Ok, the items have been bought (seperate purchases) now waiting for shipping/arrival. I am nervous. But looking on sites & boards I finally found a little low priced short arm system I hope will work together. I have been researching for 6 months now. You know that feeling when you spend alot of $$ (to me it's alot) and wonder if you are doing the right thing? That is the feeling I have. I found a Little Gracie II frame brand with the cloth leaders, DVD & Gooseneck lamp new on Ebay and the Brother on Sewitsforsale Yahoo group. I have tried each and liked the way they work. Tell me it will be ok. Tell me I won't be a dork. I just love quilting so much I wanted to take it to the next level..

You will love it. I have a D-M frame that I put together with the Brother Novelle and it worked great until I ran out of room for it.

I have the Brother PQ1500 and love it. I've never tried a frame of any kind, so I can't say about that.

I have the Brother 1500 and don't use it on a frame and it is a great machine. I use the John Flynn frame with the machine sitting on a table. I've had two problems with the machine, both user fault but no solution was in the manual. Don't thread the thread in all three holes at the top, just use one, I use the first one, and don't thread the bobbin thread through the cutter blade, it gets there on it's own. Oil the machine often. Be sure the bobbin winder is completely pushed back when done, or the machine won't sew or sew crazy.

I have the BrotherPQ1500s and use it with a drop in table - got the table from Leah Day Quilting.
Works great and allows for a lot of motion with the fabric when sewing.

I love my 1500. Oil often, experiment how many holes to use. I use 2. Set the tension so the bobbin thread doesn't get cut too short or left too long. You'll figure all this out when you get it and what works for you. Ive had mine for many years. Makes perfect straight stitches.

I have the same set-up. Got it a year ago. I have had to make the usuall adjustments with tension. I also tried it off the frame and had great stitching. Real smooth. I have quilted appx 12 quilts so far. 6 queen size, 2 twin, 4 crib. When I did the queen size, I turned it to do the side borders and vertical patterns because of the short playing field of appx 6". I am tempted to construct a table to recess it into for FMQ sitting down. My sister just got one with a Grace quilting machine frame. If I see another 1500, second hand, and a good price, I would concider buying it.

I just got the Jane (same as Brother 1500) with an Imperial frame. Wanted a frame that would eventually hold a long arm machine. Wishful thinking.
So far it is a big learning curve but loving it.
Can only do a 4 inch quilting space but if I use a 4in ruler and mark the quilt rows it keeps me from running out of space.
So far pantograms are beyond me, that will take some more learning. Its just to difficult to use the machine from the back as I cannot see what is going on out front.
I did get a stitch regulator and I love it. Cost $500 dollars but worth it.
DebbyT has helped alot with her posts.
My latest problem is how to stablize the edges of the quilt so you dont make a mess when sewing over them from the back of the machine doing pantograms. You need the whole quilt tacked down on the sides before you use the panto. Do you roll the quilt twice to sew down each side? I see long armers doing each row but they have a much larger space to work in.