Saturday, November 5, 2011

Free Hand Quilting Laptop Hoop Frame Contest and News!

It has been a while since I sent out an update / news letter. Recently we have expanded into making Extension Tables for Singer Featherweights. Square Hoops are now in the Laptop Hoop product line along with a Collapsible Travel Frame . We have a book division, Discount Quilt Books with over 1,000 book titles, all about quilting and most are marked 25% to 50% off everyday. We have a SALE always running on something at BLH and have a special "Book of the Day" at DQB that is up to 75% off. We are developing many new items too, travel bags for your lap frames, an Economy version of the Original Laptop Hoop, a Bobbin Lace Laptop Hoop, Rug Hooking Frame and a new lap base that utilizes a large bean bag to sit on your lap. Watch our facebook fan page or our blog for more details.

A new contest was also just launched. Share your favorite quilting tip or trick and you are instantly entered to win a free laptop hoop frame. Enter before Dec. 20th, 2011 for the random drawing.

___________________________________________________________________

We had a contest winner on Dec. 20th, Nancy from Texas. She won a new 14" Square Laptop Hoop. Congrats to Nancy!


As always, please pass our links on to a friend. Your support of this small family run business is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Harry and Merry Barnett
http://www.laptophoops.com/
Facebook Fan Page

Friday, September 30, 2011

Quilted Bags - Featherweight Tables - Square Hoops

Carry-all Lap Frame Bags
New items are always coming at Barnett's Laptop Hoops! This week we started designing carry-all bags for our lap frames and the new Singer Featherweight tables. Trina, a good friend and a proud owner of a few of our lap frames has taken on the challenge of designing these beautiful and functional storage bags. She will be keeping us posted with pictures and plans. Here is a quick sneak peek at a prototype bag that holds our little 12" Collapsible Travel Frame.

Singer Featherweight Extension Tables
Here is a little peek at our "Unfinished" FW table. In the next couple days I will be staining a few of these up in various colors. I can't wait to see what it looks like with a beautiful golden oak stain an a few coats of clear. Recently, I found this website that has beautiful decals that you could apply to the table. Take a look at them on this Link...
http://www.keelersales.com/servlet/Detail?no=716



Square Hoops






These little hoops have been outselling our round hoops almost 2 to 1 these days. I actually ran out of stock this week and our wholesaler has them on backorder. I didn't want to wait or hold up our customers orders any longer - so I fired up the steamer and tried making them myself. It takes about 2 to 3 days to make one hoop, but it came out perfect. These square hoops have an advantage over traditional round hoops. This is the frame to use when quilting blocks or borders. You can secure three sides of you quilt equally, and have the edge of your border running through the center of your hoop and quilt all the way to the edge. When quilting blocks, you can quilt one block at a time without moving the hoop, since most blocks will completely fit within the square. No wonder why these hoops are selling so fast.








http://www.laptophoops.com/


http://www.discountquiltbooks.com/


Facebook Fan Page

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Thumbs up for the Mighty Travel Iron!

Might Iron gets a thumbs up review from a customer.

We just got a nice review of the New Mighty Iron from Dritz and I thought it would be nice to share it with you.

-Harry



Here is what she wrote:

I absolutely LOVE my new cute little travel iron. It is just so much better than the other plastic iron that I already owned. First of all the weight difference is significant, so the feel of the iron in my hand just seems so much more durable. Secondly, I always had a problem with my old travel iron's plug falling out. This ones plug is securely attached so no more problems.


Another GREAT thing about this iron, is the ability to also use it as a small steam iron if you would like! You can also use it dry, (which I prefer most of the time in my quilting) and what's perfect, the face plate isn't covered totally with steam holes so I also have solid face plate to iron with. No more little circles from the holes when I press - like a typical steam iron would make. The iron heats up really fast and stays hot. It's so nice to have a smaller iron sitting next to me instead of my huge household-sized iron. (I always seem to be heated out by it.) I certainly give this new toy of mine a thumbs up!!!

- Trina


To order you Mighty Travel Iron from Barnett's Laptop Hoops, just click here!




Hand Quilting Frames and so much more ... from Barnett's Laptop Hoops.

