I am new to longarming and all I have done is practice so far but I have a question. My Tin Lizzie will wind bobbins while you quilt and it winds them much faster than you use them so it sounds great until I just realized that you need two spools of thread so that you are sewing off one and winding bobbins off the other. I only ordered one of each of the colors I wanted and I don't want to wait while another order comes. Anyone have a good suggestion for me to solve my problem? I suppose I could wind the bobbins ahead of time but have no idea how many I would need for a baby quilt.

You will learn though - how many you need per size, per density. It's not only the size, but how much thread you lay down for that paricular quilting pattern on that size of quilt. Make sense?

Until you get extra threads for those colors you use alot, you may need to wind them from the same cone. You probably will never duplicate all your threads, only those you use all the time. That's the drawback of the onboard bobbin winders. One idea would be to wind the bobbins in advance, if you know what you're going to use on the next quilt and have a good idea of how many you'll use.

Otherwise, sorry...I have no great words of wisdom - except perhaps to get a second bobbin winder :(

Yes...stuff happens :)

Debbie in Austin

i agree completely with all she said

I am also new to longarming and wonder the same thing about bobbins. I just wind two before starting a quilt. I figure if I don't use both, the odds are very good I will use most of the first one and maybe even start on the second one. I am looking at getting one of those nice bobbin winders that places sell, but even with that you would still have to unthread the machine if you only have one cone of the thread you are using.

I am looking on a website for some goodies for my longarm machine - $200 of stuff is already on my goodie list - better get busy and make some money with this thing so I can afford more toys ... lol

I just spent time at my local quilt shop getting tension questions answered - my bobbin tension was way too tight and once we fixed that I got better stitches. Now ... to unsew all the meandering I have done on a small quilt so I can reload it onto the machine and stitch it again - without the birds nests on the back! Live and learn ... Steve said I should buy a Towa Bobbin Case Tension Guide - goodbye to $75!

Looking forward to getting better at this - practice, practice, practice.

Sounds like your bobbin winder works. Mine wasn't adjusted correctly and could never get it right. A 'good' bobbin only wound about 3/4 of the way. If i tried to get a full wind, it wouldn't stop and I would get about 10-15 yards of thread wrapped around the post. Finally got a stand alone winder.
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As far as how many bobbins to wind, I agree with the poster who said you will learn with experience. It really depends on how much quilting you do on the quilt. I've used 1 bobbin on a crib size and used 3 on other cribs.

I use Bottom Line in all my bobbins. It's 60 wt, so you get more thread on a bobbin and don't have to change it as often. It comes in quite a few colors, but you can start with black, white and several neutral shades. It's from Superior and I buy the large cones. I usually use it with King Tut on the top, but other top threads should work. It really works well. I have a Hinterberg winder that I use for bobbins. It gives a nice tight wind, which is what you want on a long arm.

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I use a Sidewinder bobbin winder and don't use the Tin Lizzie bobbin winder. Then I wind 3-4 bobbins before I start quilting.

I also use bottom line and can do a whole throw size with one bobbin if it is not too closely quilted. Otherwise, I agree with others - wind 2 or three ahead of time depending on the quilt size and the type of design.

I have used Bottom Line with their So Fine and Rainbows thread and gotten along fine. You could always get Bottom Line prewound bobbins.