Did you get the Tin Lizzie Queen Quilter or the Tin Lizzie 18LS? I got a Tin Lizzie 18LS a few days before Christmas--but I had to buy my own Christmas present! I work full time so have hardly had time to "play" with it yet. I've only quilted about an hour so far on some practice material. I am almost done making a quick simple disappearing 9 patch quilt so I can "practice" quilting on a real quilt. I can't wait to get quilting on it! Right now I am testing a few different brands of threads to see what Tin Lizzie seems to like. The Dealer I bought it from says she only uses Signature brand of thread. I just read a thread on here about "Thread" choices for quilting and it seems that many people prefer King Tut. I have a sample spool of that, too, but haven't tried it yet. Good luck with your new Tin Lizzie. I feel like we have an instant bond since we both got them at the same time.

I don't have a TL, but my Innova has a different place to put the thread if I use a spool of thread rather than a cone. If you use the spool where the cone goes, you'll have problems because thread on spools is meant to come off in a different way than the thread comes off a spool. Don't want you to get frustrated with that!

Aborning,
I got the Tin Lizzie 18ls. It is awesome. My dad has one too and he was visiting this week so we got to play with it together. I have done a couple of practice pieces this week. One was a meander and the other one I tried feathers and spirals. I have to put together some to play with. Let me know how your progress goes.

My husband and I added on a room above our garage so I could set up my Innova long arm machine. It's awesome.

I worked with it alot today. I feel ready to actually do a real quilt. I have been practicing other more complicated freehand styles other than meandering and loops as I have done lots of that on my Sewing machine (Bernina QE440) and don't need practice with that. We all know that if we can do fmq on our sewing machines, we sure can use a long arm! I can't wait to do a real quilt now. I have a black and white and red top almost done. Let me know about your progress, too.

Thats wonderful!! :thumbup:

I have the TL18 older model. Bought it used and had lots of hurdles to jump this year. I mainly played with it but finally got one quilt done for a friend who was diagnosed with cervical and uterin cancer and I wanted her to have it before the treatments. Since we are both newbies, keep in touch and let me know how you are progressing. I had shoulder surgery 2 months ago but I think it will not be long before I will be able to practice and play again. I have bought several quilt tops (thrift stores) and convenience(cheater) tops to practice with my Lizzie. Just wanted you to know you are not alone on this voyage.

I ordered 2 different DVD's taht I just read about recently on here and I just got them yesterday. One is by Kim Brunner and the other one is by Myrna Ficken. I watched half of the Kim Brunner one last night and learned alot. I had never used a long arm machine or taken any classes on one so even just learning the basics on loading the quilt correctly to get it straight and how to make sure it is square on the frame-was very educational for me. I spent about $65 buying the two DVD's but that is alot cheaper than taking a class that runs around $150-$200 around here at a quilt shop (the nearest class would be about 2 hours away for me). So I am happy about my purchase and can't wait to finish watching them and learn more tips and techniques. Again, I got the information about these two DVD''s jsut recently on here so--Thanks to whoever offered that information about those two DVD's. I always say, "I learn alot more on here than I do reading a quilt magazine".

Kimmy is an extraordinary teacher! I took a class from her at Quilting with Machines in Huron, Ohio this past September and she was the guest speaker at the banquet. She's funny, smart and very talented, both as a quilter and a speaker. If you ever get a chance to take a class from her, you won't be disappointed!

There is a Tin Lizzie group that I have learned bookoodales from by just reading the posts. The moderator is a lady named Marge and she is so knowlegeable that I think she was born holding the handles of a Lizzie. Join this group. Marge says TL will run on any machine if the tension is correct. There are also lots of files and information on loading. Just fyi.