Most of you know by now, I make the Barnett's Laptop Hoops. I bet you didn't know how many new items we continue to add each week. Just for starters we probably have the largest selection of quilting books available anywhere. It has got to be close to a thousand titles. You will get lost scrolling through the pages of books. Secondly, we sell batting and notions. I try to keep the batting at my wholesale cost or 40% off retail. Why??? Well it is a great way to keep customers coming back for an essential item. The most exciting item that has recently been released is the new Featherweight extension tables. These little tables make such a difference when you work with your little Singer Featherweight.

Tips
When I'm hand quilting the outer borders of a quilt, I baste a ... read here. This is a great link!!!

Monday, September 12, 2011

New Travel Frame from Barnett's Laptop Hoops - SEW COOL!

No screws or tools are required to assemble this little travel size frame. It works 100% on magnet power. These little magnets are super strong. Just hold the legs above the base and SNAP! It instantly jumps into place. The same thing goes for the hoop. Just get it roughly in place and SNAP! The hoop is now locked into place.




Recently I sent it out to a hand quilter in Pennsylvania for a testing and she gave it a great review. Here is what she posted on our facebook fan page.




"Ok, I just wanted to take a moment to give my two cents on how on how I like this new "prototype" travel frame that Harry asked me to test. I wanted to quilt a few nights with it to be sure to give it an accurate opinion. I have to say, I am totally amazed at how strong these little magnets are. I have worked on a queen sized quilt with it, and can pick it up by the top to turn my work and the magnets never let go. I really thought the hoop would just collapse while working on a larger project, but that hasn't happened even once. It honestly works exactly the same as the regular (Original or Ring Frame) travel hoop, only this one breaks down to take along with me. SEW cool :) I give it a thumbs up!"

- Trina




See our 60 second video link on youtube... Barnett's Laptop Hoops - New Travel Frame




To purchase one go to ... Collapsible Barnett's Laptop Hoop 12"





Step 1.

Unpack



Step 2.
Clip on legs.


Step 3.
Clip on the hoop


Step 4.


Add quilt!


Let us know what you think. Post a comment here or on our facebook fan page.



Barnett's Laptop Hoops, 30 Bay View Avenue, Kingston, MA. 02364

Phone: 1-781-248-7291 website: http://www.laptophoops.com/





Wednesday, September 7, 2011

New Featherweight 221 Table from Barnett's Laptop Hoops

New pictures of the FW 221/222k Extension Table. This is an example of the Baltic Birch Unfinished Table. I can't wait to see how it looks with a light stain and a few coats of poly. It will definitely be beautiful. I will post/edit the blog page again with the new pictures.



The picture below is the flip side. Notice the storage book shelf and the adjustable legs.





I just listed one on Ebay if anyone is looking to purchase one. Click here!



Oh, I bet my mother would have loved to have one of these. I have been toying with the idea of making a small extension table for my little Featherweight 221 and today was the day. I am happy to say, every detail came out perfect on the first one. The fit is nice and tight all around the machines edge and the height is perfect, since I installed four adjustable feet. You might have noticed it comes apart into two pieces. This is an extension kit for those customers who want a longer version. This version measures 23.5" x 16.0" and and the extension adds another 23 1/2" to its overall length. Three magnets pictured on the left, connect the two tables together. Each corner has been rounded to allow your fabric to glide easily across the table top. Underneath the table is a small storage area to hide a book or a few small notions. The table pictured here is made of solid pine, finished with a mahogany stain and couple coats of polyurethane. Customers will have the option of solid pine or Baltic birch plywood. This one is the solid pine version, finished with mahogany stain and a polyurethane clear coat. In addition we will have a choice of 4 color options, natural, golden oak, mahogany or unfinished. Each table is made to order. Please allow 3 to 5 days for build time. The clear coat must be fully dry before we attempt to ship the table.



To order your new Featherweight table visit are website link at http://stores.laptophoops.com/-strse-965/Featherweight-221-Table/Detail.bok. In addition to the Extension table we also sell the book, Featherweight 221, "The Perfect Portable" by Nancy Johnson Srebro. This little book takes you through the history of the machine and all the little details you will need to know, if you own one. Another must have item!

Please post comments on the bottom of the blog page or on our facebook Fan Page. I would love to hear any ideas or feedback.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Sew many new items at Barnetts Laptop Hoops / Discount Quilt Books









Sew what's new??? Oh, there is always something new on our website. We recently added a new thimble, a great little desk threader and a mini travel iron.



