Clmay

I go there all the time and didn't even know about some of these things. Thank you ladies.

LAQUITA

DITTO DITTO & Ditto

LAQUITA

Leta:

You said : Plus, I use the big magnetic bars on my long-arm to give me some tension when I "float" my quilt tops. can you please explain where you place these strips? Or maybe even send me a picture please? You can send the pics to my email address if that would be easier.

I ask all this b/c I have 'free" use of my girlfriends long arm. Her hubby just bought her the Mach 3 software for it, makes the quilting choices unnumerous and all with the click of. Mouse. It's great and I know I'm blessed to have this opportunity.

AnnaF

Wow what a great idea!!! I'll have to check that out. How deep are the drawers??? That extra storage space would be a plus for sure. Thanks for the tip.

AnnaF
Longarm Quilter in Maine

gramma nancy

I know you asked what is our favorite thing to get at Harbor Freight, but I need to add that my favorite thing ABOUT Harbor Freight is that I can drop off DH, go run my errands, then go back and he is still happy putzing around the aisles.

Gotta love it!

Cari-in-Oly

There should be a Harbor Freight next door to every quilt shop lol.

Cari

letawellman

Hi LaQuita!
I'll try to post a pic once I get home from work, but I will try to describe how I use this.
First of all, my frame is a wooden Grace-type frame, with metal conduit as the poles. They look very similar to the posts used in chain-link fencing, but they're much sturdier.
Second, I only attach the top and bottom of the backing to my leaders - the top of the batting and the top edge of the quilt, I stitch down onto the backing. The backing is rolled on the belly-bar, but the batting and the top just "hang" or "float" over the edge of the bellybar. That bar is where I let the magnets do their work - they are very strong. Be careful not to pinch your fingers - ask me how I know, and even more importantly, DO NOT LET TWO MAGNET BARS GET TOO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER - you will have a devil of a time separating them (again, ask me how I know!).

OK, I just found a pic online that shows what I mean. this is not my system, but it shows the concept quite well.
See how the quilt drapes over the bar in front (bellybar)? In the green box, you should see three black bars - those are the magnets. They hold the tension for you when you float the quilt.
I prefer to float my tops because I can not only tweak the top, but watch the batting as well. When I first got my machine, I used the take-up bar for both the top and the backing, but found that the batting was prone to shift and I did not have a good of control of the top either.
Just my personal preference.

Obviously, if the frame poles are not metal, this would not work for you.

letawellman

If your talking about the tool cabinet, it has numerous different sized drawers, and an open area at the bottom.
Here's the link to what I have:
http://www.harborfreight.com/11-draw...net-67421.html

And here's a pic:
Now you can all go tell hubby/daughter/son whoever that this is now on your Christmas list! It has TONS of space, but actually doesn't take up much space itself... and if you have certain people stealing your fabric scissors... well, this puppy LOCKS!!

sept97

I bought the rotary blades but I thought they were awful

KnitnutBZ

I love this thread. I'm going to look for the laser lite. What an idea for cutting batting, huge backings. I have tried the blades. The first packs worked great but after that not good luck.
But I have bought other tools there and they are great for that.
there is a joanns three stores away from HF sooooooo we park in the middle and go our separate ways, except I usually run in to HF afterwards and browse.