My Longarm Learning

I don't know about you, but i t's fair to say it's been an interesting year. Pete described it as "not ideal" which in a very British way sums it up well. Friends and customers have stitched their way through many scrubs and facemasks. Our Handi Quilter educator Abigail Sheridan de Graaff spent much of the early part of lockdown organising the making of scrubs. It was a huge amount of work for all of those involved and we salute everyone who devoted time, energy and fabric to worthy causes in 2020. Others have, despite enormous personal sacrifice, nursed and cared for those unlucky enough to catch the dreaded Covid. We know we're not an essential industry but for many of our customers the making of quilts for others, whether it's for care givers, care leavers, people in care, those who need a comfort blanket, or for friends and family has helped us get through what has been a difficult year by any measure. Whatever it is, making and doing has helped in s...

Abigail Sheridan de Graaff is a Handi Quilter Educator and Professional Longarm Quilter. From her quilting studio in Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire Abigail uses a Handi Quilter Amara 20" longarm machine with the computerised Pro-Stitcher system to complete her own as well as customer quilts through her business Cut&Alter.   In this blog feature Abigail explores Glide 40wt and 60wt thread, the quilter's palette. But as you'll discover, Glide thread is not just for quilting. Our Glide Thread Club launched in 2020 - you can build the entire Glide 40wt thread collection with the 27 sets of 9 1000m cones. No threads are repeated so you can confidently purchase knowing you won't have two the same!  For more details visit the Thread Club pages on our website - Glide Thread Club. Before I bought my longarm machine I have to admit I knew nothing about thread, although I was not aware of this shortcoming!  Basically I bought whatever was in the local shop if it wa...

From time to time we find those inspirational people who allow us to change direction. A room mate drove a motorbike through Africa from London to Cape Town. Inspired by the prospect of exploring the world, before I knew it I was planning my own back-packing world trip!   Closer to home and exploring less dangerous pursuits, n ot everyone wants to do lots of piecing - Modern Quilting might be your bag with lots of large empty areas that can be quilted. Suddenly you fall in love with quilting thread. Who knows where this longarm quilting journey might take you?   Finding the people who inspire you creatively is all about looking at styles on websites checking out instagram, pinterest, etc., following those "Down the Rabbithole" adventures that you can have by following others who are active on social media.  There are Handi Quilter Ambassadors and Educators - it's a great starting point for different styles of quilting, machine embroidery and surface design in a myri...