Tried this and it worked.
 

Glad you figured it out! The learning curve for longarms is the biggest curve I've ever encountered! And I've painted in every medium and done stained glass.........among all the other handcrafts out there.

Happy sewing!

Is there a longarm machine that works like it's suppose to without glitches in the machine every time you use it? All the LA's I know are always having problems about the machines messing up and going through hoops before the dealer will even think about really helping. Honestly I don't know one LA dealer in my area that I trust to be of any help if I buy a multi thousand dollar machine from them after seeing how they treat other customers. Getting a company rep from any of them is impossible. I don't think the companies know or care how bad the dealers can be.

Long Arm machine is a dream of mine- but after hearing about the troubles makes me wonder if I truely want one.

I seriously LOVE my Apqs machine. I rarely have problems with it and if I do it's usually operator ignorance. The Apqs staff are terrific to help you with any problem. Rarely have tension problems...I just can't say enough good things about it. Jennie(my Mille) and I have bonded quite nicely!:thumbup:

I seriously love my APQS, too, and my Dealer is great. If I have a question, she helps me or she contacts the main office to get the answer or to contact me. I have no complaints. My previous long arm for a different company, however---long story--but I did not receive the same excellent support that I receive now with APQS. I agree that every long arm brand will have issues. No long arm is going to run perfect 100% of the time. It's like owning a car--there's always going to be something that needs fixing at some time or another.

Innova's customer service is top notch, 24/7, and you speak directly to an owner who knows the machine backwards and forwards. He doesn't want you to get frustrated with the machine rather than call. Of course there are bound to be questions, user error, and occasionally a machine doesn't work right and needs to be fixed, but the service is there! I haven't needed to call my dealer, ever, and seldom needed to call the factory, but when I did I got instant help.

Wish you lived in the SC-GA area...I bought my Gammill from a dealer in Snellville, GA and she and her husband have been wonderful! I've had one problem with it, a tension problem, and her husband stayed on the phone with me for the length of time it took until I had it fixed, and he and I checked it out. They came in and set it up when I bought it and didn't leave until I was relatively comfortable with it, and that said a lot to me. Good luck in finding someone like them!

After quilting on a domestic machine for 10+ years and being very comfortable doing it. No way would I drop that kind of money for possible problems I have read about these machines. Just me.

I am new to longarm quilting - my husband bought me a Gammill last summer. I have about 25 hours on it so far and have only had one major problem with tension - I would have caught it earlier if my friend hadn't been distracting me - it was her quilt and she helped do all the "ripping". Once she was gone, I reloaded it onto the machine, went to the local quilt shop and talked with the owner, then came home and adjusted the tension on the bobbin case and quilted her quilt in no time at all without any issues.

I bought mine used and haven't had any interaction with the representatives in our area. I do know that I visited the quilt shop they are located in and left feeling "ignored". I will have to give them another chance, but it will take me awhile. They aren't close by and I don't get there often.

My biggest problem with owning my longarm is CONFIDENCE! I am gaining more each day with each new project.

I think I'll just stick to my domestic machine, send it out if it's a very special quilt. Maybe if I win the lottery, I might would get one!

Look at Gammills.My dealer is Accomplish Quilting in Stevensvill Im..I can almost always get a good answer from them.But on the rare occasion they can't help I call Gammill direct.They return my call within 24 hours and are very,very good at answering any question I have.They W A N T you to be satisfied with their product.
Don't always shop price only.You get what you pay for.If you buy a Yugo,ya get a Yugo.It goes down the road but at what cost.Same with long arms.I have a friend who has an APQS.She has no customer support,has to take it to Missourie to be serviced,constant problems.No one to call.They delivered it by bringing it to the edge of her drive and dropping it there.I could go on and on.Any way,take time to try all of them.If it buggs ya at a show,It will drive you crazy at home.Long arming is too rewarding to be turned off by an inferior machine.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Nolting! I've only had it since May 5th, however, it's a dream come true for me. And guess what? I bought a 10 year old machine! I have had very little trouble with it, and the one very minor issue I had was IMMEDIATELY solved over the phone, after business hours, by one of the people in their Iowa facility. (yes, Nolting's machines are made in the USA!)

The Nolting reps delivered my used machine to my house, set it up, and provided me training. They spent the day with me doing all this, plus I have a day-long class scheduled next month, FREE, with them at their facility.

This is my FIRST longarm machine. Yes, there is a learning curve and I'm on it. I'm keeping a blog about any issues I have (most of which are tension related) so that I can look back and see my progress. Already, just a couple months in, I feel that I have gotten better at it.

I work a full time day job, just in case you think I have all day to play on my machine. When I get on the machine, I tell myself this is my learning period and not to be so hard or critical on myself about my work.

