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Cagey

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Everything posted by Cagey

  1. It attaches to the top of the machine with heavy-duty double stick tape. The easiest way would be to purchase a Dritz Cone Thread Holder, Heavy Duty at Joann's. You can always find a discount coupon. Then cut the thread rod to a shorter length, and stick it to the top of you machine using double stick tape. You may need to put something on the bottom of the cone holder if it is not flat. Cardboard or part of one of those plastic yard signs cut to size would work fine. Best of luck with your MacGyver project. Cagey
  2. Kim, You can also try buying CRC electrical contact cleaner at Walmart or the same. Unplug the connectors. DO NOT spray it into the female USB plugs or any female plugs on your computer or Millie. Spray it on the actual plug and then while still a little wet plug it into the female plug to clean those contacts. With temperature changes in the house, corrosion can build up on the contacts preventing good electrical connections. I am glad to hear that you are up and running once again. Best of luck to you. Cagey
  3. Kim, It sounds to me as if you have not tried disconnecting the Quilt Path system, as you said "it stopped stitching but kept following the pattern on quilt path". Have you tried to see if the needle continues to go up and down, and how it actually quilts without Quilt Path connected. I believe you have to know if the car runs without difficulty first, before you turn on the autopilot and let it drive itself. If Millie will not work properly in manual mode, fix those problems before turning on all the bells and whistles of Quilt Path. Best of luck fixing the problem. Cagey
  4. I would suggest disconnecting/turning off the quilt path to see how Mille quilts. If you are still having skipped stitches, rethread the entire machine. Hopefully, this will fix your problem. If so, then turn on quilt path and finish your quilt. Best of luck. Let us know what fixed your problem. Cagey
  5. ValarieJ; You just need to spread the load over a larger surface area than the four table legs presently provide to protect your carpet and carpet pad underneath. We say your table including Millie weighs in at 600 pounds. If each leg has a 1-inch foot, this means that there is 150 pounds of weight on top of each leg. With the vibration of of quilting, this weight over time can damage the carpet and pad. All you have to do is spread the weight load over a larger surface area to protect the carpet. You had to right idea with the 2x4s, but I believe that is overkill. I would suggest you go to Home Depot or Lowe's and purchase a 2-foot by 2-foot piece of 3/4 plywood. Have them cut the board down into four 1-foot by 1-foot squares. Depending on the store, they normally will give you one or two free cuts. Then cover both the top and bottom of the boards with carpet that matches your present floor. Place the Millie table on top of the squares. The 150-pound of weight under each foot is now spread out over 144 square inches, which reduces the weight to a little over a pound per square inch. Using 1/2 inch plywood and making the pads 6-inch by 6-inch would lower the tripping hazard as you walk around the table, and still do a good job of protecting your floors. The military does the exact thing when they place plywood under the rolling stock wheels to protect the floors of the aircraft. Think how much stress stiletto heels can put on a floor. Best of luck with your project. Cagey
  6. Sylvia Is the circuit board no longer being made or is it just out of stock for awhile until it can be manufactured again? While the machine head is close to 20-years old, it is disappointing that APQS does not have a replacement board or a facility that can accept the circuit board and repair it for quilters. It is sad to see a high quality machine to be made obsolete because of an old electrical part. If you are or were the original owner, it makes you wonder how APQS is going to stand behind the lifetime warranty. Finally, contact a local automobile repair facility and find out where they send their older model circuit boards for repair. Then contact that facility to see if they would be willing to take a look at your circuit board. I had to have an older model car circuit board repaired and it cost $250 to have it repaired. Best of luck getting your machine up and running soon. Cagey
  7. My personal belief is that the quilting/stitching will not show up enough on the quilt sandwich to go through all this work. Now it you are talking about having the writing as a large quilt block in the quilt top, you could use an embroidery program to stitch out the words if you have an embroidery machine. Personally, I have found that there is normally a quilter in my guild that will gladly embroider something like this for me at a rather inexpensive cost, and it will come out in a much higher quality than I probably would have achieved. Everyone has their talents, so sometimes it is better to share those talents of others. Best of luck with your project.
