My Longarm Learning

"Life's so bright, gotta wear shades" I was reminded of this expression that I frequently used in the 1990s whilst wearing my RayBans or Killer Loop wraparound sunglasses. These outdated accessories may not be quite so cool now, but wouldn't it be nice to think that a brightness will take over our lives when we emerge from the "hibernation" of the past year. Life's so bright, gotta wear shades In order to celebrate that brightness you may like to check out the brightness of your Handi Quilter Avante if that is your longarm of choice. Since it emerged on the longarm market in 2010, the Avante has proved to be a real winner. The favourite of professional and hobby quilters alike. We sold our last new Avante this week. It's the end of an era for the Avante but we know that quilters around the UK and Europe will continue to derive great pleasure from using their Avantes for many years to come. Lights on the Avante - new LEDs on the outside with the UV (b

 I was struck this week by the importance of words of encouragement.  I know plenty of parents who have spent the early part of 2021 encouraging and cajoling their children to do their school work at home. Sometimes the roles are reversed and children are persuading their elderly parents to keep exercising despite the difficulties of lockdown. We all know how important words of encouragement can be, particularly if we are feeling isolated. Motivation becomes more difficult. It's one of the reasons why we have Facebook Groups like Longarm Learning Curve for Handi Quilter owners. You may not know it exists but within the group are all the previous HQ Owners in the UK (and worldwide HQ Owners can also join). The admins in the group are me (Liz), Lynda Jackson, Handi Quilter Ambassador and Educator and Nel Eyre a Handi Quilter Owner. We ensure the advice and guidance is on point and relevant to the group but otherwise no question is silly, stupid or unimportant. There is also a brand n

Quilting Quilting Quilting! We are getting a sense of how much piecing and quilting has been taking place during lockdown in the UK and around the world. We are all so fortunate to have an outlet for our creativity at a time when our normal lives have been set aside. Judging by how busy the sewing machine companies have been in the past year we know lots of people have been stitching away piecing lots of tops.  But then you have to quilt it! Quilting by Ann Eckley on a Sweet Sixteen Sitdown / Stationary Machine Quilting by Ann Eckley on a Sweet Sixteen Sitdown / Stationary Machine We love to see our customers' finished quilts and one of our customers, Ann, sent us this one last week. She's had her Sweet Sixteen machine about a year. She used the Arc Set B Ruler and Handi Versa Tool . Her echo of the Dresden Plate is really effective and we think she has done a beautiful job on this quilt. The concept of echoing applique designs is quite a traditional way of quilting by hand or

We know that free motion quilting is a skill that gets better with practice but are there things that you can do to help? Are there tools that can help? Would you like us to show you how? Yes. Yes. And hopefully...yes! Watch our Saturday 6th March 2021 Facebook Live from our Pinhole Quilting Pershore Showroom. We show some of the tools and techniques that we use for free motion quilting on stationary (sitdown) machines as well as moveable / standup machines. Listen out for the fabulous Special Offers on until 12 noon 12th March 2021 while stocks last. BOHIN OFFER IS NOW FINISHED! Visit www.handiquilter.co.uk Also, on this week's Facebook Live - we look at how you thread up your machine for tension free tension .  We talk about the new Loft Frame for our Moxie customers plus what do High, Low, Standard and Clearview mean for Loft and Studio 2 Frame quilters?   For sitdown quilter using Domestic or Longarm machines Liz demos the Sweet Spots and Paddles for free motion quilting.  SPEC

“The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there.”  Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Anyone who has used a sewing machine knows that things can happen. But it's really important to keep calm and work out how to solve the problem. It could be that the bobbin thread has run out when you were in the middle of the perfect swirl, maybe the thread has broken and half way through a key motif is not ideal, or perhaps the tension has suddenly started changing and you had no idea until you turned the quilt over and found some stitches look very flat and too tight. Unpicking (otherwise known as reverse sewing) always takes such a long time compared to how long it took to sew it in the first place so we prefer not to reach for the seam ripper if we can help it. We want you to LOVE your machines...like Carolyn and her Avante... ...so in our Facebook Live session on Saturday 27th February 2021 at 11am

Here's the heads up for what we'll be talking about on this week's Facebook Live ...11am Saturday 20th February 2021.  Tune in Live and comment and ask questions or watch on catch up afterwards. Special Offers announced on the show will last for a week.  Go to Facebook Live 20th February 2021 on Facebook We do love our Glide Thread Club and Glide Thread. Watch the session on You Tube. Subscribe to our Pinhole Quilting You Tube channel to be the first to see new videos when they are uploaded. We covered some of the common questions we get from new customers. So to help here are some close-up photos of the items covered on Facebook Live February 20th 2021. Encoder on machine to carriage (Y Axis) showing rubber wheel Close up of encoder wheel Encoder cable for Y axis plugged into rear of Amara Moxie Encoder on Y axis showing carriage wheel, rubber encoder wheel and cable to Moxie X Axis encoder on Amara showing rubber encoder wheel X Axis Encoder box showing flat grey cable on