Quilting frames?

[Judymc]

Have been thinking about buying a quilting frame -- one that fits a standard sewing machine. Grace is one brand I see advertised. I'd love any input from anyone who has one. Are they easy to use? Are they easy to set up? Is it realistic to think you can take it down between finished quilt tops?

I've been struggling to learn free motion quilting and it just seems like it would be so much easier to move the machine around the quilt versus manipulating hte quilt th rough the machine. http://www.graceframe.com

Thanks for any input!

[Judymc]

Best advice is to "test drive one first" and their should be shops where you can do this I wouldn't purchase one until you have decided it works for your needs everyone has different sewing needs.

No they are not easy to set up with the given directions DH. and I helped a shop set theirs up and they we're really fustrated with the given directions I believe they got someone out from the company to explain how to put it together and also lessons on how to use it.

You can not take it down between finished projects.

I do own a King size Little Gracie frame with the wooden Stencils and I have it stored away I started out with a reg. sewing machine and didn't have maybe 6 inches of quilting area so I went and bought a long arm and I still wasn't happy with the quilting space on the frame "I really like my freedom in quilting space".

A shop near us owns one and gives lessons on the quilting frame You could check out different shops to see if this is offered Many people like the frames and some people don't. It all depends on the persons needs really. What fits one person like a glove might not the next so do test drive.

Do I think its a good frame yes but it didn't suit my needs

Good Luck,
all my best Kathy

[Judymc]

Thanks for your reply. Not being able to take it down between quilts means I'd have to leave it set up in the dingy, musty basement. I can't imagine a more depressing place to finish a quilt!

Good advice about a test drive. I'll look for that and continue to hone my skills on my existing machine. It's just so hard to manipulate the quilt! I know, practice, practice, practice!

[Judymc]

I would think about a long arm sewing machine,again test drive many before buying. even with out having a quilting frame it makes quilting so much easier. You don't have to fight with the bulk any. If you have a large desk set up against a wall with a long table sat up against the large desk then a small table I use a micro wave table on rollers that also turns into a iron table.

I really don't think its so much the practice practice practice I believe you have the skills in quilting its the machine not having enough space. I found this out myself and you'll be surprized once you get a long arm 'what a difference' It's worth the investment for quilters,alot less stress on the limbs.

My ironing mat is made out of rubber carpet linner ( I can't think of the name) you actually call whats under the carpet!!! any ways, I use a heavy weight fabric for a pillow case to put rubber linning in I've had it afew years now and it works great. The heat doesn't melt the rubber linning at all it's more like a heavy foam of some kind.

If you lived close I would let you test drive both.

"Good luck"

[Judymc]

I just set up my new-to-me Grace Sturdy-Lite frame yesterday- haven't had time to play with it yet but it seems wonderful so far!

It's NOT easily taken down, though, so I would recommend it only if you can space about 12' of wall space and about 4' or so front-to-back space.

If I had less space to keep it set up, I'd have gone with a HandiQuilter and a folding table.

Lisa

[Judymc]

A little late to respond, but here are my two cents...

I have a GMQ Pro set up as King size. I have it in my living room, but if we're entertaining, we just pick it up and walk it out to the garage for the time being.

I love my frame and don't know what I'd do without it, but here are the challenges I found that I'm guessing would apply to pretty much any frame:
1. Space required - I chose the GMQ Pro because it went from crib to king and had the fold down legs. I have never folded down the legs since I have to take part of the frame apart in order to do so, so its not all that practical. I also leave it at king size since changing the size is not all that practical either.

2. Assembly wasn't that bad, but I like puzzles. There were a gagillion pieces and I stained them all first, so it was pretty time consuming.

3. Since I move my frame around, the leveling is a bit of a pain, but is soooo crucial.

4. Getting used to setting my motion speed to coincide with the machine speed - and still not break needles or threads was quite the challenge. Practice, practice, practice!!

5. I still find times when I'll get to a spot on the quilt and no matter what I do, the thread breaks. I have never gone through an entire quilt without having the thread break at least once. I have reduced my needle breakage though :-)

Those are the biggies. Hope this helped!

[GloriaH]

I bought an "easyquilter" when I was in Houston. I haven't finished anything recently so haven't used it. I think I might have purchased it in the heat of the moment and now I'm having serious doubts about what it will do. Would love to know if anyone has used one and what they think. Gloria

[eileenkny]

Before you decide, check out the Gammill Premier and the APQS Lenni.
I am biased, I own a longarm so you can take this from my perspective.
Many people who've bought the smaller systems have gotten frustrated with the throat space. This is something a lot of people don't think about when they're buying these systems.
No, the LAs can't be taken apart and yes, you'd be in the basement but you'd love the quilts that come from them. Lots of award winning quilters work in their basements. Just fancy it up a bit
eileenkny

[eileenkny]

I believe this is one of the reasons why I never liked using my Little king size Gracie frame beside having more area to quilt in. Is (Tension problems).