  8. Not sure why your pictures are not visible, but they would probably help with your sale. Best of luck.
  9. As a George owner, are you describing the needle going up or down or making a single full cycle when you say it is "stitching by itself"? If so, I would try warming up your machine and then adjusting the needle up down button. I think this video might help a bit, https://www.apqs.com/needle-adjustment-fluorescent-fight-machines-video/ Best of luck fixing your ghost George. Cagey
  10. Peach, I might suggest that you choose a thread brand/type and then quilt using only that thread type for a few sessions to get used to it. It will help with your tension issues. When you switch bobbins and thread brands/types you probably will have to make small tension adjustments. When you are first starting out, you want to keep as many things the same as possible so quilting is enjoyable verses being a challenge. Get a donation quilt or two from your local quilt group and quilt your heart out on it. Then when you return it, you will never see any of its mistakes again. The person that receives it will cherish it, and you will have gotten great practice quilting from it. Have a great time using your new George. You will love it. Happy Thanksgiving. Cagey
  11. BonnieJ; Why don't you take a picture of your bobbin winder, so we might be able to assist you better? A picture is worth a thousand words. You can also try taking your bobbin winder to a sewing machine repair store. More than likely it is driven by a small sewing machine motor that can be repaired, oiled, brushes cleaned, etc. to get it running in better form. If you have not oiled the wheel axel that that rubs agains the motor spindle put a few drops on it. Look for some small threads wrapped around the axel binding things up. Is the eyelet that feeds the thread to the bobbin aligned with the bobbin. If it is off to one side, it might be putting more thread on one side of the bobbin than the other. Bobbin winders need tender loving care too. Best of luck fixing your issue. Cagey
  12. I flipped the picture for you. Best of luck with the sale.
  13. I did a quick internet search for them online, and you can find them on Ebay for sale. Though I was surprised how much they are going for. Anywhere from $8.00 to $20.00. You could try PMing the original poster, though they have not been visited the site since 2019. Just hover over their name and you can see when they last visited and you can message them through the site. Best of luck finding what you are looking for. Cagey
  14. Check with Lauren at https://boldnotionquilting.com. She was 3D printing the foot in question, but I am not sure how the project worked out in the end. I did not see them on the website. Best of luck finding one. Cagey
  15. I don't want to put you on the spot, but may I ask why you desire a "late model Longarm preferably 2017 or newer" over an older proven machine that are designed to run daily in a business for years on end with simple preventative maintenance? You comments and other's responses just may help you find a machine that fits your budget and your needs sooner than later. I am totally pleased with my used older model George. While it does not have a lifetime warranty, but it is a grey tank that I expect will run reliably to the end of my quilting days. With the used purchase price versus new, even if I have to replace a motor or a circuit board in the future, I believe I am money ahead if I had purchased new. A $2000.00 purchase price savings invested in a low fee S&P 500 ETF for 5 and 10 years with an 8% return would be worth $2,940 and $4,320 depending on the time invested. As Albert Einstein said, "Compound interest is the eight wonder of the world. He who understand it, ears it..., he who doesn't... pays it." I am just trying to help you and others think outside the box to help you get to your quilting goal. Best of luck finding what fits your needs and desires. Cagey
  16. Lora, PayPal will always go with the customer that brings in money for them, thus the seller. Start with them, but do not expect satisfaction from them. If you did not get the two designs you purchased, contact your credit card company and they can recover your funds. You will have to provide the statement from the Anna Bright FaceBook page showing that she "guarantees all her designs". If she is selling the same design under two different names, that would seem somewhat fraudulent. Here are the two designs in question if I found the correct site (there are a number under Anna Bright http://www.annabrightdesigns.com), She showed two different designs under Sweet Pinks, which appears to be her Pink Periwinkle b2b, so I can understand your confusion; https://annebrightdesigns.com/product/2022-april-bronze/ first link showing both designs. You will have to zoom in on them to see. https://annebrightdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/sweet_pinks_border_set.pdf1_-1.jpg Only shown to show the different flower tips if I found them correctly. The two designs look different to me if I have the correct site. The real questions is do you intend to do business with Anna Bright in the future? If your answer is YES, then you will simply have to suffer under her poor customer service, where she shows one design with two different names. If your answer is NO, then post your questions and her responses wherever