A-1 Maintenance Class with Jamie Wallen

Today was a fun day in the Quilts 'N Kaboodle studio. My friend, and national longarm teacher as well as fellow A-1 dealer, Jamie Wallen taught an A-1 Maintenance Class to several A-1 longarm quilting machine owners. He covered everything from the daily oiling to the quarterly "spa treatment" and walked everyone through being confident in adjusting the timing on the machine.

All in attendance were very observant and diligent in taking additional notes on the handouts that Jamie provided.


Maintenance is sometimes treated as a dirty word, but in reality we maintain a lot of things in our lives...cars, appliances, our house, even relationships need a good dose of maintaining to keep things running smoothly. With machinery it's good to go to the owner's manual for guidance -- much as it is with our personal lives, why not consult the owner's manual -- God created us and He does provide His Word for our guidance...His owner's manual so to speak concerning the maintenance of our daily lives.....


Classes, videos, questions/answers on online forums...all wonderful ways to learn about the maintenance of a longarm machine.Personally I find my learning style is see one do one. I love visuals, yet I also need the written/verbal instruction to go along with that. The beauty of a hands on class such as today was having a knowledgable (patient) instructor that makes sure you "get it" and can help you wrap your brain around what is being referenced so you know how to keep your machine running in tip top shape and how to troubleshoot and make simple adjustments yourself without the fear factor.


It was a long workshop, but I think everyone will agree that they are much more knowledgeable about their machines (and comfortable with its care) than they were this morning! I would highly recommend that if you have a longarm machine (no matter which brand) that you take advantage of any opportunity you have to attend a maintenance workshop. I do know that several of the longarm companies have representatives that teach at the national shows. And good news for A-1 owners out there -- Jamie has just completed a new DVD that covers the same materials we covered in class today. It's in duplication now and should be available within a few weeks. Check out his website for further information or email to preorder. It will be an invaluable tool to assist you in your quilting adventure!

I thought I'd share a Pixxie photo with you....this was taken yesterday when we were all just chilling out in the studio. Jamie has been here several times before and Pixxie just loves him. I wish I could have taken the photo the way she was laying before she moved when she saw the camera. She was totally parallel with him and snuggled just as close as she could possibly be. So if that's not a good credential for Jamie I don't know what is (grin) if Pixxie loves him ya'know he's gotta be a great guy.


Oh, and that scribble on the photos says "that's me" -- Jamie is looking at a recent issue of The Professional Quilter (Issue 107) where there is a photo from my open house last Christmas in a wonderful article by Sue Moats on having a longarm open house. If you don't get the magazine at least purchase this back issue to check them out. It's a great story and I was tickled purple to have my photo in a national magazine. To see all the photos from that day visit my webshots albums

Here's another Pixxie photo from this evening. I caught her 'digging in' under my purple quilt on the small couch in my studio. She likes to bury herself under the quilt and settle in for the night.


When I saw this all I could think of was "arg" as in what a patch-eyed pirate would say..."Pixxie the Pirate?" Nah...she's too much of a princess....

Stay tuned for more photos from this next week as Jamie is teaching several workshops in my studio....we have sew much fun here at Quilts 'n Kaboodle!!