What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

We recently learned about the standard Handi Quilter bobbin winder, now it’s time to get to know the Moxie bobbin winder. Some things are the same, but just like Moxie, it’s a little different too.  If you missed the previous post you can read it here. Please note: if you are outside of the US, you probably received a different bobbin winder with your Moxie machine. Please refer to your Handi Quilter retailer where you purchased your machine for help in using your bobbin winder. For my Australian friends, there is a video from Handcrafters House. Watch it ...

Have you started on your Seeing Stars quilt-a-long quilt? It’s not too late! This month (March) we are selecting fabric and cutting. I will share my progress and thoughts as we go. My friend Pam is also going to quilt along and I’ll share her approach as well.

Selecting Fabrics

My Choices

Since this quilt is mostly scrappy, I started with a fat quarter pack from my stash that was very “well-aged”.  It gave me a start on my color palette. Then I added in some additional fat quarters for more variety.

I wanted to follow the hack ...

Have you started on your Seeing Stars quilt-a-long quilt? It’s not too late! This month (March) we are selecting fabric and cutting. I will share my progress and thoughts as we go. My friend Pam is also going to quilt along and I’ll share her approach as well.

Selecting Fabrics

My Choices

Since this quilt is mostly scrappy, I started with a fat quarter pack from my stash that was very “well-aged”.  It gave me a start on my color palette. Then I added in some additional fat quarters for more variety.

I wanted to follow the hack ...

Starting with a well wound bobbin is essential for good results when quilting. That’s why you need to know how to operate your Handi Quilter bobbin winder. It’s a great machine that will provide you with perfect bobbins every time, when you get it set up correctly. Handi Quilter offers 2 types of bobbin winder, one that comes exclusively with the Moxie machine and the other comes with all other HQ longarm machines. We will start with the standard bobbin winder.

First, download and READ the manual. You can find it here. Scroll down til you get to ...

Starting with a well wound bobbin is essential for good results when quilting. That’s why you need to know how to operate your Handi Quilter bobbin winder. It’s a great machine that will provide you with perfect bobbins every time, when you get it set up correctly. Handi Quilter offers 2 types of bobbin winder, one that comes exclusively with the Moxie machine and the other comes with all other HQ longarm machines. We will start with the standard bobbin winder.

First, download and READ the manual. You can find it here. Scroll down til you get to ...

Have you ever joined a quilt-a-long? Now is your chance to try one on for size. Handi Quilter’s first quilt-a-long is just starting and it’s FREE!

The Videos

The last Tuesday of each month we will premier a video with hints, tips and techniques you can use to create your Seeing Stars quilt. Noon Mountain time (11am Pacific time, 1pm Central time, and 2pm Eastern time in the US) is when the videos will premier. If you are outside of those time zones, you can figure out when to watch here.  If you can’t watch live, you ...

Have you ever joined a quilt-a-long? Now is your chance to try one on for size. Handi Quilter’s first quilt-a-long is just starting and it’s FREE!

The Videos

The last Tuesday of each month we will premier a video with hints, tips and techniques you can use to create your Seeing Stars quilt. Noon Mountain time (11am Pacific time, 1pm Central time, and 2pm Eastern time in the US) is when the videos will premier. If you are outside of those time zones, you can figure out when to watch here.  If you can’t watch live, you ...

With so many types of quilting fabrics available, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. It’s important to understand their differences so you can choose the best one for your next project. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about quilting fabrics.

Types of Quilt Fabric

Although standard quilting cotton fabric is our hands-down favorite for making quilts, there is a wide variety of fabrics available for sewing quilts, home decor and garments, such as batiks, wovens and flannel. Some are made from natural fibers like cotton and linen, while others are man-made. The base fiber affects ...

Last week I wrote about making my temperature quilt. I had several questions about how to apply the binding while the quilt is still on your longarm frame. I explained this in a past post, but thought you might like to see it again (or see it for the first time!)

I’m willing to bet 9 out of 10 of you bought your longarm machine because you were not happy wrestling that large quilt through your domestic machine to do the quilting. Am I right? We solved one problem. But, then what do we do? We finish the beautiful ...

Last week I wrote about making my temperature quilt. I had several questions about how to apply the binding while the quilt is still on your longarm frame. I explained this in a past post, but thought you might like to see it again (or see it for the first time!)

I’m willing to bet 9 out of 10 of you bought your longarm machine because you were not happy wrestling that large quilt through your domestic machine to do the quilting. Am I right? We solved one problem. But, then what do we do? We finish the beautiful ...

