mamu

You did not list the age of the machine, single owner, price or location

I have a 12 ft table and have been able to quilt king size quilts on it with no problems. If I get a oversize king, more than 115", I wouldn't be able to do it because the backing would be larger than the top and it wouldn't fit.

The weight of these tables/machines will make indents in any carpet. I would be concerned about using stacked 2x4 under the legs as it seems like it would wobble with the movement and vibration of the machine. I have my machine on our carpet without anything under the legs. I haven't moved the machine, but I am sure that there will be large indents in the carpet and pad. It's just like having furniture on carpet... you get indents/marks from the furniture. The only thing I might suggest you try is the plastic chair mats people use at desks for their roller chairs. I wonder if that would work better for you?

You would have to take the statler computer off of the machine to use as a non computerized machine. I would contact APQS they would be able to help you get this machine back in good working condition. Since the set up is FREE, it would be worth trying to get it working.

BUY BUY BUY !!! This is a fantastic price for this year machine! For your first machine this price is wonderful and you can re sell it for more $ should you decide you want to upgrade or decide longarm quilting isn't for you. APQS has wonderful support and this forum will help you too. I don't think the warranty is transferable on this age machine. You can always contact APQS to find out.

This is a VERY GOOD PRICE for anyone wanting to get a Longarm!!

Now that you mentioned the cat hair and smell issues... that makes it a health issue for you and of course an issue for your machine. Then any quilt coming up after hers could possibly get some of the cat hair/smell on it too. That is a big problem. I agree with the other comments that you absolutely need to let her know about the cat hair/smell and that it has become a health issue for you. I would tell her that any tops she gives you that have cat hair and smells, you will not be quilting. Then I would adhere to that rule and send back any quilt that wasn't 'clean'. She will either correct the issue or find someone else to do her quilting. I have sent tops back to people when they were stained (blood or other ? fluids), excess hair and even excess threads. I don't feel bad doing that at all as I will not subject myself or my machine to this nastiness. I also include a paper on how to prepare a quilt top for the longarm quilter!

I would never tell an 80 yr old that her sewing is a mess and I don't want to quilt her quilts anymore. It's a miracle that she is still quilting at her age and enjoying doing it. She probably doesn't see well and can only do the best that she can. You have already made suggestions to her on how to improve her quilting. Instead, keep your custom quilting to bare minimum, nothing fancy, avoid those wads in the corners, let the borders be full by bunching the fabric up between quilt lines and allow all of the raw edges and misaligned seams to be as they are. I'm sure she is not prolific at producing quilts so it's not like you are doing one of her quilts every couple weeks. Not everyone's quilts are perfect (as we well know being longarm quilters) but they are all loved just as much as the quilts taking the Best of Show

I would pull it out and give it a good clean. Looks to me like the table is an upgrade with auto advance system. Take measurement of table, it is either 12' or 14' table. With it being in Canada, the electrical is made a bit different than the USA, however it can easily be adjusted to fit USA outlets. The machine will have a serial number on it, you can send that number into APQS and they will tell you the year of it. Once cleaned up, this machine could go for 3-4 thousand. Depends on how badly you want to get rid of it as to the price you ask for. I would then contact local quilt shops and quilt guilds letting them know you have this machine for sale. I should sell rather quickly. Hopes this helps

What I would do is load the quilt and then baste it.... very long stitches, verticle and horizontal rows about 2-3" apart. Then you can do your fill work, taking out the basting stitches as you go

I think that Inteli Quilter took over compuquilter. I would contact them

Yes, you should be able to do ruler work. It will take practice as well since you do not have SR. There will be alot of stopping and starting with ruler work so you may have to shut off stitching when you come to a stop area to minimize thread build up. With practice you will get quicker at moving the ruler and hand placement so you won't have to shut off in stopping areas.

It would be great if you could post pictures and where you are located. And the asking price!

Yes that seems to be what is happening. I would change your needle again....I have gotten bad needles before and even had a whole pack of needles that would do this. Sometimes the size of your needle will do this, maybe try a smaller size. Also, relax your backing so it isn't tight. This might help. If you still have issues you might want to consider using a different backing fabric. Some fabrics will do this no matter what you do to keep those poky threads from coming through.

machine still available?