Hello and welcome to Midge’s Stitches! I’m Midge Flinn and I’m a long arm quilter living in the St. Louis, Missouri area.
Quilts have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It all started with my mother. I still have many of her hand-pieced and hand quilted treasures that were created from scraps, old clothing and feed bags. Being covered in one of her quilts was being surrounded by her love.
There was rarely a moment when Mom wasn’t stitching, crocheting or embroidering something. My mother never liked her sewing machines—there was always tension issues arising—so she trusted her hands to provide the best stitches. She also felt that being trapped by a machine in another room created additional tension for her family, so Mom was always where we were and could be involved while she stitched.
Unlike my mother, I have a special love and connection with my sewing machines. My early machine quilting was completed on my home machine, a Bernina 930, using a walking foot and stitch in the ditch. However, quilting in this manner was a cumbersome and tedious task: create a roll of the quilt, move the mass around to stitch the quilt pattern, and I experienced neck, shoulder, and elbow cramps. I also admired free motion quilting and wanted to do more than just stitch in the ditch to enhance my quilts. I learned to do free motion on my domestic machine, but, again, the physics of working with a large quilt in such a small area hindered me.
But that didn’t diminish my desire to learn and grow as a machine quilter. That’s when I discovered the Gammill Long Arm machine. I chose the Statler Stitcher to compliment my joy of computers and pattern design.
As a result, I am pleased to offer you several Long Arm quilting services to finish your pieced treasure. The services I offer include:
Are you ready to have your quilt top quilted? Do you have questions on what steps to take to get your top ready for quilting? To make the entire quilting process a success, click here to download my client prep sheet. This easy step-by-step document explains everything you need to know to get it ready! If you'd like a checklist to help you along, click here.
How are your borders? Are they nice and flat or kind of wavy? Click here for a blog article on how to apply borders.
How about your backing? Whenever possible, prewash your backing. As a machine quilter, I want my clients to have the best experience possible. One practice I highly recommend is that you prewash your backing. I don't care if the top fabric has been prewashed, but the backing really should be. Why? The fabric purchased in shops these days has multiple more times the amount of chemicals, sizing, formaldehyde, etc., to keep them looking fresh on quilt shop shelves. Fabrics did not used to have the amount the do now, but back in the day the average time a bolt would sit on a shop shelf was approximately a year, at most. These days a bolt can sit on a shelf in a shop for many years. So, to keep the bolts fresh and crisp, and to keep them from fading, most fabric manufacturers have added the extra sizing and chemicals. When a quilt sandwich is quilted on a quilt with a prewashed back, the needle properly glides through and separates the soft fibers the way it is intended. When a machine quilter quilts a quilt with an unwashed backing, the needle "punches" through the stiff, over chemically treated backing much like driving a nail through tin or aluminum, leaving the fibers torn and pushing tufts of batting through, which is called bearding. It doesn't happen with every unwashed backing because different fabric manufacturing plants use different amounts of chemical and formaldehyde in their production. One thing is certain, though, a prewashed back will not be an issue, whether it's expensive fabric or cheaper discount fabric. So, my suggestion to avoid issues is to prewash your backing.
If you have questions on how to assemble your backing, click here to download an article from Craftsy on how to piece backings the best way.
To view pricing for each service, click here to download my quilting pricing pdf.
Binding service: If binding isn’t among your quilting joys, I also offer binding services for that final touch on your quilt. Click here to download my pricing sheet for binding services.
A word on batting: I offer 96” 80/20 batting as well as 120” 100% cotton batting. If you prefer to choose your own, you are always welcome to include it with your quilt top and backing. I’m not a big fan of high-loft battings as they don’t perform well on the Long Arm machine.
Shipping Tips: The USPS provides a great service called ‘click & ship’. This makes it super-simple to ship your quilt top, backing, and batting (if you choose your own). USPS also insures your package up to $100. If you feel you need to insure for more, then discuss this with your postal service. We will also discuss your shipping preferences before returning your finished quilt.
*The USPS offers several box sizes for shipping. A 12x12x8 is ideal for quilt tops and backing up to queen size.
**When packaging your quilt for shipping, choose something that will keep your quilt top safe and dry. A zippered bedding/comforter bag is ideal, as well as those huge zip lock storage bags. I try to avoid using trash bags for quilts because I have heard horror stories of precious quilts being mistaken for trash. However, if it’s the only thing you have to protect your quilt from moisture during shipping, then do use one.
***When listing the package contents on the shipping ticket, list it as ‘textiles’ or ‘bedding’. This reduces the possibility of your quilt being stolen.
Turnaround time: I work hard to ensure your quilt is back to you safely and beautifully quilted in less than six weeks. My typical turnaround time is 4 weeks. The holidays typically increase turnaround time by a week, but I will keep you up-to-date on your quilt’s progress.
Quilts and the art of quilting are a treasure to us all. I wish to thank you in advance for trusting your heritage and your craft to me. It is an honor to work with you to preserve the memories. If you have additional comments or questions, send me an email or call—I’m always ready to help!
