Circlelord Opinions Please

[jschleim]

I am wanting to buy the Circlelord and their sale ends the end of the month so I need to make up my mind quickly. And maybe my question is determined by the individual user, but I want to know which Circlelord product is the best for quilting. I plan to start quilting for the public and money is an issue. I have been told that the giant boards, while expensive, are much faster to use than the Circlelord itself. That is appealing as I work outside the home so time can be an issue. Obviously though I haven't built up a client base although I do have one order waiting on my purchase. So what are the pros and cons of the Circlelord? And what are the pros and cons of the giant templates? Which one would you recommend? Thanks.

[jmcclannan]

Personally, I prefer pantographs. I bought Circle Lord when I first started and I still use a board occasionally but I have lots of pantographs and I need the variety these offer for customer quilts. Good luck on building your client base.

[dancing bear]

The CL Swirls is one of the best items out there. I have used this board over and over, especially on Quilts of Valor. It always looks good as long as you choose a good thread. On QOV where there is a lot of Red, White, Blue ... I tend to use a grey thread and the Swirls look fabulous. On vintage or vintage-looking quilts, the Baptist Fan boards are great! And I love Michael and Kay's customer service and accommodating payment plan. You won't regret it.

[RitaR]

Hi Ja. Of course we are all loving one similar unit or another. I'd suggest comparing prices between the Quiltazoid and the Circle Lord. Also compare pattern boards prices.

I have the QZ and couldn't love it more. I'm able to buy more pattern boards, and also added the Spirograph.. wonderful combo, and several other companies boards work on it also, Topper, R & S, so it is really variable.

RitaR

[RunningThreads]

We have the Swirls and Baptist Fan and each one has paid for itself several times over. Also we have several of the small templates but they hardly ever get used (our style never developed that way). I think the CL Swirls is probably the best boards Michael has. It will give you a professional result right away. If you buy it and the CL basic one quilt a month will cover the payment plan. However Brenda is like Julie and prefers pantographs, lots of variety and you can't beat the return on a fifteen or twenty dollar investment.

Nigel

[RoseCity Quilter]

I love my Swirls, 7 treasures, waves/zigzag, and square dance. In other words I like the geometric ones. The ones that are just patterns, I would rather by pantos and be able to get more for my money. However the geometric ones are very difficult to do well from a panto.....

[yankiequilter]

Definitely the Swirlz, probably the most popular and often requested design. I also like Milky Way, which has swirls and stars in it. I have stitched the swirls and by-passed the stars and then free motion feathers using the swirls as the spine. Any free motion designs could be used as fill. The Milky Way pattern boards are also great for QOV and other patriotic quilts.

The Zig Zag/Waves are extremely versatile and can create many designs. I love all of the templates that I have, but this is my favorite.

The giant templates come in a set and you don't have to leap frog any of the boards to stitch from one side to the other. For design templates the Featherz, Ginko and Aztec are great for many blocks.

MIchael and Kay are great to work with, have wonderful customer service and are available almost 24/7. Their payment plan is super and you can start quilting for customers with a small initial deposit. The boards will pay for themselves very quickly.

[HeatherH]

Hi Ja,

As a new quilter I have found the CL boards very helpful. Using the boards you always get a clean crisp stitching line without "wobbles". I prefer them over pantographs for that reason. You can't really make a mistake following the board lines because you can't swerve off at all. I have Swirls, Crosshatch & PB, Meander , milky way and swirls and love them all. Also Cosmos which is a flower design is very popular for girls and women. I am learning to use the design tools but the boards have no learning curve. I am looking forward to adding to my collection. The feathers system also works great. I am very happy with the CL boards, equipment and the great service from Kay & Michael.

Good luck with your quilting,

[Primitive1]

I started out with the basic CL and had fun with it, at the time, I was not aware that you could just purchase the big boards and a stylus and off you go! If I had it to do over, that's what I would do. I use the few big boards that I have more than the basic set. If you go with big boards, like the advice above says, go for swirls first, than anything geometric after that as those with straight lines are harder to follow on pantos without wobbles. But if you are looking for some pantos that you will use alot, I'd suggest one called popcorn and an all over feather meander. You'll use those alot too.

[Bonnie H]

The swirls board is definitely my most used and favorite, and it's a lot of fun to stitch out, too.

Does anyone here have the Giant Lily Template? I am wondering how easy it is to stitch out? There are a few variations of stitch-outs for that one which makes me think I have to have it!

I have a Cosmos 15, king size, used once, if anyone wants to trade me? I would be interested in the Giant Lily, Meander, or Water.

[Sparkle]

The Best Circle Lord product for me are the template boards.

The Swirls to start with. I don't think I'vd seen a quilt that has the Swirl design on it that is not appealing. "Swirls" is the most versatile board.

For more traditional pieced quilts, I like the Baptist Fan board too.

I have the Circle Lord basic with several of the stepping disks also. I have used them, but not often.

If you want to see some quilts I have completed using the Circle Lord system please visit my Picasa Album: Circle Lord Quilting at the following link.

https://picasaweb.google.com/angiekiker/CircleLordQuilting?authuser=0&feat=directlink

I really enjoy using this system. and have no regrets buying it.

