juliagraves Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 I just got my Millenium (used) and the previous owner couldn't tell me much about operating it. She had a practice piece on and I have it set up with the piece just as she had it. However, I am wondering about leaving it overnight (or for weeks as I slowly learn) with the tension on the roller bars tight and the clamps on. Should I loosen the tension and undo the clamp on the roller bars, and undo the clamps with the elastic strip when I stop for the day and take the clamps off? Do people just let the clamps hang on the elastic strip? Doesn't this wear out the elastic? I also have cats - do people find that cats like to lay on the quilts in progress? Thanks - Julia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue E. Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Julia, congratulations on getting your Millie. You'll love it. I always leave a quilt on the frame overnight. I also always loosen the tension on the rollers and also unclamp the sides. I was told that leaving the tension on the quilt overnight or for extended periods will stretch the fabrics. I won't take a chance. As to the cat question - I have 4 dogs who are not allowed in the room where my Millie is. I can't personally answer your question about the cats but from what I've read, yes, cats like to lounge on the quilts in progress. Someone with a cat will have to give you a personal accounting of what they do;) Enjoy your Millie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 When you finish for the day, undo the clamps and loosen the top. Taking off the clamps keeps the sides from distorting and loosening the top keeps the leaders from stretching. Take the clamps and attach them to the very top of the elastic and the tension is off the elastic. Most people have a yardstick or curtain rod on each side to put under the elastic and across the rollers to hold up the clamps. I push the curtain rod to the side and let one clamp hang down on one side of the rod and take the other clamp and fasten it to the elastic of the first clamp, only on the other side of the rod. Did that make sense? That way, one clamp hangs on one side of the rod, and the other hangs on the other side of the rod--they balance each other and are at hand to reattach to the backer when you start again. My dear sister--the logical one--came up with that arrangement the first week I had my machine! Linda Steller has a great clamp set-up if you do a search for clamps. This is a great place for many solutions. Cats adore to lay in the quilt hammock, so keep a lint roller handy! Have fun on your new adventure and welcome !!! Linda Rech Olympia, Wa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brunerwoman Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 yes, julia, as sue says, you can leave them on overnight or for days at a time. just unroll it a little to loosen it and take off the side clamps and lay them on the table. ' also, do not leave your machine 'parked' OVER the quilt. always move it to the side when not using it. less chance of something going wrong when turning it on...like needle going down into quilt. or oil leaking on quilt. another good practice is to unplug machine when you are through for the day. especially if there is bad weather coming. you don't want electric problems from lightning. enjoy your millie....i love mine. ( on most days....LOL) shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingupastorm Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Here is what a friend told me you can do to keep the cat from jumping on the quilt if it is left on the machine. Load something on your machine and do not engage the tension.........................in other words it will just unroll. Now if the cat decides to jump on it he will take a bit of a fall as the roller roll that piece to the floor or whatever..........................he will not repeat that again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltaholi_518 Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 I did have a cat, my son took her. Anyway, she would take naps on the hammock, so I started putting foil on the quilt top, and after about a week of that, she never bothered again............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Thiesssen Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Putting plastic on the quilt works, too. Cats don't like the slipperyness. Mine haven't tried to get on a quilt in a long, long time now. L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katydids Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Oh Caron, you gave your cat away She was precious (from the pictures you have posted of her). I would have loved to have her I have 2 babies and want another one so bad, I would be "the cat lady" if my husband would let me. Patty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 Hi, I release my clamps and bars so that if the cat would get on the quilt, the quilt would unroll and sag. The cat only likes to like it if it has the hammock feel. I also put a sheet across the quilt to keep hairs off of the quilt. I don't use plastic as the cat box liner is a plastic bag liner and the cat sometimes thinks anything plastic is his litter box. Char Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sylkamode Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 Julia, I take the clamps away, and release the tautness of the bars, and after that I leave the quilt overnight, or over the weekend, whenever I will quilt again. My LA Millie is in my shop, and I cannot quilt when I have customers, so sometimes it takes me several days before I can quilt again. It never gave me any problems leaving the quilt mounted. Taking it off the bars would be much more effort than leaving it... Sylvia Kaptein Sylka-Mode www.sylkamode.