Misty's Mom

thank you. The thread is history. I didn't roll my quilt. My dealer thinks I missed a step in aligning when I moved the blue sewing area box down. She gave a suggestion, but we haven't tried it yet. We figure it's operator error.

Pagzz

you might want to ask on www.mqresource.com it is a machine quilter's forum and has a section on computerized quilting.

anonymous

It does have to do with aligning the blue sewing area. I had a few struggles with that too. My mistake was not making my initial sewing area big enough to begin with. I made it too close to the size of the actual quilt. You can test where each row will begin before actually sewing the whole row. I also found that my tension was good, but seemed to change once I applied the robotics. Just something I need to learn yet.
I did find my dealer to be so helpful walking me through it on the phone. I have called the abm headquarters and they were super helpful too.
Enjoy the process, the best way to learn and remember it is to fail along the way.

Bug Lady

Your paper panograph wasn't secured or taped down.. That is what happened to me.
Karen

caspharm

Did you do any calculations before you loaded the pattern into the machine? I believe most computerized systems have a way to input the quilt dimensions in order to size the pattern to fit the quilt. That is what I saw at my LQS that had a Statler Stitcher on their Gammill. I know that even the Pantovision setup that Innova sells (even though it is not a computerized stitching program), it is a system that uses software so you can do a panto from the front and also allows the user to adjust the size to fit the quilt by inputting the dimensions of the quilt.

For doing a panto by "hand," I know you can calculate how many rows you can fit on the quilt and adjust accordingly.

As far as fixing the mistakes, you will have to get friendly with your seam ripper and remove the overlap rows, figure how much you can fit in the space, and requilt them. As far as burble areas, you will have to remove them as well and requilt them. For the bobbin areas, you could possibly do them on your DSM, but the rows should be done on the LA. Is it yours, or a rental?

Misty's Mom

The LA is mine. We are only in our first week of learning after training. Still making practice quilts. I know we will get there and even though we are making mistakes, we are learning. Not near ready to put my pieced quilts on it yet.

caspharm

Practice is the magic. You can also offer to quilt charity quilts for free to get practice. If you don't have a local group to ask, there is a group that I was getting quilts from (http://heartstringsquiltproject.com/). They will mail you a top and backing and you can donate the quilt to any group you want.

For free motion quilting, you might want to check out Angela Walters' books and her Craftsy class(Help! How Do I Quilt It?: A Machine-Quilting Manual ). I just signed up [it's on sale] and it looks pretty good.

Farm Quilter

I also have an Innova, but hand-guided. Your bobbin issues...one problem is the thread - very linty - so much happier with Bottom Line from Superior (I use both the prewound and wind my own) in the bobbin and Sew Fine on top. Every time I change my bobbin, I do check my tension. I use a TOWA gauge to adjust my bobbin tension, then play with little loops on a muslin sandwich to check my tension on top and make any adjustments necessary to have perfect tension. I have done some custom quilting on a quilt using my friend's machine and IQ (love it, BTW) and find that the lining up of the rows is really important (especially since I was fitting it into a heart shape!). Practice lots and do call Michael if you get stuck - he knows these machines so very well!!! And what is the use of having free 24/7 tech support if you don't call them!!! Enjoy your new best friend!!!!! You can also join the Innova group that has the computerized system - they would be a great source of information!

petthefabric

What have you done so far to correct the eyelashes on the back?

I have a Gammil. To correct this issue, the first 2 steps were, clean out all lint. Then oil and wait until tomorrow for the oil to travel through the machine. And the resevour of the oil must be kept moist during the quilting. The TEX of the thread must be > 28 or it breaks. Now that the machine is clean, oiled and using an appropriate thread (and needle is sharp), back to "Every time I change my bobbin, I do check my tension. I use a TOWA gauge to adjust my bobbin tension, then play with little loops on a muslin sandwich to check my tension on top and make any adjustments necessary to have perfect tension." Having said all this, your machine may not have the same quirks. So contact the company.

feline fanatic

Petthefabric, Innova machines do not require oiling like a gammel and letting it sit. You only put a small drop in the hook assembly, turn the hand wheel a rotation to distribute it and we are good to go. We do not need to warm up our machines either. Turn it on and you can start quilting immediately. One can also occasionally oil the needle bar area and if they have an older style upper tension assembly it is recommended to use sewers aid silicon lubricant in the felts.

I suspect it was a blob of lint in the bobbin case spring. That is one of the biggest reasons I quilt with mostly polyester thread. While there are cottons I really like, I always end up with some tension problems midway through the quilt, mid bobbin due to a lint blob. It is especially frustrating when doing pantos from the back because, inevitably, I will end up having to rip a good portion of the row because I was unaware of the issue. When using cotton and a panto, I do check tension on every single row and I will often clean out the bobbin area between too. Some threads are much worse than others.