Quilt halo's
 

I purchased 2 quilt halo's at a quilt show and can't seem to get comfortable with them. They worked well at the show on the longarms when I tried them out but now that they are at home with me they don't seem as workable. I am using them on a DSM. Is this the problem? I hate that I spent that kind of $$$ on them and now don't quite like them. Do I need more practice or did I make a mistake in buying them? Has anyone else tried them on their DSM? Thanks for the info>

I saw some at a quilt show, spoke to the salesgirl and when I told her I use Machingers, she pooh-poohed them and told me that was why I had trouble with FMQ (mind you, I have a table with a rubber lip, no easy glider mat of any kind, and am a noob, so are you SURE the Machingers are the problem?) Needless to say, she was selling her halos for domestic machines and telling me how great they were. I passed, because I didn't have any $ with me, and there was no set up for me to test-drive the halo. But I have wondered about them and whether or not I passed on a tool that would really help me out. I only quilt on a DSM, so I am very curious to see what responses you get on this thread. Good luck and DON'T GIVE UP!

PS sorry, my response was not particularly helpful, was it? :o

I think it's famous Diane Guydinski that I saw using one... or maybe Sharon Schamber. Whichever, they seemed to like it. Perhaps you find a different feel to it if your DSM bed is not as slippery as the one at the show. Just a thought. I hope you work it out.

I'm not even sure what a halo is. But is there a quilt shop or quilt guild near you that maybe someone could show you on your own machine?

If there is any kind of "lip"or difference in height between the bed of the machine and the cabinet that surrounds it, the halo will catch on that lip and be a general pain in the neck.

The halo requires a pinching motion - very hard on your hands, fingers and wrists. If you're not using a pinch to grip the sides, you will need to use a repetitive pinching motion to pick the darn thing up and move it.

It seems almost invariable that just as you get in the middle of a design - half a heart, half a flower, etc - the halo is suddenly blocking your movement and requiring that you pick it up and reposition it.

I tried and tried to get this thing to work and honestly, it just didn't happen. I found only two good points in its favor. It does a fairly good job of keeping the fabric smooth. It works as a template for drawing circles.

I bought a pair of quilting frames that are supposed to do the same thing and at least those require a larger grip - not the very small pinching position of your fingers. And maybe if you do a lot of micro-stippling or other very tiny designs, these frames would be good for that. I only rarely quilt that heavily.

In normal practice, they just get in my way, constantly interrupting the flow and requiring repositioning.

IMO, you're better off learning how to hold your hands to create a frame, wearing gloves to give you traction on the top of the quilt, reducing the friction (drag) on the underside of the quilt, minimizing the mechanical barriers to your efforts.

Interesting. The constant pinching motion would be very hard for anybody with carpal tunnel. thanks for sharing this information as it does give more than one point of view. I know it works well for Sharon Schamber and may for others, but would be a problem for me too.

I really don't have the "pinching" problem because they move by just spreading your fingers out and laying them down on top of the rings. It's just that, first of all I have to take the whole foot off the machine, slide the halos under, and then replace the foot. Then you really can't cover much area before you have to pick them up and move them again. It's just frustrating right now. I probably need to practice a lot. I am just getting into the quilting part of the process and it is discouraging. I have no problem with them sliding around since my machine bed is large and I do like the way" they" grab the fabric. It is really easier on my hands than "me" grabbing the fabric. Oh well, just another technique to master I guess.
Thanks for the encouragement.

I have one and use it to do a small area but the larger areas require to move it a lot and I'm afraid I won't concentrate and hit it with my needle and break needles!

I don't understand what this halo is, or what it looks like....Please explain.

Sorry to read this as I bought a halo at a quilting retreat and am getting ready to try FMQ. Guess I won't have too high expectations