2026 The Villages Extravaganza

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Two of the best Handi Quilter Educators are coming to The Villages! Join us for three full days of hands-on longarm quilting. Learn all the possibilities open to you on our Handi Quilter Amara 20 longarm machines. (No more than 2 people per machine.)

Quilting Delights:

Three Days of Classes:
- All classes are HANDS-ON the machine
- 3 hour sessions to fill your mind with quilting opportunities
- Food and Beverages will be provided
- Melissa 'MK' and Paul, the owners, will be available to answer any questions you have about our machines.

Saturday Open House:
- The MK Quilts team will be on hand to show you why we are a Top HQ retailer.
- View ALL the Handi Quilter Longarm models available. We will have 4 machines for you to test drive and find your perfect fit.
- Sales Appointments available, come talk specifics to see how this HQ longarm can go home with you. Please let us know you are coming by clicking the button below.
- MK Quilts is a full service quilt shop. We will have a pop-up shop of our newest and best kits, fabrics, and tools available.

9am to 12pm - Rock Your Rulers - $90

April 8th, 9am to 12pm at the Hampton Inn and Suites Lady Lake/The Villages .

Rock Your Rulers is the perfect class for quilters who love precision, consistency, and beautifully repeatable results. If you enjoy quilting with traditional rulers, you’re going to love what design rulers and templates can do for your creativity and confidence.

These handy tools help you place designs accurately and stitch them out with clean, professional lines. You’ll learn the fundamentals of ruler and template quilting—how to set up correctly, handle tools safely, and use markings and reference points to stay on track.

What You’ll Learn

How to use design rulers and templates to place quilting motifs accurately
Safe handling techniques using the ruler base and Sure Foot
How to stitch ruler work smoothly while maintaining consistent spacing and alignment
How to use ruler markings and reference lines for better accuracy and repeatability
Ideas and inspiration for applying a variety of Handi Quilter rulers to expand your design options

Whether you’re new to ruler work or ready to improve your results, you’ll leave with practical techniques and fresh inspiration that you can use immediately on your next quilt.

1:30pm to 4:30pm - Funky, Fresh, & Fabulous Free-Motion Quilting - $90

April 8th at 1:30pm to 4:30pm at the Hampton Inn and Suites Lady Lake/The Villages.

Quilters everywhere love the excitement and fun of free-motion quilting—and it’s easier than you think.

Create flowing designs by connecting simple design elements with continuous lines, traveling across the quilt, or filling a specific area with confidence.

What You’ll Learn

How to build beautiful designs by linking simple shapes and motifs
Techniques for traveling across the quilt and filling designated areas cleanly
How drawing practice and muscle memory work together for smoother stitching
Practical tips to help you create stunning, consistent free-motion designs

With a few foundational techniques and a little practice, you’ll be creating free-motion quilting designs that look polished, purposeful, and uniquely yours.

Full Day - Pro-Stitcher Basics & Beyond - $180

April 9th, 9:00am to 4:30pm at the Hampton Inn and Suites Lady Lake/The Villages .

If you’ve been curious about what Pro-Stitcher can do—or you’ve recently purchased a system and want to feel confident using it—this class is for you. Pro-Stitcher Basics & Beyond is a full-day, hands-on learning experience designed to help you understand Pro-Stitcher from the ground up and start creating beautiful, precise, computer-guided quilting with confidence.

Pro-Stitcher is an intuitive computer-guided quilting system designed specifically for Handi Quilter longarm machines. It’s user-friendly, simple to operate, and incredibly capable—making it a fantastic option whether you are finishing quilts for yourself or exploring the idea of quilting for others.

You’ll learn the step-by-step workflow and core features you’ll use most often, plus tips and best practices that will save time, reduce frustration, and help you achieve clean, consistent results.

What You’ll Learn

A clear, beginner-friendly workflow for using Pro-Stitcher successfully
How to set up a quilt and get ready to stitch designs with confidence
How to select, size, and place designs accurately
How to stitch out patterns with smooth, professional results
Helpful tips for troubleshooting common beginner issues
Techniques and best practices to improve accuracy and consistency

New users — start here! This is a BEGINNER Pro-Stitcher class. No prior Pro-Stitcher experience is required.

9am to 12pm - Small & Sweet: Beginner-Friendly Project - $90

Friday, April 10th, 2026 — 9:00am to 12:00pm at the Hampton Inn and Suites Lady Lake/The Villages .

Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration to find your sew-jo again! Small & Sweet: Beginner-Friendly Project is a fun, low-pressure class where you’ll complete a small project on the longarm and discover just how versatile these amazing machines can be.

