Janette Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 After some teething problems, I have finally got the new carriage set up now, and hope that I will have a new lease of life with freehand quilting with the control of the edgerider wheels. I can now quilt a straight line with barely any effort at all. Although it was a very fiddly and stressful changeover, I think I am there now. I was thinking about maybe getting the microdrive handles as they may help me with my freehand progression, can anyone give me some thoughts about them and how and when they use them, and if they do make things more controllable or not. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBQLTN2 Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 janette I have the microdrive handles and did use them to do my feathers on the whole cloth angel quilt, but truthfully I think I had just as good of control without them as I did with them. You are a little closer to your work with them and can kind of rest your hands on the quilt a little, but go ahead and give it a go without them for awhile i think you will find you really dont need them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janette Posted October 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Thanks Jeanne, after checking how much they are too, think it wise to try without for a while, I'll have some more practice tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judysmith Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Mmmm - fiddly to put on/take off. Good control with using left micro handle and right regular handle. Difficult to use rulers with. Hate to say it, but mine needed fixing when I got them. Had to insert washers in them to raise them higher - they dragged across the fabric. As you know, living across an ocean you have to be prepared to fix and tweek. LOL You may want to get over installing the carriage, then think about it! Most of the time, I place my left hand behind the hopping foot and gently guide the machine head. Good luck and happy quilting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBQLTN2 Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Yes they are in the way when using the rulers, you can unsrew the handle a little and push them up a little out of the way but still a pain to have them on when using the rulers. so you end up taking them off and putting them back on a bit. Not a big deal really, I just do my ruler work first or after, I am used to taking things off and back on I guess. I do it all the time with the circle lord as well. even change from back to front setup sometimes because of the frame being only 10 feet if you have a really large quilt you can only reach one end with it on the back and the other with it on the front. So back and forth I go as need be. Where there is a will there is a way and believe me, I have way too much will!! Some would say I am just plain stubborn. lol:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janette Posted October 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Thanks for your thoughts on the handles. As I am still tweaking my carriage and table etc I will see how I go. I have struggled to get the carriage running smooth though, perhaps I am missing something. It either runs too tight, or too loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBQLTN2 Posted October 17, 2011 Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 Janette I did not tweak my carriage at all. I am not sure why yours needs to be tweaked unless it was jarred in shipment the way you said it was bumped around maybe that is what happened. Has Kathy recieved and installed her carriage yet, have not seen any posts about her experience as yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janette Posted October 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 HI Jeanne, You are lucky you didn't need to tweak your carriage at all. Yes I think mine may have taken quite a bump in transit, I had to square up the brackets to make the carriage square and parallel, the horizontal wheels felt very tight so I loosened those up a bit. How tight are yours to move back and forth? The front stabiliser wheel screw was bent up, so had to buy a new one, that is now OK, but the back stabiliser wheel doesn't run evenly accross the table, even though I have resquared the ends of my table and releveled my table etc. If the stabiliser wheel is too tight then the movement is restricted, so I have had to loose that up too, and it doesn't roll in the middle of the table if that makes sense. Actually I wonder if perhaps that screw got a bit bent, maybe I will try a new one in that one too. My front stich regulator plays up every now and then but think I may need a new encoder wheel, as it seems to be unevenly worn on one side on the old carriage which is causing occasional problems now. I am sure Kath has been having similar issues and found her carriage a fiddle too to set up. When you adjust the horizontal wheels are you adjusting the screw underneath the wheel. Or didn't you need to adjust those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBQLTN2 Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Janette I really didnt adjust anything except the encoders and I the stabalizer wheels underneath. those i have pretty loose just enough that the table wont tip one way or the other but there is no restriction when it is on the level. the only way it would restrict would be if the machine tipped on the back or front. I did that whole cloth quilt and have not done anything else since. I have been working more on piecing lately. Have another pieced baby quilt with embroidery that I am making for my new grandbaby so I am trying to get that done, I will be quilting it next but not till after a weekend away for our annual State of South Carolina Quilt retreat. Hope it all works out for you and Kathy both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janette Posted October 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Thanks Jeanne, maybe I will check the stabliliser wheels again. I'll email Angela again if I can't get any luck. Hope your piecing goes well, sounds like it is going to be lovely with embroidery - look forward to seeing you share it with us when it is quilted. Take care, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltermidwife Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Hi Jeanette Haven't been on the forum for a while but have been busy with quilty things. You may remember I have edgerider wheels but probably not the same carriage as you now. I think I have a pretty smooth ride which is lucky as I have the older style table. Sorry you weren't able to make the LAUK meeting this week. We ha a great time as usual. How is your cabin coming along? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janette Posted November 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Hi Chris, Yes I was sorry to have missed the meeting yet again, I had booked in a customer in the morning, then realised it was the 15th, then as it would happen the customer cancelled at the last minute and moved to next week. Typical so I could have come after all. My carriage is settling down quite nicely now. The cabin is now on the backburner, and I am renting a studio about 10 minutes from home at the moment which is great for the space, I have about 500 square feet, and toilet and kitchen so it is self sufficient, adequate car parking for customers, plenty of room for me, the only downside is the rent to pay........ oh well, we can't have everything. You are very lucky to be able to have your studio in your garden. Nice to hear from you - hopefully I will make the next meeting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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