The thimble is a Colonial Lady Fingers and has received some great reviews. It is an open top thimble which is great if you have long finger nails. The yellow cushioned surface grips the needle and gives you a greater stitch control. It comes in 3 sizes.




The desk threader is another nifty little item that got great reviews when I posted it on our facebook fan page. This little desk threader from Clover will make threading those needles so much easier. If you are over 40, those eyes just aint working the way they use to work and a gizmo like this comes in handy. It is as simple as pushing a button and it is threaded!












Another nice item that will come in handy and I am sure you will have to show it off is the Mighty Travel Iron from Dritz. This is a very compact and lightweight travel iron that is great for quilting and crafts. It heats up quick too.






What else is new??? How about books? There are too many books that have recently been entered into our website that I can't even imagine starting a list, but here are three new releases from the publishers. The Best of Fons & Porters "Tabletop Quilts" and "Scrap Quilts" along with "Make Your Bed".










































Saturday, August 20, 2011

Small design change on our Original Design Laptop Hoop.



Small design changes...



As of 8/15/2011 I will install the magnets onto the base of all Original Design Frames. This will make it so much easier for future customers to upgrade a frame to a model that spins and tilts. No longer will you have to screw a conversion kit magnet plate onto the bottom.
As of today, our sister website, Discount Quilt Books has over 650 books listed!!! My wife, Merry has done an incredible job adding books to the site on a daily basis. If you have not scrolled through our book selection, you are going to be in for a pleasant surprise. You may actually be overwhelmed! We still have a couple hundred more titles to enter, so if you don't see a book that you wanted, email us. We may have it, but just haven't got a chance to enter it.

Tips and Tricks...
I will try to post some tip links from time to time, to keep the blog true to its original purpose - hand quilting. Todays link is all about thimbles. I have been fascinated by how many types of thimbles are on the market and how difficult it is to find a perfect fit. This post on the Quilting Board, will help you improve your needlework or at least your sore finger tips.







P.S. I like the posting where a woman makes her own thimbles out of bandaides, milk cartons and duct tape!





- Harry Barnett



Thursday, August 18, 2011

New releases for Discount Quilt Books.com and maybe a new Ring Frame too!





Discount Quilt Books is growing fast! Just today another 40 titles were entered on the website. To tell you the truth, I have lost count. I think we are close to having 700 book titles all about quilting listed. I will highlight a few books from time to time here on the blog. Small Wonders is a new release from Thimbleberries. It is packed with 44 little quilting inspirations. Clear and simple instructions make these projects fun and easy for any quilter. Nature's Table Toppers by Debbie Field has 18 original table toppers that celebrate all of nature's seasons. "You will find inspiration for fall holidays, your Christmas table, for fishermen, and bird-and-flower lovers." Debbie includes complete and accurate step-by-step instructions with templates for tracing. Quilt a New Christmas by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins will get you ready for the upcoming holidays. The book includes full-size templates of Christmas quilts, stockings and even a perky partridge pincushion/ornament. (Now say that 5 times fast!) Becky & Linda include a section on general quilt making and applique instructions to help guide you along on your projects.


Here is a little variation I made today for lucky customer out in Texas. I made a small change to a 16" Ring Frame - I added curves. The quilt in the background is a top that my mother started, but never got the chance to finish. Someday, I will have it finished for her.
Take care,

Harry Barnett


P.S. Click this link, answer the question and you could win a 14" Sit On Frame from Barnett's Laptop Hoops and Easy Quilts.










Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Featherweight 221 Book - Third Edition by Nancy Johnson-Srebro


Featherweights have a special following with quilters and become one of their most prized possessions. I inherited my mothers 221 years ago and I am sure I will proudly pass it down to one of my three daughters someday. Now, for those of you that know me...you know I can't sew a stitch or even operate one of these accurately. I am a woodworker and inventor - I can't quilt! However, I do find this little machine to be absolutely fascinating in so many levels. From the compact size, lightweight design and quality workmanship from a era that has truly gone by. It is no wonder why this little antique is adored so much and collected by so many.

