Gail O

Double batting will give you more depth to lock the stitches. 
When the quilt is off the machine it will relax.

Double batting will give you more depth to lock the stitches. 
When the quilt is off the machine it will relax.

Update - after multiple attempts at resolving at home, I made arrangements to take the head to a dealer about an hour away.  They have rental machines and had several tables set up.  We put my machine on their table and behaved the same.  We messed around with it for about an hour and then did a video chat with APQS.  They said they would look at that machine if I wanted to send it in, which I did.  They told me it had an "abnormal vibration" (hallelujah - I was right ) and needed to replace the top shaft in the machine.  She said it was a rare issue.  She had multiple people test the machine but didn't tell them what was wrong and they immediately noticed a problem.  It'll be on the UPS truck later today and hopefully at my house on Friday.  
Sue

You might have a problem with tension and stitches not having enough depth to properly lock, if you quilt it on a longarm.  It would probably be best to use your dsm to quilt.  Why you don't want to use batting?

You might have a problem with tension and stitches not having enough depth to properly lock, if you quilt it on a longarm.  It would probably be best to use your dsm to quilt.  Why you don't want to use batting?

I've been custom quilting since about 2013. My first "longarm" was a sit-down machine. It was fun, for for me, frustrating because it wasn't a whole lot different than what I was doing with my sewing machine. 
  We decided to move to FL, so I sold my machine before we moved, then bought an HQ Simply 16. I always had problems with leveling the table on it, thread always breaking, tension always off no matter what I did to fix it.
  We moved back to WA state almost 4 years ago because my husband needed better medical care than we were able to access in FL, so I sold that machine. Once resettled, for some strange reason, I bought another machine just like it, different brand, but made by the same company. You guessed right...I had the same problems with the new machine! I sold it recently and decided to buy an APQS Lenni. 
  I had issues right out of the box, and after six weeks of trying one thing after another, finally got some great help from Beth Durand out of Portland, Oregon. She's an amazingly knowledgeable company rep and I'm so thankful she was able to figure out what was going on. 
  So, here I am, finally finishing my first quilt, but I must say, it's been a huge learning curve. LOL I've attached a couple of photos of two of the blocks, and they don't look so bad in the photos, but I must say, I think I'll take a break from pebbles, crank up the speed and do some much looser fills for a while. 
  I'm also wondering why there is so much space between the leveler bar and machine bed. An entire inch seems excessive, but I'll probably appreciate it once I get my red snappers installed. 
  I think I'll put another plain practice piece on and see what happens.  

Many thanks to Beth Durand and Angie B at APQS for sticking with my issue and helping to get me up and running! YAY! 
A new Bliss rod was shipped to me and I replaced it myself. Not totally fun, but well worth the 1 & 1/2 hours of my time.
My first quilt on this machine is loaded and making progress.  YAY! 

I would say it's personal preference and what you find most efficient.  My only suggestions is to make sure the whole quilt is stabilized (either stitched or pinned) before rolling it back.  You don't want to leave large areas unquilted which could cause your quilt layers to shift.  If it's not stabilized the backing rolls up on the take up bar at a different "rate" than the top.  It's like rolling up a magazine starting at the bound edge - when you get to the end, the pages aren't aligned like the bound edge.  If you glued the pages together, it wouldn't look like that.  You need enough "glue" in your quilt so it sticks together.   
I think there's a video from Dawn @  APQS showing that she pin bastes the outside edges if she plans on turning a quilt to do borders.  
Good Luck!
Sue

Mommat 18
I have experienced this issue as well.  I concur with sricharson's assessment, it is the backing fabric fibers that are rolling to the right side of your backing.  Moda and Maywood backings are especially troublesome.  I would suggest that when buying wide backing choose yarn dyed fabric. 
Westrade backing is my go-to backing.  It is sometimes sold by Fabric.com.  A google search will likely will show other online buying options.  Westrade also has amazing wide flannels in addition to their 108" cottons.  They are a wholesale distributor and offer wholesale prices to longarm machine quilting businesses that have a tax number.   
Leslie

Gail
I think the term you are looking for are C-clips. I bought some from Matt Sparrow about ten years ago, don’t know where you could get them now. 
 