I kind of got off track. What I wanted to express was that there ARE good manufacturers and dealers. I found a real gem in Nolting and I can't say enough good about them. The people are fantastic to deal with, from the reps to the factory and even the receptionist in Iowa. They stand behind their machines. I hope anyone who has any doubts gives them a fair shake, because the experience I have had with them is just out of this world fantastic.

I bought a longarm Tin Lizzie 18, but I'm having all kinds of problems. I don't know if I have it set up wrong or what! My thread keeps breaking and now I can't turn the knob on the upper tention. Also if anyone know someone in central Kansas that will teach me how to use my longarm could you please let me know. I bought it in April and have only quilted a table topper that was 36" x 36". I have a quilt on it now but I've had to stop several times and i'm on the 4th row of edge to edge quilting. Maybe someone know a good on line video to help? I've done a search and watch as many as I can on youtube. Thanks in advance.

I agree-Innova has the best customer service of any of them.I do not need them often-but when I do they are wonderful.They will return calls weekends even on holidays and walk you through the tweaking.Ask me how I know.

About 3 years ago I got a Baileys LA quilter and absolutely love it. True there is a huge learning curve & I seem to learn something new every time I use it, but that's not the fault of the machine. Every time I've had a question, the company owner actually answers the phone & gives me more than enough help.
It is a simple machine without all the bells & whistles, but I wouldn't trade it for anything else. I am sorry your friends have had such poor experiences with their machines, but it does seem that people only talk about problems and not their good experiences.

I'm another satisfied APQS owner and feel that their service department bends over backwards to assist me with any concerns I have. I also agree with an earlier comment about the difficult learning curve. After twelve years of serving customers, I am finally getting it.

I too bought a used Nolting and absolutely love it. They brought it to my house one evening around 8 pm on the way to the Denver Quilt show, set it up and stayed until nearly midnight working with me. After about 5 weeks and 16 hours of quilting, the motor went out on it. We niagnosedthe problem over the phone, again after hours, They sent me a box, paid my shipping both ways, and replaced the motor under the 1 year warranty I was given with the machine. I have to say they have excellent customer service and I am very happy with them. My closest dealer would be almost 3 hours away.

BizyStitches, you need to call the manufacturer. I am thinking you probably need a new tension spring or a new assembly which are very easy to replace. I had that happen on my 1st machine. It didn't matter what I did, the thread was breaking and the tension spring started sticking in the bottom position and I couldn't turn the knob at all. We took it apart and cleaned the assembly, put in a new spring and it worked like a charm.

I use my mom's Bailey and haven't had much problems. However, on one quilt we were having thread breaking issues. We cleaned and oiled the machine and then changed the needle. We were using metallic thread and had the wrong needle in and once we changed the needle very little breakage, we also slowed down.

Well, this is not my experience with my Innova. I rarely have glitches and the few times I've had a problem, it's always been something dumb I did. It is true that longarms are more difficult to balance stitches on compared to a sewing machine, but I'm constantly changing the thickness of thread I'm using and I just know that I have to "play" with the tension to get it perfect, not a glitch, just part of the process; not difficult, just part of the learning curve. The Innova is made by ABM International in Texas and I have the cell phone number of Michael (the "M" in ABM) and he is available 24/7/365 (free!!) to help me out with any problem I might have - like the first time I needed to time my machine after having it for over a year. I know of one lady who was having a problem with her machine and Michael couldn't solve it over the phone...he was driving while on vacation with his wife...figured out he was an hour away from her, detoured to go to her house to figure out the problem. Another Innova owner was having a problem and two guys from the company were in the same state doing an install, they drove over to her house to help her out. No charge, just all part of the customer service provided by ABM. Since it is a family owned and run business, they really care about their product and their customers.

I bought my dealers demo model, a 26" Innova. I have never had a glitch and hit the ground running with this machine. Dealer delivered and setup in my home. Subsequent issues were operator issues, not the machine. One time I thought my stitch regulator was acting up. Called my dealer, he rattled off a few things I should try and wham no more problems. I am more than happy with my Innova and my dealer. I have yet to take advantage of ABM's 24/7/365 customer service but have heard nothing but positive testamonials about ABM. I think we had one QB member have some issues with their dealer but ABM came through with flying colors for her.

But I am surprised at your comment, didn't you post once that you tried a friends LA and got immediately turned off of LA quilting (I think you said the loading process completely turned you off to LA) and have no desire??

I bought my Gammill Statler from loving stitches in Fayetteville nc and the only tension issuses I have had we're user error or not paying attention.... I have been long arming for 2.5 years and love my machine and my dealer anytime I need a question answered I go to the user group, my dealer or directly to Gammill....

I also have an older APQS and it is a workhorse. The only problem I have had is that it only likes serger thread. Expensive threads skip.

I have a Tin Lizzie LS and love it! My dealer is awesome, he's also my favorite Janome dealer. I just put the Quilt Magician on it this past weekend and live it even more!

Most of the problems I had were user error. I joined the yahoo group and asked other quilters questions, too.