Helen Baczynski

They hold their value very well so the price the person is asking may be negotiable depending upon how quickly or how desperately they need to sell. Ask them too which level they have - if it's panto only (BasiQ), that should be less than the full version(ClassiQ).

Any machine from one of the companies that's been around for a while will last you indefintiely. APQS, Gammill, Nolting, Innova, A-1, Handiquilter - I really think choosing between any one of those is hard. These are all heavy duty industrial machines. I don't think you need to worry about buying second hand APQS machines. Most people sell because they either just don't like quilting, they've decided to retire or just can't handle the machine physically anymore. I would guess that very few are actually bad machines. If you are worried then go to the machine manufacturers sites - they often sel

It's hard to give advice about one machine or another because everyone has their own preferences. What I like, may not suit someone else. I'm just glad I'm not buying now because there are so many to choose from. When I got my Gammill Premier back in 1997, there were no stitch regulators and no-one even had extended bases or small guides. I chose my Gammill for the size, the price, and the style of the table. That last one was very important at that time because I wanted to use Gammill's long guide for custom work and their table was the only one where I could rearrange the bars so I wasn't

There are some good second hand machines for sale right here - maybe one of them will tempt you.

Do you have the thread wrapped the right way around the thread break sensor wheel?

You had a terrible experience, Carrie and there are no excuses for it. Even though you spoke to several people, I would write a letter or e-mail to MQS repeating what you've said here. They need to be reminded and they will be grateful for the feedback. I've had problems with their quilt entry forms in the past - had to use a different browser in order for them to get through, but they seem to have that sorted out now. However, the problem still hasn't been solved for everyone it seems.

Do you have the machine plugged into a battery back up? If so, try just plugging it into an outlet to see if the back up is the problem. When installing an iQ on a Millenium some time ago, the machine suddenly took stitches all by itself and we discovered it was the battery back up causing this. They needed a line conditioner/back up because the power coming into their house wasn't good. Ask APQS for their recommended back up if you need one.

When MQS was in Wichita it was so much worse. Cedar Rapids has been much better than Wichita but still not like it used to be. Remember when all the APQS dealers all dressed up to match the theme? And there used to be many booths that had Gammill machines. Has the fact that some of the major machine companies have changed their owners had anything to do with the changes in the shows? Bernina was a big sponsor and had their new longarms in some of the hands on classes. I was pleased to see Dave Hudson, The Pattern Man, had a booth selling pantos and there was a stencil booth, which was well sto

I am teaching at the Australian show this year. I'm combining it with a vacation, which is a good reason to go. The show will simply be a bonus. The first time I taught there, I was honored by being invited, which had benefits. This year I submitted class proposals just like everyone else. When I've taught in England , it's also been combined with vacation and family visits. I've also noted how many of the teachers I took classes from way back when, no longer teach at shows. I think that has more to do with time passing and people considering retirement rather than anything else. This is my

Just a note from a teacher's point of view - at both MQX and MQS the price you pay for classes doesn't all go to the teacher. A hefty chunk goes to the show - a larger percentage at MQX than MQS. As teachers, we say how much we want to get per student then the show tacks on their percentage. Teachers also have to pay their own expenses at both these shows, so unless a decent number of students sign up for the classes, it's just not worth our time to teach classes. We spend a lot of time preparing handouts, samples and coming up with class ideas long before the show starts and then if the teach

I use 2" binding because I've found the usual 2 and half inches to be too big. I press because when I don't, the binding tends to twist. That's my fault mishandling it. More often than not, I machine stitch to the back then machine stitch the front with a straight stitch - yes even on show quilts, but they'll usually get piping or some other treatment so the top stitching is hidden. More often than not, I use straight of grain binding.

Here's the link to the iQ web site with the information about CQ support. http://www.intelliquilter.com/compuquilter-home.php

A duvet cover is just like a huge pillowcase so why doesn't she just take it apart, stitch some waste fabric to the back to make to bigger, then you can quilt it.

I was going to jump in and reply here but Nigel has given you all the information, Jim. We added I/S to lots of Ult I's over the years. If either of you, Nigel or Jim (or anyone else for that matter), want to become I/S installers, I'm sure Zoltan and Barna would welcome you. For a few years there weren't many installations, but during the year before we retired, we installed as many I/S's as iQ's. (the interest seemed to return when I made the videos. I didn't think they'd have such an effect.) I think there are many older machines out there that are still mechanically sound and adding I/S

I know you've solved the problem now but for future reference there is a video at intellistitch.com that demonstrates the adjustments for the I/S Turbo cl. Usually you only need to run the needle positioning speed auto adjustment - the one that Bonnie described - to correct any issues you may be having with the Turbo cl. This is not applicable for older versions of I/S ( I/S Turbo or I/S 2K ) which I know some machines still have. To adjust those you need to follow the adjustment procedures in the relevant manuals. I/S 2K adjustments are much more involved.