Nigel

Just wanted to let everyone know, Barb Mayfield is an angel!!! I have had a really rough time for the last 2 years. My husband passed away unexpectedly after knee surgery and I moved from my home in Lenexa Ks to Bremerton Washington to live with my daughter and her family. Everything I own is packed in her storage shed or her basement. My Millie included. It hasn't been set up for a year. I finally got a place to set her up and I couldn't fiqure out how to do it. I called Barb at APQs Northwest and she took the time to come across Puget Sound to get me all set up! She made it so easy for me and acted like it was no big deal! To me, it was huge. Quilting is my happy place and I didn't know if I would ever be able to set Millie up again. But thanks to Barb, I am back to quilting again.  I don't know if I will ever be able to afford my own house again and I miss that terribly. But at least I can quilt and that gives me solace. My life will never be the same but I can still quilt to take my mind off everything I've lost. APQS is the most amazing company with the best machines and best representatives possible. You can't go wrong with them! Anyway, just wanted to shout out to everyone here on the forum that I am grateful for my decision to buy my Millie when I did. I know I'm preaching to the choir because all of you have made the same choice and I know you all love your machines.
Happy Quilting
 

If you plan to start in the center, stabilizing the entire top first is a good idea. Don't stabilize it off-frame---it's easy to do by loading and floating the quilt. Work from the center out, using the longest stitch on your machine. It can be thread-basted or secured with pins. If you use pins, it's easier to adjust areas as you quilt. If you thread-baste, stitching can be removed in areas if adjustment is needed. Just some random advice from a long-time quilter-for-hire who has seen every combo of fabric/thread/backer from customers--- Flannel as a backer has it's own set of challenges. It shrinks like crazy (up to 10% depending on manufacturer, so a 108" flannel backer can shrink down to 97" easily) so pre-shrinking flannel is necessary. If it's quilted before shrinking, the first laundering will result in more crinkle and bulges than you'll like, especially with the non-shrinking poly batting mentioned. Flannel stretches more than woven fabric, so check with each pass for problems on the back and make sure you have steady and consistent tension on the backer to avoid pleats. Not super-tight or you'll stretch the flannel and get "balloons" on the back side, especially if you are using lofty batting. My experience is that Monopoly should be avoided in the bobbin. It's slick and needs a bobbin thread with some "bite" to grab and make a nice stitch. (I think Dawn C gives this same advice.) I use BottomLine pre-wounds with invisible thread---the weight is similar to Monopoly and it works well. You have options as to quilting sequence but can fully stitch an area with FMQ and your SID/ruler work at the same time, especially if you won't have any top-thread changes. Good luck!

Let me explain a little further. I guess I should have added that this isn't an American flag. It's a school flag that the child has received permission to use in this manner. 

The Bliss includes two rails, front and back, a new carriage with four M&M wheels, and a new tabletop. The swap-out is easy---about two hours with two people. If you order the 12' Bliss conversion, you'll get everything new from leg to leg so you will only need to have the rollers cut down because everything will be 12' long. You can cut all four rollers or just three if you remove the top front roller. Contact a welder or machine shop for an estimate. You would then need a brake attachment (like the Texas Holdem) for your brake. That would be the easiest and least expensive way to cut the size of the frame. Your 14' rails can be recycled unless you have a use for them. My hubby used them for shelving.

If a potential client requests something you don't feel you're capable of doing (or capable of doing well), then just explain that.  Not every quilter is good at or willing to do all types of quilting.  Just because a sales person in a store suggested this one thing to your client doesn't mean another client won't ask for the same thing unprompted.   It doesn't really matter whose idea it was - either you can/will do it or your can't/won't. 
Ultimately, it's the customer's quilt.  If they ask for purple thread because someone in a quilt shop suggested it (or purple is their favorite color or any other reason - legitimate or not), and you, as the professional are unsuccessful at changing their mind, then you have two options - A) quilt it as they requested it (with everything documented in writing), knowing it may not look as good as it would with different thread (or quilt design or whatever); or B ) refuse to do the quilting with the understanding that customer may not ask you to quilt any other projects.  
It doesn't seem very productive to wonder about all the things clients might ask for that are above your skill level when that energy could be better spent improving your skills or learning new ones.  

Pamela, we are all pulling for you.  You can do this!  <3

You could try using a smaller needle.  I'm guessing that the batik fabric was not washed, prior to using in the quilt.  Heavy dyes and tightly woven fabric, make it a bit harder for the needle to go between the fibers, so it's kinda punching through.
 

