ssuzz

I even called a repair person out to check my machine. He said nothing wrong with this machine , that'll be $125.00
Turned out it wasn't the machine it was the table that wasn't adjusted right. Be sure your quilt is flat on the base
under the needle. If its not flat the needle is pushing against the fabric. Mine worked just fine after I got the quilt flat.
And yes you have to move your whole body to keep up with the machine,or you get stuck out of balance.
Good Luck SSUZZ

Mariposa

I enjoy doodling over pantos, and I usually don't draw. Do invest in a dry-erase board and practice muscle memory.
Find some fun pantos, try: www.urbanelementz.com. I am not affiliated, just love their pantos! They also have a monthly club, which makes it more affordable.
Remember to breathe, relax your shoulders, and bend your knees. Change it up every now and then. Drink some water. Good music-? All good fun!

sherryl1

Well,your hushband should have done a lot of research befor saying,'write it up."They aren't all the same.I got my long arm several years ago.I remember trying to follow the lines on a panto.Wow,I had tears running down my face.I knew my hushband spent a lot of money for my machine.And this needed to produce income.Well,I kept at it,and now I am one of the best in my area.It gets better.Do you have good support through the store you purchased it from?That is necessary.Also,practice on paper.The brain doesn't know the difference between pen and paper or you guiding the the machine.In the brain it is the same.Try it,it works.Also maybe go a little faster when you stitch.This makes your curves smoother.Also,you can dot the thread with Sewers Aid.It is silicone and will make the thread slip through all the thread guides a lot smoother.If this doesn't work,insist your dealer help.At this point you don't have enough experience to figure this out on your own.And,RELAX.It is just fabric.Go for it.

Ruby the Quilter

I have had a long arm for several years. Practice is the key. I was quilting this week an just couldn't get the tension right. So messed with the bobbin tension and the screw in side the upper tension and Bingo the tension is fine. Still think my thread breaks to often. I'm going to take a quilting class in July. Ready to go from meandering to so patterns.

Enjoy your long arm

Valerie Scherr

A good video to watch one that is free is Pam Clarke on you tube she has a few ...I have bought her cds and her stencils and like working with them.

drgranny

Jratcliff---This sounds just like me. I really like making tops and bought the machine cause I had so many to quilt I thought it would be a good idea. I have made many many lap quilts for a nursing home done with pantos but my free hand quilting sucks. I can do stipple and meader pretty well but I don't know if I will ever be good at free hand. I have a quilt on my frame right now that I tried feathers on the borders. When I finished I thought it looked so bad that instead of taking it off the frame I proceeded to rip out all the feathers. It is still on the frame. Not finished. I decided to do something else for awhile.

tjradj

Hang in there. It's like learning to dance with a guy with two left feet. You'll learn what speed you like, what thread you like, what your machine likes and doesn't. You're right that it takes practise. I've heard that there's a rule of thumb that you have to do at least 20 quilts before the confidence kicks in and then there's no looking back. look out world!!

Suze9395

My machine uses needles that do not have a flat side at the top. If I put them in and they are off even a teeny tiny bit i have issues with thread breakage.

Try different patterns of free motion and different sizes. I still struggle with meandering (lines don't cross). But, I am really good at loopty loo stuff (swirls with loops, think coiled rope spread out on the floor). Hang in there. And, just like the other ladies said, relax and move your body. I liked the dancing analogy. If i get tense, my quilting gets herky jerky. Listen to some music, or better yet, sing a catchy song!

Oh, and, straight lines were really hard.

Have fun!

rrhaigh

I recently purchased a longarm also (Handi Quilter Avanti). They set it up for me and gave me a quick lesson. They said to practice free motion first and once that is mastered move on to pantographs. Well, I could not for the life of me do very good free motion. So, I attempted a pantograph on a charity quilt and that seemed so much easier to me. I have now done 3 charity quilts with different pantographs and finally ventured on to two of my own quilts. I also used pantographs on those. I suggest you go on the Handi Quilter web site. They have lots of tutorials - the one on thread and tension is so very helpful. You don't have to have a Handi Quilter to benefit from their tutorials. They are video tutorials or pdf files - however you choose to open them. Lots of different ones. Good luck - you will get more comfortable as you go.

Farm Quilter

Get some heavy plastic from Joann's or some quilter's plastic from your local quilt shop, about 18" square is easy to work with and put painters tape along the edges (so you don't accidentally go off the plastic!), grab a dry erase marker and a quilt top - put the plastic on top of the quilt and practice different designs with your dry erase marker, erase the design with a little piece of batting and try another design. Free-motion is not difficult and by practicing you build muscle memory. If you need help with designs, check out the websites of quilters and try to copy what they have done.

As far as your thread breaking, check out Superior Thread's website and look at the "education" tab - Dr. Bob has all kinds of fabulous information on there for fabric artists. I love the King Tut, Rainbow, Lava, Bottom Line and So Fine, as well as their metallics. I can run all of them on my LA with no problems. Yes, the thread is expensive, but not having thread breaks is worth it to me - I do enough tying and burying knots without the thread breaking and adding more!!!