15792 S. Madison
Olathe, KS 66062
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Quilting Frames

               Jasmine Frame           Easy Spinner                  

When I began quilting, I figured any hoop is a hoop.  So, I bought a cheap hoop at a discount store and began quilting a queen size quilt.  Within 24 hours the cheap hoop split, and I had taped it together.  Then I bought a better hoop; it was plastic!  But it left a really bad crease now and again because of it's "no slip" ridge.  So I bought another wood hoop, but of better quality.  Hum, it was okay, but I didn't like the wing nut and sharp screw, which caused a near rip in the quilt.  Lesson learned:  cover the screw up with masking tape.  Lesson learned:  the masking tape comes off.  So I tried a bungie cord hoop and found I nearly had a physical mishap trying to get the quilt in the hoop.  Hysterical is an understatement.   Then there was the oval hoop.  At about $35, you'd think it would be good, but within a few days I noted the tension on the hoop was not consistent and there was a gap where the oval fit one way but not the other.  Hum, one minute perfect tension, the next no tension at all, and two inches away, too much tension. 

 
Okay, now comes the big bucks stuff.
 
I ordered by mail order a 29" hoop with its 22" counterpart.  Very nice, but I had to put it together, and it was unfinished.  Not bad for the money, but I could get the thing to adjust so I could sit on my couch without the hoop tipping over?  I couldn't figure out a way.  Then I saw it pictured and thought to myself that the person quilting on it was sitting in a straight back chair.  Further, when I put the queen size quilt in it, the tripod base wasn't really all that secure.  Oh well, I took it apart and it went back.  I was greatly relieved I didn't buy it locally because I am sure the shop would not have wanted it returned.  So I then looked at frames.  I bought one, again mail order, because the local shops didn't carry any at the time.  This, I thought, had possibilities.  Three hours after opening the box, the assembled frame listed to one side.  After checking thoroughly the instructions, I found I had to hire a wood worker friend to come fix the problem which was simply chiseling out an area wide enough for the cross bar to go into.  I thought I had it made until I tried quilting on it.  There was no infinite tension; you either had it too loose or too night, and I had to buy something to hook to the sides to control the sides from flapping around.  I soon discovered quilting uphill and backwards was not fun.  Oh well.  Unfortunately, I had it in storage for six months during a house move before unwrapping the box.  So I was stuck with it. 
 
Please note all of these purchases were made with the view that the Jasmine was awfully expensive, and I really couldn't spend that much on a quality hoop or frame.  I had seen the Jasmine in "That Perfect Stitch" by Roxanne McElroy; I had seen it advertised in magazines, and knew from what others said that it had to be wonderful.  So, determined not to be "stuck" again, I decided that I would actually visit the factory after having talked to the owner about Jasmine products.  The owner suggested as a quilting teacher I sell them.  So off a friend and I went to Kerrville, Texas.  I returned home with frames, hoops, and Easy Spinner Stands.  Not only do I quilt in an easy chair, I can quilt in a reclining chair, rocking chair, straight back chair, office chair, sun lounger, deck chair, and with one model, even on the floor, cross legged.  Yes, there is a Jasmine for everyone who wants to quilt. 
 
Remember, Jasmine was originally designed by a quilter whose husband made the prototype.  After refining the design several times over, the Easy Spinner was born and patented.  The Jasmine Frame was also patented, and is the only quilting frame on the market with infinite tension and can be quilted on from either side of the frame.  
 
Take a look at the finest you can buy, and remember that what I spent in hoops and frames above, could have bought BOTH an Easy Spinner and a Floor Frame.  Remember the saying, you get what you pay for......and with Jasmine, you get the best.   
 

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