Thank you both for your input. I will certainly look at the videos. Cagey I think I actually have Angela Walter’s Shape by Shape book. I will do some searching.  
when finished I will share here.

Cagey has some great suggestions.
My initial thought when I looked at the quilt was echo quilting the outside edges of the large half square triangles (maybe 1/2" apart).  This would accentuate the medallion look of the quilt. 
I wasn't sure where to go from there in the other pieced half of the blocks - maybe just orange peel/continuous curves around each of the pieces.  Another idea would be something more curvy to tie in with the feathers in the border.
Check out After Hours youtube from Linda's Electric Quilters.  They've done some freehand quilting videos using a basic 8 stencil and ideas from some Pam Clarke books they sell.  The videos might give you enough ideas that you wouldn't necessarily need the stencil/books.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFFEyat3Ero&list=PLVdSb7hu7qSLInNkT4mV1r6aCwDHh3w2f&index=12
Let us know what you come up with!  Good luck.
Sue

Ann,
If you are going to go to all the effort to quilt feathers in the outside border, I would be sure to use a gold or brown that matches some those bright colors in the inner part of the quilt, so the feather stand out.
Concerning the inner blocks, I would either purchase the book "Shape by Shape" by Angela Walters, or go to the app store on your phone and search for the book.  Then look at the free sample.  There are a number of triangle shapes that you could use to fill the triangles.  I would suggest a feather or fern so they somewhat match the outside border.  Look at triangle #2, and #8 in the free sample 
Also, look at the Wild Feathers in the free sample of the book. 
Take a look at this video to get an idea of the blocks that you want to stand out.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-1QUaqp0P4
Here is another video that should give you some ideas;  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4bjgaRLC6U  Look at the minute and 20 second mark.  Even though she is using it to fill a diamond shape, it would be the same in a triangle.
You could fill the large center square formed by the 4 triangles with this design; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1xHCRAHYtM
Hopefully those videos or some of Angela's other videos that go with those above videos/challenges will help you decide what to actually quilt in each area.  
Please post pictures of you finished quilting.  As you have asked for inputs, you should share the final product.
Best of luck and I am sure it will turn out beautiful.
Cagey

Are you quilting in the same direction with every pass?  This might be causing your quilt top to shift slightly.  Pin or stitch basting would help; or changing direction with every pass.
 

Just my opinion here so take it for what it's worth.  I don't quilt as a business and my quilting for others has been limited to handful of charity quilts.....
It would seem unlikely that someone looking at the low-skill-level quilt would be doing so in order to select a longarmer for their own project.  It's probably not on display as a sample reference of your work or a showpiece, but being used as a quilt. In my limited experience, people who don't do their own quilting don't notice flaws.  I haven't done many quilts, but I notice every bump and wobble and others just ooh and aah over how great it looks.  As with many artistic endeavors, we are our own worst critics.  Bottom line is it's your choice to accept or decline a customer.  I'm thinking it's more likely that you will get more bad references from the "fired" customer than potential lost customers noticing pleats/tucks in another customer's quilt.  

Well, after lots of thought, I went with my Circle Lord Jester boards.  I really like how it looks, and so do my daughter and son-in-law!

If you plan to do all SID first, start in the center. That's where the most fullness will live and where the eye focuses first, so it needs to be flat and symmetrical. The big issue with this is what happens to the rest of the quilt when you start in the middle. You'll need to float it, so secure the top edge of the top with pins (don't stitch it down because you may need to re-position it later). Then advance to the center, smoothing as you advance. When you reach the center, adjust so it's symmetrical then stitch baste or pin baste horizontally above and below the center. Then baste the entire top, stepping out from the center and keeping areas straight and flat. You will immediately see where else there is fullness and needing extra care. I've quilted over twenty Judy Niemeyer quilts as a pro, and none of them was flat---ever. With it fully basted, you can start anywhere you like, but I'd do the center first. Also, you aren't stuck with doing all the SID first if it involves a lot of thread color changes. You can SID and custom quilt a section at a time. The photo is my latest---Dinnerplate Dahlia. Good luck and have fun!

Caution *****It looks like Dave has re-registered on this site. This seller is Dave Jones, who has a bad reputation in the industry. He had a good gig buying and selling longarms and doing deliveries/set/up between buyers and sellers. But several deals went sour and caused a loss of reputation for him. Be very careful and make sure you pay AFTER delivery and not before.