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".