The Business of Machine Quilting | Live Chat with Angela Walters 

I'm not sure you get to read these comments but I just wanted to say thank you for all that you do. Your amazing attitude and videos took me from terrified to touch a sewing machine to freemotion quilting on my borrowed second hand home machine on scrap material in 2014 to now owning my own long arm business. I never would have thought I could even try if it wasn't for you. 💜

I just started quilting a year and a half ago at 70 years old. I had no idea how to thread a machine. Never sewn anything. I cut one out and stared at it for a month with no idea how it went together, finally it hit me when I viewed it as a jig saw puzzle. I started watching you tube with no idea what that was. I have watched many some many times over. Some instructors make it too complicated others not. I ran across yours while trying to understand what free motion quilting was and how to do it. You gave me the courage to try ! Did it turn out perfect No but I did it thanks to you. I love your story about your grandpa and how you got where you are today. I have many of your rulers never tried them still trying to work up the courage to try them. Thank you so much for your knowledge. Mrs Simpson

Thank you for your "talk from the heart"!! LOVE that your grandpa was the one to teach you quilting...so very precious!!!!!

I Loved hearing your story, you are So Awesome, thanks for all you give/share with us!!! I've been wanting to sew t-shirt quilts for a business for a while now and did my first t-shirt quilt top in December for my first customer. At first I told her no because I needed more practice, wasn't good enough, and I had never quilted/finished a large quilt before. She was ok with what I could do so I decided to do what I knew I could do, the top and back, I found a long arm quilter to quilt it, and my customer was so happy to have the quilt finished to give to her mother for Christmas. It was so much fun to work on her special quilt top of family vacation t-shirts of the different places they all went on together. Now I'm going to start working/learning on other quilt tops I have finished until my next customer comes along. My husband bought me a Juki quilting machine in which I'm going to learn to FMQ on and go from there, lol, he might be buying me a long arm machine in a few years. I've already started watching your FMQ challenge so I'll be practicing what you are teaching, so excited! I'm very excited for this new adventure in my life, I've been a stay at home mother for 25 years and I just want to do something to keep me busy, make people happy by doing something so many people seem to want. It's always a joy to watch you, you are truly a wonderful teacher! Thanks again for sharing and being so inspiring.

I am one of those people who feel like the machine quilting is my penance for having so much fun piecing, but I can't afford to pay for someone else to do the quilting! So, I grit my teeth, crawl around on the floor with my basting spray (the crawling and basting is really the worst), and then I watch some of your videos for inspiration. Thank you for teaching me how to matching quilt (on my regular machine). I have particularly fallen in love with continuous curves and the wishbone. Soon I want to branch out to big feathers...

“You can avoid or lean into it!!!” Love it!!

Thank you, Angela, for sharing your life stories, and the great pep talk on quilting, as I get ready embark on a quilting a King size modern art topper for a customer. SO helpful!

Loved the old quilt tops from grandpa, I like most quilts, vintage and modern, I just liked the prints in the vintage ones and that very bright pop of orange. I enjoy your chats and your tutorials.

Just found your channel and I love it! I have been binge watching all day. I used to quilt a lot but have not in awhile. I was inspired and got out my sewing machine couldn't get it going it is old and well used. So tomorrow I'm going shopping and buying myself a birthday present. A new sewing machine and I will be string all the beautiful quilted lines.

Love your story about your Father in law and how you got into quilting. I remember my Mom teaching her friend how to hand quilt. She came over to my Mom's house and I was there. Her friend was hand quilting a small project. Well she didn't bury her knots. You could see every knot on the back of her quilt. I went to my Mom and said: you can see all her knots. Then my Mom had to tell her to bury them between the fabrics and batting. And her friend still talks about it to this day. You know, it doesn't matter what stage of quilting you do, it is a learning experience. Thank you for sharing your talent of machine quilting, I have learned so much from you.

I am 75 and began quilting for family and friends on my domestic sewing machine 6 years ago. You have been an encourager for me. Also, thank you for sharing the influence of your husband's Grandad. I can see you loved him very much and still do. Thank you, Angela.

This was so much fun to watch. Love your story, your go try attitude and fake it to you make it. I also failed my sewing test in home ec so got a good laugh at that part. I’m currently practicing FMQ on my domestic thanks to your shots of confidence in these videos. Really appreciate the content and your efforts. You are very much making being stuck at home right now better.

