Tashana

We made a decision to purchase a long arm, and now we are at a loss which frame to choose. We know that it has to be a Grace frame because it is a package deal. Both my husband and I are of the opinion that if we are doing it, let's do it right the first time around and go with a frame that will accommodate a king size quilt. I have never made one, but you never know. This is a big investment and the first and the last LA set-up we will buy so we are planning it really carefully. We now have a choice - king, pinnacle or majestic frame. Please help since we are pretty clueless when it comes to frames. Are we being insane? Should we just buy the start-right or queen. We are lost. Thank you in advance for your suggestions. The machine will be either Bailey 15" or 17". We are hoping to do this before Christmas so we have a few months to think it over.

Rose Marie

I have the Grace Inspira Imperial Frame.
Good points: the carriage rides very smooth, it has a shelf underneath for storage. It can be sized in half or the full 123 inches.
Bad points: It has a million screws and took the tech 6 hrs to put it togather, the end adjustments are plastic and easy to pull out to far, the rods are 3 inchs diameter and to big for my 9 in throat machine ( which I do not recommend as you cannot do much with it)
Be careful you really need to know alot about frames to make a good choice.

Tashana

Thank you very much. We are doing our research locally and on the web. We will not plunge into this investment until we know exactly what we are getting ourselves into. Thak you again for your help.

Solomae

Hi - just went through this so am happy to share my experience with you. Its really hard to decide when you can't try them out. I bought a Grace Queen with the King extension kit and also a Grace Start Sight frame. I did not like the Grace Queen/King. The tracking system was not nearly as smooth as the Start Right Frame and the tracks are very fragile, I broke two just trying to put them on. When using the carriage, the Start Right was much smoother and easier to control than the Grace Queen. However, the Start Right only takes up to a 13" machine head, so that's probably too small for you.

If I had the room I would buy a Grace Majestic, which is like the Start Right (same carriage and track style), but with more bells and whistles. It only comes in a king size, which as to large for my room.

Also, the Grace queen was really hard to get level and "squared up", this may be normal for wood frames, I don't know. However, the metal frames seem to be a bit easier to set up and get squared and level.

I sold the Grace Queen/King frame. I will be selling the Start Right as well as I am upgrading to a Nolting Funquilter on a Hinterberg Stretch frame, which I hear is wonderfully smooth and sturdy. I don't have it yet, so can't give my opinion yet.

Given my experience, if I had the room, I would get the Grace Majestic in a heartbeat.

Hope this helps. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Solomae

An Arm Long

I have a majestic frame with a Baby Lock Crown Jewel machine. At the Baby Lock class in St. Louis I was able to use both a Pinnacle and a Majestic. I liked the Majestic better. It is very sturdy. Mine is 120 inches (10 ft.) which will hold a large queen and possibly a king if it is loaded sideways. I just did a 90 inch by 107 inch quilt with no problem. I think I could get an extension to put in the middle to make it 144 inches for a large king, but I do not have room for that.
The only problem with my frame is the handle for turning on the take up rail. It has a knob and you are supposed to be able to turn the rail using the knob, but the handle and knob are plastic and the rails are hard enough to turn that I am afraid I will break the handle. I just turn the rail with my hand on either side of the quilt - no problem. One of my classmates said that her handle broke when she used it on a big quilt so I just don't use it. Perhaps they have changed that by now. (The handle is really not necessary.)
The frame needs to be level and is a job to set up, but if you are going to leave it permanantly then that is no problem. It is very heavy and sturdy - does not give at all when the machine is moving over it. My Crown Jewel moves very smoothly.
It came in several boxes and one had black flat hard plastic in rolls to slide into the edge of the table for the wheels on the machine to roll on. Since the table came in two halves that you have to put together, I cut the black runner plastic in half also and installed it on the two halves separately. Then put the tables together as directed. Then found that the machine would give a little jump when it went over the connection between the halves of the black plastic. So I had to order another black roll and put it on in one long piece AFTER the halves of the table were connected. (The instructions did not explain completely how to put the black runner on and I doubt that anyone else tried to do what I did at first.) Afterwards it did fine. The runners are very important - do not let them get any nicks or cuts in them or they will not provide a smoothe surface for the wheels to move on. It came with a DVD showing how to put it together as well as an instruction book.
I am very happy with my frame. It was well worth the trouble to set it up as it is so sturdy and heavy. I am tall and so was able to adjust the feet for my own height. I have not had a problem with backache as I have heard some on the board talk about with their frames. I have quilted 21 quilts on it in just over a year.
Perhaps your dealer will help you set it up for whichever frame you choose. If it is a majestic, you can PM me and I can talk you through it over the phone.

An Arm Long

And one more thing. If you can, get the 17 inch machine over the 15 inch. That 2 inches will make a big difference.

Tashana

Thank you An Arm Long. We are pretty much decided when it comes to 17" . The information you gave me is excellent and valuable especially because you were able to use both majestic and pinnacle. Thanks again and happy quilting.

sandy l

I have the Hinterberg stretch frame, set up with 10' poles and recommend it highly. Have never had any problems with it from the beginning. I originally had the regular frame with 6' poles and used a 9" dsm machine. Then I decideded I wanted a larger machine and went to the Voyager 17 and converted to the stretch frame.