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Cagey

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Everything posted by Cagey

  1. Have you checked local libraries or had your library do a national search? You may have to pay for the shipping of the book, but you possibly find it that way. Also, you might write the author(s). Maybe they have an old copy that they are willing to part with. I don't have the book, but will do a search of my library's card catalog. Cagey
  2. Here is a link to the different types of UPS systems (line interactive verses double conversion); http://www.qpsolutions.net/2015/06/line-interactive-vs-double-conversion-ups-which-ones-best/ It explains the two systems better than I did. Cagey
  3. This is from APQS. I cannot attach the actual .pdf file, so here is my best rendition cutting and pasting the images. Edited to include images from pdf file. Cagey ELECTRICITY AND YOUR APQS MACHINE With more and more electronics being used in quilting machines, electricity supply is more important than ever! If the incoming power fluctuates, the circuit board will starve certain functions in order to keep the boards powered, and the motor can be affected as well. The printout below shows the incoming power here at the APQS factory. Notice how much the power dips towards the end of the printout – we are on the same power grid as Pella Windows, and at the time the power dipped in this printout, Pella had a large motor blow up. You can see how much we were affected by this, and it wasn’t even in our building! Even different types of power supplies can vary the incoming voltage to your home – solar, hydroelectric, wind – these types of power vary greatly, and the circuitry on your machine will suffer the consequences. The next printout is from a customer of ours in Colorado. He was having problems with his needle positioner acting up at times. He asked for this printout of the power supply to his home over a 4 day period, and was greatly surprised at the varying voltages and amperages that was powering his home. Purchasing a battery back-up or UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) for your APQS machine is a great ”insurance policy”. APQS has done extensive testing on battery back-ups and found one type that is capable of running both the motor and supplying the needed power for the circuit boards as well. Most battery back-ups or UPS’s output is a square wave. This wave type will not keep both the electric motor and the circuit boards running in a voltage drop situation. It will keep the circuit boards powered, so it is fine for other electronic equipment. The UPS systems that are recommended for our machines are able to output a pure sine wave, which is capable of keeping the electric motor running and keep the circuit board powered at the same time. With these UPS devices, you are able to even unplug the cord from the wall outlet, and run the machine for a period of time – which can be very handy during power outages!! Technical information from the UPS devices we tested is on the next page. There are several companies on the web that sell these specific devices, and prices vary from site to site. The models listed on the next page show a variety of options; however, one is NOT pure sine wave so it is not recommended. The others are Dual Conversion backup systems, which are slightly different than the standard ‘Standby UPS’ battery backup systems. Dual Conversion On-Line UPS is the same as the standby UPS, except that the primary power path is the inverter battery instead of the wall outlet. The incoming power from the wall outlet is stored in the battery, and the battery supplies the power to the machine – this keeps the incoming power consistent, without having the delay that is caused by normal battery backup systems when they ‘kick in’ to supply power. The Dual Conversion On-Line UPS provides nearly ideal electrical output performance. Be aware that UPS units can look very similar so it can be easy to select the wrong one. Look for a unit that is a PURE SINE WAVE output. For added advantages, choose one that is DUAL CONVERSION. The CyperPower CP1500AVRLCD unit above left does NOT have a pure sine wave output and would not be a good choice. Lower priced units typically are not pure sine wave units. Read the product descriptions carefully before buying. End APQS pure sine wave pdf. I spoke with SYCOM, and they told me that they do not have any Dual Conversion / Double Conversion units that would meet the price points above. Theirs would be more in the $1000 range. They did review all three items above, and suggested the Tripp Lite as having the best power factor. That is to say that how much power does the unit use to provide electricity to the quilting machine. The Tripp Lite is 0.8, the Minuteman is 0.7, and the CyberPower is 0.6. To clarify what I just wrote, the Trip Lite uses about 20% of the power to provide the pure sine wave coming into the unit. The Minuteman would use 30% of the power to produce the same sine wave, and the CyberPower would use approximately 40% of the incoming power to produce the pure sine wave output. Their units run in the 0.9+ power factor range, which increases the cost. They did go on that by using the device you would hypothetically extend the life of anything plugged into the device by 50%. This is because unlike with most surge protectors with battery backup, there is a lag time for a surge or lag to be experienced before the unit switches to battery power. With a pure sine wave generator, the item plugged into the device is somewhat always being run off the battery. The unit is constantly soothing out the highs and lows of the electricity coming out of the wall plug, and providing a very pure power source to the output plug and the quilting machine/anything plugged into the unit. The battery backup run time is to allow you time to shut the item plugged in, without damaging the device.
