mimisharon

Hey Patrice, I've missed talking to you busy lady. My perfect solution for you is to invite them to come to a 'quilting party.' Have them bring their sewing machines and or use one of yours for an hour and watch how often they don't question your quilting injury. OR Take a quilt you are quilting in and your machine, let them see the wrangling and push/pull. It's called perspective. They WON'T ask how you can injure yourself quilting anymore.


I also added a solid foam cushion to my chair to make sure my elbows were even with the table top. That helped tremendously, and then I have the corn collar I wear when my shoulders begin to fatique from the sitting and quilting.
It's wonderful. I do use the gloves, too, that keeps my hands arthritis from hurting so much, but nothing helps more than just getting up walking around, move that ironing board across the room so you HAVE to get up more.
I just miss the sewing quilting on the days I'm out most of the day and trial and error has taught me these tips have really helped me to enjoy it more.

cavell

I found a sturdy adjustable table at IKEA that is the perfect height for me when in its lowest position, and doesn't vibrate even at high speed. Also stretch breaks are vital, though challenging as I always want to do "one more" piece.

frostbaa

Check this out.
I'm going to try it.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/search....machine&u=&s=0

lass

I bought a table from Ikea and then adjustable legs so that I could have it at the height I needed. I also had an office chair with adjustable height that I use. I sit with both feet on the floor, my chair pretty straight - It has a slight curve for back support. I got it from an office warehouse store as a second. It was in great shape and I used it for over 9 years at work and now at home. Hope you can get some relief.

jpthequilter

I cut 2 " + off the legs of a little metal legged glass topped desk I use to draw on, and put my sewing machine on. It sure helped! ...but changing the chair to an upholstered comfy club chair on wheels helped more.
(Now my little dining table has only 3 chairs, but if I have
company for lunch, I quickly wheel it down the hall to
make the 4th! LOL)
JP

QuiltNGanny

I couldn't get my table low enough so I built a platform for my chair. I placed two x fours on the side and screwed a piece of plywood to the 2x4s and added a "rail" around the two outside edges I would be most likely to roll off. It works great and the height is perfect for me. It has made a world of difference to my pain level when FMQ.

eej713

When going to retreats, I always take my own chair and table. The dining room tables we use there are way too high for me to sit at comfortably. I'm 5' and raising my chair isn't an option unless I build a box for my feet and foot petal to sit on, as I have very short legs.

baywinds

A couple of days ago here on the board there was a thread going about "to tilt or not to tilt". You definitly need to get an adjustable height table and get that machine down lower, but also try using the rubber door stops to tilt the back of your machine slightly forward. It might not be real conducive to quilting a large quilt, cause it changes the angle of the machine, but it sure helps the shoulders and neck because you're not reaching over the bed of the machine to see where you're going. Hope this makes sense.

bigsister63

See if you can cut the legs off the table. That is what my DH did with metal legs. He made it the perfect height for me and my chair. Still have some neck and arm pain from moving quilt and tension of FMQ not from height of table.

selm

You need to watch where your feet are also. I'm also 5' tall and have always had to watch both my arm height and my legs. If my chair is high I need a block of wood or something to keep my legs from dangling or they pull on my back - more pain
:cry: