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She's Coming!!


RitaR

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Thanks quilters! I\'m trying to be patient and I\'m not.. arggg... can hardly wait, and know I have to... turned the ceilign fan off, don\'t need to tangle my hair it and go round and round.

OMG almost ready to start bouncing again....

boing... RitaR

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Penny arrived about 5 p.m., the last delivery on her route. We finished preps for supper, and began opening boxes and making note of contents.. Got a couple extra prewound bobbins, but was short the biscuit that goes between the two sections of table top. Hubby searched his and the neighbors biscuits, and all are too thick, so he cut a strip off an old cutting mat, it was a nice fit, had to be pushed in, but not with undue force.. and it works fine.

Table is up, the track is in, platform is on, the carriage encoder is on, and he pooped out.. at midnight. Really wasted a lot of time trying to find the biscuit, looking, searching, relooking, researching everything, packing, papers, boxes, flaps, under furniture, in furniture, waste cans, everywhere we could think of plus several unrealistic places like out on the patio, the driveway, bathrooms, compost pail, etc.. just no biscuit. I got some pictures and forgot to take a lot. It is easy to put together.. the book so far is fairly good.. could be tweeked a bit for the Lenni, but common sense covered what it was short.. so far. Now I am not saying common sense always prevails around here. :D

So both of us are about worn out, and going to bed.. will post picts tomorrow in webshots.. recharging the battery tonight.

So anxious to get to using Penny... and getting more state names embroidered between his needing help and me making sure he doesn\'t do anything other than what the directions say.. lol, he\'s known for the wrong moves.. :(

He is good to me though..

Hope the other new owners are getting their new babies without more delay, and enjoying the ones already arrived.

Please let us know.. hows it going on your end.

RitaR

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Oh Rita...

How exciting!

Please take & post lots of pix once you get her all set up (& have played a bit)? We are all waiting patiently to hear from you & others who have gotten their Lenni\'s ... ALL THE DETAILS!

CONGRATS & do keep us posted!

Happy Holidays dear quilting friends & APQS staff ... wish you a wonderful season & lots of creativity in the new year.

Lynn

Tampa, Fl. :cool:

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Rita we too thought we did not have the biscuit, but we did It looked like a piece of packing &was called a shim ,but it was the right size & it fit so we feel it was the biscuit:). My machine had a funny noise when we fired her up a rattle that came from the back ,but DH pinpointed it took the cover off & found a green wire that was pinched between the motor brush holder & the top cover at the back on the right. he repositioned it & the machine purrs now.

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Well, Penny is up and running.. lots of picts.. probably too many, posted at:

http://community.webshots.com/album/561775869WFVSFp

We checked every possibility for the biscuit and it\'s just not there.. Was also short the velcro to put on the rollers.. they\'ll be here probably Mon. or Tues.. meanwhile.. we found solutions.. Didn\'t know there was anything that would resist duct tape.. lol.. found out there is..

RitaR

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Oh, thanks, Quilters.. Yes, Lenni is up, running like a dream.. I KNOW I still need lots of practice, but I also wanted the picts to show what I\'m able to do now, and how I improve (at least I pray I improve!!!) over time.

I just finished about a yard and a half of ppppppp and still need more pppppppppp and pppppp. Not fooling myself that it\'s great or even good yet. I do fine freehand straight line, and with meandering.. most of the loops and stars are quite well, and the loops and leaves are ok. Everything else is lacking what I\'d call acceptable for a customers quilt.

I am finding the machine, rather the table is too high for me. Causing pain between the shoulder blades because the rollers are so high and I have to hold the arms up too high. The short upright handles are not helping, as when I stitch at the back of the quilt, I have to lean over and stretch my arms straight out. Looking at Fons and Porter, their table isn\'t nearly as high on them as it is on me. Mine hits about half way up the arm from the elbow to the top of the shoulder.

We are thinking of calling APQS to find out if the inserts in the legs can be removed and the legs cut off about 4", then the insets put back in. We may have to do that anyway and find a different way to hold the leveling legs in them.

For now, I took one of the pvc handles off the old klunker ( I posted a pict with it taped on) and we taped it to the front handles and it works a lot better. I don\'t have to reach full straight arm reach to quilt at the back, I still have to reach too high. We may take off the front-quilt-top-roller, since I can quilt without it.. I do prefer my quilt pieces, both ends of the backing and the bottom of the top, on rollers.

So funny, when in SR mode, when I reach a point and slow down, I keep stopping and looking for a problem since the machine stops. Gradually getting over that.. Am on the third bobbin of prefilled bobbins..

Lenni does not come with wheel covers for the drive wheel, nor the Turbo Winder.. don\'t really think much of the substitute for the TW.. and the self stick velcro isn\'t sticking to the leaders very well. Going to use lots of Sewers Aid to stitch them on without gumming up my Viking stitching thru the glue.

Duct tape doesn\'t stick to the rollers, so no idea how the self stick velcro will work. We didn\'t get the strips of roller velcro so had to jerry-rig a solution.

