Keep us posted: I am absolutely waiting on the edge of my chair - I'm contemplating the same thing.

Looking forward to your input too!!! I had considered some of the cheaper quilting frames for home machines and I have not found too many people that like them.
Rosa

I'm so envious. And Yuki is just the best for quilting. I couldn't find one here and had to settle for Baby Lock wanna be.

Oh yes! Please tell us all about how it goes!

Looking forward to your input. I have a little gracie 11 frame for about 3 years and I hate it. I had a Janome 1600 on the frame.It was nothing but a nightmare.....I just too my frame down last week.I got toooooooooo tired of all the problems with frame quilting.......and found I do a much better quilting off the frame.......good luck.

Redpenny, what problems were you having, out of curiosity?

I debated between the Janome and the Juki. I joined the homequiltingsystems group, and also the Grace Frame group, on Yahoo, and read people's opinions on them with this specific frame, and lots of people had the Juki and seemed happy with it, so I went with that one. It was a tough choice. I really encourage anyone thinking about buying a frame system to join the various groups on Yahoo -- I learned tons, and it really helped my decision making process.

Just got back from buying the material, and am trying to find the energy to start messing with the machine; it may have to wait till tomorrow night ;)

I had nothing but tension problems with my Janome on the frame. Off the Frame it does beautiful on the frame it was a nightmare. I also joined several groups before i bought my system..... I did everything even took the Janome to a quilt shop wit the same frame set up I had and left it there for a week and they also had problems with it on the frame . Also frame quilting is very different.
I didn't like moving the carriage with the sewing machine on it. I like moving the quilt under the machine myself much better and found my designs to look much better then on the frame.I found also it really bothered by back.
I guess i am just not a frame quilter LOL....

How fun! I have the Juki with a HandiQuilter II frame, and I love it! It doesn't get as much use as it should, though.

Do expect a learning curve...don't expect to have perfect results (or even good results) right away. Moving the machine while the fabric is still is the exact opposite of what you're used to! It also takes practice to get your rhythm and speed, and to get the quilt tension and height on the frame correct.

That home quilting system group is great! Lots of stories about what works and what doesn't, and ladies who are always happy to help the newbies.

There's a Juki Yahoo group, too.

Donna

I have the Orginal Grace Frame with the Juki
on it. I have more than gotten my money's
worth out of it. Twin is the biggest I quilt
on it do to small throat space. I bought mine from
Kathy Quilts. Her DH Lynn was very helpful with
my getting it going and answering questions. I like
using John Flynn Sew Fine thread for quilting.
Mayme

Are there any that are easy enough to assemble that you could take them down and put them up for projects rather than having them continuously standing?

What are you ladies spending on them if that's not too invasive a question.

imrainey, there are some table top frames out there -- I think Handiquilter is one of the better known ones. But I don't know how easy it is to break them down and put them back together -- that would be a good question for the homequiltingsystem group on Yahoo.

And I don't mind answering your question about price -- I spent a little less than $1100 for my setup. It came with the Little Gracie II, a Juki TL98QE sewing machine, a speed control system, and some quilting software for making patterns. The specific package I bought is here. The best site I found for searching for combos at different sites was here. I looked at a bunch of different sites and combos, and ultimately decided on that package as the best one for me.

Hope that helps!

I am interested in everything you have to say about your experience with your new set up. This looks affordable, unlike the others I have looked at. Please continue to share with us.
Thank you so much.

I too am interested to hear how you like the frame. I have a Juki and I love it. How easy is it to take your machine off the quilting frame and then put it back on? I'm wondering if I got a frame, could I still use my Juki for piecing, and then put it on the frame for quilting? Or do you pretty much want a dedicated sewing machine for the quilt frame?

Lola

lola99 -- it depends on your definition of easy. There's a spool holder on the back of the box that the sewing machine sits on, that you would have to unscrew to put the machine on/off (I'll try taking a picture tonight). So it's not a huge hassle, but not immediately easy, if that makes sense. And since you wouldn't be constantly removing and putting it back on (realistically, you'd do all the piecing at once, and then all the quilting at once, for one quilt), I imagine it wouldn't be a huge hassle.

I think most of the people on the Yahoo groups have dedicated machines. If I could have used my Viking on the frame, I would have, but it doesn't seem like the kind of workhorse that is necessary for frame machine quilting.

