Waltzing Matilda (my new longarm quilting machine)

It happened!!!

Last Sunday morning (yes - Mother's Day, no less!) my new longarm quilting machine was delivered and set up. Oh my, what a job it was. The Howard (the dealer) and Andrew (his partner) set it up for me. Good thing they did. It took the two of them over two hours to put it together - and they've done a LOT of these installations - whew!  What a lot of work.

Most longarms I've seen have a frame which is 12 feet across. The Handi Quilter, however, has a frame which can be set up at 8, 10, or 12 feet across. This is great for someone like me who doesn't have a huge warehouse to set the thing up in. Our guest bedroom is just under 10 feet from the wall to the closet - so the 8-foot option works for me.  

From the front (click to see a larger image)

Of course, I can't quilt a king-sized bedspread on this - the frame isn't long enough. But I have plenty of projects smaller than that in the queue. I'm, frankly, surprised more manufacturers don't offer frames which are adjustable. But there you are.

From the back (click to see a larger image)

After setting it up, Howard gave me a short rundown on the basics - how to thread it, how to thread and load a bobbin, how to adjust the tension, how to load a quilt on the frame. He also showed me fundamental functions of the system, different stitch modes. Throughout, he gave me tip after tip, sharing his own wealth of knowledge, pointing out things that will save me loads of time and headaches. I'd watched a LOT of videos on YouTube, and I'm very glad I did. Having seen so much beforehand, I was better equipped to grasp what Howard was saying. His instructions and methods for teaching, very clear, very effective - but knowing a bit going in has helped me with retention, especially with the "tips".

I guess I know enough to be dangerous now.

I asked Howard about pentographs - paper templates for stitching (the second photo above shows a pantograph partially unrolled on the shelf at the back). He showed me how to attach the laser pointer and the basic technique, but cautioned me that pentograph quilting is somewhat advanced. His advice was to stick to free motion for a while and (maybe) consider looking into groovy boards. After he left, I did play with a pentograph - and got disasterous results (this is on a throw-away piece made up of scraps - see the photos below), so I'll be following Howard's advice.

A free pantograph pattern I got on the web

My results on first attempt with that pattern (horrible!)

My first hour or so of free motion stitching was rough. Free motion quilting is a lot trickier than it looks. But in the second hour, I seemed to be getting the hang of it. I think it was about then that I started to really relax, and that probably made a big difference.

After a couple of hours, I could do the above (the larger loops are
about half an inch across). Not stellar, but getting there.

Even so, free motion isn't coming easily - and I'm thinking seriously about those groovy boards. Well, we'll see.

And yes, because I tend to "name things" - my longarm has a name: Matilda

Naturally!