oldtnquiltinglady

I have a Gammill, my son does my quilting, and one of the first projects we had was a pre-printed DWR for our preacher. He "small stippled it all over" and it was absolutely gorgeous and is now being used as a guest room bedspread in the preacher's home. We used a light weight batting and lining, and it is just right for our summer weather here in TN. My son calls his stipple work "jig saw puzzle"---give it a try, you'll love it. He has even learned to spread it out a little to make a denser, heavier quilt with his "jig saw" design. I brag on my Gammill, but he is the one who needs to be bragged on--he came from knowing nothing about sewing and machines to being my go-to person for quilting my quilts and fixing the tension on the machine, and knowing the right type of thread, weight and so forth, to make them look fabulous; he has gotten used to my "hovering" and doesn't mind it so much. Hahahaha.

Silver Needle

Are you computerized?

oldtnquiltinglady

No, mine is the Classic, four (I guess five now) years old. We have already changed one set of the roller wheels and had to do something to the inside of the tensioner. But we are fastidious about oiling it, keeping the dust out of the machine and tracks, and leaving the bobbin case out when we aren't using it; plus unplugging it from the wall when we leave the sewing room. We have a lot of electric storms here, and I kinda think the lightning might have gotten it one time last spring when we did leave it plugged in one weekend.

I am not so sure that I could handle a computerized one. I haven't even figured out the computerized part of my HV Designer I for embroidering. But if you are asking for ease of use in a long arm, this machine is a dream to guide and move around for free arm sewing. Once you learn not to clutch with a tight fist like I am prone to do....

Bobbielinks

I have quilted several wholecloth preprinted tops, even have one on my Gammill Classic now that I am working on. Once it is loaded I like to run a basting stitch across the sandwich about every 8 to 10 inches apart down the length. After it is basted I can unpin the top from the roller closest to me and roll the sandwich onto the backing roller putting me back at the take up roller to start quilting. This will help to keep the quilt square as you are working on it. I remove the basting threads as I get to them and gently rub the needle holes to close them up before I quilt that area. I do like to use a Poly batting with a little loft to give a nice definition to the quilting. Good luck, and have fun. I know it will be beautiful when you are finished.