1) Since I am fairly new to quilting, I find that alot of the abbreviations people use are confusing to me. Is there a Key somewhere that tells me what abbrev. mean? I grasped DH means dear husband lol! However, some leave me puzzled.

2) I have discovered that LA machines are WAY out of my price league right now and even the quilt frames are. What can I do to quilt the first real quilt I have made (king size for my newlywed daughter) on my home machine? What will make it easier? I roll up the thing but the space between the arm and the needle is not that much and to start in the center, as I am told you should, leaves alot of fabric on the "arm" side of the machine. What can I do? Who do all of you do?

I have been saving abbreviations and will post the link here for you

http://www.quiltingboard.com/user_page.jsp?upnum=1743

Check out Lea Day's site; she does all of her free motion on a regular machine. She shows you how to set up tables around your machine to make a work area especially for a large quilt; she doesn't use reall expensive tables either. She has lots of designs and such.

http://www.daystyledesigns.com/

Thank you, Thank you I have been racking my brain on some of these and was not sure where to look and hated to ask on here.

:lol: Now, why in the world would you be afraid to ask a quilting question on The Quilting Board? :lol: No one is going to laugh! Besides, if you ask maybe others can learn too.

Asking should always be alot less stressful than frustrations. None of us have all of the answers and if someone on this board does have them all then we are even luckier to be members here and seek the answers.

Try quilting in sections. I did this on many quilts before I bought a longarm. Marti Michell has a book that explains several techniques, and that book was my bible for a while. (Different techniques work better on different quilts.)

I like the add the batting as you go method for bigger projects. You add in the next 12 - 18 inches of batting lenght as you are finished with one section or lenght. All that's left to roll under the arm is the backing and the top.

I don't roll, I scrunch, it works a lot better. I still start at the center, which is a struggle, but once the center is done the rest is a piece of cake.

That is so nice. I will check it out now and become "quilt board enlightened". ha ha I appreciate it as now I will be able to more correctly follow some of the threads.