Not sure if the title describes my questions, but here goes. I have this lovely king size quilt frame and mid-arm machine. Going to take a heck of a long time to even come close to mastering the designs I watch on YouTube that people look so relaxed and do all this incredible work--Hope this isn't a foolish question, and maybe I should get a book and find the answer, but this may be quicker and certain cheaper.
If I want to do quilting in one block and then move to another block, do I cut the threads (top and bottom) and just move over to the next block, or do I just move the machine across dragging the threads behind? Hope I am explaining that correctly. Right now I just try my best at a large meandering allover pattern. I think my husband bought me the setup so I could make him this king size quilt. If someone knows of a great book for longarm quilting I would also appreciate it. I'm sure I can just go look around, but I'm sure there are many.
Thanks again for any advice.
Queen Patricia (in my own realm that is)

Although I'm only a princess (in my own mind), you can do it either way. It depends on how far you have to go with the carrying thread. You need to secure the threads at the end of the first motif and the start of the next. If you take 3 or 4 tiny stitches you can just clip the threads as you go. If you want to actually tie off your starts and stops and bury the threads, then you can carry them and cut, tie & bury when you are all done and off the frame. If you carry the threads, you will have to have all your sashing quilting done before the motifs so that you don't stitch over the carried threads.
Although I have a zillion quilting books, I've been disappointed with the long arm books I've purchased. Learned more on this board. Do a search on your question, if you don't find an answer, then post. lots of help.

Hi Patricia - I have a short arm on a frame, and I have had the same question lots of times. I have found that I can do a little backstitch or two, cut the thread and move to the next block. That way I don't have a lot of cleanup of hanging threads after I am done. Just move backward over a couple of stitches to secure your stitching, then cut. My machine has a thread cutter button, and it cuts top and bottom both. It's really convenient. If you don't have that, you can just pull the bobbin thread up again and cut them both before moving on. Easy!!

I clip both my top and bottom threads about three inches long (I reach under the quilt to cut the bobbin thread). I bring the bobbin thread to the top by pulling up on the top thread and use an awl if I have to to grab the loop of the bobbin thread. I tie them off twice and then use a needle that the threads snap into rather than having to be threaded. Then I bury the knot about 1.5 inches away and cut the remaining thread. I know you can just back stitch and cut but I'm worried about the threads coming loose over time so I knot and bury the treads just in case. If my thread breaks while I'm sewing,or I run out of bobbin thread I pick out enough stitches so I can make the knots. I do this as I go so there is no chance of sewing over threads or getting threads tangled in the stitching on the backside.

it is easiest to bring your bobbin thread to the top when starting- bring it to the top when ending-clip threads and move on-that way you avoid any rats nests of threads on the back of the quilt. if you take 3-4 stitches in place starting and stopping you do not have to worry about knots either.

I usually take about 4 or 5 small stitches to lock my threads to start..and when I stop. After I stop, I clip the threads as I go. When my top is done, I only have the last set of threads to clip. Here is a You Tube video to show you how. Its not mine, but she does a good job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDERq4I7l-Q

I'll weigh in as an educator. (school not quilting). I am not a long armer, but have watched several in action. With the multiple steps involved I would suggest that DVDs would be a better choice than books. I would think many of the techniques would require such long complicated descriptions and multiple numbered steps that would be much easier to understand when you can watch it over and over. Just my humble opinion.

Ultimate Guide to Longarm Machine Quiltig by Linda Taylor has a lot of really good information.

Question: I normally bring my bobbin thread to the top when I begin. I gently pull my top thread to the left while slowly turning the wheel counterclockwise until the bobbin thread comes up.

When ending a line of quilting how would I bring that bobbin thread up again? I've not heard of this yet and it would make my clean-up much faster.

Clip threads between motifs. :)