Gail O

I finally got the hook assembly to move.  I kept wiggling the flywheel and it began to move.  A drop more oil, and it began spinning normally.  Now I can see a thread all the way in the back of my hook assembly (the bobbin is removed).  Some tweezers helped me get that out.  I will need to sew on some scraps to let the oil drips run through before continuing my quilt.  Whew!

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.

Is it just the light or the stitch regulator?  If your stitch regulator is still working, it might just be the bulb.

Ok that is probably timing especially if it the first time you have done it.  The first time I timed my machine I had to do it a few times before I got it correct.  Now I could time a machine in five minutes.  I find the biggest problem with the instructions is when they say the needle should kiss the hook.  Are we kissing an old aunt or a lover?  The answer is somewhere in between.  Sorry not much help. 
 
Nigel

The adhesive is only going to hold the two separately quilted layers together for a short time; then the only thing holding them together will be the binding.  The added stress on the binding will shorten it's lifespan as well.  You would be better off to make two quilts.  Not sure why you want to do this.

Thank you for your information Nigel. My husband was able to fix it. My hopping foot had loosened and was hitting the needle. I also did not know about the groove on the needle facing forward, so I thank you for that information as well. 
I hope you have a fantastic day 

You could use fat quarters if you’re not finding fat eighths. You could have more than one block with the same fabric (if you buy 10 FQ)  Or you’ll just have leftovers to add to your stash (buy 20 FQ).
This pattern does seem confusing as far as what they call the fabrics.
As I read this:
FQ = color B
Accent = color A
White = background 
It looks to me like the center square in each block is the white/background fabric.  It looks like those are the 4” cut pieces because everything else is an even quantity. 
If you wanted to make the center squares from a different fabric than the white/background, you certainly could.  If you’re doing blues and greens as your stars, you should have enough fabric (even using F8) to cut a 4” block. So if you had a blue star, you could do a green center square and vice versa. 
Just a thought… check out Fat Quarter Shop for free patterns. I find their patterns are very well written for beginners. 
Good luck and reply if you need more help!
Sue

The limit would be how much quilt is on the back take up roller. The more finished quilt is rolled on that, the smaller your available quilting area will be because your machine will not be able to move as far forward. 

If you want to load enough backing for the 4 quilts, that shouldn’t be a problem. However you may want to cut the backing and remove each one as you finish. Then repin to the take up roller and do the next one. 
 

I don’t think many machines have gone back to the factory for service compared to the number of machines sold.  The APQS machines are professional quality and are intended to be serviced by you in your studio.  Pretty much any issue you could have APQS will send or email detailed instructions with colour pictures on how to fix.  It’s pretty hard to wear out one of these machines, the mid nineties Ultimate 1 that I bought used 12 years ago still gets used daily in the new owners business.  The Millennium my wife had was used full time in her business for about 12 years before she sold it to another quilter. Between the two machines we probably didn’t spend more than a couple of hundred dollars in parts other than the replacement wheels. 
 
Nigel

Try cutting the thread, strand by strand, or as much as you can each time.  Pull each thread you cut out until the clog is removed.  Good luck.  Jim 
PS: the last resort would be to remove the hook assembly from the machine.  If you do that, you'll have to re-time the machine after the clog is removed.  It's difficult to loosen the screws that hold the hook in place if you can't rotate the hook (turn the flywheel)  A lot of folks are afraid to do this, but if you're serious about long arm quilting, it's something you really should learn how to do.  One more step to mastering the trade.

Don  
In my opinion nothing special is required for the air line or nozzle, you are providing an economical option to canned air.  The five dollar air gun and a 1/4 in coiled hose from Harbor Freight or Princess Auto is sufficient.  I used to hang my air gun off the knob on the end of my backing roller and had a coiled hose to my compressor that was under the end of the table.  My pressure was at 100 psi but anything over about 60 would be sufficient.  Just drop an airline near the end of the table that she likes to do her maintenance.  
 
Nigel

Nigel - thanks for the down to earth and reasonable reply.
I have spent so much time creating a space for her to sew and long arm... I tend to overthink changes and additions.  We will post some pictures of her new sewing room on the pictures thread.  Technology stuff is next (TV and sound/videoconferencing) in the room.
Thanks again.  Have a great one.
Don Fitz.

