Up, Up and Away – Sewing Solutions for Large Projects
After three years, October 2022 saw the return of Quilt Market in Houston, Texas. Although the Sew4Home team wasn’t able to attend in person, we’ve spent hours paging through social media posts and pictures from the event.
One of the shots that stopped us was from Arrow Sewing Furniture. It showed a large quilt, which appeared to be almost levitating above its sewing machine cabinet. Granted, the show did take place over Halloween weekend, but we were sure this wasn’t a ghost at work. Pretty sure at least.
Turns out – no supernatural elements were involved. Instead, it was the very down-to-earth and remarkably clever Christa’s Quilt Blocks!
They are named for and designed by award-winning quilter, Christa Watson. If you’re familiar with the options within the Arrow Sewing furniture line, you may have already seen the wonderful Christa Sewing Cabinet, which also benefits from her design input.
Many folks think the Quilt Blocks only work with the Christa Sewing Cabinet. They do fit that cabinet, but they will also fit almost any sewing machine cabinet old or new, from any sewing cabinet manufacturer. They can attach to a cabinet’s back leaf or side edge with easy-to-tighten brackets!
If you’ve been a quilter for any length of time, you know these works of art can become large, heavy, and unwieldy in the blink of an eye. It’s a real problem because the quilt can begin to cascade off your table and the weight pulls while you are trying to quilt. Gravity at work right there in your sewing space!
Christa’s Quilt Blocks act as a guard rail to keep quilts and other large projects from sliding off the side or back of your sewing cabinet! It helps lift them up, up and away – giving gravity a run for its money. Strong metal brackets hold the Quilt Blocks in place, which means they will work on any cabinet the brackets will fit over. It’s an adage that proves itself again and again: “The best ideas are often the simplest.”
They are super easy to install on either the back or side of your sewing cabinet. Simply slip the bracket over the edge of the cabinet and use the two large hand screws to clamp the bracket up against the wood. A small Allen wrench is the only tool needed. Slip the quilt blocks into the brackets and you’re ready to sew. Each block measures 20-13/16″ W x 5/8″ D x 3-15/16″ H.
When you don’t need the guard rail in place, you can slip out just the quilt blocks or remove both brackets entirely for a completely smooth surface. Remember, the brackets can be loosened by hand.
Although designed for quilting, these Quilt Blocks would be helpful for other large projects. We can imagine them coming in very handy for Cosplay enthusiasts and folks working with heavy swaths of home décor fabrics – I would have loved something like this for the last set of curtains I tackled!
The blocks come in FOUR finishes so you can easily match your cabin: solid white, grey, teak and wood grain white.
Christa’s Quilt Blocks retail for $179 for the two brackets and two blocks, but many Janome Canada dealers have them on sale right now for just $129.
To find out more about Christa’s Quilt Blocks and all the other great Arrow and Kangaroo products, take a look at the brand new arrowsewing.ca website! We spotted some awesome specials on solid fabric Arrow chairs right now, plus they are offering free freight on orders made now through the holidays.
By: Liz Johnson, Senior Editor, Sew4Home.com
Janome Life 