The book I have featured today on the blog is Featherweights 221 - The Perfect Portable And Its Stitches Across History. The author, Nancy Johnson-Srebro started collecting Featherweights in 1990 when her husband put no just one, but two under the Christmas tree. She instantly fell in love with the little portable. Years later, she published her first book on the subject and it has now been revised to a third edition. If you own or are thinking about purchasing a Featherweight of your own, this is a must have book for your resource collection.


Here is a little introduction...

"Quite possibly the best known, most interesting and sought-after American sewing machine of all time is the Singer Model 221 Featherweight. A "breakthrough" machine when born, it was a winner from the start. The Featherweight represented a successful effort by a great and famous company to meet its customer's needs. you can trace the flow and ebb, the changes of taste, in its history. And the Model 221 just plain refuses to die! Even today, some twenty seven years since it left the line, the Perfect Portable is more popular than ever with a new generation of quilt makers, seamstresses and collectors. This book will help you appreciate, find and use this wonderful and beloved portable sewing machine."


New Featherweight Tables from Barnett's Laptop Hoops - Click our link to see more details.



Post your Featherweight story on our facebook fanpage and please SHARE the link with your quilting friends. You can purchase a copy on our website at http://www.discountquiltbooks.com/ , your one stop shop for hundreds and hundreds of quilting books on one website.

Take care,

Harry Barnett

Sunday, August 14, 2011

New lighter frame designs from Barnett's Laptop Hoops!




I just wanted to share a couple of updates that I have made recently to the lap frames. Our Sit On Base has as slightly different set up. The first change is 3 small holes that I drilled in the pivot point. This now allows you to adjust the height of the base up or down about two inches. Prior designs had only one fixed height setting. This should help you find a comfortable height to set up your lap frame. The second change is less wood in the construction which means less weight. It may not sound like much, but I eliminated a redundant piece and cut another a little smaller and now it weighs 13 oz. less! I have also made the same change to our floor stands since they work with the same parts as our Sit On bases. The one in the picture above has the updates.



Older Style v.s. New Model




Speaking of floor frames... our 18" Vented Frame is now much lighter. I cut out a larger area of the base, so once again less wood means it weighs less. I may roll out the larger venting to our other sizes too.







I keep forgetting to update all the pictures on the website, but our Tilt & Spin Frames now have 4 adjustable angles v.s. 3.




Well I think that is about it for updates. If I think of any more, I will be sure to add it to the post.




Take care,

Harry Barnett







P.S.

Square hoops have arrived and I have been busy trying to make variations of all of our designs in each of the different sizes. This has not been an easy task, so if you don't see what you want on the site, just email me and I will make it for you.












Monday, August 8, 2011

Dating Fabrics 2 - A Color Guide from 1950 - 2000




Look at what just arrived at our shop today, Dating Fabrics 2 - A Color Guide from 1950 - 2000 by Eileen Jahnke Trestain. If I am right, this will be a huge hit with quilters. Eileens Trestains first book sold out almost instantly for us and is now out of print. Eileens second book takes us from the days of poodle skirts and atom bombs to the Millennium celebrations. This book will be a walk down memory lane for many of you, with fabrics from your grandmothers era to current fabrics.


In addition to adding Dating Fabrics 2, my wife, Merry has been typing in new titles daily into our website, Discount Quilt Books. Many of the titles are all marked at 50% off the cover price! Our goal is to create the largest collection of quilting books available to you from one sellers site and back it up with great service. By the end of this Summer we should have 1,000 titles available for you to scroll through online. Our business started out as a source for high quality custom-made lap frames - Barnett's Laptop Hoops and has grown to include notions, batting and lots of books. So please take a look, buy book and pass our site on to family and friends.


You can now "Like" us on facebook too.




Monday, August 1, 2011

Free Hand Quilting Lap Frame from Barnett's Laptop Hoops - Enter to win!



Enter to win a free Barnett's Laptop Hoops 14" Sit On Frame.


We are sponsoring the 2011 Fall Easy Quilts Contest. The issue goes on sale, July 12th. The frame we are giving away is our best selling design, a 14" Sit On Frame. The total prize is valued at $575, with threads, fabrics and our frame. Follow the link to Easy Quilts Contest and enter. Best of luck!