Midge Flinn
Midge’s Stitches
1112 Acorn Hill Ct.
Fenton, MO 63026
midgesstitches@gmail.com
636-236-7332 text or call
Quilts have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It all started with my mother. I still have many of her hand-pieced and hand quilted treasures that were created from scraps, old clothing and feed bags. Being covered in one of her quilts was being surrounded by her love.
There was rarely a moment when Mom wasn’t stitching, crocheting or embroidering something. My mother never liked her sewing machines—there was always tension issues arising—so she trusted her hands to provide the best stitches. She also felt that being trapped by a machine in another room created additional tension for her family, so Mom was always where we were and could be involved while she stitched.
Unlike my mother, I have a special love and connection with my sewing machines. My early machine quilting was completed on my home machine, a Bernina 930, using a walking foot and stitch in the ditch. However, quilting in this manner was a cumbersome and tedious task: create a roll of the quilt, move the mass around to stitch the quilt pattern, and I experienced neck, shoulder, and elbow cramps. I also admired free motion quilting and wanted to do more than just stitch in the ditch to enhance my quilts. I learned to do free motion on my domestic machine, but, again, the physics of working with a large quilt in such a small area hindered me.
But that didn’t diminish my desire to learn and grow as a machine quilter. That’s when I discovered the Gammill Long Arm machine. I chose the Statler Stitcher to compliment my joy of computers and pattern design.
As a result, I am pleased to offer you several Long Arm quilting services to finish your pieced treasure. The services I offer include:
- custom quilting
- custom borders
- edge-to-edge/all over design
- quilt binding
Are you ready to have your quilt top quilted? Do you have questions on what steps to take to get your top ready for quilting? To make the entire quilting process a success, click here to download my client prep sheet. This easy step-by-step document explains everything you need to know to get it ready! If you'd like a checklist to help you along, click here.
How are your borders? Are they nice and flat or kind of wavy? Click here for a blog article on how to apply borders.
How about your backing? Whenever possible, prewash your backing. As a machine quilter, I want my clients to have the best experience possible. One practice I highly recommend is that you prewash your backing. I don't care if the top fabric has been prewashed, but the backing really should be. Why? The fabric purchased in shops these days has multiple more times the amount of chemicals, sizing, formaldehyde, etc., to keep them looking fresh on quilt shop shelves. Fabrics did not used to have the amount the do now, but back in the day the average time a bolt would sit on a shop shelf was approximately a year, at most. These days a bolt can sit on a shelf in a shop for many years. So, to keep the bolts fresh and crisp, and to keep them from fading, most fabric manufacturers have added the extra sizing and chemicals. When a quilt sandwich is quilted on a quilt with a prewashed back, the needle properly glides through and separates the soft fibers the way it is intended. When a machine quilter quilts a quilt with an unwashed backing, the needle "punches" through the stiff, over chemically treated backing much like driving a nail through tin or aluminum, leaving the fibers torn and pushing tufts of batting through, which is called bearding. It doesn't happen with every unwashed backing because different fabric manufacturing plants use different amounts of chemical and formaldehyde in their production. One thing is certain, though, a prewashed back will not be an issue, whether it's expensive fabric or cheaper discount fabric. So, my suggestion to avoid issues is to prewash your backing.
If you have questions on how to assemble your backing, click here to download an article from Craftsy on how to piece backings the best way.
To view pricing for each service, click here to download my quilting pricing pdf.
Binding service: If binding isn’t among your quilting joys, I also offer binding services for that final touch on your quilt. Click here to download my pricing sheet for binding services.
A word on batting: I offer 96” 80/20 batting as well as 120” 100% cotton batting. If you prefer to choose your own, you are always welcome to include it with your quilt top and backing. I’m not a big fan of high-loft battings as they don’t perform well on the Long Arm machine.
Shipping Tips: The USPS provides a great service called ‘click & ship’. This makes it super-simple to ship your quilt top, backing, and batting (if you choose your own). USPS also insures your package up to $100. If you feel you need to insure for more, then discuss this with your postal service. We will also discuss your shipping preferences before returning your finished quilt.
*The USPS offers several box sizes for shipping. A 12x12x8 is ideal for quilt tops and backing up to queen size.
**When packaging your quilt for shipping, choose something that will keep your quilt top safe and dry. A zippered bedding/comforter bag is ideal, as well as those huge zip lock storage bags. I try to avoid using trash bags for quilts because I have heard horror stories of precious quilts being mistaken for trash. However, if it’s the only thing you have to protect your quilt from moisture during shipping, then do use one.
***When listing the package contents on the shipping ticket, list it as ‘textiles’ or ‘bedding’. This reduces the possibility of your quilt being stolen.
Turnaround time: I work hard to ensure your quilt is back to you safely and beautifully quilted in less than six weeks. My typical turnaround time is 4 weeks. The holidays typically increase turnaround time by a week, but I will keep you up-to-date on your quilt’s progress.
Quilts and the art of quilting are a treasure to us all. I wish to thank you in advance for trusting your heritage and your craft to me. It is an honor to work with you to preserve the memories. If you have additional comments or questions, send me an email or call—I’m always ready to help!
Midge Flinn
Midge’s Stitches
1112 Acorn Hill Ct.
Fenton, MO 63026
midgesstitches@gmail.com
636-236-7332 text or call