handiquilter II frame

[K. McEuen]

Do any of you have this frame, and if so how do you like it? It is the one that clamps to a folding table and can carry a domestic up to a midarm machine. I saw one on Craig's list pretty cheap and am thinking it might be an alternative to a full size longarm. I really need a bigger house ...

[Doloris]

I have/had one. It is back in its box because I found a stand alone on craigslist. It is ok for what it is. You have to make sure the rails are taped to the table straight and butted up to each other well so the carriage will roll smoothly. I liked it, but it doesn't have handles on the front {needle end} and is hard to quilt from the other side. If you can rig up some handles it works ok. I used clear packing tape to tape the rails down. Seemed to work well without a lot of bulk.

[MartinaG]

I had one and gifted it to a gal from the guild who does lots of community service quilts. It is a bit like Linking Logs which makes it portable but not as sturdy as some of the other options. DH had put a thick slab of MDF on a portable table to give the setup some umpf. Since the machine faces away from you (and handi-handles are no longer available) it is hard to see where you are quilting. I found it more tedious than it was worth.

My reason for getting it out of the house was that I upgraded to the Sweet 16 sit-down quilter. Love it and it doesn't take up much space at all.

[K. McEuen]

I've thought about a sit down machine simply because of space limitations. It seems more and more companies are coming out with them now too.

[Roxanne]

I highly recommend the sweet 16. I have never regretted my purchase for one minute. Just finished a king sized quilt. I would never have been able to do it on my domestic machine.

[Jean Sewing Machine]

Karen, the way you FMQ ( beautiful and quickly). You should work on getting a sit down quilter. I am amazed by your quilting on the domestic machine, it is fabulous!

[K. McEuen]

Karen, the way you FMQ ( beautiful and quickly). You should work on getting a sit down quilter. I am amazed by your quilting on the domestic machine, it is fabulous!

I sometimes think I am an anomaly when it comes to FMQ. I did it for a year or more without changing my presser foot because I just couldn't get my darning foot on right. A month or so before the retreat I finally figured out what i was doing wrong when trying to put the darner on. So for a year I was doing it "wrong" anyway and it still looked decent. Now, with the darning foot I can do it so much easier. But you saw me, no extension table, the throat of my machine is about 7" or so, but I can still do decent sized quilts. If you saw how much crap I have on my sewing table when I do quilt you'd be amazed that I can quilt a potholder, much less a quilt.

A sit down machine would really work better for me as far as space. I can find 3 or 4 feet a lot easier than I can find 10 or more.

[Jean Sewing Machine]

I sometimes think I am an anomaly when it comes to FMQ. I did it for a year or more without changing my presser foot because I just couldn't get my darning foot on right. A month or so before the retreat I finally figured out what i was doing wrong when trying to put the darner on. So for a year I was doing it "wrong" anyway and it still looked decent. Now, with the darning foot I can do it so much easier. But you saw me, no extension table, the throat of my machine is about 7" or so, but I can still do decent sized quilts. If you saw how much crap I have on my sewing table when I do quilt you'd be amazed that I can quilt a potholder, much less a quilt.

A sit down machine would really work better for me as far as space. I can find 3 or 4 feet a lot easier than I can find 10 or more.

It would have been so cool if we could have figured out how to set up that sit down machine at the retreat! I'll bet you would have been a wiz at working it!

[auntiemern]

Actually they did get it set up Sat. I fiddled with it some...Loved it for sure. I wish they would have showed me how to thread it though..cuz after the thread broke, I couldn't do any more. I may have to get one of these at some point though...you know, after we win the lottery.

It would have been so cool if we could have figured out how to set up that sit down machine at the retreat! I'll bet you would have been a wiz at working it!

[ilive2craft2]

With the wonderful FMQ that you do on your domestic machine, a sit down machine might be the best option for you. I could not get the hang of moving the fabric, but moving the machine is fun for me! My setup is similar to Jean's, but I am really a newbie on it. Lisa