wreckser Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 1. It’s fun. And consuming. 2. Don’t be afraid of tension. Experiment with it. Play with it. You’ll soon get the hang of it. And the Millie makes it so easy… 3. SID is difficult. Thank goodness for MonoPoly (or other invisible threads)! SID can turn a good quilt into a great quilt. 4. I really like to use different weights/colors/brands of threads. On some quilts, I like to see the stitching, on others, just the texture. See #2 above. 5. Straight lines in a pantograph are the hardest part of stitching a pantograph. 6. I try to guess the number of bobbins I’m going to use and fill up that many before starting. I’ve found that Goodies plastic pony tail holders work really well to keep the threads on the bobbin – much cheaper than other bobbin holders, and just the right size! I use clear plastic tubes to hold the full bobbins. 7. My favorite tool is a small, no - tiny, crochet hook. I use it to pull up the bobbin thread at the end, and it works well for those frogging occasions as well. 8. I made a small, cloth-wrapped clothesline bowl to keep my trimmed-off threads. Sorry, I don’t know a better way to explain it. The cloth wrapping grabs the threads. 9. I bought a lap-top computer stand to hold my snippers, hook, rulers, and thread bowl. Only $20, and it works great. It’s easy to move with me, and holds everything I need. 10. I love my red snappers. 11. My first customer quilt just happened to be a table topper with a HUGE D cup in the middle! What was I thinking? Anyway, a little starch, a lot of steam, and a bit of prayer later and I got it laying flat. It was amazing. 12. Practice is the key. And more practice. And still more practice. 13. It’s amazing how much gunk a little rubbing alcohol can get off of the rails and wheels. 14. I wish the Millie had a “Bobbin Low” indicator. 15. A piecer who can put together a square quilt deserves our undying gratitude. 16. Lint is evil. 17. Those pretty lines on pantographs? They’re really just guidelines, not rules! 18. Check everything at least twice before starting to stitch. 19. Don’t stop in the middle of a pantograph, then restart backwards. That is hard frogging! 20. Different threads top and bottom are no problem for the Millie. 21. The Millie is an awesome machine. What a joy to use! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Boy you have learned a lot in your month! Great job and great ideas. keep having fun that is key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 :cool::cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oma Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 You nailed it! Try pre-wound bobbins and you find you only have to change your bobbin a couple of times at most. Worth every penny I pay for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiltsinmotion Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 oh what fun you are having Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara Conquest Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Follow Oma's good advice re prewound bobbins, Wreckser. They may cost a little more, but they save time, and time is money! They're also serious stress-reducers! Barbara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 You're doing GREAT!! I love the tiny crochet hook too. Mine is a size 14. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwltnldy Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Only one comment about prewounds: I have bought a LOT of them. All "SuperBobs" from Superior Threads. Most of them are just fine. But sometimes (randomly) the bobbin is just a TEENSY WEENSY bit wider than it should be. This has happened to me only with bobbins wound on cardboard. It took several bad ones for me to finally figure out what the problem was but it definitely messed things up. So make sure the bobbin is flush with the bobbin case. The prewound bobbins that come on plastic bobbins I do have a hard time with. They seem to slip around or something. I just find that I can't seem to get control of the tension or sometimes the thread just gets tangled a lot easier. Now, it has been a while since I purchased SuperBobs and maybe that issue has been discovered and dealt with. What a great idea about the computer stand. I have one and had given it to my son because I wasn't using it. Neither is he, so I think I'll take it back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 The only pre-wounds I'll use are from Fil-Tec (Magna Glide or Magna Quilt) - they work great. I get gopher guts with SuperBobs. Love Superior Thread, but I can't use their pre-wounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseCity Quilter Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 That's quite the list! You summed up some pretty good points! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharni Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 I had trouble with Super Bob's pre wounds. Just wound the thread onto the metal bobbins and it worked like a charm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 I am so proud of you!! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Oh and I also wanted to add: re: the “Bobbin Low” indicator --- if you listen closely you can hear your bobbin start to rattle a bit, that's when you know it's ending soon. LOL! Yes, Lint is evil. and my air compressor is a God Send! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Your list is going to be really handy for newbies -- thanks for taking the time to write it all out! Originally posted by Linda S The only pre-wounds I'll use are from Fil-Tec (Magna Glide or Magna Quilt) - they work great. I get gopher guts with SuperBobs. Love Superior Thread, but I can't use their pre-wounds. What are 'gopher guts' Linda? I've used Superior Threads Super Bobs for a long time. I think they briefly tried the plastic bobbins and quickly figured out that they don't work in the longarm. But, occasionally it does seem like either the cardboard sides are cut too big, or the bobbin is wound too full. If the cardboard is cut too big, I just remove it--problem solved. If the bobbin is wound too full, you can unwind some of the thread, but I found removing the cardboard also solves the problem. The thread slips down the sides and gets caught, so if the cardboard isn't there, it doesn't get caught. I haven't had the cardboard slip and not catch in the bobbin case as someone mentioned, but if you take the cardboard off, that will also solve the problem. Guess I'm a diehard Superior Threads fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 I'm with Linda, I only use the magna-glide/magna-quilt bobbins. Great tension with these no matter what the top thread is. I made a suggestion to Fil-tech to make mono-filiment or mono-nylon pre-wounds and varigated pre-wounds. LOL, I can dream can't I. Great list of things learned, keep on having fun!!! Please share some pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindyT Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 You've certainly learned a lot for just one month of LA'ing! This thread will be a "go to" for future LA'rs. You will continue to learn as your long arm journey continues...I know I have and still will and love most minutes of it (I could have said "every" minute of it, but that darn tension word comes to mind and blows the "every" thought). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtnBarb Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Great list and all true! Welcome to Longarming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 That list will surely help any newbie. Thanks for sharing your experience and your great attitude, very positive and encouraging. Corey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bekah Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 A truly wonderful list. Your attitude will go along way into making you a terrific quilter. Glad you are enjoying your journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boni Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 My Gammill has an on-board bobbin winder. When my machine was new, it didn't work well and finally quit altogether. I had it replaced and now it is my best friend. I don't estimate any more, I just stay one bobbin ahead by winding on-board while quilting. Most quilts I do take around 4-5 bobbins so I figure that an average. Of course it depends on density... I'm amazed that no one in the industry has yet to figure how to put a bobbin sensor or a never-ending bobbin on these machines! That's quite a list Wreckser! Good for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.