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmyhogan Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 I did what "Sewingupastorm" sugested and it worked for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlittle1 Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 Interesting! I never thought about distortion if I leave the clamps on and the brake on overnight. I always set it up so I'm ready to start the next morning; i.e. roll to the next area, baste the sides down and clamp it. I do move the machine off to the side. I learned that the hard way on one of my own quilts! Maybe I need to consider changing my ways on this. It would be nice if there was a manual that told you all of these things! As for the cat, I found that a few sprays from the water bottle when I found him on the quilt put an end to him thinking it was a good place to sleep. He hates being squirted with water. Phyllis Hughes Oklahoma City Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janeta Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 I have never loosened my tension or removed the clamps at the end of the day. Never thought about it being a problem. So far all the quilts are fine, no distortion or anything. I guess I'll just keep on doing it this way since it hasn't caused a problem in the year I've had my millie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingupastorm Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 I did not really want to admit that I leave my quilt rolled and clamped just ready to work on either. Seems like I am not the only one who does that. I never really thought about it being bad...........................I like to have it all ready to go the next day as someone else mentioned. So is it really bad or is it the quilt police that says we should not leave it like that? Yes I am serious about this question and would like to hear what would really happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susanri Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 I better hope there is no police, I herniated a disc in my neck and didn't go near my machine for weeks (more than12) when I realized I left a quilt mounted and clamped the quilt was fine but I was more concerned about warping my bars. so I loosened it. I finally have started quilting a little but can only do short stretches at atime. so I leave everything ready to go. so my question is can you warp your bars by leaving a quilt in for extended periods of time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tusistas Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 I would imagine if you had the old style (EZQ) machine with wooden rails that you would warp them if you left a quilt on -- but the metal rollers? I don't think so. I may finish a quilt in the middle of the day or early evening but I put another on and if it's not done by the time I "hit the hay" it stays on until it's done. So, effectively, I have a quilt on the machine at all times (it seems that's the way it is these days). I'm wondering if it would depend more on how tightly you roll it rather than on the length of time it is on the rollers. ????? When I first started, I was having all sorts of thread and tension issues. Come to find out, one of the things I was doing was rolling my quilts until you could bounce a quarter on it. As soon as I loosened the quilt, the thread breakage and tension issues disappeared. Well, there were a few other things I wasn't doing correctly, but we won't go into that..... Hope you're having a wonderful day. It's absolutely gorgeous outside here in sunny So. Calif. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliagraves Posted November 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 I got my Millenium used, and the backing roller is definitely warped. Not so bad that I can't quilt with it, but when I roll the backing on, I can definitely feel it go over the hump and then quickly fall down to it's regular position. Is there a way to get it back the other way? I'm thinking if I always set it so the warp is up, maybe the weight of the roller will eventually make it go the other way and even out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laststitchstudio Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 My first Millie had 3 warped metal rollers and APQS took them back and replaced them. They said they had had past problems with them and very kindly took care of everyyhing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammi357 Posted November 19, 2006 Report Share Posted November 19, 2006 There are some great ideas to try to keep the cats off the quilt. Hopefully, one of these will work for you. Having them up on your quilt might not be any bother, but if you ever do any quilting for anyone else, you might want to think about securing them out of the area. I am allergic to cats, I'd be in trouble if someone who was quilting for me allowed the animals on to the quilt. and I don't like to immediately wash a completed quilt, because the appearance of the quilt always changes. Frankly, I'd be a little miffed if on top of the quiltng fees, I had to have it dry cleaned as well. I have left the quilt on the machine in between quilting sessions, and one of the things I have noticed is that sometimes the backing fabrics will stretch more than the quilt top. So, I always release the tension on the rollers and move the clamps, and I cover it with a clean sheet. Also, when I move the quilt on and off the rollers, I lay a sheet over the rails, because the aluminum creates a black that will rub off if you're not careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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