Has Anyone switched from a millenium to a george?

[dthiems]

I am considering selling my Millenium and purchasing a George. Curious if anyone else has done this and if it worked for them. I have been machine quilting for customers for 26 years and may be getting back into the job market, but I don't want to totally give up quilting, even

if it is for myself. Any suggestions would be most welcome!

[JustSewSimple]

I have never owned a George, but one of the major reasons I purchased a Lenni was to avoid pin- basting a quilt. I hated layering and pinning those safety pins and hopefully avoiding a pucker on the back, and then there was the weight issue. Also, the use of tools is almost non-existant when moving the quilt under the machine head. Everything has to be marked (at least this is my experience). I'd love to sit all the time while quilting and I'd love the extra room in my quilty space but for me the frame out weighed the rest. Good luck with your decision.

[Neher-in-law5]

My guess is that you would be more frustrated in changing to George. I have George and he is a good machine, but there are times that I wish I had the options of a machine on a frame, for the layering, for straight line work, and the ease of going from one area to another. I have often thought that if I needed to create my own income I would get a frame machine (APQS) and keep George and have the best of both for different reasons, Of course I would need the boatload of cash and the space.

If you already have a Milli and it is paid for, I would think that you could just keep it and be able to do only your own quilting quickly when you want to and not have to go through hoops of a different method. Are there health reasons to change?

[JudyLynn]

I too, have a George, and love him and all that I can do on the machine, but have also wished at times, I had the bigger machine with the frame. At the time I was purchasing him, I was not told that Lenni was coming out soon. I do think I would have gotten that one instead. I do not regret George, but I do have to think it would be hard to switch. Sometimes after doing a huge quilt, my shoulders and back will hurt. Maybe that would happen anyway, but I do not know. Perhaps try a George out, before making a decision.

[fineseams]

I have been machine quilting on a DSM for many years, and recently purchased a used Ultimate ! from APQS. The Ultimate 1 does not have many bells and whistles, so I don't really know how it compares to a Millenium, but I have found that there isn't much crossover in skills between a frame and non-frame machine. There are advantages to both.

The great thing about a George compared to a DSM would be the space under the head - making it much easier to do large quilts. However, you still have to pin or otherwise baste your quilt, you have to manage the bulk during quilting,and you can't use the tools available for a frame machine, so if you do mostly traditional quilting you will have to do a LOT of marking. You do have total freedom to move up/down/left/right for any distance, and I love the control for doing microquilting.

I bought my Ultimate because I wanted to be able to get the very precise repeatable patterns such as those you can do with a Quiltazoid, and I didn't want to stuff any more king size quilts through my DSM.

I do mostly art quilts for my own quilting, and still do them on my DSM because I feel that I have better control. But I'm hoping that as I practice more on the Ultimate I'll get better. In retrospect, I kind of wish I had spent the extra bucks to get a Millenium, as I can see how nice the SR, channel locks, fabric advance, etc. would be.

I guess my ideal would be both a George and a Millie, but oh well, not a chance:-)

[Myrna Ficken]

George is a great machine. If you don't mind moving the quilt and not the machine you will love our George. If you aren't making large quilts maybe you could go to a smaller table or perhaps a Lenni.

[dthiems]

Thanks for all of the input. The main reason I'm thinking of changing is space. If I sell the building my shop was in, I will have to remodel a garage at my home to accomodate the Millenium and don't know if I want to go to that expense, etc... I have been quilting on long arms for 26 years so don't know if I can downsize. I have owned a Kenquilt, traded to an Ultimate I and now a Millenium. Just got new M&M wheels also, that are WONDERFUL. I will keep weighing the pros and cons for a bit. Thanks;)

[Anniquilter]

Just read your post & understand space is your biggest issue. It may be possible to make your table smaller or get a smaller table and reduce the space you need for this machine.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

[Gator]

I agree with all. Sounds like Lenni or Lucy would be great machines for you. Check out our "used machines", if you buy them from APQS you'll get a 1 year warranty.