Ready to go - finally

This is my Christmas present to myself. We finally got the machine on the rails on Christmas Day with our son's help to lift it, level the table, etc. Last night I threaded it and loaded this small quilt.

It felt weird as as I turned it on. I actually was worried that it might not work. But the needle went down as I pushed the button, then up again with another push. Then I pulled the bobbin thread to the top, used a thick ruler as a guide, and quilted in the ditch around one of the blocks. Since a longarm owner told me that quilting in the ditch is one of the more difficult things to do on a longarm, I am pleased that this turned out okay.

I'm slow, but it has a stitch regulator so all the stitches are even and not piled up on themselves. It looks okay. Practice will help... but I am of Scottish descent and hate to "waste" fabric on practice. I'll likely do all my least liked quilts as practice. Sigh.

This is set-up full length. That is, I've used all the rails. My tables are from IKEA and very sturdy. I can raise or lower them, but right now it is just right for standing. There is room behind the table to use the laser stylus to copy patterns, or do free motion on the front.

My eventual goal is a king-size for our son (the one who helped set it up, and who also thought using it could be lots of fun) and one for ourselves. A shorter goal is to finish all my UFOs.

However, my husband is worried that he might never, ever get supper on time again, so I'd better set another goal to not get too carried away!