Is there anyone here who has (or had) one of the original Handi Quilter frames and would be willing to give me some help in setting mine up. I was very fortunate to have one given to me but I am struggling with good set up. I have spent hours looking at the Handi Quilter site and also joined a Yahoo group for Handi Quilters, but it seems to be quite inactive.

What kind of help are you looking for? Are you talking about the handiquilter II frame?

This one is the original (before the II). I set it up but find it to be unstable and shakey. I thought maybe once the quilt was loaded, it would be better, but not. I must be doing something wrong and hoped someone with experience could help me figure it out. The L-shaped side bars are not stable, although I tightened down the clamps. They want to swivel so don't stay straight. The white side arms don't want to move equally up and down. Belly bar up on one side and down on the other side. And -- as a result of the lack of stability, the bottom carriage does not want to stay on the track.

Actually, sounds like I've done EVERYTHING wrong. The instructions didn't look that complicated. LOL!

I don't know anything about the original handi quilter frame. Sorry. But, I can't imagine that it is much different than the handiquilter II. When I clamped down the L-shaped sides, I put the clamp in the middle of the L instead of at the end because of that same reason. Maybe if you measure every 1/2 inch or so, and mark this on the side arms, you will get the arms to be even. This is a pain, but it worked for me. Mine would slip down and then I had to tighten it with the black star knob but I used those lines to level both sides. Also, when I had the HQ II frame, my poles were very flimsy, so my hubby bought some heavier poles,one long pole and put the original poles inside them and then screwed them together at the ends to give me a more solid pole. Maybe your tracks aren't straight and that is why the bottom carriage doesn't stay on the tracks. What do you have your frame mounted on? Mine was mounted on one of those 6 ft folding tables. Good luck I hope this helps some.

Thanks. I will try those suggestions tomorrow and see what happens.

Thanks again for suggestions... I did get it working today. Frame stabilized and machine successfully sewing across fabric. NOW to get the quilter (me) to work well is another story. :D

Just take your time. Don't forget to breathe and practice, practice, practice.