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Still dreaming
Posted: Aug. 29, 2007, 11:08 AM
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I've been lurking around this forum for awhile and figured it was time to come into the light. Don't own an HQ yet, but took a class on one at a local quilt shop. Fell in love with it but can't quite afford to make the purchase yet, at least until my son (starving law student) graduates. Fortunately our quilt shop rents their HQ and I have booked it for what I consider my second lesson. I threw together a quilt top from ugly leftovers so I'll feel freer to experiment. Haven't done a lot of quilting in the past -- a couple of bed quilts (hand quilted) and a few baby quilts that I tugged through my sewing machine using a walking foot. My attempts at free motion have been pretty pitiful, so I have high hopes for my HQ experiences. I've enjoyed reading all your tips and words of encouragement to other newbies. Keep them coming! MJ from MD |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Aug. 29, 2007, 9:09 PM
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Enjoy the dream and know when you finally get an HQ 16 of your own, your dreams have come true! It's by far the greatest "toy" I've ever had. I'm glad I didn't go for the pricey long arm because I'm afraid I'd have to turn it into a business and lose the fun. You're wise to get experience on someone else's machine so you'll really be a pro when you get your own. Quilt on! |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Aug. 30, 2007, 11:05 AM
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I had a deposit on a Gammill when I tried the HQ 16. Because of all the hype of the Gammill, I thought it was the only machine to buy. I went to the quilt shop that has the hq to buy some fabric. I got to talking with the owner, told her that I'd put a deposit on the Gammill and she said, "Would you like to try the HQ16? I'd like to hear your feedback between the two machines." I've shopped at that quilt store for years, and Cristen knew full well that I am very blunt when it comes to asking my opinion. The first thing I noticed for difference was the handles! I could keep my shoulder in a comfortable position as I moved the machine. Second thing I noticed was I was not moving the weight of the machine like on the Gammill. The HQ16 seemed a lot quieter while sewing. The only plus I could compare between the Gammill and the HQ was stitch regulator. The Gammill did seem to be a bit faster than the HQ. Also the Gammill does have a larger sewing field than the Gammill. THOSE ARE LITERALLY THE ONLY DIFFERENCES I COULD FIND! And I had been working with a Gammill (renting at a shop) for 2 years! The HQ16 was $4,000 less than the Gammill, including buying the steel QuilTable! My thoughts were for that kind of money I could easily put up with the slower regulator and smaller field. I now find the smaller quilting field a definate PLUS because I don't get "lost" so easily while quilting, the smaller field allows me to concentrate better on what I am doing (if that makes any sense to you) Needless to say, I immediately returned to the other store to retrieve my deposit so I could buy the HQ. I DO NOT regret my decision one bit. Glad I did it! |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Aug. 30, 2007, 2:26 PM
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| I love my HQ16 too. A guestion for MJ - can you scribble? If you can, then just scribble on your scrap quilt. That would probably be considered meandering and meandering looks great. You can add a loop here and there or a double loop. Have fun practicing on the quilt shop's HQ. It is a fun machine. |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Aug. 30, 2007, 5:11 PM
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Oh Donna, that's why I fell in love with the HQ. I scribbled my little heart out when I took the class at my quilt shop. Wrote my name, invented some cool curly cue designs of my own. The gal who taught the class was great and made sure we didn't obsess over not crossing the lines. I couldn't believe it when I looked up and we'd been at it for almost four hours. And that's after I'd worked a full day! I think after I finish my Ugly wuggly next week, I'll feel confident enough to tackle one of my real UFOs. MJ from MD |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Aug. 30, 2007, 6:48 PM
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crash Thanks for the opinions about the Gammill vs. Handiquilter. I have theHandiquilter but have wondered if the Gammill would be worth the extra bucks. Maybe if you were to use the statler stitcher, but not many of us have that kind of $. I am too old to start that now......lol |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Aug. 30, 2007, 9:24 PM
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Chaz; The Statler Stitcher might have been nice but not worth that kind of money to me. If I would have gotten the Statler Stitcher with the machine on deposit it would have been will over $15K. Having owned my own computer business for over 13 years, I have yet to see a computer with a program worth that kind of money. But even with that, I am still more impressed with the performance of my HQ16 with stitch regulator. In fact, my HQ has always made a nicer looking stitch than the Gammill. This has proven to me, bigger price don't mean better machine. Plus, I think the HQ is much prettier. I'm quite fond of the purple lettering on the machine, and the white table looks much nicer and cleaner. |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Aug. 31, 2007, 1:08 AM
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I have spent a brief time only on the HQ, but have rented time on a long arm. There is more than one location nearby that has the HQ, and one will rent time on it. After reading through some of the forum, I will have to make a visit. I would like to make some change, but the task is to determine to what level. While I like the long arm, it's a chunk of change. One reason to rent the time was to find out if I liked it well enough to move forward with a purchase. MJ, it just takes some practice. My first attempt was pathetic, but by the third time, I felt much better about it. Practice the movement/quilt design with pen and paper or on a white board before going to the machine. It really helps. |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 3, 2007, 8:59 PM
