Karen K.

No you are not the only without a longarm.I have no desire to own and have no space for it either. I am first to admit the quilting done on the LAs is beautiful but I also think sometimes it detracts away from the actual piecing.

Gerbie

[quote=ruck9085]I have a Singer Quilting machine, which really is just a sewing machine with a ton of stitches and such. So, I read on here about y'all doing free motion quilting and machine quilting on your machines. Here's my question... Am I the only person left who not only does not own a long arm machine, but will never be able to afford one?
Okay, enough whining. My biggest problem is I hand quilt all my projects because I only make bed quilts. I've tried a few times to machine quilt, but it just doesn't work for me. For one thing the throat on my machine is like eight inches and I can not figure out how to roll up a queen sized quilt and stuff it into that small space. How on earth do you all quilt on your sewing machines?[/quote

No my dear you are not the only one that doesn't and probably won't ever own a LA machine. I do machine quilt on my Bernina. I just roll it tightly and go to the center of the quilt and work out, usually down first and then up and then out to the edge. It isn't easy but I manage to get it done somehow.

sewmom

i will probably never own q longarm .I quilt my own smaller quilts and send out the larger ones which are usually a pantograph design, i have a Flynn frame, but my room got so messy that i had no room to use it. I'm going to practice on it very soon so i can start doing even my smaller quilts b/c it's too hard to get down on the floor to baste.

garysgal

You know, you don't have to have a long arm to quilt on a frame. If you can get a frame, you can use your sewing machine. I did until I got my mid arm quilting machine. You can only quilt until you run out of throat space, then you have to take the quilt off, and start from the other end. It's more work I know, but it can be done.

sewingsuz

I am in the same boat too. I will never have a long arm because my house is not big enough for one. I will either send them out or tie them or quilt as you go or make smaller ones. The Long arms are so expensive, even if I had the room.

Dee

No long arm here either. Do quilting on my Brother or Singer. It would be eaiser, but will never be able to afford one.

audsgirl

I use my Bernina 153 QE to quilt all my quilts. It's not easy. I start in the middle and work the right half of the quilt, then turn it around so that what was the left half is now the right. It's hard to maneuver a large quilt, and they get very heavy, but that's my only option. Luckily, I don't like a lot of heavy quilting on my pieces.

masufa

Well Ladies I learned to never say never, this is a true story. Some one I know just had one of her friends GIVE her a LA frame and machine, the lady was getting a divorice and couldn't take it with her so she just gave it away, so there is always hope.
I FM quilt on a small Brother with a 8" opening, it isn't easy but can be done if you take your time. I usually hand quilt the bigger ones, but the last queen size I did I made in long strips and quilted the strips then sewed them together it was really easy because the strips were only 16" wide.

trisha

I have a Singer Confidence Q and quilt Cal Kings on it all the time. You have to learn to puddle the fabric instead of rolling it. The center is the hardest, but once you get that done, it is fairly easy.

Momsmurf

I also have done large quilts on my "regular" machine.
What might really help you is if you can create a large table space to the left and back of your machine. I found that without a lot ot table top room, the quilting process was so much more of a fight.

That will make it much more manageable. Then, roll up the quilt sandwich really as tightly as you can on the right (throat) side.

Many "teachers" suggest stay stitching in the ditch initially then go back and work on smaller areas. The "shifting of the backing and batting will be minimized. That has been helpful for me also.

Looking forward to seeing what other suggestions come forth.