Originally Posted by Rebecca VLQ
Yeah, um....I don't know how much quilting you could do with a standard throat on a frame. I mean, you could do *some* but me, with a 9" on a frame, I have to advance the quilt a lot more often by the end. You'd have to be prepared to quilt halfway through the quilt, then turn and reload, kwim?
I don't stop and turn anything - - just too much work! ... one of my solutions was to turn the quilt sideways when loading it up ... and, I make sure that I am loading the right side of the quilt, rather than the left side ... The reason for that (in my thinking) is that we usually read from left to right ... with a design that is "narrow", (speaking of stippling most specifically) the eye becomes "confused" by having to read across lines of quilting that are going up and down, so the brain says the quilting is more complicated than it really is ... (if that makes sense <g>) ... anyway, by doing it sideways, I have less in the throat of my machine, also.
And, another thing I have started doing is really racking down the tension on the layers ... that tightens what is in the throat of the machine, so I can get further, longer.
Yes, it is a hassle stopping every four inches or so to advance the quilt ... but, at least I can look forward to a mid arm machine with the Grace Pinnacle ... although, consider this!
The frame is $1000 or more of the price of a quilting set up - - so ... if I were to replace my system, I would replace the whole thing - - cheaper and more efficient than just buying a new machine.
however, we shall see what I am saying in a year or two ... either way, if I never change my system or get a bigger machine, right now, what I am dealing with is better, faster, and more efficient than sitting at a table and wrestling with quilt bulk <wave>