Hiroko Miyama
myself: Hiroko Miyama

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I was always surprised by my husband. While our second visits of IQA Houston quilt show, He brought me to Handi Quilter’s booth. He asked me to try, however I didn't know how to operate. It was very easy and very smooth to do when I tried with kind HQ staff's instruction. I had thought that longarm sawing machines looked like factory's one and was operated by a powerful person. HQ changed my thought. It was compact enough to fit in even small Japanese house and was able to be operated by even a pinkie. But why he brought me to there? His intention is to present me HQ18 as commemoration of the first finalist of famous quilt show. I was very happy, but I worried how to maintain, because there was no dealer in Japan. He didn't care anything I did. He said that its mechanism looked similar as regular home machine or even much simpler so that it was able to be fixed by mechanics in Japan. He wanted to take maintenance class if available. He has checked several longarm machines while I took classes in quilt show. He almost decided to purchase the latest model, HQ18 Avante. He liked it as an engineer. He is not sawing engineer but IT engineer, though. It was early January that HQ18 Avante was delivered. A lot of question came out while I tried to use my HQ and asked him. He checked manual, internet and/or e-mailed HandiQuilter, whenever I asked. But his response was always to adjust string's tension or to practice more. He might be correct, since no adjustment is required except string's tension. One day, He began to make a quilt. He seemed to know what I asked. He had never done during my 20 years hand quilt and three years machine quilt experience. Five months later, he completed a miniature quilt using my machine. His quilting technique is, of course, very primitive and not smooth. Just like small water drops "drip-drip" way. My HQ helped the beginner to make fine stitches. He never thought to challenge making quilt without HQ. What surprised me was not only he made a quilt but also he entered into local quilt contest. Besides, He won the best of miniature quilt award! His work was also displayed at AQS Paducah show in this spring and will be done at IQA Houston show in this winter. I hesitated to make quilt for contest by using only longarm machine, though I did understand that my HQ was very smooth and productive. His success and my competitive nature made me to practice more. I became to make beautiful quilt line very smoothly even it is tiny pattern. The first quilt for contest with HQ18 was completed one year after He presented. This brought me the first place award of IQA spring show in Cincinnati. Now, He is making the second miniature quilt and I am also making new wall quilt. My HQ became our HQ.

I own the following HQ machine: HQ18 Avante

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