Thanks for all of the ideas!
I looked at the Connecting Threads site. Is Essential and Essential Pro thread the same thing? I only found the 1200 and 5000 yd spools of Essential and wasn't sure if I was missing something, or if the larger cone spools are considered to be the "Pro" ones. I feel like I've been fluent in German all my life and now have to learn Chinese!
Is the smaller 1200 yd spool enough thread to quilt an average sized quilt, or must I have the larger cone spools?
Do they have any variegated color threads or all solid colors? I always love the way a multi-color thread looks on a quilt.
How do I know what size/type of needle to use? Are all longarm machine needles good on every machine? Not quite sure where is the best place to buy my machine needles either. Picked up a packet at JoAnn's when they had their quilting notions on sale for half price, but I'm not sure if they are correct for my machine.
Is $17.49/spool of 2000 yard cones of Superior King Tut quilting thread a good price? I had purchased 6 spools, but my jaw hit the floor when I saw how small the spools were.
My machine is a Queen Quilter 18 which is apparently a sister to the Tin Lizzie. I think?
Heading up to Wal-mart today to buy the cheapest flat sheets I can find and draw some 18" grids on the one sheet to do some final practice following drawn lines, free-motion and any other method I can think of. Now that I'm pretty sure I've got the tension finally set on my machine, it's time to see if I can actually make a decent quilting stitch. I just completed piecing a huge t-shirt quilt that a friend is paying me to make. Need to be sure that I can adequately use my LA before I load her quilt and mess it up.
I am soooooooooo glad that I finally found this forum. The advice and help I've found on here has been priceless!