thanks I will be glad to read this !

Joe I agree with Nancy. I find it just as easy to piece with a treadle and it is better for me I seem to have better control of the 1/4 seams. I do use the two spools when piecing a large quilt it can hold lots of bobbin thread in the can. The 319 is also great to treadle when piecing. But then again I have been using a treadle for 40 + years and it comes natural for me. Like Nancy said you need to practice. At the moment I am trying to finish three quilts started. So much to do with little time.:D BTW Nancy how to you like sewing with the Jones HC? I like mine and easy to use.

Skip

Skip, right now my twin Jones' HC's are sitting on a shelf. I just got my long bobbins from the UK a couple days ago. I also received the needles last week, so I haven't had time to try sewing with either of them.

I was so stressed out last night trying to get the tension right on my HQ 16 long arm that I almost dismantled it! I have no problems with tensions on any of my 50+ vintage machines, but that stupid long arm is a pain in the butt! Every time I try to quilt a quilt with that stupid machine, I have to mess with the tension. Even with that, I never get a really nice stitch like any of my vintage machines! I wish I could just throw out that stupid HQ 16 and do all my quilts FM on the dinning room table, but when I do a king sized quilt (the one on the LA table now is 107"s by 115"s), it takes hours and hundreds of pins to pin the quilt for FM on the living room floor. The LA, when working, is so much faster and easier on your back for very large quilts! Why is it that the HQ has to be adjusted with every quilt - I get the tension ok with one quilt, and the next one has birds nests! Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Sorry folks, I am just so use to vintage machines now - they just do their jobs every time!

Nancy

Nancy, Skip,

I have this "thing" about back tacking my pieces. None of my treadle machines has a back tack or reverse. They are all oldies.
I can do it, but it's just a pain to me to do so. With an electric machine with a back tack I can nail them loose ends down good and tight and go on to the next one.

One of these days I'm gonna put a more modern machine in the treadle cabinet and see how I like it. But I'm a bit busy and distracted now.

Joe

Nancy the vintage machines are so nice to use without tension poblems that I very seldon use my electric New Home. Although the electric is a vintage New Home 1967 and sews very well but I still like the stitch better on the older machines. I have posted a pic of it in the New Home club thread. Just can't go wrong with these old ladies. I hope you try out the Jones soon they are great machines. I love the HC and it is very much like the Singer 28 HC I have. I think you will like them.
Skip

Joe,

Even on a machine that doesn't have a reverse or back-tacking you can still get the beginning (or end) of your stitching tight. You just have to hold tight to the fabric and stitch in place (defeating the feed dogs).

Mom3,

There must be a half dozen or more ways to back tack a piece. I have my favorite and use it when ever I use a machine w/o a back tack feature. I sew a few stitches, stop, raise the needle, lift the foot and pull the fabric back towards me, lower the foot and sew.
It's easier to do that to describe.
I haven't tried the method you mentioned yet. I should.

Joe

I just move my stitch lever to zero for a second then move it back. Just stitches in place a few times. Same results as pressing the 'back stitch' button.

You are both correct! There are more ways to 'tack' than I described. I guess I'm just lazy - I just hand on tight to the fabric for a few stitches. :)

I'm still too uncoordinated to treadle - give me a HC...