butterflywing

hi azam.

good idea about cutting the thread. i'll try it next quilt. the reason i worry about king sized ones is i make my queens square, but with a king they wouldn't be. they could still be 98" (which would be top to bottom) across and whatever up and down. i guess about 120" for a 20" drop.

sandpat

Thanks for starting this thread...its very interesting and has some great information. I have quilted all of my quilts..(including several large size queens) on either my old Singer or my regular 200E Bernina. I don't have any trouble really moving it around (and Tim...I"m 5', 110 lbs.)

I guess its what you are used to. I'm sure that if I tried one of the larger machines, I would never do one on my regular little machine again! I know that I would LOVE to have a mid-arm at least some day, but for now...I'll just bookmark this thread for my beginning research.

shaverg

Thanks, Sandpat,

I thought Tim was being a little condesending toward me.

k_jupiter

Huh?

I don't know you. You said nothing stupid. Why would I be condescending?

I relate my experiences, you either take those observations or you ignore them.

tim in san jose

fish92241

I have done my first quilt on a Little Gracie II with a Janome 1600 DBX. In my opinion I have mixed reviews. The frame is very good and easy to maneuver. But I wish I had explored further the Bailey 13" mid-arm machine. I make 12" blocks and my Janome only has 9". Lots of stops to advance and it's hard to pick up in just the right spot. I found the frame very hard to assemble and finally called and got the videa. They should have sent it with the package! Would have saved a lot of frustration. I got the thread cutter and find that it pulls the top thread down when it cuts. So then I need to clip all those short little pieces from the back. The platform maneuvers easily, but the Janome is very heavy and it is hard to make smooth patterns. So I guess my feeling is that I like the frame very much, but have frustration and some buyers remorse with the Janome. Thanks for letting me vent!

Sheree from Chicago

Good Morning!
A friend of mine has a Statler long arm quilting machine. It is a wonderful machine. It is computerized and programable, hundreds of patterns to choose from, or she can free motion. However, long arm quilting is her business. And she does have quite a business, always 50-75 quilts to be quilted. The down side is that it takes up her whole dining room (so much for Thanksgiving dinner). And the price is about $35,000!
How exciting to be in the market for a new machine! I would appreciate a dealer helping you make the right decision and not trying to sell you the moon.
Have fun. Let us know what you end up picking, Sheree from Chicago

butterflyquilter

I am looking at the Bailey machines. The problem with those is I live in Ilinois and I wouldn't be able to try one out. Not sure if I like that. But I like the price of them! Does anyone know what all you can do with them? I saw a video but it wasn't that great. The Babylock Jewel was great and you could follow a pattern. Does the Bailey allow you to do that?

ruthie

Hi everyone,
My DH made me a metal frame for my machine. It's 13 feet long. He gave up his metal shop for me to have a studio and it's in it's' own little building. I only have a singer 201 right now but am planning on purchasing a longarm as soon as I can find one in my price range.
I also leave a little at the sides to change bobbins. As for cutting threads, I saw this once on a video (can't remember where). After you are finished sewing put the needle down and then back up, move the machine away from the spot and catch the thread with your fingers. Hold the thread and put the needle back down in the same spot then up again all the while holding the thread pulled up when you first moved the machine. Put a little upward pressure on this thread when you move the machine away again and the bobbin thread will come up through the quilt and you can cut it off whatever length you want.
It's so much easier than fumbling under the quilt for the bobbin thread.

azam

Hi fish92241,
Try rolling your quilt with the needle down where you have to stop. Once you roll your quilt resume quilting. This usually works for me 8)

omak

I want in on the discussion <g> ... not because I have anything to add, per se, but I want to read what all of you are saying!
We got the Pinnacle, and it is set up full length (didn't want to lose any of the parts) .... as it stands right now, of course it will have trouble going around a corner ... HOWEVER! When it came by Fed Ex, it was in a box that wasn't more than maybe fourteen inches deep, and a little wider, by about five feet long ... an appliance dolly took it wherever I wanted it to be. Should I ever decide to move the frame, I know we can disassemble and re-assemble anywhere else we want. The instructions are in the file cabinet ... if a man puts it together, a man can take it apart ... or a woman, as the case may be - - it is that inanimate, human superiority thing I live by <g>.
Sorry that you didn't have a helpful salesman ... but, on the bright side <g> it is one less store you have to spend money in, and more $$ for somewhere else in your county, eh?