  4. VL; Living in Florida the lightening capital of the US, I might suggest protecting your entire house and then protect our machine. I did this a number of years ago. While almost nothing will protect your home from a direct lighting strike; there is just too much power for a protector to absorb, you can protect your home and your electrical devices from surges caused by lightening hitting a power line down range from your home or other surge sources. I found SYCOM to have the best surge protectors. At the time, SYCOM was the fastest to react (nanosecond) and absorbed the largest surge load This is the model I installed on my home; http://sycomsurge.com/~sycomsur/images/products/SYC-T2 Series.pdf . You should install one on your main circuit breaker panel (if you have more than one panel you need one for each), one on your outside breaker panel for your air-conditioning unit, one for you pool pump or any other large motor you might have on a dedicated circuit. You or your hubby can do the install if your into this type of project. SYCOM tech support will answer any and all questions you may have. While you are protecting your new Millie, is your AC unit or refrigerator protected? I for one would not enjoy quilting on my George while waiting for a new outside AC unit during the Florida summer. So consider whole house protection. While your power company may sell a "meter treater" for whole house protection, I believe you will find that it does not react as quickly or absorb as much surge as the SYCOM, and you will also be stuck paying around $15 per month as long as it is installed on your electrical meter. They also sell "point of use" surge protectors. I have them on my computers and my George. I am not sure if they meet the sine wave protection recommended by APQS, but I have not had an issue with them. I like the fact they have a lifetime warranty, and you can find the batteries at most electrical stores or online. Here are two models they sell (these are only surge protectors and not double conversion protectors); http://sycomsurge.com/~sycomsur/images/products/SYC-625BB.pdf.pdf http://sycomsurge.com/products/SYC_825BB-69-18.html I hope this helps you decide on how to best protect your Millie and possibly your home. Take care, and best of luck with your new baby. Cagey
  5. Jim; Do you believe it is the needle/deeper scarf that is giving you the better stitch quality or the fact that you timed the machine for the specific needle? I ask this, as I was wondering if a quilter decides they like needle X, then would it be a good idea to time/setup the machine for that specific needle to get the best stitch quality? Thank you for the original post and the update. Great information to keep for our records. Cagey
  6. Carmen; Myself, I would go with LED lights. While the initial cost is somewhat higher the efficiency and heat throw off will be better. Before you hubby build the light bar, I might suggest having him hold a few of the considered LED lights and see what works for you. What works for me or others, may not be to your liking. While I have a George, I could see a LED light strip with magnets stuck to a roller bar illuminating my work area. It would be easy to move, and direct the light where I want it as my quilting needs change. I could also see a light bar with either long strip lights or possibly adjustable can lights that I could move as my lighting opinions change. I would suggest whatever your hubby builds that it be adjustable, because I believe your opinions of what is best will change over time as you become accustomed to your Millie. Flexibility is the key to..... Cagey
  7. Leann The quilting turned out beautiful. I really like the wavy lines in the white area. Was that a panto or was it just freehanded, that looks rather uniform? I really like it, it sort of gives it an offset grid appearance. Cagey
  8. Madelyn Your piecing and quilting look wonderful. I like all the motion in the center. Great job. Cagey
  9. Queenie; They turned out wonderfully. Great job quilting, and sharing your treasures. Cagey
  10. Outstanding job. I love the binding. Cagey
  11. Judith All my quilts end up with my logo to the left when they are finished. The black lines are normally done in thread to match the quilt top. As I make the quilts to give away as gifts, I can do as I wish with my gifts, so the log is about 3 inches by 1 inch. If you take in a pieced sandwich to quilt, I would have to treat that much differently. Most piecers would probably not wish to see that large of a design on their finished quilt. That would not prevent you or myself from actually signing your name small inside the quilt, or even putting in a tiny outline of your logo. Just be sure to have a few examples to show your customers, so they are not surprised to find your name/logo hidden in the quilting. Lots of people buy and wear clothing with someone else logo on them, so why should you be different? If you proposed customer does not agree with it, then you do not quilt their top. Cagey
  12. Kathy Thank you for the update. I normally do not spray baste, so I will keep that issue in mind when it comes to making the quilt sandwich. Best of luck with your project. Cagey
  13. Kwilter Could you please explain why the wool on top of cotton batting did not work well for you? I have been told this is a great combination for a show quilt. I am getting ready to start on my first one, so I would like to learn from other mistakes if possible. Cagey
  14. Judy: If you do some research, you will find that Handi Quilter makes all these Sweet 16 copies. They just tweak them with changes/upgrades for Baby Lock, Viking, Pfaff, etc., to make them their own model. If you want a sit-down, keep your eye open for a APQS George. It is worth the wait. Do not worry about the stitch regulator, you do not need it, as you brain is the best stitch regulator ever made. Cagey
