that the batting cut makes sense with the layout of the quilt top. I hope this is clear! Write me if not.