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#1
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Purchasing a long arm quilting machine
Hello, I'm interested in buying a long arm quilting machine. Does anyone have any reccomendations on which ones to buy and where to buy them?
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#2
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"K9Rulez" wrote in message .. . Hello, I'm interested in buying a long arm quilting machine. Does anyone have any reccomendations on which ones to buy and where to buy them? Here's my standard answer. Longarms are like cars. The features that work well for me won't necessarily work well for you, and vice versa. Therefore test driving is *not* optional. Ideally, first you'd take a full day class on a machine. Doesn't matter what brand, you just need to get familiar with these beasts, and be comfortable with it. Many dealers offer just such classes, very reasonably, and will even credit the cost to a purchase. Yes, you may have to drive a bit, but this is a big purchase. It will be really worth your while. Then, you need to get your hands on more machines. Quilt shows are one place to do it, but they can be crowded, so arrive early and be patient. Many dealers have used machines in their shops, and that's another way to test drive. Many of the longarm teachers travel around the country, teaching in people's houses, and that's another way to test drive. (And even to get that beginner's class in!) Does the movement of the machine fit your style of quilting better? Is it easier to advance the quilt? Easier to smooth the batting? How is it to load? Thread? Do the bells and whistles help or get in the way? Can the frame be easily adjusted for your height and reach? If you're looking at a regulated machine, can you outrun it? Are the stitches even? Is there a long stitch at the points? At this spot, most people who are looking at longarms are saying to themselves "hey, she wants me to do a lot of work. I just wanted an easy answer!" LOL Guess what -- there are no easy answers when it comes to longarms. Most of the major makers have good machines, but they are all different, which is great, because every longarmer has a different style of quilting. (Which is also great!) So, if you're still with me, here's some links: http://www.thequiltedrose.com http://lequilters.com http://houseofhanson.com http://www.gammill.net http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Machin..._Professional/ http://www.nolting.com http://www.apqs.com That should keep you busy for a while. Have fun! -- Kathy A. (Woodland, CA) Queen of Fabric Tramps http://www.kayneyquilting.com , remove the obvious to reply |
#3
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If a longarm machine is too big for your space, check out the HandiQuilter
16. I bought one and love it. www.handiquilter.com NAYY, just a happy customer. Linda in Tx |
#4
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If you are going to the Houston Quilt Festival next month you could also
attend LACE (Long Arm Continuing Education) that is going on at the same time. They have special classes on the Long Arm Machines and there will be a lot of the manufacturers there showing there machines. I understand there is a special showing Friday night for where you can test each of the machines. Here is their website www.quiltfrog.com NAYY I think there is probably still time to register for some of the lectures and classes and they have a block of rooms available at $69. I have been researching and trying the various machines. I'm trying to decide which machine I want and which machine I can afford. (They aren't necessarily the same thing) I'm leaning towards the APQS Liberty right now since it has all the features of the APQS Millennium except the thread cutter but is a slightly smaller machine. My second choice is the Nolting. If the budget really becomes an issue I may start with the smaller Nolting Hobby Quilter and move up later to a real long arm. Good Luck in your search. Maybe I'll see you at LACE. Shirley Benton, TN "K9Rulez" wrote in message .. . Hello, I'm interested in buying a long arm quilting machine. Does anyone have any reccomendations on which ones to buy and where to buy them? |
#5
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Linda,
I'm seriously considering buying a HandiQuilter II. One of my concerns is about borders. I often quilt a continuous border around my quilts. I can see how to do the 2 ends, but what about the side borders? Since you can only go so far at a time, do you have to give up continuous borders? Or is it stop and start alot? Or what? My other question is can you take down the frame with a quilt still in it? You know, like at dinner time when I need my table back? -- Wendy http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm de-fang email address to reply "nana2b" wrote in message news:nRFed.7261$5O4.5718@trnddc07... If a longarm machine is too big for your space, check out the HandiQuilter 16. I bought one and love it. www.handiquilter.com NAYY, just a happy customer. Linda in Tx |
#6
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I 'turn' the quilt 90 degrees and remount it after doing the body of the quilt
