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My George and his Halo


JillFrazior

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I'm curious to know if any other George lovers use the Sharon Schamber Halo.

I find it indispensable. The tightness in my shoulders has all but disappeared since I got my Halo. I used to wear gloves....hated them...couldn't feel my quilt, couldn't thread the needle and had a heck of a time getting threads to drop off the gloves and into the trash.

Also, if you use rulers as a guide, which ones do you love?

Inquiring minds need to know!

Have a fun day!

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Hi Jill:

I use the Halo with George and I completely agree with you about the Halo AND the gloves! I have never tried using any rulers or guides when quilting...could you be a little more specific? Are you saying you use a guide under the Halo for quilting straight lines? Hmmmm.

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I made my friend buy one and the teflon slippy pad--can't think of the real name--at the AQS show in Des Moines. She has a SR on her Bernina and was too scared to try it--now she has some confidence and has even tackled a few lap sized quilts--I may have lost a customer--but I always like to finish a project myself--so now she can too.

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Oh yea...forgot to mention that I use a large "slider" under my quilt...that in conjunction with the Halo makes moving the quilt a dream.

I use a ruler that is 3" wide...the thick ones made for the longarm....the halo goes over the top and with your fingers spread, you can hold both in place and guide the hopping foot along the edge....try it....I think you'll like it. I used it recently to do a bead board border and it worked great.

Here's the link to a youtube video featuring the Halo.

In the video Sharon states that the actual Halo they sell will have handles on it.....mine does not have handles, and I don't think I would want them anyway, so I think they must have decided in the end not to add the handles.

I had to remove the throat plate on George in order to get the Halo under his hopping foot.....when I'm not using the Halo (which is literally NEVER), the Halo hangs on the top part of the machine arm, just to the left of the light....it's not in the way at all and is always right there....never to be lost or misplaced....which could easily happen in my studio!!:(

Have a happy quilting day!!

jill

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Jill, that's exactly where I 'store' my Halo when not in use. I only 'park' it when I'm doing long runs or straight lines. Sharon never did put handles on the Halo but I have seen her demonstrating with 2 stacked Halos for those with dexterity problems. I have been so jealous that the stand up longarmers get to use all those rulers and templates as guides. I'm going to get a couple and try them with the Halo - cool! PS, I also use the slider on George and on my DSM. George didn't like the bobbin genies but I use them on my DSM successfully.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Love that title! I'm just getting ready to fire up George myself!

Since I started freemotion quilting at the same time Adam and Eve were born, I had no tools to use but those dang accountant fingers cots.. which always fall off LOL!!

So I learned without tools and always feel all the tools are cumbersome and get in my way, but that's just me! I do know people like tools, but you can quilt without them.

Dawn and I talked about rulers for straight lines so I'm really interested in what you are using! I don't currently have any deep rulers, but once I get some I'll have to put some sand paper dots on the back and give it a go!

I've also used the teflon sheets under my domestic machine but never felt the need with George... but if it helps someone that is what counts!

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Viking has an accessory in their quilting kit for their domestic sewing machines called a Free Motion guide grip. Seems to be the same concept as this halo but theirs is horseshoe shaped. It has handles. I will gladly send mine to a George owner to try - I never used it. I could not free motion my way out of a paper bag.

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That's nice of you, Brenni, to offer your horseshoe. I had one when I was quilting on my DSM (not by Viking but I'll bet it is very similar) and it didn't work well at all. In fact, the foam underside that was meant to grab the quilt sandwich wound up drying out and shredding all over the place. The Halo is heavy so it requires little downward pressure and the rubberized surface seems indestructible. Of course you can quilt without tools but the Halo has helped me tremendously with hand strain and shoulder pain.

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Well, Jill, you should weigh in too about this since you started this thread. I don't know how much more there is to tell...

The Halo is a rigid metal hoop (interior measurement is just over 7 inches). The ring is coated with some kind of hard rubber material (kind of like an expensive, industrial extension cord). I believe that Sharon Schamber created it to help with machine quilting because she has a tremor in her hands.

On a domestic machine, the Halo would fit right under the presser foot. Since George's presser foot does not raise up, I had to take off the soleplate in order to get the Halo under it. I only did this once...as you can see in an earlier post on this thread, the Halo can easily hang on the machine near the light when it is not in use. The advantage of using the Halo is that it keeps the immediate area you're quilting very flat. Light pressure from thumb and a finger on each hand can guide the hoop (and therefore the quilt sandwich) around as you quilt. There is no more hand strain from grabbing the quilt sandwich or pushing it down. It has eliminated the shoulder pain I used to get from hours at the machine moving the quilt around. Am I beginning to sound like an infomercial?

I don't use the Halo all the time but when doing very dense or very small scale quilting, it is enormously helpful. And not too expensive if I recall. Sharon has a video on UTube and the product can be purchased from her website or from her daughter at purpledaisies.com. I think that's right.

I haven't tried using it to anchor a ruler like Jill has but it sounds like a very interesting idea. That's all I know. Wishing you happy quilting, Nancy in Tucson

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  • 2 months later...

The small 1" x 6" ruler works well for making straight lines while using the halo. I just put the ruler inside the halo and move it around with the halo. It's not long enough to be under the halo ring but fits nicely inside the halo.

I find the halo great to drive for my designs. It reminds me of the steering wheel on a car :cool: and basically takes the jerkiness out of making free motion designs. :D

Lynnie

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