Quilting Quiltworx Quilts

Quiltworx quilts or Judy Niemeyer quilts are easily recognizable and have a level of complexity and skill that many quilters aspire to.  These quilts are constructed using templates and foundation paper piecing primarily but also sometimes incorporate curved piecing, and appliqué.  In my experience, the quilts are often made with bold, busy, batik fabrics as well.  So basically everything a longarmer might dread. 

The first Quiltworx quilt that I got to quilt came from Trail, BC.  I was petrified and of course, it was full-size 100"x100".  I don't have a photo of that quilt (unless I spend hours digging through endless folders as it was a while back), but it was a beauty (like most of them are).  It took me DAYS to build up the courage to even look at it critically never mind get the nerve to mount the thing!  I spent more time on Pinterest, Google and YouTube than I would like to admit.  But the reality is there aren't a lot of resources for custom quilting these gargantuan quilts.

Now there are computerized designs have been made by various designers and quilters to fit within certain patterns and shapes, a brilliant business plan but kinda frustrating for the customers.  I personally find these designs very expensive and somewhat limiting, but then again I'm not very familiar with computerized custom quilting.  But to use these designs a person needs to disregard much of the paper piecing and work the pieces into different segments.  I digress, I am very unfamiliar with this process but from what I've seen I am not a big fan of this technique. 

I have also seen these quilts quilted edge-to-edge using a plethora of beautiful free-motion, digital and paper pantographs.  There is 100% nothing wrong with doing this.  These quilts are so expensive to assemble I wouldn't hold it against anyone to make this choice.  Custom quilting is expensive, but I do cry a little on the inside when asked to do this 😂

Then there is custom quilting for these gorgeous monstrosities.  The very nature of the Quiltworx quilt poses the first real problem, the majority of the quilt is paper-pieced, which is notoriously difficult to stitch-in-the-ditch.  In my humble opinion, these quilts must be stitched-in-the-ditch, otherwise, these quilts look incomplete and slightly messy.  With that many seams popping up, it can make the lines look skewed. 

Another huge problem these quilts can pose is negative space.  While many custom longarm quilters enjoy negative space because it gives us a place to get creative we need to think critically about the overall design of the quilt and make sure we are creating cohesiveness within our quilt.  Basically, we can't go nuts in the open space and completely disregard the rest of the overall design. 

It isn't uncommon for people to spend months and even years assembling these quilt tops, and it also isn't uncommon for a longarmer to put 40+ hours into the quilting.  This is why spending time mapping out the designs is so crucial.  I always draw out my ideas first and then come back and edit them down, otherwise, I am going to overcomplicate and overextend my quilting beyond my profit margin (which I have done many times).  I am a member of the BCLAQG (British Columbia Long Arm Quilt Guild) and we have had some very interesting chats about pricing and how to charge for these quilts. 

One thing is for sure that time spent designing really needs to be built into our pricing.  Even if you are the sort of quilter who likes to design as you go, you are still stopping and thinking about what to do next.  I am still working on how to price out a Quiltworx quilt for my own studio so don't feel like you are way behind if you haven't thought of these things yet. 

I haven't counted but I have quilted a crap ton of these quilts and I would defiantly consider myself proficient at it.   That is why I am basing an entire class on just these style quilts on the upcoming cruise with Susan Smith and Bethanne Nemesh.  The cruise isn't leaving until January 2025 so there are still some bookings left, we are going to the Caribbean and classes are always held on at sea days.  If you are interested check out the website:

https://sbsxperiences.com/  (prices are in USD, sorry)

Probably one of the best things that makes this cruise different is that the lectures and classes will be recorded so you can revisit them after you leave the boat to brush up!  We will also be talking about quilting as a business.  If you decide to join us use my name at checkout and let's get cruising!