Cagey

On a picture quilt with numerous pictures, I would suggest quilting minimally in the pictures so the batting does not come apart in the sandwich, and to not quilt over faces if possible. Quilt more heavily in the borders or area around the pictures. As it is a portrait quilt, presumably one large picture where the sandwich must be stabilized, I would suggest using invisible thread. Matching the fabric/picture color with the thread may be a better option depending on the portrait and area in the portrait. Start stabilizing the portrait as a whole. You probably can quilt more in the individuals hair without it being as visible. Then you can try quilting in the areas of light to dark on the face, shadows in the face around eyes and eye brows. Start with a little quilting as possible. Step on a ladder and decide how the overall image looks. It is easier to add quilting then to remove it. Take a picture and ask what the customer thinks/wants. It may be a quilt that you have to remove from the rollers and hang on the wall a few times before it is finished. I am a sit-down quilter, so this is easier for me. In the end it is going to come down what the maximum allowed distance between quilt lines per the batting manufacturer's specifications and what you/the customer think looks best. Here are some examples with tight quilt lines and some with whole areas open; https://artsychickquilts.blogspot.com/2012/08/portraits-101-class-at-wisconsin-quilt.html https://burdenbearer.blogspot.com/2011/03/portrait-quilts.html https://artsbusinessinstitute.org/artists/artist-profile-sandra-bruce/ https://www.terryaskeartquilts.com/Studio/tips-tutorials-and-more/create-a-portrait-pattern-from-a-photo/ You can also search for thread painting which might expand your examples. As you are painting with thread, it is an art. I am sure it will turn out great when you are finished. Please share your masterpiece when you are done, so we can enjoy your work, and learn from it. As it is a portrait of a customer, maybe just an eye or part of the face so their anonymity is preserved if they do not want the entire quilt top shared. Cagey

Sew Sew, Be sure to warm up you machine before making the adjustment. You can remove the bobbin and the upper thread from the needle and just let the machine run at a good constant speed for 5 minutes or so. Here is a link to an APQS instructional post. Read down to the bottom (prior to the comments) as there are different instructions for machine prior to 2007 and 2008 and later. I hope this helps you. https://www.apqs.com/needle-updown-wont-stop/ Hopefully this will fix your problem. Cagey

Some of the links on this APQS forum thread might help; https://forum.apqs.com/topic/34341-compuquilter-is-no-longer-in-business/ You might reset the computer running the program to factory settings. This may get the compuquilt program to reset also. Best of luck to you resolving your problem.

Bonnie - Bob, Generally speaking, price, location, if seller will ship, other items included, why are you selling, etc., will greatly aid with your sale. Best of luck to you. Cagey

Holly, Check with Lauren as she was working on a couching foot awhile back. Not sure if it ever worked out for her; https://boldnotionquilting.com/product/scoop-foot-apqs/ Cagey

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

Sue, go to your original post. On the top right corner you will see three dots. Click on that and choose EDIT. That should hopefully set you up. Also, give the stitch count or take a picture of the screen, someone is sure to ask. Not sure the complete importance as I know there are original APQS machines out there with millions of stitches running great still today. They just have to be taken care of and preventatively serviced Best of luck.

A price and location will probably assist with your sale. Best of luck.

Contact you local high school to speak with the computer programming or business department. The teacher and students can see what you have and then possibly suggest or even put it all together for you. Recently my daughter's class was Business Academy was asked to help with promoting and developing advertising for local restaurant that was opening. The kids got real world experience and the business got some great ideas and options they used in promoting their new business. The business gave back funds they earned to support the high school program in the future.

Does the wall outlet have power. Power strip fuse popped? Sometimes it may not actually be the machine that has the problem. Best of luck finding the solution.

SueD, As I do not do FaceBook, thank you for the update.

Interesting George is no longer on the APQS website under the Machines tab. APQS may be like some businesses that will not list an item for sale, when they have none available to actually provide the customer. George is a great machine for quilters that do not have space for a longarm on a frame. Be patient, and used or new one will probably show up soon for you.

Beth, What did APQS suggest you do to resolve your electrical static discharge (ESD) situation from developing in the first place, besides increasing the humidity level of your quilting room? Did APQS support grounding the quilting frame, so static electricity would not build up in the first place? Cagey

Great job. Thank you for sharing pictures of the finished quilt. Cagey

Beth, This may be an easier solution for you. You need to ask APQS about grounding your Millie quilt frame to dissipate the static electricity. This way it never builds up to cause the problem The Millie head is grounded as it is plugged into the electrical outlet. The single finger portion of the plug is the ground, or grounding wire. The same goes with the computer running the carriage. If you use a extension cord an overload circuit breaker that to is grounded. I would suggest using an electrician, but as it is a holiday weekend you could try this to see if it fixes your problem. Go to Lowes, HomeDepot or store that sells electrical items. Buy a 125 volt grounding plug like this; https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton-15-Amp-125-Volt-Double-Pole-3-Wire-Grounding-Plug-Black-R50-3W101-00E/205165472?MERCH=REC-_-pip_alternatives-_-301864426-_-205165472-_-N& You need to push out the two flat portions of the plug. They are what carries the electricity to the wire. You need to keep the single roundish male portion of the plug. This is the ground. Then buy a long enough piece of braided 14-guage or 12-guage green grounding wire to run or . The green color indicates it is a ground wire, and is not carrying electricity. Connect the green ground wire inside the modified plug. Make sure to secure the wire inside the plug, as it is designed to capture three wires and with only one you will need to see how it is not pulled out of the modified plug. Then run the wire to the area the APQS suggests grounding the quilting frame. Use this type of crimp end to run the bolt through. Connect to a bolt that is not painted. The paint will not allow the connector to make a good contact to dissipate the static electricity/buildup. I would suggest using one of the bolts on the rear of the carriage support that is not painted. See the silver/bear metal part of the carriage support with the bolt head visible? I would also run a jumper wire from that bolt to the frame leg. A jumper wire is just a short piece of wire from the ground point to another grounding point. Simply put on the round hole or U-shaped crimp end on both pieces of wire. I would run the jumper wire from the carriage frame to the adjustable leg support. This is because the frame is painted. The the bolt that allows you to adjust the height of the table is not painted. It is probably overkill, but if it saves a quilt from being torn it is well worth the effort and little money the jumper wire costs. An electrician or APQS may have a better method to ground you machine, but this is a safe DIY method to ground the table. The 35% relative humidity is to help prevent static electricity from building up. The grounding wire will prevent the static from building up, by continually dissipating it to the ground/the earth. All electrical circuits are grounded to the earth outside the home or building with a large metal pole driven into the ground. I wish you the best of luck solving your dilemma. Cagey