I can’t thank you enough for being you . honest, humble. So down to earth . Love love the way you teach ! Thank you ❤️❤️

This was so great. I have friends who have asked me to quilt for them and I’m good at it but I am not confident. I want to do this as a business but I keep saying someday. You made me realize I need to make someday today.

What a GREAT story! And how lucky you had such a wonderful teacher.

Great topic! Thanks Angela. I have been toying with the idea of buying a longarm and eventually provide that as a service.

I am so glad you have been posting. I have always binge watched every episode of Midnight quilter. I loved that you married into a family who’s Grandfather really inspired you to quilt! I had heard an abridged version of that story but that was an amazing story.

You are soo inspirational and a positive influence! “Grandpa” sounded like an awesome man! I have a sit down (mid arm) and I get sooo frustrated with it. It seems I’m adjusting bobbin tension every single bobbin even though I’m using quality thread. I’m dreaming of a long arm (computerized) since I have much difficulties with sitting sand quilting for any period of time.

It is great to see the beginning. I'm still at the disaster stage.

Thanks for all your videos. I appreciate how you provide information for all quilters (machine or long arm). I look forward to your new rulers.

Wow Angela you have literally open the door for sooo many people. I know you have for me. You know the feeling about to be pushed out an airplane to jump. You did that for me. I now have a quilt business and totally love it with all my heart. I enjoy the quilting the best. Keep up the encouragement that you give to others with your honesty and integrity.

I am sad that my schedule does not often allow me to watch live, but I thoroughly enjoyed this session. I am no where near proficient enough to quilt for others, but that's ok for now. But I do not have 5 year plan that gives me time to increase my skill set and look at upgrading my machine. And I hope that the world will get back to some form of normal and I can come back to Liberty to do classes with you again.

Thank you so so much!! Your videos have given me the courage to try after so many years!!

That was amazing. I loved hearing about “grandpa”. What a great story and motivation to just get in and try stuff!

I love, love, LOVE your story! No fear, just doing, learning and doing some more. You and Tula were just meant to be. So funny how that happened, but it just had to. "No! Binding is the punishment for finishing a quilt top!" I may have snorted when I laughed about that. Even my husband, a new quilter, laughed from the other room about that one. Thanks for being so open honest and fun, Angela. ❤️

I love your story, unfortunately my Grandmother who quilted passed before I was born. Keep on teaching!

Awesome talk loved hearing about how you started

Great info! Angela, you're Craftsy classes and FMQ challenges gave me the courage to keep trying. I know have a long arm! I love it! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us.

Your joy shines brightly!! I love "everything can seem like it is going all wrong and then it works out okay"...I'd say it has worked out great!! Loved getting to meet you in person 4 or 5 years ago. Your books are awesome and you've helped me grow as a quilter. Thanks for this video... I'd misplaced my quilting mojo and this helped me find it again!!

I took that first Craftsy class you taught!!!! LOL 😂 I could tell you were nervous....but I knew you had what it takes and I’m one of your biggest fans.

So glad I found this new show!

Yay!! Always struggle. I took a mystery quilt class where they said it was a 2-color quilt and I couldn't limit myself. I went to class with 8 fabrics. Well I ended up cutting good fabric needlessly, as I never finished the project and wasted a bunch of good stuff

Quilted feathers for the first time and it was FABULOUS! Did it on a mini quilt so the area was quite manageable. Thanks for the lesson and it really clicked with me this time.

I actually use the same Hinterberg hand quilting frame. Love it.

Loved hearing your story Angela! Fear is such a powerful thing and can hold back so many exceptional people!

It was very interesting to hear about your history and learning experience. Yes, you are very comfortable in front of the camera. It feels like I am right there with you, Just great.

I like to say it this way. Either you want to do something or you don't. It's perfectly ok not to be interested in a skill. I see lots of folks paralyzed by fear and excuses and in my opinion they should get really honest with themselves and either say no thanks, I don't WANT to do this, or get busy doing it. Start researching and making mistakes and trying and eventually you will find a way to do anything you really WANT to do. A lot of excuses and anxieties can melt away if you give yourself permission to look inside and say either hard pass, or I want to try this even if I am bad at it and have a lot to learn or whatever else. People should not feel obligated to have a reason (excuse) why they do or don't like something, just rock on with your bad self! Learning a new skill is SO much more rewarding when you have this journey through beginner struggles and it just shows that you are learning and mastering something that really expands you. If you want to do something you should be PROUD of your struggle to success! That is the machine behind the highlights reel and honestly, that's the good part!