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

Good morning Jim. 
Youtube is your friend there are at least half a dozen videos.  Here is Dawn’s video and we used to do it similar except we would add the binding as we advanced the quilt and also do the final join on the domestic machine to get the mitred seam.  It goes very quick once you get the hang of it and if I remember correctly we would charge about ten cents per linear inch but that was also five years ago.  Also this is another I found on google. http://www.kimmyquilt.com/applying-binding-with-your-midarm-or-longarm-machine.htm
Nigel
 

Contact APQS and give them the Serial #.

Contact APQS and give them the Serial #.

Hi Kitten 
 
As Sue said.  Yes you should be cautious.  The first thing you should do is click on the users name and see how long they have been a member and read some of their posts.  If you click on SueD above you will see she has been around for a couple of years and her posts are always on point and helpful.  If she decided to sell her machine her ad would be legitimate.  Someone who joined yesterday and their first post is a machine for sale I’d definitely want to see in person.  Most machines don’t sell immediately so there is no rush to send anyone money.
 
Nigel

So we squared up the frame. Then tightened the screws that keep the front end on the carriage and it smooth as butter now! 

Double sided carpet tape works.  For added security cover the edge with duct tape after you get the leaders straightly secured with the double sided tape.  Just make sure you remove the old adhesive, and use the weld line as your straight line across the rails.  Removing the old adhesive takes some effort.

Thanks, I was able to get 90% of it out, it barely shows.  I can't figure out where it came from either.  I've looked at the undercarriage and bobbin area and don't see anything.  

We had a forced reno and had to replace ceiling tiles in our family room which houses my Lucey longarm quilter. We replaced my fluorescent lighting with 5000K LED Wafer Downlights. They are awesome. I have 8  placed in two rows of 4.
Good for my aging eyes.
Mary Ellen Langlois
Sudbury, ON, Canada
 

Hot Mess is right! Why is it so hard to set boundaries when we are inately generous? Eighty is not that old if she's active enough to sew a top every month! Explain to her that the pet hair has become a problem---that the hair/dander transfers to your leaders/clothes/area and while you aren't allergic, you may have others you quilt for who are. If she can't clean them up to remove the hair and the smell (yuck!) (or have a friend do that for her) you gently and reluctantly tell her you will need to stop quilting for her. This is absolutely appropriate and I guess I'm not kind enough to continue doing something that makes me miserable every month when she has some control over the issues.  Bless her, of course, for still having the passion for piecing. But your time and talent are your own to manage and you should not have to do so many extra tasks to make her quilt presentable when she doesn't recognize the issues and has no incentive to help. Does she have a close friend that you can bring into the mix---who can be the go-between for suggestions and boundaries? Sorry if this seems harsh, but I'm also "old" and would like to spend my longarming time stitching and not fixing someone elses careless piecing and smelly, hairy tops. 

Yep like above do what you can and she will be happy with being able to still make quilts. I have one who is only in her sixties and she is a hot mess I tell her why her quilt looks the way it does because of her techniques and she is okay with that so I am trying to be okay with that too and not stress over perfection with her quilts. As long as she is happy  I am happy. Most other customers already know her style and not judge my efforts of how the quilt turns out.

I would never tell an 80 yr old that her sewing is a mess and I don't want to quilt her quilts anymore. It's a miracle that she is still quilting at her age and enjoying doing it.  She probably doesn't see well and can only do the best that she can.
You have already made suggestions to her on how to improve her quilting.  Instead, keep your custom quilting to bare minimum, nothing fancy, avoid those wads in the corners, let the borders be full by bunching the fabric up between quilt lines and allow all of the raw edges and misaligned seams to be as they are.
  I'm sure she is not prolific at producing quilts so it's not like you are doing one of her quilts every couple weeks.  Not everyone's quilts are perfect (as we well know being longarm quilters) but they are all loved just as much as the quilts taking the Best of Show

On either side of the quilt where you have the extra 4-6 inches (or maybe 2-4inches) of batting and backing.  Just lay a piece of cotton on top and test your stitches; just make sure that it's not too close to the quilt. It will all be cut off when the quilt is trimmed.