and the end borders and finish the other two. Not a problem. One caveat. I do mostly small quilts or 'quilt as you go' for large quilts on my Handiquilter. joan Linda, I'm seriously considering buying a HandiQuilter II. One of my concerns is about borders. I often quilt a continuous border around my quilts. I can see how to do the 2 ends, but what about the side borders? Since you can only go so far at a time, do you have to give up continuous borders? Or is it stop and start alot? Or what? My other question is can you take down the frame with a quilt still in it? You know, like at dinner time when I need my table back? -- Wendy http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm de-fang email address to reply "nana2b" wrote in message news:nRFed.7261$5O4.5718@trnddc07... If a longarm machine is too big for your space, check out the HandiQuilter 16. I bought one and love it. www.handiquilter.com NAYY, just a happy customer. Linda in Tx Subject: HandiQuilter Purchasing a long arm quilting machine Path: lobby!ngtf-m01.news.aol.com!ngpeer.news.aol.com!feed1.newsrea der.com!news reader.com!atl-c02.usenetserver.com!news.usenetserver.com!peer01. cox.net!c ox.net!cyclone1.gnilink.net!gnilink.net!cyclone.so utheast.rr.com!news-post ..tampabay.rr.com!twister.so utheast.rr.com.POSTED!53ab2750!not-for-mail Reply-To: "frood" From: "frood" Newsgroups: rec.crafts.textiles.quilting References: nRFed.7261$5O4.5718@trnddc07 Lines: 30 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180 X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Response Message-ID: Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2004 12:30:46 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.74.157.146 X-Complaints-To: X-Trace: twister.southeast.rr.com 1098621046 24.74.157.146 (Sun, 24 Oct 2004 08:30:46 EDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2004 08:30:46 EDT Organization: Road Runner - NC joan o'reilly live strong http://www.rockthevote.com/ |
#7
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"frood" wrote in message ... Linda, I'm seriously considering buying a HandiQuilter II. One of my concerns is about borders. I often quilt a continuous border around my quilts. I can see how to do the 2 ends, but what about the side borders? Since you can only go so far at a time, do you have to give up continuous borders? Or is it stop and start alot? Or what Here's how I handle it. True, I have a bit more working room than an HQ, but the principle is the same. First, I stabilize the whole quilt first. That might be doing all the SID, quilting the whole interior, pin basting, whatever it takes so those borders aren't going to cause problems on the inside of the quilt. Then I think about what I'm going to quilt on the borders. Some patterns lend themselves well to lots of starts and stops, some don't. If it's a design that would be best without starts and stops, I advance the quilt so the top border is in my sewing area. I start as far down the left side as I can get to, go all the way across the top, and as far down the right as I can, stopping with the needle down in the fabric. Then, as CAREFULLY as I can, I advance the quilt, still with the needle down. (Practice this first on a dog quilt. Not a problem if you keep the motion smooth and make sure there are no obstructions). Keep sewing-advancing-sewing until you can get to the bottom border, do it, and sew-advance-sew your way up the other side. Some people will do the top and bottom borders, take the quilt off the frame, turn it 90 degrees, and remount it to do the last two borders. For them, it works great, but I have a devil of a time remounting it and quilting those last two borders without getting waves, puckers, and general grief. True, the sew-advance-sew can take some time, but for me it's faster than remounting. To each her own. Hope that helps! -- Kathy A. (Woodland, CA) Queen of Fabric Tramps http://www.kayneyquilting.com , remove the obvious to reply |
#8
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Hi Wendy,
My understanding is that you have to quilt the top and bottom border and then reload the quilt to do the sides. I haven't done that as yet. The last lap quilt I did I quilted the top and bottom border and finished the quilting on my DSM. I have the Portable Professional Frame with a dedicated table. When I set up the frame it doesn't take more that 10 minutes. Pinning on the quilt takes a bit of time. If you take down the frame I think all you would have to do is roll up the quilt on the back rail and put it back when you restart. Wendy instead of feeding them inside, how about a picnic? :-) |
#9
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I'm thinking there will be lots of picnics in the spring! We have a very
nice octagonal table with an umbrella. By the time I get the HQII, it will be a bit chilly for picnics. I'm getting pretty excited about it... Thanks for the info! -- Wendy http://griffinsflight.com/Quilting/quilt1.htm de-fang email address to reply "nana2b" wrote in message newsMRed.2135$jD4.338@trnddc06... Hi Wendy, My understanding is that you have to quilt the top and bottom border and then reload the quilt to do the sides. I haven't done that as yet. The last lap quilt I did I quilted the top and bottom border and finished the quilting on my DSM. I have the Portable Professional Frame with a dedicated table. When I set up the frame it doesn't take more that 10 minutes. Pinning on the quilt takes a bit of time. If you take down the frame I think all you would have to do is roll up the quilt on the back rail and put it back when you restart. Wendy instead of feeding them inside, how about a picnic? :-) |
#10
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Kathy, when quilting, do you SID the entire quilt and then do your quilt
designs or do you do both a section at a time? -- Niasha "What doesn't kill you, defines you." "Kathy Applebaum" wrote ... First, I stabilize the whole quilt first. That might be doing all the SID, quilting the whole interior... |
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