What a wonderful story from grandpa's inspiration and encouragement to all those little "coincidences" along the way that placed you in the right place at the right time.

I really enjoy your videos. You are such an inspiration to try it without fear. How you got started is a wonderful story I never grow tired of. It tells me that amazing things can always be possible.

Loved...really I loved this! I have missed you since Midnight Quilt Show stopped. I've finally slowed down enough to watch this and it was so so GOOD. I'm a little envious, I would have loved to know my grandfathers or even my husband's but that just wasn't what happened. I'm teaching myself to quilt and trying to get up the courage to quilt a quilt on my home machine. Thank you so much this was so uplifting!

Wonderful! Just started quilting for others and it’s been very satisfying seeing those smiles when they pick up their quilts. Thank you for your encouragement and your education. It truly is invaluable!

Hi Angela, Thank you for this video, you have given me the inspiration and knowledge to free motion quilt a few years ago and I love it so much that I purchased a sit down longarm. Talking about getting your business started and how you met Tula Pink and learning from Grandpa is a great story. I've already started quilting for a friend who has given me more business from her family who are sitting on many quilt tops. Just want to thank you again for everything you do, I learn some thing new every time.

LOL! I so enjoy all your videos, this one especially! Thank you!

You and Grandpa both enjoyed learning, and have passion for doing things outside the box.

So wonderful to still have you as a teacher and an inspiration to me. You were the very first long arm teacher for me back in 2013 when I got my first long arm but I watched some of your sit down quilting not to long before then then one time you used the avante long arm and I knew then and so did my son that I needed one. He bought me my first long arm then and I have followed you since. Thank you so very much for everything. I live in Abilene Ks and if you ever come this way I want to know thank you again.

I work so I never get to be here for the live... but I always watch! Thank you! As a new longarm owner I appreciate your willingness to help!!

Thank you for sharing your story and the encouragement. I learned as a little girl many types of sewing and crafts from my mom and now after she’s passed on and I’ve inherited some of her items both finished and unfinished, I hope to do good work to pass on to other family members. It will only be a year this month on February 15 that my mom passed and I’m hoping soon to finish some of her beautiful hand sewn quilt tops.

My friend wanted a quilt in general, I have made like 3 quilts and have no money for supplies but I want projects to do so I can practice and learn new stuff so we are tradeing the u for cost of supplies. Which with covid money is tight for everyone =/ soooo in the end she gets a hopfully awesome quilt and I get another whole quilt of learning and practising, with the added bonus of cost effective 😍

I love Angela you crack me up girl!!

Your story is amazing and inspiring! I've completed all your Craftsy classes. You are so serious in those. I love your chats. You make me laugh out loud.

Angela you are truly inspiring. I love how you shared your quilting journey. I have learned to piece when I was going to be a grandma and I made my daughter a nesting quilt for her baby shower. I machine quilted it myself on my domestic quilting machine. I have machine quilted all my pieced tops and table runners. Now I’m looking to buy a small but affordable next machine to quilt where I’m not moving my fabric but a machine instead. Do you have any recommendations on what I should be looking for. I’m not looking to do any customer quilts. I sit and look at my own tops and I have to encourage myself to just do it. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge with us. I do have a book from you on machine quilting.

I really enjoyed hearing your story today. I’ve heard you speak about learning from your hubby’s grandfather before and it touches my heart. I’ve been fortunate enough to have visited your store in Liberty a couple times and look forward to it again in the near future.

Love this gorgeous quilt !!! You are sew relaxed with humor during your videos. Love this.

You are so awesome and inspiring. I have been learning quilting for a couple of years and still scared to free motion quilt. Your story gives me so much inspiration. Thanks a lot.

Love this story about you and Tula meeting!!

Want to thank you for helping me to become a better quilter. Love watching your videos.

Such an awesome chat. You are naturally encouraging and become a friend to each of us instantly. Thank you.

Hi Angela, I’m really late to this live chat. Still, i have been following you on RU-vid and I bought your book and have been practicing quilting. I am getting ready to buy you new challenge and I am interested in your ruler challenge too. Anyway thank you for all your advice and you tube videos and encouragement

I just love your attitude! Thanks for telling your story. This was so much fun to watch!

