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A few days ago my DH and I bought a used Grace quilting frame at a very low price. It will quilt up to a king size quilt. At this point I only have home machines of varying ages and brands. The $$ just aren't there at this point to purchase a long arm machine or even a Juki with a 9" throat.

I would love to hear if others are out there in a similar situation and having a ball quilting on a full size frame.

Thank you for any and all of your input. :-D

Anxiously waiting for replys too!!

Jane, it's nice to have company! :-D

I would watch for someone selling a used machine with a large throat. I use a longarm now, but I have used a Brother 1500 and an original Mega Quilter. Both worked really well. There are also machines made by Juki, Janome, and Pfaff that will work on the frame.

Many people here use a frame and a home machine. The issue is the throat space of your machine and a large quilt rolled up under the throat will leave you with hardly any space to move the machine. You will be very limited to meander or stich in the ditch quilting.

I have a New Joy frame that is 10', and I have a BabyLock Quilter's Pro on it. The quilting space is only 4"-5" (depending on how much quilt I have rolled on the back roller). I do meandering or I do pantographs, and sometimes I use Golden Threads paper to trace quilting motifs and pin them to the quilt and quilt over them. I just started using stencils to mark the designs on the quilt, and am experimenting with that. It is a little confining sometimes to have such a narrow quilting space, but I make it work. I also cannot afford to change my quilting setup at this time, so I make the best of what I have, and feel blessed to have it!! :-) :thumbup:

Thank you Jljack, your post encourages me. I know with a home machine my throat space will be limited. But, I want to make it work. :-D

When funds are limited, you can concider e-bay and craig's list. If you havn't noticed, some of the older machines have a longer throat. The machine I have has a 9"throat. When I start the quilt I have under 7" of space to work with. As the quilt winds around the rod, that space gets smaller. I do attempt to roll it as tight on the rod as possible to keep the space from shrinking too fast. Put your machine in position and give her a test drive. -- Start with a small practice quilt. My 1st practice was a queen size and I was very flustrated fast. Have fun.

I have a Brother 1500 on a handiquilter II frame and love it. I use a 4" pantograph on mine and can quilt up to a 72" long quilt. My frame can go larger, I just dont have the room for it now to make it that big. I love the meandering panto I have and I make it work for me. I have done several quilts on it so far and it has definitely paid for itself in the long run and not having to pay for a LA to do my quilts. ....Plus, it is a great feeling to say that you did the whole thing yourself :)

Thank you Debby and Wendy. Yes, when funds are limited we have to make due with what we have and also, I love being able to at least know I made it ALL myself. Thank you for your input. It helps me greatly. :-D