roberta Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Can anyone tell me the trick to cutting the bobbin thread once you have finished a stencil or even a row. My old machine had an automatic thread cutter and all I did was push a button. I have tried pulling the bobbin thread to the top like I do when I start to stitch but for some reason that the bobbin is not coming up when I tug on the top thread. I know if I go to the end of the row I can reach under and cut it but what if I am doing a single pattern, say in a block in the middle of the quilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Roberta, after your last stitch, swing the longarm out a few inches, grab ahold of the top thread and pull it back toward you as you return the needle back to the original place you ended. While still holding the top thread, do one stitch, bring needle up, pull it away again and the bobbin thread will appear. Grab it with the same hand that is holding the top thread and then you can cut both, tie off and bury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberta Posted February 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Roberta, Sounds like Shana answered your question but I\'ll add this. I wear a apron when I\'m quilting, a denim one that I got at JoAnns for $4, anyway it has 2 pockets on it. One pocket I put any gadget I might need for quilting such as rulers or marking pens, the other pocket I use to put the cut threads in. This way they don\'t end up on the floor or tangled in my wheels. It is really funny now because if I forget to put my apron on I still go to put the thread in the pocket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberta Posted February 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 what a brilliant idea! Now I have a reason to go to JoAnn\'s. I have a coupon just calling to me, ha ha. I read somewhere that you can throw a piece of scrap batting over your shoulder and just wipe the threads onto it, but I found that to be too uncomfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 I can just imagine Heidi vacuuming out her pocket of "thread" after she finishes quilting. LOL!! PS Great idea on the apron with pockets for gadgets and thread clippings. I might have to go apron shopping...or if I feel motivated, I might make me an apron. Nah...I\'ll save myself the grief and just buy one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Shana, No vacuuming but I do head right over to the trash can to empty my pocket. Here I thought you guys were going to tell me how Anal I was! My friends tease me all the time. I function much better when things are organized and clean. Now if I had a maid that would be wonderful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Heidi, I am with ya! You don\'t know it yet (now you do) but I am very anal about "my" stuff. I go nuts when I can\'t find things I\'m looking for (everything has its place--especially my quilting tools) and now that I am getting older and more forgetful, I have to really start working at it. PS: Those threads on the floor drive me crazy when they stick to the batting, etc. I am always vacuuming around my longarm. The house? Nah...it can wait. The longarm room gets vacuumed all the time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barbm Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 I bought an apron from Linda Taylor\'s booth at HMQS last April - "Longarmed and Dangerous" - and I don\'t quilt without it. Tools go in one pocket, thread tails in the other (I usually start with a kleenex in that pocket, somehow the threads stick to it better), and I have a small pair of blunt tip scissors on a retractable clip on the strap, so I always know where they are. If I forget to put the apron on, I feel naked! And I put a single wall hook between my Millie and the stairs up, so the apron gets hung there, instead of traveling up with me. That way I always know where the apron is, too. Very few thread tails on my floor - my vacuum cleaner thanks me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzollin Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 I am loving the apron idea! I have thought about asking what you guys do with the threads. Leave it to you all to answer a question before it is even asked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roberta Posted February 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 All this time I have been using a cordless shop vac. An apron will be way easier . I was really wishing I had it today because my scissors were never where I needed them. I am going shopping tomorrow for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saundra Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 I also wear an apron when quilting. I don\'t think I could do without it. Another thing I do is to put a piece of cotton/poly batting on the quilt I am working on & all my threads go there. The piece is usually about 6" x 6" and all thread stick to it. I can move it as I quilt and when it is full or I am through with the quilt, I just remove all threads from it and I am ready to use it on the next quilt. Saundra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 Barb - Yup I have the curved easy squeeze scissors on retractable cord too...It is a must. Right pocket is for tools, left pocket is for threads and anything else that has to be thrown out. Shana - I used to vacuum the whole house every single day but those days are gone! Now I run it once a week and with just the two of us home most of the time that is more than enough. The only other time I have to pull it out is when the cat decides she needs to leave her lovely white fur around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmwife Darlene Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 I love the apron idea! For my scissors - I have one of those "command - 3M" fasteners stuck on the side of my machine and I hang my scissors on that. It\'s easily reachable from either the back or the front. I\'m using a small curved surgical pair of scissors that are great to remove thread, "frog" stitches and clip the threads underneath by turning the curved point toward the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jajab Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 What a great idea about the apron. It is so cold in my quilt room that I typically wear a hooded sweatshirt, so tools end up in the front pocket. I always wear my scissors on a retractable clip that I put on my sweatshirt. Tend to forget I have the scissors on and have gone shopping more than once with them on. Angela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 I hang my small scissors on the post on the top of my machine where the laser goes if you\'re using it the front, but now I\'ve got to get an apron. Then I guess I need to get a hook to hang it on and a box of tissues so I can keep one in the pocket. Whew! You guys always make me smile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 A hint I have used is to tape a basket-style paper coffee filter to the left side of the machine to collect the thread tails. When I visited Maxine for a group meeting, she had a coffee filter pushed down over the front laser spindle. Works great and keeps the ends off the carpet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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