Thank you for sharing your story. I just got a long arm frame and it is overwhelming to try to learn. I wish I had more time (besides weekends) to practice, and I am planning to one day be confident enough to make it a business. I agree, quilting is way more fun than piecing! 🤗💜

I tell my husband, it's like a gambling addiction. Sometimes you go to your longarm and you win really big, sometimes you break even, sometimes you lose. But you keep going back, working/playing for the next jackpot.

You are such an inspiration. Thank you. ❤️

Absolutely LOVE your story, Angela. Such an inspiration you are to us all!

You should write all your stories up for posterity. SOO interesting!

Awesome! This was the best time of my whole day. I love your honesty and all. I think I heard a few more sayings for your next line of fabric.....lol

I love your story!! Grandpa sounds like an awesome guy!

Love this! My family wants me to get a longarm, but we live in the middle of nowhere, have two more kids to send to college, and have no dealers anywhere nearby that I'm aware of!

I didn’t catch your live busy working . I love your work learned so much . I wondered if you can do lesson on what quilting on sashes I don’t see to much on that? Thanks

hello I am so glad I found you. I hope you are well in your world

we used to make things and bring them to family reunions and they would auction them off to help with the cost of holding the reunion.

Thank you for the inspiration. I've been toying with the idea of quilting for others when I slow down at my full time job. In the meantime, I'm getting my quilts finished.

I laughed out loud at the chopping a border off! I'm going to have to do that to the quilt I'm working on now. Thanks for sharing.

I love watching and learning from you! Question- sometimes when quilting my own quilts I tend to settle for little mistakes or glitches in my quilting, but when quilting for customers I’m curious what kind of mistakes or glitches do you fix vs settling for?

Tuning in late. I've watched your RU-vid episodes for over a year. I have learned so much, so far. I'm learning to use the long arm, but I'm still intimidated by it. I doubt I will ever quilt for a business. I do have a backlog of quilt tops to do, for myself/family, and I donate to the local women's shelter. I do have a large stash.(Sable)

Loved you from the beginning, and love what you're doing now. I bet Jeremy is happy he listened to his grandpa and bought you your first longarm! I hope to have one one day, but I'm also tired of my ugly 1984 dated kitchen! haha😂 We're expecting our first grandchild in June, so she will get a machine quilted quilt from me. I enjoy it all, but sandwiching on the floor is the worst!

Such a wonderful chat Angela. You are a star.

Always learning something from you thanks 😊

I love your story

both quilts are great

Excellent video. Lots of great advice. Thank you so much.

Love these true facts!

I've been in business longarming since 2009. I also teach, lecture, and design. Sometimes, I feel like I'm just running from thing to thing without accomplishing anything, all while trying to keep up with customer quilting. How do you do it all? What does a typical day look like for you?

Love your chats! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

I also think that binding is the punishment part :)

I love your show and learning quilting.

Had to watch Fri morning. I love your chats. Can we go back and see live chats? I so wish I could just spend a few days learning with just you, me, and my longarm.

I love this!

For your tension issues chat...I would love for you to address the different thread caps and positions of the thread on the machine (horizontal vs vertical). I know it all makes a difference but get confused when to use/do what.

Angela I thank you so very much for sharing your passion, quilting history and knowledge. You are such an inspiration, however, I struggle so much with figuring out how to move my hands and control the speed of my domestic machine. The stitches are so wonky; inconsistent in stitch length and I have trouble controlling how to move the fabric. I have watched all of your videos and bought all of your Craftsy classes, plus your rulers. Not sure what to do to get better. I know practice, practice, practice but not really seeing any improvement. Suggestions??

Great talk. Thank you for the encouragement.

Thank you for sharing

Fantastic talk thanks Angela

I rarely get here “live”, love I can watch later

I needed to hear this. Thanks doll!

Thanks for sharing your stories.

Very cool, thanks for sharing your story.

Love this chat!

Hi I caught the replay --love that eveyone is involved even your husband. I'm new to quilting & i really like it but i hate making mistakes. I'm doing an irish chain right now I'm doing every block different but when i look at it idk if i like it - your take on this? Just simple things --- e, l, meandering, loops, long up & down lines, a few hearts, your stars but idk if anyone else would like it. I sell on etsy & in oerson. Help. Thank you & love everything you do.

Hi Angela, that you for this video, it was very informative. Did you ever finish a customers quilt and they did not like it and were not happy? How would you handle this type of situation.

Thank you