Agree ! I have a old quilt machine . I always tie mine then take a needle & go in at the tie and hide all my end threads in the batting. The bar can't be to high or it will bounce all over no control .If it's to low you will feel like you are pushing your machine instead of floating your stitches. Have fun its a blast after the first couple days.

The bar (takeup roller) in the throat of your machine needs to be a little higher and you will have to raise it more as the quilt gets rolled up on it. You will want your quilt to lightly touch the bed of the machine.

You pull the bobbin thread to the top when you start & stop if you're in the middle of the quilt somewhere. If you're off the edges--it doesn't matter. To pull it to the top--you do a needle down/needle up and use a pair of tweezers to grab it and then pull up about 5-6 inches. You can then wrap your thread tails around a pin and pin it out of the way to go back and bury them later or take a couple stitches in place and trim them all when you get ready to take the next pass. At the end of a pass or when you stop quilting a block--you again do a needle down/needle up but then you raise the presser foot and move the machine to pull up the thread again, move the machine back to the same spot and take a couple tiny stitches or cut and wrap around a pin to bury later. It will make more sense when you've got a quilt loaded and try it. I used the auto thread cutter on my first machine at the end of every pass after taking a couple stitches in place rather than pulling the bobbin thread up again. It leaves a little tiny tail on the backside but not enough to catch on anything and if using a cotton batting, it will kind of disappear into the crinkles.

Thanks so much for everyone help. I am off for a shower and get my house picked up so I can spend the rest of my time playing with my new toy.

I am new to this site and I love it already But I am not sure how anyone gets any quilting done. The site is like a good drug. I hate to leave it:-)

1) Should I pin my quilt on the leaders or baste them on?

Find the center of your top (and back). Mark with a pin. Start in the center and pin every 5 to 6 inches. Then go back and put another pin in between.

2) If I want to quilt something that does not have a continuous pattern how do I lock my stitches before I cut to go to the next block?

Lower the needle once. Then move it a few inches and pull up the bobbin thread. Pull on both threads and stitch in place about 3 stitches. That will secure the start of your sewing.

3)My table has a adjustment up and down. How close to the floor of my machine do I want to set it? The lower I go it seems like I will not have no roll up space to quilt anything with size to it.

When I am sewing at the back of the machine, I like it about waist height. When I am at the front of the machine, I try to get my elbows at about a 90 degree angle when holding onto the controls.