long arm trick/tip

here's a trick i started doing a while back....it has to do with keeping my canvas leaders 'straight'. if you LA then you know that having your leaders off by even a little will cause problems down the road...

i know there are LAers out there that have instructions where you cut the edge of your leader and using your channel locks, sew a straight line, fold it on the stitched line, and all that....*pbbbt*

there's a saying: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...well, what if you did 'something' to keep your leaders square all the time??? (my brain is constantly thinking like this, btw) so it came to me....here's my solution:

after i pin in the quilt top and backing (i use t-pins) , i place a couple of extra pins along the leader egdes all the way to the ends (about every four inches)....that way your leader edge will stay straight and square, it won't 'pull' out of place....just poke a pin into the layers of the leader itself. this is especially useful for those newbies with brand spanking new machines with fresh new [straight] leaders. you have to pay attention once you get to the bottom of the quilt. if you advance the quilt and get to the edge of the leader and forget to take out the pins, you maybe could rip your leader. i haven't ripped my leaders, the way i put the pins in they just pull out....i do this on all three of my leader edges (take-up, quilt top, and backing leaders)

this works for me, and i hope this helps you....btw, my leaders are 4 years old (i have a 2005 Millie) and although they have 'shrunk' in, the edges are still straight and square and cause no problems ...