This is a perfect session for anyone who wants a relaxed, encouraging introduction to longarm quilting—or for those who want to try something new without committing to a full-day class.

What You’ll Experience

Complete a small, satisfying project from start to finish
Learn beginner-friendly longarm basics in an easy, supportive environment
See how longarms can handle a wide variety of creative techniques
Pick up tips that help you feel more comfortable and confident at the machine

You’ll leave with a finished project, fresh inspiration, and a renewed excitement for quilting.

1:30pm to 4:30pm - Fabulous Feet for Fun Quilting - $90

Friday, April 10th, 2026 — 1:30pm to 4:30pm at the Hampton Inn and Suites Lady Lake/The Villages .

Ready to break away from “basic quilting” and really see what your longarm can do? Fabulous Feet for Fun Quilting is a high-energy, idea-packed class designed to help you explore time-saving techniques and creative options that go far beyond traditional quilting.

Most quilters are amazed to learn how many tasks can be done directly on the longarm. In this class you’ll discover ways to quilt smarter, finish faster, and add new techniques that make your projects more fun—and more efficient.

What You’ll Learn

How to use specialty feet and techniques to expand what you can do on your longarm
Time-saving methods for stitching and construction directly on the longarm
Techniques for applying binding and finishing quilts more quickly
Creative ideas to help you get more projects completed—with less effort

If you’re ready to get inspired, try new techniques, and make your longarm a true quilting workhorse, this is the class that will get you excited to go home and start creating.

9am to 4pm - Open House - FREE

Saturday April 11th at 9am to 4pm at the Hampton Inn and Suites Lady Lake/The Villages.

We are going to have limited staff at the event. To better serve you, we would like to know if you will be attending. We have a 1000ft of space for several frames with machines and small amount of products from our shop.

If you would like a personal test drive of one of the long arms, please let us know when to expect you.

If you have any questions, please email Support@MKQuilts.com.

Kristina Whitney

Kristina began quilting with her grandmother in the 1990’s. She pieced and quilted on her domestic machine until being introduced to longarm quilting in 2014 and hasn’t looked back.

Her longarm quilting experience began on an HQ Avanté® with Pro-Stitcher®. After touching the Handi Quilter machine for the first time, she was hooked. She currently owns an HQ Forte® with Pro-Stitcher and an Amara® 24 with Pro-Stitcher.

She loves to share her passion for quilting through education. She teaches all over the world and absolutely loves it. In addition to teaching in person, she was also the co-host for the Watch & Learn quilting show and her quilting has been featured in various magazines. She currently is the host of the “Did You Know?” Quilting Show on YouTube.

Kristina enjoys all types of longarm quilting including rulers, Pro-Stitcher, and free-motion. She quilts for hire, for pleasure, and is working to complete 50 of her grandmother’s quilt tops. She loves to think outside of the box and to push herself as well as her students to try new things.

Nicholas Turcan

Nicholas Turcan is a multitalented and very creative individual. His journey into quilting began in 2012 with one quilt that quickly turned into several, which made him realize that he needed a better way to finish these quilt tops than a small, domestic-sized machine.

In 2014, Nicholas purchased the HQ Fusion® to help with this task. It didn’t take very long to realize that the creativity this machine unleashed from within him deserved to be shared. To further feed his quilting obsession, he took a part-time job at a local quilt shop, where his passion for fabrics, quilting, and designing patterns grew. He is now a talented longarm quilter who helps his clients enhance their quilts with his creativity. In 2020 after the pandemic struck and things shut down, he took a moment to decide what he wanted to do with his life and decided to become a full-time quilter! Taking the plunge and invest- ing in Pro-Stitcher® Premium allowed him to keep up with the overflow of quilts that started to pour in from every housebound quilter.

Early in 2021, Nicholas had the chance to lease a coveted studio on Granville Island and move into a much larger space, which has allowed him to set up a in-person classroom as well as create a small filming studio for virtual classes, trunk-shows, and video tutorials.

In addition to long-arm quilting for customers, he has started to teach free-motion quilting workshops, where students can learn the confidence and skills required to further their own quilting abilities.

To find out more information about Nicholas, please visit his website
www.mysterystitch.com and check out his YouTube channel Mystery Stitch Designs.

MK Quilts Owners - Paul and Melissa (MK)

MK in Utah - Melissa got a chance to see the new Infinity28 machine before it was released.

Ellen and Melissa (MK) are known as they Dynamic Duo appearing weekly on social media from the MK Quilts Studio in Palm Harbor, Florida.

The MK Quilts team

MK Quilts - Palm Harbor - multiple rooms of fabric and notions.

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