Cookn

I believe that your dealer wasn't knowledgeable and was covering up for his lack of knowledge by using the head in the sand technique.

Just make sure that you test drive the different machines and find one that fits you and your style. It's more important than buying this or that brand. You might not like the machine I do, it might be noisier or vibrate more than you like. Don't listen to what anyone else says, see for yourself. It's going to be your machine not theirs. I've test driven 8 different machine, of which I'd purchase only one. They are all different, some the prices were insane, Gammill for example, some were too hard to operate, some were heavy and others moved too easy for me.

Good luck with your shopping and I'm sure once you weed through them you'll find YOUR machine.

Stitching4Fun

I have the Hobby Quilter (now called the Fun Quilter) by Nolting. It has a 17" throat. I have it on the Hinterburg frame. I purchased them separately. And I did purchase the rails for my frame. And they do come apart. Mine has been moved from one room to another. I can not imagine the shipping that would be done on these if they were put together.

I like my machine. Of course, I haven't tried any of the other ones. When I got it, I had to go with one that was in my price range. I tried it before I bought it also. And I did get a free learning class after I purchased it.

I don't quilt for other people. My daughter makes alot of quilts as gifts and she uses it from time to time. I do make quilts as gifts also and since I bought it, I find myself making more for myself. I did send them away at first, but my problem.............the wait to get them back. Now I just do it at my leisure, but I can get it done so much faster. And when in a time crunch to make something...........it is so available!!!

My grandson used it when I first got it. I was practicing on it with sandwiched muslin and I let him glide the machine around and make designs. He was about 5 at the time. He had to stand on a stool, but he enjoyed it. So see, it is so easy to use a 5 yr old can do it!!

I love having mine and now don't know what I would do without it.

Barb

jacquemoe

You have done some great research I'm sure those that are looking for a quilting machine really appreicate your knowledge. I hope they find exactly what they are looking for.

butterflywing

hi azam,

mine is also 120". i shoot for a 95 - 98" quilt and call it a queen size, because my antique bed is so high off the floor. add to that today's high mattress and box spring sets and wow! you really need that extra. if i had a king bed i don't know how big the quilt would have to be with the tall mattress/box spring sets. you still need enough to cover the box spring with the drop. by having the hinterberg frame, we could have gotten the poles a little longer. eeek! it would be sticking out the window with that setup :roll: .

for a king, what size do you try for? i leave a blank area on the sides to refill the bobbins. do you? and how do you reach underneath to snip off the threads at the end of each pattern? enquiring minds want to know.

butterflyquilter

thanks everyone. I now know a quilting system WILL go upstairs. I thought maybe the rollers were the full length but they come in pieces. My dealer told me they come full length. Now I have to find some places where they sell them so I can try some out. I live in a very small town and anything of any size is at least 100 miles away.

shaverg

You should get Harriet Hargrave's heirloom machine quilting book. She was one of the first people that started machine quilting in the early 80's. Her work is beautiful and she does King and Queen size quilts with a regular bernina. She has great tips. You should be able to get it at the library, she is terrific.

I am just starting to really machine quilt after 20+ years, but after reading her book. I feel I can do it with my Bernina, and not have to buy a longarm. But it is all preference.

kacie

My husband didn't buy his hobby car so he could charge other people for riding in it, nor did we buy our photography equipment with the idea of making money. I did fine without a long arm for a long time, but I'm having a blast with it now, as are a couple of friends. That's the whole point of a hobby, isn't it?

I had a Grace frame that I liked a lot, but I couldn't fit the king-size extension in the room. I now have a Handi Quilter (more of a mid-arm) that fits in the same space but enables me to do quilts up to 120" wide. I had one 4-hour training session at the dealer's store, and one 3-hour session in my home once I got the thing assembled, both free of charge. If you can get instruction, I recommend it.

The Grace frame came in a bazillion pieces, but I wanted to do it myself so I could understand it better. It did take much longer than the "one afternoon" they told me to expect. The HQ16 table was incredibly easy to assemble, and I only needed help lifting the 50-pound machine itself up onto the tracks.

I spent an entire day trying out every machine at the Pacific International Quilt Festival. It was a great way to spend a day, and I paid special attention to who offered training. I know Tin Lizzie and HQ come with instruction. I'm pretty sure Gammill does, too. Try them all, even if you don't think you'd like them. I was set on Tin Lizzie, but sometimes you're surprised. Have fun with the process of deciding.

k_jupiter

Ya, little known fact is Harriet plays middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears and has arms to prove it. Love her books though.

I have done a queen size quilt on my old Bernina 830. There are pictures on this board somewhere to prove it. I am thinking there is a Tin Lizzy somewhere in my future because I don't want to do that again. I am a big old 220 lb guy with some serious upper body strength and I'll tell ya, wrasslin that much fabric through the machine that many times and still having limited ability to do FMQing is a drag, not to mention tiring.

But... we all have to prove it to ourselves and I look forward to seeing some of your work.

tim in san jose

butterflywing

butterflyquilter,

be patient and wait for the next big show. all the venders are there and you can try them all out and compare. they will answer any questions and they are the most knowledgeable. you will see features that you never thought to ask about. sometimes, they will sell the sales model right off the floor at a discount. that's usually a really good deal. always ask about that. they sometimes don't want to ship them to the next show. they would rather sell them and be done with it and start out fresh. especially if the next show is across the country and they won't have time to break down and set up again quickly. so they can be having the next one setting up already while you're taking this one away. if you have transportation, no shipping. always ask.

azam

Hi Butterflywing,
To be honest with you I haven't yet quilted a King size quilt, but the frame is set up so that I can. Sometimes, though, I attach my quilt to the feeder cloths by the sides rather than the top and bottom. This gives me more workable space before I have to roll it, which I love.
I do leave a blank area on the sides so that I can check my stitches before I actually sew on my quilt. As far as filling the bobbin, I fill it as I'm quilting. I buy two of the same color thread and away I go. Eventually, all the thread is used up but it takes a while (several quilts).
I don't snip any threads on the bottom. I pull the thread up to the top, take a stitch or two with the needle in the needle down position, tie off the top and bobbin threads and snip the thread leaving it long enough(approx. 1.5 " - 2") to tie it and hide the threads. Using a self threading sewing needle (needle with a slit at the top of the eye) I weave both threads through the batting pulling the knot so it gets hidden in the batting. The self threading needle is a must, the thread just slips through the slit no need to try to put the thread through the eye the conventional way. I do the same when I end the motif, I pull the bobbin thread to the top, tie it off and hide it in in the batting.
I like doing it this way because I know it's secure and you can't tell where I started and ended. It looks professional, like I know what I'm doing, ha, ha! :lol: Hope this helps! Please let me know. :-) Happy quilting :!: