JANNY

I have been doing my hand quilting on a lap frame. Found an older model Z44 for $60.00. Excellent condition, all parts were there. Bought it. Have it set up and ready to put a quilt on to see if I really like quilting by hand on this frame rather in my lap. Any suggestions since this is the older model? If I like it should I consider a new model for $700.00, or is there much difference in the two? Is the newer model any smaller, since this one takes up a lot of room.

ManiacQuilter2

My great Aunt Maude quilted on a large hand made frame and enjoyed it. it is also great if you have a group of hand quilters coming over to quilt. Great buy.

Hinterland

I would check out the company's website for information. They would have more information on it.

Quilting on a floor frame is different - you can't turn the frame like you would a hoop. Once I got used to mine, I loved it.

Best of luck,

Janet

JANNY

I see , after reading a lot of these Z44 entries, that using this frame foe basting the quilt layers together is probably what I will do, the go back to doing the hand quilting on my lap for those quilts thathave a lot of different directions of stitching. Sounds like it takes practice to master the hand quilting in the frame.

Genden

I suggest you put a quilt on it and give it a try. I did lap quilting before I got my Z44. I don't lap quilt any more. With the frame the quilt stays cleaner because it isn't dragging on the floor. This is particularly the case with a large quilt. I have liked my Z44. Mine is the model with the nylon gears and metal poles. I am not sure what the difference in features is with the older model with wooden gears. If you like to quilt on the frame and research tells you you would like the features on the model with nylon gears, you can look for a used one. I paid $250 for mine used and it included the leader cloths and clamps. I have seen them as low as $150, but I don't know what extras were included. They do take up quite a bit of space in a room. Mine can be made smaller if I am doing a smaller quilt, but I leave it king size because I have a dedicated sewing/computer room. As far as I know, both old and new models are the same size. They have to accommodate the width of the quilt. I quilt with a group on a floor frame. They are nice, but they take up a whole room and take more than one person to put a quilt on. Hope the frame works for you. You got a good buy.

Sync

I have the Grace EZ3 floor frame and I also have a lap frame too. The one big difference between a lap frame and a floor frame is how you quilt. Let me explain .... with a lap frame you have to baste and start your quilt at the center of the quilt, .... now with a floor frame you do not need to baste, but you start quilting from the bottom border and work your way to the top border. Hope that's a little clearer than mud .... I use my floor frame for my larger quilts (twin/queen) and I use my lap frame for smaller quilts (small lap/baby) I'm sure you will be fine with the older model.

JANNY

Now that it is set up, I find that I need the bungee clamps also. Looking on line, I see the ones from Grace cost $44.99 for the set of 4, and the ones from Quiltrite cost $74.54 for the set of 4. The pictures sook identical. Thats a lot of price difference if the are the same clamps. Know any place cheaper to get them?

Sync

I found those bungee cords on Amazon. But nothing cheaper than what Grace frames has them.

jbj137

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*** I love hand quilting on my Hinterberg floor frame.
*** Found it on CL about 9 years ago for only $75. (had never been used)
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*** It is very relaxing to me.
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*** You will learn how to quilt forward and backward.
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*** Just develop your own technique.
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*** Practice makes perfect.
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