  15. Just thinking out loud. Impact forces formula F = 1/2 m v(squared) / s ; F as Force, m as Mass, V as velocity (squared in this case no way to write formula correctly), s as slow down distance. Professor Medberry would be so proud. But to make things simple, small objects can strike you with a force 30 times their weight. Thus a 5 pound sewing machine could strike you weighing 150 pounds. Backseat only endeavor - otherwise lead story nightly news/front page morning paper X-ray picture of woman with sewing machine thread pin driven into skull in crash. It would make a great family album keepsake. I am surprised we do not already have one from MB. Horizontal verses vertical thread holder pin - no X-rays - curved plastic top with no sharp edges - featherweight not the machine you want - newer plastic machine covering as much internal workings as possible that will poke your eye out or worse in a crash. 300 Watt DC to AC Inverter - will need a DC to AC power inverter. Online it says a typical sewing machine needs 120 watts. Double that to ensure it runs - test before leaving home with car in garage not running. See if cigarette lighter fuse burns out when test running through multilayers of fabric. Homemade table that sits on seat and vehicle floor - to provide a stable as possible platform while driving - sewing machine will have to be attached to table so it does not become projectile that maims, injures, and/or kills front seat passenger(s). Table and machine weight times 30 is not the killing force. In the end, I'm thinking you sleep all day in car while hubby is driving. Then you sew all night while hubby is sleeping getting ready for another day of driving. Your like two ships passing in the night, no contact or fuss the entire travel time of the trip, some may call it a win win win situation. Husband wins as no back seat driving, You win no hotel forays as he is to tired from driving all day, family and friends win with new lovely pieced quilt tops. Everyone wins. Cagey
  16. CBing: I believe Tim Taylor said is best; Bigger and More Power...UUUEEGGHH. It think that is why APQS went with the new 30 inch Millie. I for one believe weight/mass is more important that just throat depth. I say this, because a Gammill weighs more than an APQS. Thus a larger APQS machine would be easier to start and stop movement verses a smaller but heavier Gammill. See if you can rent or test use any machine you are interested in. Have fun shopping. Cagey
  17. Rita: I was not trying to appear mad or upset with you. I simply believe that a person must remain positive, and that one must truly believe you can and you will overcome any and all adversities. Any other belief or view will not take you to your full potential being in life or dealing with health issues. I watched my sister give up during her battle with cancer. She got sick, and was battling an infection. She had only been sick for a few months. She said she was tired of all the hospital visits, and just done fighting. She said she wanted to leave the hospital and die in her own home. We took her home, and she gone within 12-hours. Myself, I plan on going out kicking and screaming when my long sleep approaches. Take care, and God Bless that you lungs heal quickly and your surgery will occur soon. Have a great evening. Cagey
  18. That is not positive thinking the the surgery will go on as planned. Give yourself a slap on the face, and tell yourself you will be better by December 19th, and the surgery will go as planned on December 28th as scheduled!!!!!!! While you are at it, tell yourself you will have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy Pain Free New Year after my surgery is completed on December 28th. We are all praying that you get well and your surgery goes as planned, so you have to start doing the same. If I tell myself and everyone around that I am never going to win the church raffle or at bingo, guess what....... I am never going to with the church raffle or bingo. I belive God answers our prayers, so we all need to keep praying that your surgery goes well on December 28th, and you have a speedy recovery for that pain free New Year. You have to keep the faith, and be positive things will work out as planned. You didn't make it this far, thinking you were never going to find a surgeon that would do the surgery. God answered that prayer, so why would he not continue to take "positive" care of you? Cagey
  19. Positive thoughts bring about positive results. I positively believe your surgery will not be delayed or cancelled. It will go on as planned earlier in November. Tell your body that you will positively be ready for your surgery. Cagey
  20. This is from the Hobbs Batting webpage, it may help fix some issues. Cagey What are “pokies”?This term usually refers to small bits of batting fibers appearing on the back of the quilt during the quilting process. This is most common with cotton or cotton blend battings and the bits on the back will wash away during laundering. Occasionally seen during the long arm quilting process, it is most often a result of an oversized needle or a needle that has a slight burr that is not visible to the eye. Changing the machine needle will usually correct the issue. Thread choice can also be a factor. Cotton is a dry fiber and occasionally cotton threads will pull at the cotton batting fibers during the quilting process. Changing to a polyester thread can alleviate the problem. Using high quality thread is very important to successful machine quilting. Lower quality threads generate a great deal of lint and break easily at the high speeds used in machine stitching.
