HelenS

Well, I guess I've solved the "hairy, smelly quilts" issue in a way we never expected. We have moved from Washington State to Kentucky to be closer to family. My husband has been dealing with cancer and heart issues the past five years and we're both in our mid 70's now, so I sort of took it upon myself to begin searching for a home nearer to family who can help if needed. When he saw what I'd found in a home and the awesome price, he readily agreed to the move. Hubby is in remission at this time and we are so very thankful for that after nearly 54 years of marriage! Our eldest grandson helped with the long-distance inspections, etc, and we bought a house sight unseen! WHEW! It needs a few changes here and there, (and I'm sure grandson will be helping, lol), but it's a great home and we're enjoying the wonderful views of the countryside and mountains in the distance. We sold all our furniture and things that wouldn't fit into a U-Haul Pod, shipped what we coculdn't part with and hit the road in my new Kia Soul. It was a fun adventure, and we're finally settled again. My Lenni is set up again and I'm happy as a clam to be able to work on my own quilts for now. Many thanks for all the input on the above subject! I'll keep all the suggestions in mind, should I decide to quilt for others again.

Thanks, Sue. That was my next move, since it is still under warranty. No the bars aren't binding at all.

Wondering if anyone else has paint coming off their roller bars. This machine was a 2021 demo, purchased by me a year ago. It has only been used for personal quilts, not business. It doesn't seem to be a problem, other than it's ugly, but it must be wearing to the metal bars.

Aisha Edwards, I'm still working at getting a great bobbin wind, but it appears that messing with the tension a tiny bit seems to help, so still playing with it.

Sunny Quilter, The replacement bobbin winder was similar to the existing one, but quite a bit heavier. The new one also has the APQS logo on it that was missing from the initial bobbin winder. So far, so good! Still not crazy about having to guide the thread to make it wind evenly, though, and see no alternative to make that happen. I'd previously owned two other brands of longarm, and both brands came with a top quality bobbin winder that wound bobbins perfectly at the push of the on button, without my help. I guess I was spoiled.

Hmmm...I was just researching the option of a hand wheel for my standard frame Lenni setup, to no avail, so thought I'd see if there were any comments here and this just happened to be at the top of the list of posts. Seems that APQS makes one, but only for the Deluxe frame. I guess we need to tell them that the standard frame also needs them?

Light Bulb Moment? I just watched this video on how to turn a quilt on the longarm. About half way through, Dawn Cavanaugh shows how to pin the elastic end of the clamp elastic to the quilt side, eliminating the bump and hangup when using the ruler base. LOVE this idea, so had to share!

The following video toward the end may help with your problem.

Update: Many thanks to APQS for the speedy replacement of my bobbin winder! YAY!

Just finished a quilt for a friend who loves her cats, but am now dealing with tons of cat hair and dander on my leader cloths. Yikes! I've used duct tape, lint roller, etc, but still loads of the darned stuff. Does anyone know if the cloths can be washed? Thanks!

Thanks, Jim! I'll go take a look and see what I can see. I called APQS and they are sending me another bobbin winder. No telling whether or not it will be the same unit until I receive it. One can only hope not. lol

I am, once again, disappointed in the lack of quality bobbin winder that came with my Lenni only seven months ago! ugh ! It seems to have totally died today! I wound one and one half bobbins and simply just quit! I've tried cleaning the sensor "eyes", changed bobbins, turned off, turned back on multiple times, unplugged, etc. but nothing seems to make it run again. I am not running a business, and do maybe a couple of quilts a month on it, so have not even gotten a whole lot of use from this winder. I can replace it on amazon for under $34. After spending 14k, one would expect a much better quality bobbin winder!

Thanks, Nigel!

If you're using red snappers and have a standard frame, do you have issues with the machine hitting the snappers on the top and bottom of the quilt while quilting near the top or bottom of the available throat space? It's worse with the ruler base on, but still hits the bottom of the snappers even without the ruler base. Seems like there should be just a bit more space below the dead bar, but this frame doesn't allow for any adjustments that I can see. I know I could leave a lot more backing at the top of the quilt, but that's not always available. Suggestions?

Update: I tightened the tension just a bit, about a quarter turn, and it seems to be winding MUCH better now! I'm still watching it as it winds, ready to rest my finger lightly on the incoming thread to guide it as it winds if needed, but so far, so good!