Not any fault of APQS, but I can\'t get these clamps open for the sides of the quilt. will replace them with much smaller ones that will work on the fabric leaders like Sharon Schamber uses.. and my ailing hands can open. Her leaders for the sides are terrific.

So, Penny is up, running, and most importantly, My Friend, and when I can make it curve right, she does too. the old klunker wouldn\'t make a pretty curve unless I was trying to sew a square. :P:P:P

No problems at all with various colors of prewound bobbins. It came with dark green, have tried a maroon and a gray. I think they are all Bottom Line.

Haven\'t tried other types of threads on top or bottom. Only Sew Fine on the top. Will begin playing around and trying diff threads when I get a new sandwich on her. And will keep notes in a little spiral book.

Pray all the other new owners are having as much fun as I have.

RitaR

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Well Rita I have been practicing with my Lenni without thread, I can see where my tracks are because the needle is so large, just getting the feel for the machine & a rhythm practicing without the stitch regulator. Yes I too thought we would get a fly wheel cover as when I ordered Lenni I ordered one & they said not neccessary as now all machines came with one. I was very disappointed with the Superior Thread selection, I got 5 cones & green bobbins you seem to have a lot more in your photo & a choice of colored bobbins I would have thought Id get their Bottom Line & Poly, I got Lava, King Tut, Poly Quilter & a Rainbow. Oh well dont know what happened to the rest of mine. Its a small thing compared to such a wonderful machine I too find the clamps for the leaders very hard to open, & yes I agree the side leader velcro seems to not hold but probably enough. When you get your velcro for your rails it is strong & works very well.

Penny ( yes Im a Penny too:)

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Oh Gosh, Penny,, the thread is from the apqs pack, AND a Sampler Pack I ordered from Superior, AND some that I had for my old clunker DM. A friend sent me a couple dozen prewounds and I had a few from someone else and I bought a few to try out, and another friend sent me a couple qulting cones. They didn\'t all come with the machine.

I too was told we\'d get a wheel cover, and a Turbo Winder.. but.. the winder isn\'t the turbo and I\'m biting my tongue. Looks Like I\'ll end up ordering both the TW and the wheel cover. Himself is figuring out how to make a horizontal spool holder for me, too.

So, thank you Jim.. the floors are laminate, and I LOVE them.. so much better than very dark green carpet in a sewing room.. and the tree, the oldest gd and her 2 friends came over and set it up and decorated it for us. Sweet of them, Huh? Wonderful kids in first year of college.

I\'m still going boing-boing-boing-boing-, even with the issues to overcome. I\'m having a ball. Anyone want to help me assemble 7 queen sized double wedding rings this coming year? just a few weekends, or weeks.. etc should do it. ROFL..

Smile, it\'s the only thing freely returned.. unless maybe a hug.

RitaR

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Well, this velcro just will NOT stay on, unless you keep it rolled a time or two to keep pressure on. I don\'t need 2 feet of leader filling up the space for the quilted unit. So will find another solution.

The Adjustable handles will not work on Lenni and they have no plans to make any that will, so if you NEED them, it is up to YOU to figure out how to make them, or where to get some that will work. We are working on it.

Still waiting for the biscuit and velcro strips that were not with the machine.. they won\'t get here until tomorrow or later. a definate problem if someone who can\'t come up with other ideas and items to make the system work, were short the items. UPS, I guess, is slow because of volume of packages they have to deliver.

Luckily we had some velcro.. or I\'d not even be able to practice until they get here.

With it so hot and muggy in our summers and dry in the winters.. no idea what the longevity of the self stick velcro will be. So, will glue it on..

Gorilla Glue, the kind that goes on clear and dries white, and swells a bit as it dries, works well.

Soooo.. waiting for Gorilla glue to dry.. and probably won\'t be able to quilt anytime today.

If anyone has a Turbo Winder they don\'t want, please let me know.. I\'d be interested in talking to you about it.

RitaR

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Just wondering about the horizontal wheels vs the vertical wheels on Lenni. Below is what the website says about horizontal. Has anyone worked with both? Is there a lot of vibration with the Lenni? Does it handle as well as the big kids? Do the vertical wheels limit your quilting ability? Just wondering why APQS make such a big deal out of the horizontal wheels on the big kids but makes the Lenni with vertical? Thanks for any feedback, I REALLY like the Lenni, but am trying to do my homework before deciding ;-)

Cheers, Ronda

Our horizontal wheels and track system are another example of the superior design found on APQS long arm machines. Our innovative guiding system absorbs residual vibration while allowing the head to move effortlessly.

The horizontal wheels are fully adjustable to eliminate both binding and radial play without sacrificing stitch quality. The quilting head is kept at an exact 90-degree angle, which is essential for running patterns and other precision quilting.

This exclusive system includes a set of wheels directly below the head for forward and backward movement. Another set of carriage wheels allows for sideways movement. You can sew in any direction with total ease. This is what makes APQS longarms the preferred choice for freehand quilting artists.

Benefits:

Effectively absorbs vibration while providing total ease of machine movement.

Fully adjustable to eliminate both binding and radial play while preserving stitch quality.

Maintain 90-degree angle for precision quilting.

Allow 360-degree range of movement for the needle.

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