- Harry

Sunday, July 31, 2011

500 Books Titles - All About Quilting!



We just hit the 500 titles mark this past week at our sister website, http://www.discountquiltbooks.com/. ( For now it is linked directly with http://www.laptophoops.com/ .) My wife, Merry has taken over the site. I can't enter all the books in the system and build quilt frames at the same time. In the last two weeks, she has doubled the assortment that is available for you to browse through. We still have another 500 titles to enter!!! Last weeks hot selling was Dating Fabrics - A color guide from 1800 to 1960. This book has gone out of print and we bought everything the local wholesaler had in stock. With the amazing power of our facebook fanpage, they practically sold out instantly. We have now ordered the book above, Dating Fabrics 2, from the publishing company and should have it later this week. It should be another big hit.



Our blog is titled hand quilting, well we started out with hand quilting frames and expanded into other areas. For those of you who are hand quilting addicts, type "hand" in the search bar on the site. You will be treated to many titles from well known quilters in the industry. The book pictured above, Loving Stitches by Jeana Kimball, is another closeout special at 50% off the cover price.




The Farmer's Wife by Laurie Aaron Hird is another best seller on our site. It contains letters from the 1920's farm wives and 111 quilt blocks they inspired. Also included is a bonus CD with 106 Piecing Templates. Here is a sample of the captivating introduction to the book.



The perception that city dwellers had of farm women in the 1920's was generally not favorable. It was commonly believed that the farm wife was a drudge and a slave, miserable with her life, and anxious-if not determined-to see her daughter escape from the farm when she was grown. The Farmer's Wife, a popular women's magazine of the day, with 750,000 subscribers, believed that this view was far from the truth.

"In January 1922, the editors of the magazine asked their reader the following question: "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you , in the light of your own experience, want her to marry a farmer?"

The editors asked participant to "consider this question in all its angles. Talk it over with your husband, your children and your friends. Consider not only the financial side of the question but the moral and physical viewpoint and the things that make for real happiness. You wish the best things in the world for your children. Would your daughter as a framer's wife be better off-all things considered-than she would be in the city or town?"

The magazine offered prized for the best 68 answers submitted... and by the end of the contest, the editors were overwhelmed with responses, over 7,000. Find out what 94 percent of the wives answered.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

New Square Hoops for hand quilting and so much more...

Well here it is... one of our first frames made with a square hoop. Over the years, I have had requests for a square design, but could never locate a quality source of hoops. I tried to steam bend my own, with little to no luck. Recently, I did find a source of high quality German Hoops.





These are awesome to work with. The advantages are easy to see. The square hoop is the one to use when quilting borders and blocks inside the quilt top. You can secure three sides of your quilt equally, and have the edge of the border running through the center of the hoop and quilt all the way to the edge. In addition, when a block fits inside the hoop, it allows you to quilt one block at a time, without moving the hoop.






It looks like this will be one of our best sellers. Our facebook fanpage received more comments and "likes" than any posting we had all year. Sales in the first week wiped out my stock of 14" hoops and I had to reorder almost instantly. Pictured above is beautiful quilt top in a 14" frame that one of our first customers is working on. She requested a Vented version and I was happy to make it and add it to our assortment.


Oh, I can make them in 12",14" and 16" sizes and they are interchangeable with any of our lap bases and floor frame. I have not uploaded every size and style to the website, so just send us a quick email if you do not see the size or model you want.


Our email is laptophoops@comcast.net or our phone number is 781-248-7291. Our home page is www.laptophoops.com.











































Friday, June 3, 2011

Quilting - Books, Books & More Books!







Well it is finally launched!!! http://www.discountquiltbooks.com/ This site is linked with our Laptop Hoop site, just click on the Discountquiltbooks Tab and you will discover hundreds of quilting books. Each day I try to add more titles to the assortment. I will leave the recently added books in our "New" category for about a month, so check this area first.

How the site works...

Recently, I have partnered up with a book supply house. I built the website and they supply the books. As they sell, I pick them up and send them off to you at a great price. We never sell any book at full price!!! Most titles are discounted between 25% to 50% off the cover price, everyday! 50% off titles are subject to availability, since these are considered a clearance item.

Recently added this month...

Eleanor Burns and her Quilt in a Day series of books. At my last count we just listed over 30 titles that Eleanor has authored. http://stores.laptophoops.com/-strse-334/Make-a-Quilt-in/Detail.bok