New Long arm quilter
 

I am going to Padauch for the quiltshow in 10 Days!!!!! So excited. I am looking to buy things that will be helpful for my new long arm. Rulers, stencils etc. Can any of you make suggestions as to what you cannot live without? Your help is greatly appreciated.
Ket

I know a la quilter loves her new rulers in different shapes

red snappers or leader grips also pre wound bobbins

my advice would be to try out everything but go slowly on buying. I bought pantographs and never ended up using them. I do ruler work but have way more rulers that I don't actually use. I bought leader grips and I don't use those either after just a little time I became very quick with pinning though I have stapled backing to leaders too.

I like magna glide bobbins sold by filtec. they give great tension.

great tip... would never thave thought of that

Am having trouble picturing in my mind as to how you are stapling the fabric to the leaders.

Staple just as you would pin...tried it, thinking wow this is quick, but then removing those staples....most landed on the floor....another chore created, back to pins!

here is a video link http://tinyurl.com/phx4dh2

Yes go slow on buying gadgets,I bought rulers and I hate ruler work on the longarm.Makes me vvery unhappy. The make it look so easy in their demos but I just cannot master it.Wasted a lot of money on things colleing dust.

My favorite ruler is for SID and it's called the Itty Bitty by Off the Edge Quilting. They have gone out of business, but you might be able to find this ruler in Paducah. I have seen it from other vendors. Someone suggested prewound bobbins. I personally do not like them, but other quilters do. My favorite marking pen is the purple air erase and for dark favorite, I like the pounce powder. Don't overload on any one thing. I have quite a few stencils, but never seem to have the correct size. I have gotten the most use out of longarm quilting design books. One of my favorites is "Hooked on Feathers" which I found to be an easier way to do freehand feathering. If you're in the market for some pantographs, I like Urban Elementz. They will probably have a booth, but if not you can buy online. My suggestion for pantos when you start is to stick to the simpler ones. The more intricate are, of course, harder and were intimidating to me at the beginning. I can do them now without any problem. Buy what you like, but you will find that you won't use all the things you have. That is why you should take it slow at the beginning until you have narrowed down your preferences.