Ok, it's my birthday and I've had this Long Arm for 3 months and haven't used it yet. Today is the day! well, tonight I guess.

I hope I can figure everything out.. :?

Happy Birthday!!! And YES!! Fire up that long arm and have some fun! :)

Happy Birthday to you! Get it going, have fun with it and in a short time you will be a pro at it.

Thank you!

I guess I have just been a little intimidated by it. It's SO BIG! :shock:

Happy B-day!! Once you get acquainted with the long arm, you will love it!! I have the Hobbyquilter and I don't know what I would do without it. Even my grandson has used it, and it was just 6 or 7 at the time he did.

Enjoy,
Barb

I'm sure once I dig into it, I will get the hang of it. I just wish my mom was here to help me figure it out. But it is still too cold here for her so they are waiting a few more weeks before they come back. (It was 18 degrees this morning. BURR!)

I can't believe you have waited that long to try....I have a midarm A-1 on a 12 ft. table. I had a few "hiccups" while learning to use my machine. I bought it used and basically was told, here is the video, have fun. You will do fine, I am sure. Just have patience and play a lot and remember..DO HAVE FUN WITH IT.

I didn't get a video, all I got was a manual from the 90's. It didn't have instructions for loading a quilt or anything! I searched high and low for a class to take that I didn't have to book a flight for, but couldn't find one. Then finally my boyfriend said that he thinks his cousins wife does that. Well she does and will come and help me anytime. She lives 3 miles from me!

I did find that the gammill website has way better instructions than the Nolting one.

how fortunate you are I amdieing to get one but worried about the room it takes up. Don't want to discourage the grandbabies from coming over!!
Am interested in which brand you bought and how you made your decision.

Happy birthday! And be sure to have fun with it!

Happy Birthday and Happy quilting! I'm sure you will be flying around on the long arm in no time

Happy Birthday and have a great time with the Long Arm!

Happy birthday and I hope you can share your experiences with us! (With pictures :mrgreen: ) This way you'll be able to help anyone who gets it! Have fun!

I got an older Nolting. It's an SMS 16 and has a 14' table.

My basement isn't finished and is a walkout, so there is lots of light. So I have it down there. Once I get situated, My boyfriend said that he would finish the room for me.

I am about ready to have someone come over and help me haul this thing to the end of the driveway for the garbage man. The more I try to figure it out, the worse it seems to get. I think my quilt is loaded wrong or rolled up in the wrong direction or something. I look at the website and the pictures arent the same as what mine looks like. It seems like I only have time to really dig into it on the weekends and then there isn't any support.

My boyfriends cousin said she'd come and help me, but I feel funny about calling her, because my machine is in my basement and it's kind of icky down there. She was my sewing teacher in high school and just knowing her, I'm sure that her sewing room is perfect.

Take a step back, deep breath....go buy a bottle of wine. Sit, relax.
Now, call your boyfriends cousin to come look at it. Who cares what your basement looks like. She's coming to help you, not determine if your house/basement needs cleaning.

It's probably something really easy that you are overlooking.

Thank you for the advise. I really have been going this alone and I know I should ask for help. I just never seem to until I'm ready to have a nervous breakdown! Lol! I think I probably have a bottle of wine at home..

I think I will do a quick spruce-up on the basement tonight and then give her a call.

GO FOR IT! You will regret it if you don't!

Maggie, you might check out Longarmuniversity.com.

I have a Grace Frame and had watched the video 3 - 4 times, and still not happy with how my quilts were loaded. I printed a 10-age article from Longarmuniversity.com about how to load a quilt, and it's made a world of difference! Quilts are even a joy to load on the frame now.

Hope it might help you.

Have your boyfriend's cousin come over & help you. Then have her back after the room is finished to see the progress. I bet she'll be just fine. anyway. We all have to work with what we have & she'll understand. If not...then just remember... Your objective is to get help so that you can start using your longarm. I'm excited for you!!! You'll love it once you have it working. Call her!!

I think I figured it out. My machine is not set up correctly. The take-up roller is rolling in the wrong direction and the other two need to be swapped so that there isn't a lump from the canvas.

I'm so glad I figured this out. It has been a long and frustrating road. Now I just have to get some muscle over to help me. Shouldn't be hard, I can get Tall,Dark,and Hansome to help me. :wink:

Glad to hear that you got it figured out! It will be much better when you can start using it!!