HQ in CT!

Huh?  HQ in CT?  HandiQuilter in Conneticut.  I attended the first ever, experimental "Train The Trainer" training in CT this week.  The lovely gals at Sew Inspired Quilt shop in Simsbury CT hosted 20 of us from all over the northeast and as far as Ohio!  Thanks ladies!

Here's the truck that all the Avantes arrived in.  The driver, Chuck, had a great story about being on the NJ Turnpike and two different women going by in cars while beeping & giving him the thumbs up!  He said he thought the truck was on fire or something the first time it happened!  (He also mentioned that we need better signs on the GSP saying that trucks aren't allowed . . . .LOL).

This is Gina my HQ territory manager who is also a really good longarmer.  Here are a couple of her show & tells done on the HQ.  She's holding a notebook cover that she embellished the heck out of. Here's a closeup. 

This feather pattern with microstitching is also by Gina.  GORGEOUS.  (In the interest of full disclosure, there's probably more quilting in this one piece than about 4 or 5 of my good sized quilts - I am a stippling QUEEN!)

Harriet is an HQ educator (and for those of you interested in that position, one of them swears you'll have to kill one of them for a position to open up!)  Harriet is originally from Lakewood NJ!  She had some really great projects & this one caught my eye.  You really can't see the detail in this picture but look at the next one to see the quilting.  VERY neat!  She did this on the ProStitcher.

Those of you who have been to HQ events at QP recognize HQ Educator, Debby Brown (who figured out that 16% of us in the classroom were named Debbie).  Debby and my friend Sandy Brawner are lime green aficionados, Debby did this one to show off the feather groovy board and because she loved the lime green fabrics.  Sandy, how about this one????

Debby is also a very talented longarmer and excels in ruler work and MicroHandles.  Those of you who know me, know that I have the attention span of a gnat and while I find ruler work and microstitching gorgeous, I don't have the patience to do it myself.  Here's Debby demoing her microstitching technique - doesn't it look like she's just checking to make sure I'm paying attention???  LOL  Just kidding! 

Debby will be at QP this coming September - stay tuned for class details!

Doing ruler work & microstitching in class just proved to me how much I LOVE my ProStitcher!

We learned some great things, got some great ideas and generally enjoyed ourselves immensely working with the Avante 18" machine.  I came home not only with a sample I won't show anyone but with knowledge I'll share in our soon to be started HQ Club.

We have the HQ Fusion AND the Avante in the shop for you to try.  Stop in and try one out!



Till next time - keep quilting!