*Great Customer Service too!*

[Guest Linda S]

Those big boards are fabulous. I call it 'Quilting for dummies' (no offense meant). What I mean is, as long as your machine has good tension, you just line your quilt up, put the stylus down, and away you go. I used my Swirlz and Baptist Fan the most. Not only could you get done in record time, but the Baptist Fan had a way of really smoothing out really bad quilts. I think I probably have a couple of posts here called "The Miracle of the Baptist Fan." They're older posts, but check out the great job that board did for me.

[elkayr]

Swirlz it is!

[TAQuilts]

Most of my CL long boards have paid for themselves many times over.

My most requested Traditional ones are; Baptist Fan, Water, Swirlz & 48" Crosshatch board.

For Modern Quilting I use variations from the Wave Board alot.

I use the long boards and the 18" boards more than the CL Template device, although I could not be without it cuz I do circles quite often and 1/2 circle designs in borders alot, I rarely use the other templates.

18" boards are a great way to start out, you can do lots with them such as piano keys and crosshatching and many other things until the money starts rolling in... then start collecting the long boards.

Terry

[Corey]

Circle Lord giant boards are the best, especially for a newbie in Longarming. Great quilting results, always plus Kay & Michael are the best in customer service.

Corey

[Sandra Darlington]

My favorite long boards are #1) the Baptist Fan and #2 Swirlz. I have numerous others, but do not use them as often. My favorite templates are #1 The Feather wreaths, & #2) the piano keys for my borders. Again, I have lots of other templates, but these are my absolute "must haves."

[quiltinchicks]

I use the long boards a lot! I, like Vicki, wasn't aware that I could just get the big boards without the whole setup lol. I have never used any of the small templates or discs, I just haven't had time to 'mess around'. I am going to sell my background fillers as I don't have an apqs so I can't get a front stylus and it's too much of a hassle to try and figure it out from the back.

[RitaR]

Sort of off topic: It Might be a good thing to compare the CL with the Quiltazoid and Topper. Also compare the design prices. The QZ can run Topper and R&S boards. It too can be used from the front, and that gives more ease of use than using from the back.

I love my QZ a lot and use it on the Quilts of Valor I stitch, and yes, it does give a nice crisp line, though Himself can make it wobble. LOL

Just the price difference made up my mind and I'm so glad I did. Saves Big $$$ and yet gives quality results.

In the end, it is Your choice.

RitaR

[yankiequilter]

The discussion about Circle Lord vs. Quiltazoid vs. Hartley Fence comes up quite frequently. You have to decide which features are most important to you, including the support and customer service. The comparison isn't the same as looking at one variety of apple to another; it is like comparing apples and oranges. There isn't a good way to compare the price of an apple to an orange, you get the one that you want to eat.

I use the Circle Lord giant templates a lot and love having the ability to slide them side to side so that the design will start and stop at the appropriate places on the quilt. By having the set of templates I can assure the design will line up with the edge of the quilt at the start of the quilting. When the quilt is advanced having the set of templates also allows me to assure the next pass is going to line up straight and match up with the previous stitching. I don't have to leap frog the templates and the overall quilting is straight and even across the quilt. The quilt doesn't always advance evenly so having templates across the width of the quilt allows me to pinch and scooch a tiny bit when necessary to get things even. I hope that makes sense!

Give Michael a call, there is no cost to do that, and he can help you decide what you need to suit your quilting style. Super customer service, excellent payment plan, continually introducing new templates to help us make our quilts beautiful, and so easy to use, and with a money back guarantee!

[Beachside Quilter]

I LOVE my Circle Lord Giant boards. I, too, was confused and didn't understand that I could just buy the rear stylus and use with the boards without having to purchase an entire system. Once I tried the Giant Swirlz I was hooked! They are my "go to" for quick, easy, edge-to-edge designs. They are so easy to use they make you an "instant" success. You can get a set of boards and stylus and begin using them immediately! They are that easy to use! Good luck!

[alnaquilts]

So can you just buy a stylus and some big boards like the swirls, and run it from the front of the machine? Sorry to say I know very little about this, but wouldn't mind just having the swirls boards. I have a Freedom SR.

[circlelord]

Yes,

You can buy the Stylus for your Freedom for $49.00

and get the Swirlz with 20% off and pay it off over 4 months.

Make money while you pay it off. Then keep all the money. Over $30/hr

You cannot use the Giant templates from the front. They come

in over 40 inch sections. You can use the Circlelord and design

templates like the Featherz from the front. You can use the

48" Crosshatch templates on the back and run them from the front using the Push Button.

[RoseCity Quilter]

Or with the push button and a Bobbin Cam you can run any of them from the front.... Did a Wave and a clamshell that way today......:cool:

[cstucke80]

Could someone tell me what the PB board is or are you talking about the push button?

Thanks

cstucke80

[nanbrug]

I really like the CL boards just because they are so easy. They are what I started out with when I was a newbie and it helped my confidence knowing that it was going to look great when done even if I didn't know what I was doing. LOL I think the most popular board for my customers is the Cosmos. It's nice after doing panto's and customs when a customer wants a pattern from the boards it's like a vacation because it's so easy and quick. Michael and Kay are great to work with and will always respond back quickly if you need advise. Welcome to the forum.