Quilting Machine Aha moment of sorts
 

I started quilting in 2012. I spent a good portion of the first year watching YouTube videos, especially Jenny as I love her style and ease. My first quilts were nice but I found I had to tie them because I couldn't use my Singer Confidence Quilter. It just wasn't equipped to make quilting easy. It had a deep throat but I just couldn't get the hang of it.

My next problem was the sewing. I couldn't do a straight line to save my life. Quilting blocks in the ditch was more tear out than leave alone. The length of the stitch was so tiny, even though I had it set to the highest length, that tearing out was not fun.

All this made my quilting time unpleasant. I had wanted to quilt all my life - use to sew all my own clothes in the 60's - but never had the room where I could just let a project sit until I got back to it. Now that I live alone and my time and space is my own, my back gives me trouble and it's tough to quilt for more than 15 - 30 minutes at a time without retreating to my LazyBoy.

Anyway, the point I want to make is all machines are not alike. I got so fed up with the Singer that when a deal came along last month for up to 50 percent off machines I got the credit card out and bought a Janome. $500 for $300. It doesn't have the wide throat but it has all the fancy stitches.

I sat down to sew a quilt that I had put together where the points had a lot of material all coming together and it had to be added to the next row. I use to fight and fight with my Singer to go over this wad and my new Janome just glided over it like it was nothing! I was shocked and delighted. My seams are straight now, the stitch length is whatever I choose and there is no stretching when putting two squares together. After some 75 quilts and lots of door hangings and table runners and toppers and 16 baby quilts I finally find myself happy in my master bedroom turned craft room!

The point I'm wanting to make is that your machine really does make the difference in the ease and pleasure of your sewing. Make darn sure you get the right one first. My Janome cost less than my Singer did and it was on sale when I bought it. :-) If I could afford it I would have gone for a more upscale brand, but from what I'm experiencing, Janome is a step above the Singer and I'm happy.

I learned how to sew in HS. For my HS graduation I got a JC Penny sewing machine which is now considered vintage. I sewed and quilted on that workhorse of a machine until around 2001 when I finally broke down and bought my new Bernina with a sewing table that recessed the machine bed down to be even with the table. Wow what a difference that made to me. While my vintage JC Penny operated just fine getting the Bernina improved my accuracy and greatly increased my pleasure in the sewing room. The stitch quality and ease of making a 1/4" seam allowance was immediately noticeable. And having a table that the machine recessed down into made a huge difference in not only accuracy but drag on the quilt from the weight. I likened it to going from an old pickup to a Cadillac. I still had issues FMQ so I got my longarm and again, the difference to me was galactic! So yes the right equipment can make a huge difference.

I decided to try quilting in about 2006. I bought a mat, rotary cutter, rulers, pattern book and all the fabric to make a Christmas Tree skirt. I got so frustrated with my old Sears portable "eating" the leading edge of the blocks and generally misbehaving that I put it all away for five years. Then in 2011, I visited a friend who was a quilter with a beautiful Bernina machine. I came home, and within two days was the proud owner of a Janome 6600 and its sewing table. Seventy projects later, mostly quilts, both the Janome and I are still going strong. I have purchased a Janome Jem to use when traveling and a Baby Lock Tiara to do my quilting. The right machine can be the difference between utter frustration and a really rewarding hobby.

It went a little different for me. I bought a really nice looking Viking electronic one several years ago and quilted with it for about 3 years before it developed some very bad habits. The feed dogs didn't feed very well, so I found myself pulling the fabric under the needle. Talk about some very uneven stitches! I called every sewing machine repair shop for help and was met with the same response.. they wouldn't even consider trying to fix it. They said that the parts it needed would cost more than a new one, mainly because it had those fancy electronics. I even tried to give it to them for free, just so it would leave my house and not be tossed in the trash, but they didn't want it for parts.

I bought a heavy duty mechanical Singer at Walmart, cheap one, and I dearly love it. It doesn't have many fancy stitches, but I didn't use more than a couple on the fancy Viking. I does everything I ask of it and just hums along happily.

Congrats on your success with your new machine. I agree! I went with machines in the top bracket of the line. I had to wait to afford them but well worth the waits.

Enjoy quilting!

The machines I use all the time are straight stitch only. They are both workhorses. Clean and oil is all that's needed.
I have a few others that do a bunch of stitches but not good for quilting.

I don't use the fancy stitches much and I did the oil and clean thing. My first machine I had for quilting was a straight stitch and it drove me nuts. I was always tugging on the pieces to get it through. The second one, Singer, had fancy stitches but I only used the straight stitch. I did try the walking foot and it just dragged. You are lucky having found a couple that work good. :-)

I own 3 Janome machines and love each and every one of them. I have the 1600P on a Grace Sr-2 frame for actual quilting, the MC6500P for piece work and table runner quilting, and an older model Janome Harmony that was sold through Sears over 20 some years ago. Happy that you finally got a great machine to sew/quilt with!

I bought a Husq Lily back in 2000 and thought it was a Dream...until I discovered the combo SE Husq Emb/Sewing w/auto pivot. Not having to lift that foot w/each turn is a DREAM and I love my machine. I also have a Singer 160 Featherweight reproduction and that baby is a work horse and will go over any thickness. Besides my collection of Vintage Singers which I love because they only do a straight stitch but I have to say the perfect Straight stitch...

I agree with you. I think we should get the very best we can afford. I wanted a Bernina for years and when the time was right bought one and have been so happy with it for about 18 years now. I just bought a Juki for machine quilting as my Bernina didn't have a large enough harp. They are both wonderful machines.
Before my Bernina I had a low end Kenmore that I used for over 20 years. My Dad bought it for me when I first got married and I loved it but sewing on a Bernina after that one was a dream come true :)