  21. God Bless and God Speed to you and yours through the Christmas Season, and more importantly during your surgery and recovery. Prayers and best wishes sent. Cagey
  22. Terry: I think they should have let you teach the class, and more importantly have used your quilt for the picture example, and inspiration. https://www.craftsy.com/quilting/kits/elephant-abstraction-quilt-kit/452638?cr_linkid=20161021_feed_quilt_product_text5_ext&cr_maid=101220&cr_source=Craftsy&cr_medium=Internal%20Email&cr_campaign=Feed&ym_id=1578550&cuid=1971365&smm_id=&course_id= Cagey
  23. Terry: It looks wonderful. I love how you really stitched down that swirls. They add a lot to the quilting. Cagey
  24. Ann; I visited your website, and am only providing you constructive criticism. Please do not take any comments personal, as I am only sharing how I interpret the link when I visited it. Your site gives the following charges; Crib $50.00 Lap $75.00 Twin $125.00 Full $ 150.00 Queen $175.00 I charge 20.00 an hour on top of that. Most quilts are 4-5 hours. When I do an internet search for the different size quilts, I find differing sizes for the listed quilts. I might suggest you provide specific maximum size measurements for your five listed quilts. That is to say a Crib/baby quilt is a maximum of 52"x52", a Lap quilt is a maximum of 68"x68", etc. Here is a link to one of the standard sizes I found, I am sure you can find others that give different sizes. https://bcquilter.wordpress.com/quilting-information/common-quilt-sizes/ As I read your website, I would expect to pay approximately $130 to $150 dollars plus batting for a baby quilt. Using the $150 price, I calculate you are making $30 per hour (5 x $20=100+50=$150/5=$30). If it only takes four hours for the crib quilt, you are making $32.50 an hour; (4 x $20=80+50=130/4=$32.5). If it takes you one hour, you are earning $70 per hour; (1x$20=20+50=$70/1=$70). I cannot say if your rates for all over meander or stippling is a fair charge in your location. For my area, I believe the charges are slightly high. On my second quilt, which I did not actually quilt, I paid $98 for a nice computer edge to edge design. This included an extra $25 next day charge for the 60 x 72 quilt, and it included them providing the batting. Looking at the five pictures on your webpage, I can only see 3 pictures that clearly show your quilting. The long middle picture is somewhat out of focus. You need to have a lot of eye candy to catch visitors attention. You have to show potential customers what kind of magic you are going to do with their quilts tops. A customer has to be comfortable that you are going to turn their tops into masterpieces. They are not going to see their piecing errors, but they will notice any issues you post in the images. Also, show examples/pictures our custom quilting. Maybe even give examples with total cost, so customer can better calculate what it is going to have you quilt for them. I would show some pictures of your studio. Customers need to feel comfortable that they are visiting a real business. You could include that your studio is a smoke free, animal free environment, and odor free. As you probably work out of your home, you probably want to be sure the Korean kimchee you cooked last night does not linger when they arrive the following morning. I would have links to your Facebook page, showing all your quilting. Keep your business Facebook separate from your private Facebook. Jokes and political comments can turn some customers off. If a comment can be misinterpreted, it will be. It may be easier to continually update you Facebook page verses your webpage. Though you may wish to update both rather frequently. Look at your two links, as you would look at a business. Emulate/copy the quilting businesses that you like. You do not need to reinvent the wheel, just make the wheel yours. Finally, see if your local guild will post your name, phone number, and webpage under the longarm list in their monthly minutes and on their webpage. My two guilds does that for all the longarm quilters in the group. There are definitely more piecers then quilters in the guilds, so they are constantly looking for quilters to quilt their tops. I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck with your quilting business. I think you are well on your way to success. Cagey
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