you desire be it FaceBook, Instagram, etc.. Though I would suggest having a rider on your homeowners or rental insurance contract for libel (written) and slander (verbal) before you make the post. It is inexpensive, $2 to $5 per year additional cost. I don't sell insurance, I just buy it. Unfortunately libel/slander insurance is needed in this day and age, as anyone can file a court case against you for something you wrote or said. Even if you wrote or stated the truth, a company or individual can sue you for the written or spoken comments. The insurance rider will cover you for those types of events. The insurance coverage is probably a good idea for most people that post on forums, use FaceBook, Instagram, or other online posting services. A number of companies have started suing for loss of income for an individual posting a poor rating on a site. Libel/slander insurance would protect your from this type of action. Attorneys file cases that do not seem to make sense all the time, her is one in the news recently; https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/jeep-owner-sued-michigan-dealer-mechanic-death/ You have to protect yourself. Just like I am sure Anna protects herself if she were to make a libel comment to you in one of her reply emails. For me, thank you for notifying us of Anna Brights customer service and business practices. I will be sure not purchase anything from her company in the future. Have a great day, and be safe. Cagey
  17. Try running it with the needle out to see if it still makes noise. You might have bent it slightly when it got caught. I would suggest calling APQS on Monday, so they can listen to the machine run while they are on the phone with you. You will be amazed how well they can diagnose problems listening to the machine over the phone. Hopefully they can get you all set, so quilting becomes fun verses being a chore. Best of luck to you. Cagey
  18. SueD, If you have a truck, you could probably just rent a U-haul trailer. It should fit in their 6x12 trailer, and they are much less expensive to rent and drop off. Just bring use some tie-down straps to hold it firmly in the trailer. You would be protected against inclement weather and rain using the trailer. It would probably be under $200. Depending not the drop of charges, it might be less expensive even with the gas burn to rent it local and tow the empty trailer to pick up the machine and drive it home verses paying the drop off fees.
  19. I would suggest visiting Cindy Needham's site; https://www.cindyneedham.com/collections/wholecloth-patterns She is a wonderful quilting teacher. She quilts on heirloom lace handkerchiefs. Search her name and include "heirloom handkerchief" and you will find a number of her examples. I have emailed her asking a question, and she has replied. It might be as easy as using two layers of the sheer linen to get the outcome you want. Best of luck. Let us see what you come up with please. Cagey
  20. Excellent. I am glad things are working out. Sometimes it can be the littlest things that mess us up.
  21. Check your top thread routing. You may have gotten the top thread looped around something where it does not belong. Get the book out to make certain you have threaded properly. Then check your thread bar over the top tensioner, to make sure it is positioned correctly. As you changed bobbins, take a business card and clean the bobbin tensioner. https://www.apqs.com/how-to-thread-your-apqs-longarm-quilting-machine-2/ https://www.apqs.com/bobbin-case-care-and-tension-adjustment/ Hopefully these two videos will get you up and running again soon. Best of luck. Cagey
  22. This video might help with understanding your bobbin and taking care of it to help with your tension. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1hH6byeZ9U Cagey
  23. I might suggest using a new screw. It may be that the beginning thread or two are stripped on the present screw. This might be why you get the screw started, but it is too far into the screw hole for the needle to be inserted. I would suggest getting a screw from the hardware store that is long enough so you can screw it in from the side you do not normally use, and screw it through the the entire shaft. This will clean up the threads on the side you normally use. A half to 3/4 inch screw should be long enough. DO NOT quilt with this screw. You more than likely will not find a screw short enough at the local hardware store to work normally with George. I had to order a couple of spares from a dealer to have on hand. Best of luck resolving your issue. Cagey
  24. If you hover over the posters name, you can see when they last visited the site. In this case Sandra has not visited since 12 Dec 2021 You can also private message the poster by clicking on MESSAGE when you hover over their name. They will get an email from the APQS forum stating they have a message to read. It may be your best method to contact the seller. Best of luck. Cagey
  25. HalieR, Normally providing a sales price, your location, when the machine was originally purchased, if you are the original owner, serial number, the stitch count on the machine, the last time the machine was serviced by a Bernina technician, etc., will greatly aid your sale. The sales price probably being the most important. Best of luck selling your machine. Cagey
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