The HandiQuilter is a table top frame. It's pretty easy to take apart and put back together - no heavy parts (except for the Juki!). The tracks are stuck to the table with double sided tape, but if you're careful you can pull them up without damaging the table top. It came with those Command Strips made by 3M, but those are only good for one use.

The Juki machine is pretty heavy, and I'm not very tall, so it's pretty awkward for me to try to take it off the frame. I usually get DH to help me.

I got my setup from Allbrands about 3-1/2 years ago. I got the Juki TL98Q machine, the HandiQuilter II frame, 100 Organ needles and a 6-pack of Signature cotton thread (500 yds each). The machine came with a knee lifter, 1/4" sewing foot, 2 quilting feet (slightly different diameter), a zipper foot and a walking foot. I think I paid around $1,100 for the whole thing, and Allbrands was great to deal with. The machine came in about 2 days (from Louisiana to FL); it took longer for the HQ to arrive (it came from WI or somewhere). It was missing the tracks and Allbrands was really on top of it to get the tracks to me quickly.

Donna

Okay, I wanted to update those that might be interested in my adventures with my machine quilting frame setup.

1) Setting up the frame itself took a good 3 or 4 hours. It wasn't particularly difficult, as the instructions were very clear. Just time consuming. It is quite large when you have it set up in queen-size mode.

2) Dealing with the Juki can be a bit of a pain -- it's very...tetchy, unlike my Viking. You have to fiddle a lot with thread tension, bobbin tension and a bunch of other stuff to get it to work.

3) The speed control that comes with the package deal I bought is pretty much useless. I'm sure there are people out there that can manage to sew with just that (with tons of practice), but I don't have the patience for that.

4)So...I bought a stitch regulator (another $500), and it's made a ton of difference. My stitches are all even now, and look beautiful. I don't have nasty loose stitches, and everything is the right length. So my advice: don't even bother with this kind of set up without a stitch regulator; there are several package deals that I saw that had one.

Things I learned:

- the right kind of thread is absolutely essential, or the top thread will constantly be breaking. I'm using Signature Poly-Cotton, on the advice of folks from the Yahoo groups.

- always put your presser foot down, or you'll get a huge bird's nest. Took me a while to figure that one out, though it should be darn obvious!

- buying the extra 4th rail is probably a good idea (it holds the batting), else you'll be stepping on it all the time. I found a really good deal on that part; I'm still waiting for it to arrive, though.

If you want to see some pictures of my setup, you can go here.

Now that I finally have it working, I'm looking forward to playing around with it more!

Well, it sounds like you've made lots of good progress! I don't have a stitch regulator for mine. I have pretty good results without it. My stitches aren't uniform length, but they're pretty good.

Here are a couple of pictures of my best quilting so far. I finished this up last December. I really took my time with the quilting.

Whole quilt:

A couple of details:

Nice work, Donna,
I'm really glad that you included a shot of the white/cream part. You did a great job!
Kelly - lots2do

Wow, the quilting looks amazing msmeow!

I'd love to get a frame some day, great to read all of your experiences and input. :)

rivkadr, thanks for sharing your pictures and explaining how it works.

msmeow, thank you for showing your quilt.

Maybe one day...

Lola

Thank you for sharing the information. Like everyone who doesn't have one, I want one. I've taken classes on machines with stitch regulators and on some without. For me, it would be worth it because I didn't like the unevenness of my stitches without the regulator.
Please keep sharing your experiences with it!

Kate

Add me to the list of people who wants one! I really appreciate your taking the time to provide information and pictures to help those of us who are interested in taking our quilting to the next level. Thank you!!

I have a problem with my machine quilting set-up. Maybe someone out there could help me? I have a Juki TL98 E machine bought long ago, I purchased a Handi Quilter II frame, and just recently I bought the front handles from Gracie's. They are newer metal framed handles,that helps people with arthritis, and a stitch adjuster. I have broken 7 needles already and have seen no success even on a little quilt for charity. It seems I have played with the speed, and the types/sizes of needles and still have had no luck with the needles. I also tried changing the size of stitch and the tension, but, the threads just pull and the needles break. I think it has something to do with the pull of the fabric and the movement of the speed they just get all messed up. H E L P
Thanks so much Glenda

Lucky girl. It looks like a great setup. Wish I were younger and had more room so I could have one. I guess I will just have to share your pleasure for the moment. TFS the great inf. and pic Jayne