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Thank you for this forum. I' ve had my machine for a bit. I too could not see putting out that much money for a gammil. Also no dealer in the area. This is only a hobby for me. If you get a chance, go to some quilt shows they offer classes on machine quilting for long arms. They are wonderful. |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 4, 2007, 12:29 PM
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Also, whenever HQ is a vendor in your area at a show, you can get SHOW pricing. I got a REALLY SWEET deal on my set up. The MQX show was at Overland Park KS, quite a drive for me as well as having to spend the night before coming back home, so my dealer called her HQ REP to see if she could offer me SHOW PRICING. There was no question about it, she said "My rep said by all means give that gal show pricing immediately!" I couldn't whip out my credit card fast enough! I had called or talked with other longarm dealers and the ONLY way I could get show pricing was to ATTEND the show. hmmmmmmmmmm, let's add this up. 1. Price of gasoline to the show....$2.89 (or more) per gallon....................$50.00 (or more) one way 2. Price of hotel near the show....$125.00 per night (possibly a 2 night stay) 3. Price of admission to show....$10.00 per day 4. Price of food while away...$40.00(or more) per day Let alone the time it would take me to travel 300 miles (one way) making that about a 4 to 5 hour drive BECAUSE it is not all freeway to and from. So for a 2 day stay, my minimum expense would have been around $500.00 Well for $500 I can buy a lot of fabric, batting and thread. HandiQuilter was the ONLY longarm manufacturer, that I could find, willing to offer SHOW PRICING without attending the show. NOW THAT'S A MANUFACTURER KEEPING THE CUSTOMER IN MIND! |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 4, 2007, 8:45 PM
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This forum has been a big help to me as I too am a beginner on the HandiQuilter. The CD's that Handi Quilter sells are great. They have a lot of good information on quilting and I think well worth the money. Happy Quilting! |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 5, 2007, 11:09 AM
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I watch my videos almost DAILY! I just hope they can't be "worn out". I have visited Ms. Hyland's website and she has some very good products available and some really good tips on her website. I've also written emails to her and she does answer your questions. She is an HQ Ambassador and she is truly a VALUABLE ASSEST to HandiQuilter. |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 6, 2007, 10:27 AM
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Well I had my second HQ experience and things didn't go too well this time. I booked the machine for four hours, but because of numerous problems I only used three. Fortunately the shop only charged me for an hour and a half. My problems? Things started out fine, then the thread started breaking over and over again. The gal at the shop said they'd had no problems like this before, but it did the same thing when she tried it. I used Robeson Anton thread, which she said they used all the time with no problems. We loosened the tension, swithced bobbins, cleaned lint, oiled and cussed at the thing, but nothing seemed to help. But I kept trying and then between thread breaks, it just stopped sewing (motor stall). I had been doing a meander at a nice steady speed --- not creeping or flying and it just arbitrarily stalled. It did this a few more times, then the tread broke again and I was so frustrated that I just had to quit. Grrrr. They're going to call in a technician to look at it so I MIGHT be persuaded to try it again (eventually). I had such a good experience the first time! MJ from MD |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 6, 2007, 1:28 PM
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| They may need to service and oil their machine. Mine was doing that and after service it is now purring along fine.some dealers don't want to take the time to service when needed or just don't realize it needs to be as you would your home machine, once a year or more depending on how much use it gets. Every 6 mos. or so if it is used everyday. |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 6, 2007, 11:03 PM
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| MJ I hope you don't give up. For the money I think this is the best mid/long arm machine around. It's so effective when it works and mine has worked most of the time. My tension problems have been minimal. |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 7, 2007, 8:19 AM
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Hi crashnquilt, I tried to find Ms Hyland's web site and what I came up with wasn't much. No tips or products. Would you please give us the web site you found for Ms Hyland? I think we would all appreciate it. I love her CDs. |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 7, 2007, 12:49 PM
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| Her website is www.quilterstouch.com |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 8, 2007, 3:46 PM
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| Thank you crashnquilt. I will check it out. |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 10, 2007, 1:05 PM
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| Hi, I'm new to this forum. I have an APQS, its a used Ultimate II, I will be working on an HQ16 soon. I am looking forward to seeing how differant they are. I'll be back to give you an update. |
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Still dreaming
Posted: Sept. 17, 2007, 1:34 PM
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| Crashnquilt you were lucky to have a good dealer in your area. In the southeast the closest one to me (2 states away) was not as cooperative. They would not honor the coupon for lessons from Salt Lake. They wanted to charge me for everything from setting up to a basic lesson of threading the machine. I even offered to travel the 3 1/2 hours to her shop. Still would have had to pay for any instruction. I said, "Nothank you." and learned on my own by using the 3 videos. It is very nice to find people who share their love of sewing with others. By the way I bought mine through the internet. |
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