At the start of December 2022 our friend, Helen Godden, started her annual Christmas Countdown Quilt-a-long. Helen is our Handi Quilter Ambassador who lives in Australia. She’s an accomplished artist and a superb stationary machine quilter. I decided to join in the quilt-a-long and take you all along with me. So today I will share my journey, some things I learned along the way, and the finish.

In the last post about this topic I showed you how I prepared my fabric with Helen’s design by tracing her pattern. I made a few changes (thanks Helen for understanding ...

At the start of December 2022 our friend, Helen Godden, started her annual Christmas Countdown Quilt-a-long. Helen is our Handi Quilter Ambassador who lives in Australia. She’s an accomplished artist and a superb stationary machine quilter. I decided to join in the quilt-a-long and take you all along with me. So today I will share my journey, some things I learned along the way, and the finish.

In the last post about this topic I showed you how I prepared my fabric with Helen’s design by tracing her pattern. I made a few changes (thanks Helen for understanding ...

We received lot of questions recently about powering your Handi Quilter longarm machine. It’s a great question to ask! You definitely want to protect your investment in your beloved quilting machine.

I posted back in the summer about this topic and you can read the entire post here. It explains how to choose the proper surge protector or UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) for your machine. Read it now, we will wait.

More information

I want to answer a few of the most frequently asked questions here, in order to expand on the previous post. The expert answers come from ...

We received lot of questions recently about powering your Handi Quilter longarm machine. It’s a great question to ask! You definitely want to protect your investment in your beloved quilting machine.

I posted back in the summer about this topic and you can read the entire post here. It explains how to choose the proper surge protector or UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) for your machine. Read it now, we will wait.

More information

I want to answer a few of the most frequently asked questions here, in order to expand on the previous post. The expert answers come from ...

I spent several days in Houston at the International Quilt Festival. I had a wonderful time chatting with old friends, new friends, Handi Quilter owners, and those thinking about joining the Handi Quilter family of owners. During my flight home I thought about all the wonderful conversations I had during the week and something stood out to me. Of those Handi Quilter owners who visited, many had specific questions about tension. We all know good tension is key to good quilting results.

There are so many resources to help you with learning how to tension all the yummy threads we ...

I spent several days in Houston at the International Quilt Festival. I had a wonderful time chatting with old friends, new friends, Handi Quilter owners, and those thinking about joining the Handi Quilter family of owners. During my flight home I thought about all the wonderful conversations I had during the week and something stood out to me. Of those Handi Quilter owners who visited, many had specific questions about tension. We all know good tension is key to good quilting results.

There are so many resources to help you with learning how to tension all the yummy threads we ...

Last week we decided that ribbon candy and wishbone are pretty popular designs. And according to the votes, they are about equally popular!  So lets have some fun with ribbon candy this week and explore some ribbon candy variations.

Handi Quilter Ambassador, Jane Hauprich, has an excellent video on her YouTube channel with 10 ways to change up your ribbon candy. Jane shows the quilting path by drawing on a white board and then she actually stitches the designs.

I’ll show you some screen shots of the designs here, so you’ll know what’s in store when you ...

Last week we decided that ribbon candy and wishbone are pretty popular designs. And according to the votes, they are about equally popular!  So lets have some fun with ribbon candy this week and explore some ribbon candy variations.

Handi Quilter Ambassador, Jane Hauprich, has an excellent video on her YouTube channel with 10 ways to change up your ribbon candy. Jane shows the quilting path by drawing on a white board and then she actually stitches the designs.

I’ll show you some screen shots of the designs here, so you’ll know what’s in store when you ...

Last week I shared a bunch of photos of intricate quilts seen at the AQS Quiltweek in Des Moines, IA. If you missed it, you can see it here. As an educator, the question I get the most is: How do you decide how to quilt something? Checking out the fabulous quilting on these intricate quilts got me to thinking about some intricate quilts that I have done in the past. Quilting intricate quilts, just like any other quilt top, has to be decided on a case by case basis. There is no hard-and-fast rule on how to choose designs ...

Last week I shared a bunch of photos of intricate quilts seen at the AQS Quiltweek in Des Moines, IA. If you missed it, you can see it here. As an educator, the question I get the most is: How do you decide how to quilt something? Checking out the fabulous quilting on these intricate quilts got me to thinking about some intricate quilts that I have done in the past. Quilting intricate quilts, just like any other quilt top, has to be decided on a case by case basis. There is no hard-and-fast rule on how to choose designs ...