JenniferBernard

I like APQS for the same good reasons stated above. Also, I have become a very fast over all quilter and some of the lighter machines can't move as fast as I can quilt. Millie keeps up with me. My Millie has also quilted through some pretty thick art type quilts with no problems. I really think she is the best

You may have to adjust the small wheel that runs in the grove of the bigger encoder wheel. There are 2 of these wheels. One runs the horizontal direction and one runs the verticle direction. Try using your finger to turn the small wheel and see if it slips with out turning the larger wheel. There is a bolt on the under side of the bigger wheel with the grove. I have had to loosen the bolt with a socket wrench and squeeze the two wheels tighter together. I usually have to have my husband help me because it is an on the floor job needing 4 hands. They are hard to get at and one needs an open end wrench and one takes a socket wrench. I finally bought 2 wrenches just for my machine after having to dig through the piles of my husband's farm tools too many times! Don't tighten the wheels too much either or the machine gets too tight and your circles might become more like squares. As my machine is getting older I have had to mess with this more. I upgrades to the Bliss wheels and have had to replace all my wheels once. In fact if you go to the trouble of taking the encoder wheels apart entirely, if the have a yellow tab in the center of the wheel, APQS might replace all your big wheels with the groove in it for free because there was a recall?? You can't see the yellow tab until you take the wheel off because it is on the top side of the wheel. I did have to purchase 2 new little encoder wheels because they do wear down with use. I hope this makes sence and helps!

MQS is held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in May. AQS is held in late September in Des Moines along with the annual Des Moines Area Quilters Guild show. I think we are getting the shows confused Some of the long arm teachers are teaching a few classes now at AQS. Some of the classes are on domestic machines and a few are on Handi Quilter long arms. The teachers that can are branching out to be able to reach more quilters.

I was a classroom helper for Alex Anderson at the Quilting and Sewing Expo in Des Moines, Ia. I had Alex to myself for about 10 minutes waiting for students to arrive. She told me that she also got paid per student and the show took a part of the student fee for show expenses. A nationally known teacher has to work hard at developing new and exciting things to draw the attention of us quilters! I am a big fan of MQS and have gone every year since I bought my long arm. I have also won some ribbons at the show. I enjoy entering the fabric challenge. Sometimes I win and sometimes I don't but I still enjoy the challenge! I enter some of my quilts that I know don't stand a chance of winning a ribbon just because I want to see them hanging at a show with other stunning quilts! I enjoy seeing what Claudia Pfiel makes to enter in the theme category every year. I believe she makes 1 spectacular quilt a year and reveals it at MQS every year. She also travels and teaches classes and sells long-arms in Europe. She is a fun person and talks to her students at the shows during her down time! I love looking at her quilting, piecing, and creativeness. She inspires me to learn more, prefect my technique, and try new things. Can I make a quilt at her skill level? Probably not. It is just beyond me. I also love to see her quilts and some other national quilt artist at other shows. I would be very disappointed if I went to a national show and only saw beautiful, ordinary quilts. I love the quilts that I make for my grandchildren, but their purpose is to keep them warm. They are not works of art or competition pieces. I will keep supporting MQS and AQS-Des Moines which are fortunately within driving distance. I can only dream of being able to go to the shows that are famous but far away. I just hope that quilt shows can withstand the financial ups and downs of the economy and quilters opinions.

Arrrrgh! Well done, matey!

That is so super cool! It makes me want to go down and at least clean up the piles of stuff in my quilting studio. Your lighting sounds great with the dimmer switches. You should be able to get some good side light for those pesky quilts where the thead just disappears into the patterned fabric. It took me serval years to finally figure out I needed to turn off ALL the lights and just light from the side for those fabrics! I just kept throwing more light n the quilt!

Hang in there. If you quilt it, yet will come! In the meanwhile keep trying new things. The more you challenge yourself, the more your skills grow.

I just watched Teresa's post "A Laughter for a Rainy Monday"'. I am sitting on the couch after having foot surgery this morning. It did make me laugh! Thanks Theresa. And to top it off, Cathy Miller is the entertainment for the MQS Banquet in Cedar Rapids in May! I get to hear her quilting songs. It will be hilarious I am sure! Here is the link again.

wow! You can really see the quilting! I wish I could do the same!

When I named my business I wanted a word that started with a Q to be the Q part of the phone book. I used. Dictionary and looked up words. I actually considered Quintessential Quilting for a while but I decided I didn't want to have to help everyone learn to pronounce it, let alone spell it!!!!