First of all I have been making quilt tops for 5 years and love it! about 7 months ago my sweet mother wanted to do something for me which she and my late daddy has given me my sisters and brothers gifts befor.This time She wanted me to have a long arm quilting machine, so I did my research and found a bailey and a grace pro frame at a great price.I have quilted 4 quilts so far and I am not as good as I want to be( I know that sounds really bad) but I want to be able to do a good job.The quilt I have in now I have taken out once already!My skills are needing help ,where can I find some help? My lqs is out of the question because I didn't buy their system, priced at 12 to 13 thousand. I usually dont let anything buffalo me, but this has to the point where I have thought of selling my machine and frame. This is not me and now I am ready to fight back maybe this time with more education and maybe just buying some muslin at wal-mart and making a sampler or something like that to work on my skills. Has any one used the boards and stylus?I used pantograph these are ok. What has been the best help for all the long arm owners on this board? I know this may be a silly post to most people but I am so timid of this machine :-(

Practice, Practice,

also one of the ladies from our quilt guild goes to some Longarm classes and she loves it

maybe you can create a thread to find out who has the same type of longarm that you have so they can help you

Oh don't be afraid of it--bond with it. There is all kinds of info out there to help you. There is a group for Tin Lizzie--in yahoo and they are a wealth of info. Sometimes it is not you but just learning how to use the dif threads and battings etc. And learning how to relax etc. You can PM for more info if you want to. Wishing you so happiness and luck with that machine and frame.

Got you beat girlfriend... I bought mine on 06/06/06 :) I was terrified of it.. and not because of the date. Just like the attention I got when I said I have a longarm.LOL!
Did about four tops and ignored the darn thing...

I thought about selling it... I could get what I paid for it, easily... They have appreciated in price. But here is what got me.. What if I made a mistake.. OMG! DO YOU KNOW what it would cost me to get another one?

So a few mos ago I put my fear away and just went to town.. I LOVE Pepperchini.... :)

Honey just shut up, grow up, put your big girl panties on and play with it.. Just get the feel of it, get a dry erase board with markers and draw this will get your muscle movements improved.. :)
Hugs and Kisses
Jacquie in Houston...

I say all of this with Quilty love and respect.

Don't be bullied by the machine its only a machine . Think about your sewing machine it took awhile to learn to use it & all the gadgets now you buy new gadgets for it. Go to the thrift store or watch garage sales get some twin sheets & flannel put them on your machine & play with it . Find out all the great designs you can sew. Really its just sewing with a lil twist . use the flannel for the batting (they are cheaper than batting). Then put on your favorite music turn it up and just sew get to know how it moves don't be afraid to go dif directions circles squares just relax & take it for a ride . That will get rid of your bullie. You will fall in Love with your new toy give it a name make it part of you. I have had mine over 25yrs still learning new things on it . So I know you can do it.

I have only had mine since Feb. At first I wondered if I had made a horrible mistake buying a LA. I bought a Tin Lizzie 18 LS.

I am now doing feathers, and lots of really nice designs. Muscle memory is very important so draw your designs out on paper. Even if you don't draw well, if you draw them on paper over and over again you will automatically remember the direction when you start to stitch. I stitch much better than I can draw it. If I'm doing a new design for the first time I always draw it over and over until I feel that the motion is becomming automatic before I try to stitch it onto a quilt. Practice as often as possible and you will get better then you will fall in love with your machine! You can search for and find lots of designs online. Print them out enlarge them and trace them over and over until you get the motion down then stitch them out. The first thing that I put on my frame was a large piece of inexpensive muslin. I got some crayola markers and drew fake patchwork designs then I quilted them after I had designed the area and drew or traced the design. By the time I was finished with that piece of cloth I felt comfortable enough to do an actual quilt. Looking back it wasn't that good, but my quilting gets better with each quilt I do.

Hope that helped some.

I am still getting to know my system too - well, actually, I'm upgrading my 'mid-arm' to a 'long-arm' - should be in shortly.

I went with the Pfaff GrandQuilter (has a 9" harp), have been terribly frustrated with the limited room - could do lines but couldn't do the nice designs in blocks. So my 18" is due to arrive next week.

I've tried all kinds of things just to get the quilt on the frame - pins, secondary leaders, channel systems, velcro. Right now I'm pretty happy with velcro on secondary leaders.

My most recent discovery was to pick up some heavy vinyl (the kind you might put on as a table protector), cut the width of the area I can quilt - so I have an 18" x 36" rectangle (bordered by blue painter's tape). With that on top of my quilt, I can practice and audition a quilting design. Pretty cool - get the muscle memory going, see if you like it on your quilt. Mark with washable crayola markers - just wipe it to start fresh.

I also bought some mirrored tiles, have those on the bed of my frame, so I can easily see what the stitches look like on the back - shine a flashlight on the back, see the stitches in the mirrors.

I've also been watching lots of videos - search you tube - there are lots available to pick up tips and techniques.

I also did up a sampler / practice pieces - picked up a bolt of muslin from JoAnn's, play with designs and tools. Another tip I picked up somewhere - likely Sharon Schambler - is to pin a narrow practice piece right along side the quilt you're working on - that way you can warm up without having to take your quilt off, and also to check that your tension is good after bobbin changes.

Hope this is helpful!! :)

Ditto all the above just keep practicing with it. It takes time to get it all together. I am still scared of mine at times I think my Izzie has a mind of her own. LOL There are days that no mater what i try I have to rip out and try again, then there are days everything goes great and I think Oh this isn't so bad. Don't tell Izzie but I think the good days are outnumbering the bad.

Do you have a pet? They love quilts, and they don't care what the quilting looks like. Just get two super-cheap pieces of fabric and some leftover batting, load them onto your frame, and start experimenting. When you're done the animals will have a quilt and you'll have some new skills and confidence.

Darren

I'm still adjusting to my longarm, and I've had it longer than I'll admit. What works for me is practice. I put some batting between two pieces of muslin and practice circles and ovals to get the muscle memory. Then I advance to meandering and hearts and other stuff. Being on muslin, there's no pressure for perfection and an opportunity for some fun.