If you don't have enough "thread guide" you will not have good "sewing tension". with out this you will get constant thread breakage,or your bobbin thread will make a big globby mess on the under side.

I delt with this even with a long arm Janome attached to the frame. I know it's the "thread guide" because my long arm works great setting on the table when quilting.

I saw a lady showing a different type of quilting frame and a nice
long arm machine and she went over this throughly. I was surprized with what I learnt by this. She even used pieces of sponge,or rice bags where the quilt is rolled onto the bar just behind area you will be quilting in, for extra quilting tension.She would stuff it alittle under the rolled up quilt on the bar.

I never got any lessons on how to use the frame just how to set it up. I know of a shop that does lessons but haven't went yet. So all this information was great!

I'm going to set up my frame again to give it another drive, because I think it will be easier on my neck/back/shoulders. I let ya know if I like it any better,its the quilting space I have problems with too the allowed quilting space.

I need more thread guides, for better tension. I will use afew screw hooks, they make really nice thread guides.

Ps. if you are having problems with constant thread breaking while quilting or bobin blobs check out (tension guides),"having enough".

I wont have the alowed quilting area that I like but I think it will make life alittle less achey, I'll update once I get it set up again and, I will put a picture up once I get it back up! LOL!
DH Loves me
Happy Quilting

Edited to say: I repeated myself several times,Oh well it's me in a nutt shell! what can i say............ ops:

[eileenkny]

I have a Grace GMQ Pro that I initially had a Juki TL98Q on. It was very frustrating to not have much quilting space and control. I eventually bought a Nolting Fun Quilter to put on the frame and am VERY happy with the combination.

I started out setting it up at queen but had several larger quilts to do so went with the king set up. I do mostly baby quilts but it is nice to have it set at king so I can quilt anything that comes along. I love my frame and breaking it down to a smaller size or enlarging is not a hard thing.

I am in a location where I couldn't test drive so did a lot of research before buying. I chose the Grace GMQ Pro because it would handle up to an 18" machine. Also, I liked having the solid wood table top which I use for a lot of things.

Judy in MO

[tecrt]

I too am new to quilting. Our local quilt store had free lessons and test runs on the lilltle gracie and it was easy to quilt with. But it takes up a lot of space and was not practical for my home. The Road to california quilt show I was able to try a Flynn quilt frame. It is one where you move the quilt through the machine. But it takes up very little room when not in use. It took me about 20 minutes to put the quilt on the frame and it rolls up very nicely and stays tight so you do not have to baste!!!! I really like that. The cost was about $100 which was also a big savings. I have free motion quilted two quilts and love the ease of this frame. Mr. Flynn was giving demonstrations and let me use the frame for about 40 mins while at the show. I was able to pick up the proper tech. and found it to much easier to use vs the little gracie and the long arm. I suggest you check out the web page for Jeff Flynn. If you are short on space and want and easy put away this is the one. It stores easily when you are in the middle of project and easy to pull back out too.
Hope this helps.

[BethMI]

is http://www.flynnquilt.com/

BethMI

[BethMI]

What size quilts have you made using the Flynn frame? I've considered purchasing it - but I usually make large queen to king size quilts.
Virginia

I'd stay away from it for anything that large. I had one that I used on crib sized or wallhanging sized quilts. The way it works is by moving the quilt side to side, instead of the machine. Because of that you need a table about twice the length of the quilt.

I liked it for those smaller projects, but moved up to a Grace frame to do larger ones.

Lisa

[BethMI]

I'm still considering the Gracie frame. Based on the comments here, I figure I could manage up to a twin size on it, and send anything larger out to be quilted. I've also been looking at long arm set ups, and still can't get my mind wrapped around the investment required -- especially given my somewhat low volume of quilts per year.

I noticed a few people said they just set up their Gracies back in December when I first posted. If you're happen to check in on this chain, I wonder if you can tell us what your experience has been?

Thanks to everyone for your input!

[BethMI]

Hi, i have had my grace pro for about 3 yrs now. it was pretty simple to put together but that may have been because i was a machinest for 10 yrs. i have mine set up in my den, i am a single lady. it is set for king size. I started out using my singer on it but have just bought the viking 870 which has a 10 inch throat. i am very happy with it. i quilt because i enjoy it, i don't sell my items. the only time i had a problem with my thread breaking i found that lint collected under the bobbin case. i could sew about 2 bobbins worth then every 4 or 5 inches the thread would shred. i talked to my singer dealer and he ask if i cleaned under the case. when i removed the bobbin case there was this little pillow of lint. :-( . now after every bobbin change i clean the lint. haven't broken a needle or thread since. for someone on a shoe string budget this is the way to go. Granny (barbara)