UPDATE: Allison is no longer at the Threaducation Centre, but is continuing to teach and accept customer orders for quilting at Meadow Rose Quilting. You can follow Allison's blog to keep up with her latest activities.

I was fortunate enough to have Allison Spence come out to my studio for a private lesson on my Handi Quilter Infinity. While I have been working on my machine for a few months, I really wanted some tips from a professional. Allison is one of the forces behind the Threaducation Centre here in Calgary, AB, Canada and I just knew that I would learn lots from her. I was right!

First I learned that I had my quilt top leader feeding off from the pole incorrectly. Duh! I always have problems with whether this leader feeds over the top of the pole or underneath the pole. Allison straightened me out on this right away - and I made notes and took pictures so I will always get it right!

Allison showed me 5 different free motion designs that can be applied to any quilt and I got to practise these until I had the feel of them. I also learned how to take these 5 designs and build on them to create more complex patterns.

She had some other tips that you can see in the video below about quilting area and stance at the machine.

I hope you found these tips helpful if you quilt on a long arm machine and just remember that you won't get better if you don't practice, practice, practice!

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Creatively,