Facebook (Meta) has started to change its algorithm that decides what you see in your newsfeed every day. If you want to stay in the know about all things Handi Quilter you’ll want to be sure you are following our Facebook page and haven’t simply “liked” it. If you’re not sure how to do that I’ve got you! Here are instructions with pictures. After all, you wouldn’t want to miss all the great stuff on our page. Weekly HQ Watch and Learn shows and announcements of all the fun going on at Handi Quilter are just a couple of the things you’ll see.

Open HQ Facebook page

Start by going to the Handi Quilter Facebook page. You can get there by typing facebook.com/handiquilter. The header looks like this:

Click on the 3 dots

Click on the 3 little dots shown circled in red here (bottom right corner):

Choose Follow Settings

From the drop-down menu choose Follow Settings

Set as a favorite

Set as a favorite so that you will always see Handi Quilter posts in your feed.

Notifications

The bottom half of the Follow Settings menu is for notifications.

Click the little arrow to the right of Posts

Set to Standard.

Then click the back arrow in the upper left.

Click Video.

Set to All Notifications then click the back arrow.

Click Live Video.

Set to All notifications. You absolutely want to see HQ Watch and Learn!!  Then click the back arrow.

Be sure that Offers is turned on (it should be blue). Of course you’ll want to know when something goes on sale, right?

Last but VERY IMPORTANT! Click UPDATE to save your settings. Update is all the way down at the bottom. You may need to scroll.

Now you’ll be all set and you’ll stay in the know about all things Handi Quilter.

Thanks so much for following us on social media. We love staying in touch with every member of our HQ family!

by Mary Beth Krapil

Building on last week’s post about echo quilting, this week we will talk about creating designs with simple shapes and echoing. Now that you’ve practiced a bit and have that skill in your toolbox.  These echo quilting designs work well for both Edge-to-Edge and background fills. It just depends on how large or small you quilt the design.

Let’s dive right in!

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels

Like I said, start with a simple shape (remember those 5 basic shapes?)

Peacock Feathers

There’s a design called Peacock Feathers. You start with a teardrop shape.

Then echo it.

Echo it again.

Right from where you end come out with another teardrop shape. Then echo it twice. My mantra for this design is teardrop-echo-echo-teardrop-echo-echo…… Read this post to find out how mantras can help while quilting.

Pro Tip: You can control the direction the design takes by which way you quilt that first teardrop. The side the first teardrop ends up on, is the side you will end on after two echos.

If I quilt the next teardrop the same way I quilted the first two, I will end on the right. When I switch directions, I will end on the left and I can travel in that direction to fill my space.

Continue with teardrop-echo-echo to fill up your space remembering to switch directions to get where you want to go.

If you get stuck in a corner (because you got distracted) simply add another echo.

When there is a small space to fill that will not accommodate the whole peacock feather, only do one echo.

Or just stitch a teardrop. No one will ever know!

You can do this large as an edge-to-edge design. Or small as a fill design behind appliques or larger quilting motifs. It is a fast and easy design to stitch.

And looks much nicer quilted.

Pro Tip: Do you see that blue line in the bottom right of the photo above?  That is blue chalk that has been washed 3-4 times with different concoctions. So the tip is: Only use white chalk for marking your quilts. Never use colored chalk! Or at the very least, test before you mark to make sure your marks will come out.

Can you think of other basic shapes that could make a nice echo quilting design? We’ll explore a few more next week!

by Mary Beth Krapil

Another free motion skill you will want to master is echo quilting. It has so many uses! Echo quilting is uniformly distanced quilting lines that outline or echo a shape. This simple technique can have really big impact on your quilts.

If you want to showcase a patch or applique or a quilting motif, echoing is a great way to accomplish that.

A classic example of echo quilting is seen on Hawaiian quilts. The quilting echos a central applique and is repeated until the entire space (or quilt) is filled.

Hiart, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the above example, the quilter utilized echo quilting inside the applique as well. Notice how the echo quilting emphasizes the shape of the applique without distracting from it.

Hawaiian quilting is an extreme example. Sometimes you’ll just use a single echo line to

frame a particular element.

Like this mug rug.

Look at the difference when the shape is not echoed.

The echoing really accentuates the shape.

When you take the time to quilt a challenging or intricate design you want it to be noticed. Like feathers. Feathers always look better with an echo.

Create a frame around a particular element

Echoing on both sides of the string of pearls makes it stand out.

A double echo around the central octagon is very effective.

If two is good, three must be better! (PSA: this thinking does not apply to adult beverages or medications.)

Fill spaces

Concentric echos fill the center of this ring.

Try off-setting the echos for a completely different look.

It works for filling the space outside of the ring as well.

Multiple echos with varying spacing

can be quite interesting

These echos create faux borders which can be filled with any design of your choice.

The gentle wave that is on both sides of the small circles has an echo on the top and bottom with a deeper wave echo. Then at the top, a wide-spaced echo that is symmetrical with the wave below it sets the design apart. Below, a less-formal set of echos fills the space between the wave design and the larger circles.

By taking a simple shape and echoing it, I created a new cool design!

How to do it?

A great no-mark way to stitch a simple echo is to use the edge of your hopping foot as a guide for spacing. On our Handi Quilter machines the needle is 1/4 inch away from the edge of the foot. So, if you glide the edge of the foot along the edge of the thing you are echoing, you’ll get a nice 1/4th inch echo.

If you want different spacing you could give the Handi Echo Feet a try. They come in a set of three, for three different sizes of echos. The feet provide a fixed interval to use when echo quilting around a motif or using rulers. Sizes are a 3/8-inch interval, a 1/2-inch interval, and a 3/4-inch interval. These are compatible with all HQ machines with Interchangeable Foot Mount. If your machine is newer than November 2014 you have the correct foot mount. If not, there is a Conversion kit available to update your machine to be able to use all the cool feet available.

Remember you can always do less-formal free flowing echos too!

Join next week when I’ll show you some useful designs that incorporate echoing.

by Mary Beth Krapil

I want to wish each of you a happy new year! What a wonderful thought it is that some of our best quilts haven’t even happened yet. I hope some of what I write here will help you make your best quilt EVER!

My wish for you ……. that your seam ripper will collect dust in 2022. Enjoy every stitch!

With warmest wishes for health and happiness,

Mary Beth

P.S.  If there’s something you’d like to see discussed here on the blog this year, let me know in the comments.