Class time: 9:30 - 4:30

All students must be showing no signs of or symptoms of Covid 19 at time of class.  All requirements of Santa Barbara County Health Department will be followed (i.e. wearing masks indoors).

Please note, you do NOT need to own a longarm to take this class.

This is a 3-day, Hands-on Longarm workshop offered on Friday, September 23, Saturday, September 24, and Sunday September 25.

Day 1 Morning Class - Longarm Machine Quilting Basics
Class Description: Everyone can learn something new in this basic class – whether you’ve only pieced quilt tops or have finished a whole stack of quilts. Prepping your quilt top properly, choosing and marking designs on your quilt, and selecting batting and backings will all be covered in this class. Threads, needles and tension and their relationship to finishing quilts will be discussed. Bring one of your finished quilt tops, if you like, to explore different design ideas for your quilt.

Objective: Learn skills that will help you manage your long-arm machine with confidence.

Topics Include: 
* The basics of machine and frame elements and features
* Bobbins, Tension, Needles and Thread
* How to load quilt onto a frame
* Quilting Pantographs and Groovy boards
* Rulers, Adjustable and Micro Handles, and Basic free-motion

Day 1 Afternoon Class - Fast, Fun, and Fabulous Free-Motion Quilting
Class Description:  Quilters everywhere LOVE the excitement and fun of free-motion quilting – and it’s easier than you think! Create flowing designs by connecting simple design elements with continuous lines, traveling across the quilt or filling in a specific area. Learn how drawing and muscle memory contribute to beautiful free-motion quilting, and how you can create stunning designs.

Objective: Learn to create free-motion designs that can be used to finish any quilt.

Topics Include:
* How to develop an inventory of free-motion designs
* Proper scaling and spacing of design elements
* Edge to Edge free-motion quilting
* Adjusting your quilting path to create your own new designs
* Using Micro Handles and Adjustable Handle Bars for free-motion control

Day 2 Morning Class - Hands-on Ruler Essentials

Class Description: : If you love precision and consistency in your quilting designs, you will love using design rulers and templates! These handy tools assist in placing designs accurately and stitching them out precisely. Learn to handle rulers and templates safely with the ruler base and Sure Foot, and how to achieve accuracy with the markings. The wide variety of Handi Quilter rulers will inspire you to new design heights.

Objective: Learn the safe way to use rulers & templates. See ways that you can incorporate these tools in your quilting.

Topics Include:
• Handle rulers safely
• Understand and use ruler markings for precision and accuracy
• Use piecing lines and marking tools to build ruler design confidence
• VersaTool quilting: stitch-in-the-ditch, cross-hatch, piano keys, clamshells and arcs
• Apply binding with the HQ VersaTool 

Day 2 Afternoon Class - Intro to ProStitcher
Class Description: Pro-Stitcher is an intuitive computer-guided quilting system designed especially for use with Handi Quilter longarm quilting machines. User-friendly and simple to operate, the step-by-step process for each function is easy and fun. Whether finishing your own quilts or considering a quilting business, come see the elegant and precise quilting you can accomplish with Pro-Stitcher.

Objective: Students learn the basics of ProStitcher in this hands-on course.

* Overview of basic functions and design catalog
* Place a block design using Skew, Resize, XForm and Align
* Overview of PSDesigner and PS Catalog
* Overview of ProStitch Simulator

Day 3 -- 40-Minute Workshops

A Foot Ahead -- Handi Quilter’s full lineup of feet give you a lot options for quilting projects. This fun workshop lets you see different ways to incorporate techniques with the all the different feet.

Objective: Learn how to incorporate the use of Handi Feet into your quilting projects.

• The many feet available
• Different applications for the feet
• Changing the feet 9
• Couching
• Attaching binding while on the frame

Beyond Basic Background Fills -- Interested in building a library of designs you can use with confidence? In this workshop, you’ll identify shapes you already love to quilt, learn how to create pathways to connect designs, and explore using different threads to really make your background fill quilting pop.

Objective: Develop a library of designs that you can quilt with confidence using free motion on your longarm.
• Identify the shapes that you are naturally good at
• Use these shapes to create new pathways
• Audition designs for each quilt
• The impact thread can have on quilting
• Finding the size and shape that best enhance the feature you want to highlight

Not Your Average Orange Peel -- Let’s take a classic design – the orange peel – and spice it up in this fun workshop. You’ll learn how to add creative designs to jazz up this basic quilting design.

Objective: Teach the stitching path for the “continuous curve” design that students can then “upskill” the design by jazzing up the centers with additional designs without breaking the thread. See other shapes that create a fun design with the same pathway.

• The basic stitch path of the continuous curve
• Deciding where a continuous line design would fit well
• How to stitch out the design using free motion or rulers
• How to add interest to the centers with basic center designs while not breaking the thread
• How to use other shapes in the same stitch path to change the design

Gridwork Not Guesswork -- Laying out designs using gridwork creates even spacing and uniformity in quilting. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to make your own stencils, explore designs that work well within grids, and tips and tricks for marking grids on your next quilting project.

Objective: Quilting with a grid results in even spacing and uniformity with your quilting.

• Making your own grid stencil
• Applying grids successfully in different size spaces
• Designs conducive for gridwork
• Gridwork for E2E designs
• Marking and removing grids