butterflywing

i also had the New Joy frame and like SadieMae originally had the Brother 1500. after the first quilt i realized how little space there was at the foot of the quilt. it was just too hard to keep moving around in 4" increments. i ended up taking the quilt off, reversing the direction so the top was at the bottom and vice-versa, putting it back on, and continuing from the center UP.
can you picture it? put the finished part on the bottom and the unfinished part on the top and worked upward. it was the only way to do anything bigger than a 3" block. after the second one that way i gave up and did quilts in two sections. the machine won. i just used a long leader and did two sections, sewed them together face to face and hand finished it on the back by hand. i did use it a long time though before i bumped up. look for a good used longarm or a midarm (16").

don't give up. just plan ahead.

fabric whisperer

I just got the Super Quilter frame (like the Handi-Quilter just a little sturdier) and I use my Husqvarna Sapphire 850 with a 10" throat. I can use any of my machines, just lucky to have one with a longer throat. I am just now getting to really play with it, so I don't have lots of experience, just about 5 years of freemotion the normal way, including all the aches and stiff necks ;) The longer the throat, the longer your workspace. I can do up to a king on mine, too, just am working with smaller stuffs first.

SewExtremeSeams

Butterfly and Whisperer... thank you for your posts. Each one of you help me so much. Planning ahead sounds great... I think that s l o w l y, I am beginning to get a picture of what is ahead of me. :-D

It is wonderful to meet those who have gone ahead of me in quilting. The deal on my Grace frame was just too good to pass up.

Quiltforme

I have the little gracie II with the juki but you could put a domestic machine it will just take longer to quilt. I am going to put a Pfaff grandquilter on it on Wednesday.

Bubblegum0077

Will watch this thread too. I was thinking about the same idea to use with my Janome MC6600. It's not a really fast machine but definately a workhorse. How much did you pay for your Gracie frame?

fabric whisperer

same here, it was on CL for a good price, and I feel I'm ready for framework ~ plus to be able to keep quilting, but outsmart my arthritis LOL

SewExtremeSeams

We paid $400 and found it on craigslist. I had seen others previously listed for several hundred more.

Have you seen this thread?

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-120311-1.htm#3165722

AliKat

I have a HandiQuilter and love it! Unfortunately my townhome isn't that big so my frame is out to 8+ ft. There literally is no where in the house to have it out any bigger because it would block a doorway or the fireplace. It would fit in the living room but would look so awful I wouldn't enjoy using it.

So, to me 10 ft seem great!

ali

BDor

My sister and I bought a gracie frame and a Brother 1500 2 years ago and really like it for what we quilt. We have quilted some queen size just have to roll real tight. We use pantographs and it is sometimes hard to find the 31/2 to4 inch size, so if I find a wider one that I like I purchase it and them put it on my printer and reduce the size until I have the width I want, then make several copies and tape the together. This has worked real good for
us.

Bdor

carreen

Yep, been there done that, got so frustrated I finally bought my APQS Millenium and haven't looked back! You need the proper tools to do the best work you can do. Can your husband use a little tiny screw driver for everything he does? NO, he has the best.