Yeah! I broke down and bought a new machine. I was able to get a Janome 6600P from the dealer who was trying to figure out what was wrong with my 5018. After two weeks of having to use my old Kenmore, I told him, keep the 5018 :evil: and let me by a new one!.... Oh, boy, it's like driving a BMW after dealing with an old Ford... LOL

Anyway, I now have a machine, a quilting frame and I finished creating the cloth leaders last night. My question is..... do you attach the quilt top and back to the leaders with straight pins, or with safety pins? How close together do you put them? I have the assembly instructions from Grace, but it doesn't say anything actually attatching the cloth leaders to the quilt. Advise would be appreciated.... Thanks!!

I'm not sure how the Grace frame is set up. On my frame I have a roller bar on the back called the TAKE UP BAR. This is the bar the quilt is rolled onto when you have finished quilting an area and have to advance to the next area. You should have a leader on this bar that only the backing fabric is attached.

On the front I have two bars nearly on top of each other. The upper bar is for rolling up the quilt top. You attach a leader to this bar and attach the bottom edge of the quilt to this bar. The lower bar is for rolling up the backing of the quilt. You attach a leader to this bar and attach the bottom edge of your quilt backing to this bar.

For attaching the quilt and backing to the leaders I use CORSAGE PINS. You can also use T-Pins but the CORSAGE PINS are cheaper and it is easier to grab the pins. You should be able to find CORSAGE PINS at Wal-Mart in the floral department. There is about 144 to a box and it costs around $5.

You can either take one "big bite" of fabric per pin or you can "pin stitch" with each pin (going up and down several times looking like stitches on the pin shaft) These are placed end to end.

You always go thru the leader first. This does create a little "fold over" but gives the cloth extra strength as it is streatched between all the rollers. You might look on U-TUBE to see if you can find a video for LOADING A QUILT onto a frame.

I hope this helps, if I've not been clear please let me know and I'll try to explain a bit better.

Thank you crashnquilt, that helps. Do you put the pins end to end closely so that there are no gaps? Or do you space them out?

Hi Lori, I have an HQ2 frame and use straight pins to attach my quilt pieces to the leaders. I put the pins one right after the other with practically no space between. Congrats on your new baby! Have fun!

Oh I know I will! Thanks for the info. That's what I'll try. Hopefully I can get the hang of it.

The baby is your new sewing machine :?: Right :?:

great question on the frame!! I will start putting my GMQ together next week ( I hope) and that is really good info after I get it together!!

congrats on the new machine! I just purchased a 1600 and I LOVE IT!!!

LOL :D yes, Ruth, the ONLY new baby at our house is my sewing machine. My youngest is a high school senior and we are waaaaay past the baby stage.

Whoo Hoo, a new machine! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Lori-Congrats on your new baby. Enjoy!!