I purchased a Pfaff Grand Quilter and Imperial Frame in Dec last year, and have had an absolutely brutal time getting it going. Putting the frame together was a nightmare. Had missing parts, took weeks and weeks to get everything in. OK, so now it's all together and I'm practicing away. Have done practice quilts and exactly ONE quilt.
Went back to the dealer for a training session on how to load the quilts in the frame and it was useless - they didn't end up wanting to actually unload what they had on the frame (a sample for playing with the qbot) and just talked through the process. The dealer is an hour away, I wasn't happy with this waste of my time.
Ordered leader cloths, they've never come in, and they keep promising. I gave up on that.
Tackled it again this weekend, put another practice piece together and got into a nice rhythm and ready to try it out on quilt #2 - a cuddle quilt. As soon as it goes onto this quilt, the stitches go horrid, the frame won't move on the fabric, and needles are breaking.
Got some titanium needles, and break these too! The darning plate is bowed and won't stay in place.
Made an appointment with the dealer this morning to take the Pfaff back for a checkup. Confirmed hours. Get off work early, drive an hour, arrive at his shop an hour before they're supposed to close ... and they are CLOSED.
So I'm really really grumpy. I figure they can make a house call now. Sure looking forward to that conversation with them tomorrow morning ... or with Pfaff if the dealer isn't seriously offering substantial recognition of wasting my time.
Well, that was a nice rant, and I don't even feel better about it yet :( Thanks for listening :)