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I'm new to this Short Arm stuff too. I bought a Janome 1600P from a co-worker and found an Original GMQ frame on Craig's list for $200, so for $700, I've got the whole "kit & Kaboodle"
I've done 4 or 5 quilts so far, some with great outcomes, others, not so much! All I'm doing is meanering and curlyques...I don't think I would do well following a pattern. I might try it sometime, but for now, the meandering works for me. The Janome has about a 9" throat, my other machine, the Pfaff, has a 10". It would give me a little more room when quilting, but I like the Janome, it works great. I do have a speed control too, so it's all right there on the frame handles. Have fun! Carrie |
Originally Posted by mamamjs
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Really like the short arm, but we are limited in designs. The meander comes out nice, as do some other overall designs. Guess I am looking for a larger design that could be done in "stages" as the quilt is rolled during the quilting. So, say, you have a 6" plain square (or triangle or other open space) and want to add a motif to fit. With our short arm, we are limited to about 3-4" of quilting space after the quilt is rolled. Would like to see samples of quilting that can be partially done and finished with the rolling up of the quilt. Maybe others out there will have some good ideas! Really like this format for sharing!! Find a pattern I love, and visually section it out into appropriate quilt-sized rows (4" or 6" ) that I could quilt. With my finger, or a pencil, draw and redraw a path through each 'section' that I have visualized, until I can quilt a row with minimal starts and stops. Cut it apart where I think it works the best, then create a pattern (panto, or single pattern, whatever) to use. Quilt one row, then roll and quilt the other section/next section of the pattern. Keep going until finished. The trick is to cut or section the patterns in such a way as to not have too many stops and starts, and so that I could quilt an entire row without rolling. It does change the look of a pattern somewhat, depending upon the pattern - but it works. I got my patterns from longarming books, blogs, online visuals, etc. Anywhere and everywhere :) Hope this helps - it sure helped me! Debbie in Austin |
I have a Janome 1600P on am 8-foot frame and have really enjoyed it. The 3.5 to 4.0 inch quilting space is very limiting and all I have done so far is pantos. One of these days, I plan to upgrade to an 18-inch machine and bigger frame.
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I bought a used Handi Quilter last week. I hope to get it set up this week. I have to decide which sewing machine to use with it. I love the way the 201 quilts, but I need a new power foot control thing. The most throat space I have with the machines I have is 7 inches. Seems small, I hope I can make it work.
I guess we would call this Really Short Arm quilting. My plan is to practice and turn out beautiful quilts so my husband see the reason I need a real long arm. I am told you can use pantograms with this set up, but I am not sure how. |
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