I want to be upfront and state that I do not know anything about quilting. I have been looking at Quilt Frame for my wife (as a surprise) for a bit. She has a viking Platinum 755 and makes mostly baby quilts. I have been looking at the Little Gracie 2, but based on my complete lack of knowledge on this subject is this a good choice? Should I be looking at something else?


Thank you for your help!!

Thank you for the reply!!
N
nothing really set. I found the little gracie for $600.00 I dont want to go crazy but I want something that will last..

Well, you know enough about quilting that you understand your wife's attachment to it and that is the BEST knowledge in my book. You are a sweet man!

Now to your question: I think that kind of a purchase is best made by the user and by saying that, I may be putting a damper on your surprise idea. Does she have one in mind? Would she be happy if she got something "parked" in front of her without any input? I ask, because I would not. I would be a very ungrateful recipient and give my DH a less than enthusiastic "gee thanks for asking" reply :twisted:

Personally, I have a Handiquilter and I JUST ordered the Quilter's Cruise Control to go with my setup. I am not sure if I would get the Handiquilter again, but at the time, it was the one I could afford.

Have fun with your project. There are so many options to research. Your wife is a lucky woman!

There are a *ton* of considerations when making a purchase like this. Are you absolutely sure that she would want a frame for a domestic short-arm machine (which is what the Viking is)? Not everyone would. Personally, I would not want a frame unless I could also have a mid-arm or long-arm machine.

There are many experienced frame quilters on the homequiltingsystems group at http://groups.yahoo.com . You might want to ask there if this is a good idea or not.

How about the suprise being a homemade gift card saying... you have so much to spend on a quilt frame of your choice. That way you are both happy. You can even make a night of it by taking her to the store she wishes to buy it at then dinner. :D

I'd go with a card as well, half the fun in owning something like that is in the research and the actual buying.

And nice one dude, what an awesome thing to do. Make sure she knows how much effort you have put into this, asking questions and getting advice, it's part of the gift. :-)

You could always be surfing the internet and ask your wife "What is a quilt frame? Can you show me one?"

Then as she is showing you, you could always ask if she had the opportunity to get one what would it be and why?

You know, show an interest in learning kinda thing.

What a gem you are! I think a gift certificate would be great too. Your lovely wife may have an idea of what she wants. You could get her a collection of fabrics that you like and write a card saying "make me something." The real gift being the quilting thing she gets to pick out. She is going to be thrilled anyway you go!

I think a card is a great idea. She may know exactly where she wants to buy the frame from and just what she wants. You can be there when she picks out the perfect frame. And she will be ecstatic

Sorry but that big a gift let her pick what she wants.....you can't go wrong.....trust me.....the surprize will be you letting her get it.....xoxoxxoo.....:-)