Review of Q'nique Quilting Machine.

I've had my Q'nique now for a few weeks and we are getting along just fine.
The Q'nique 14+ is a quilting machine made by the Grace Company. It has almost 15" of quilting space hence it is called the 14+.

My set up before I got this machine was a Janome 1600P on a queen Gracie frame. The Q'nique was designed to go on the Grace frame and to get the 14+ to sit on the frame, the professional carriage is required.  Luckily I had this.  The top section with the handles comes off and then encoders are added.
My husband, who is an engineer was able to do this with ease.
I would not have been able to do this myself but customer support has been fantastic.

At this point I should say I live in the UK and bought my machine from The Cotton Patch who are situated in Birmingham. Geoff and the team have been great as regards to follow up calls, making sure everything is ok.
You can also chat live online. to the guys from The Grace co, which is great.

Now back to the machine, I don't really know where to start.  the best thing has to be the huge arm space.  After 2 years of working within a 7" or less space, it is a massive luxury to have this extra space and is the main reason the machine was bought.

I have my frame set up to work from the front as I only do freehand work, no pantos.

The controls are at your finger tips in the handles which are at comfortable angle and you can see all your settings on this screen. There are 4 different sewing modes.
I am using the precise regulated for designs like feathers but I also like the manual mode for doing designs like pebbling or stippling.

Another feature I love is the counter.  the machine records how many stitches and also how many hours quilting for each quilt or piece of work.  this can be reset for each project.

It also has a counter for the total stitches and time worked on the machine, this cannot be reset.

 The bobbin winder is a separate motor and winds the big M class bobbins within 30 seconds!
I love the big bobbins, they last a long time.

 The bobbin area itself is easily accessible for cleaning with no lids to remove.  It is quick and easy.  I use a soft, long handled artists brush to clean out the lint.

I have had a few tension issues but have been able to resolve them myself.  I've discovered that the machine can be a bit fussy with the threads it likes. It does not like the poly core quilting thread I was using. Too linty. Tried a 100% polyester thread and it was fine.
Coming in at around £4250 in the UK, this machine  is affordable.  £10,000 for a long arm was NEVER going to be an option for me unless I won the lottery.
 I am truly happy with the Q'nique and would recommend it to anyone.
Here are some samples of my quilting done with the Q'nique so far.

If you are thinking of buying a Q'nique, go and try one. If you are a quilter like me, you will love it!!

More Quilting with the Q'nique

Hello
I'm a bit later with this post than planned but better late than never!
I have been busy playing with my new machine - the Q'nique 14+.
What a great time I'm having - it more than makes up for the disappointing summer we have had here in Scotland this year.

 This was an orphan star block which I added some borders to and quilted.

I decided to make it into a cushion.  It measures 16" but I used an 18" cushion pad to make it nice and plump.  It is backed with a soft blue fleece.

Next project, I quilted this little piece of gorgeously dyed ( by my quilty friend Irene) fabric.
I just filled the whole area with feathers.

 My daughter had her eye on this for a pencil case but I made it into a pincushion and thread catcher for my workroom.  I love it and it is already in constant use.  I should've had one of these years ago.
Click this link for the excellent tutorial I used if you would like to make one yourself.

 Of course, now I had to make a pencil case so my daughter chose this fabric.
Here is the finished result, not bad considering i am not very good or patient with putting zips in.

Also this week, I finished a customer quilt.

Isn't it a great pattern?

Christine, my customer did a fantastic job at piecing this beauty and made it a joy to quilt on.

 The two outer borders........

 For the main background I worked chunky McTavishing......

......and only lightly quilted within the trees.

 The curviness of the McTavishing is a nice contrast to the sharp angular lines of the trees and creates movement and softness. I was very happy with how it turned out and I know Christine was too.

   Quilt back........

Next up was small tumbler lap quilt I made for my father in law.

Light quilting for this as it will be in constant use. It was just fun playing with my new machine.

I absolutely love it.

Sorry I have not written my review of the Q'nique yet but I will get around to it.

Wishing you a great weekend.

Happy stitching til next time

Rhianon.

Me and my Q'nique

A couple of weeks ago my husband surprised me with an extra special gift - the Q'nique 14+

Here I am looking like the cat that got the cream!

I had a couple of practice runs, getting the tension right and just getting a feel for the machine.
Then it was time to quilt something that looked like a quilt.

I pieced this Union star quilt a few years back before I even owned a 1/4" foot and as a consequence there are a few points missing but it is good enough to practice on.

Isn't she a lovely looking machine ?
I will be doing a review of the machine in a future post as I have had many people asking me about it.
So far I love it!!

On with the quilting now......enjoy the photos.

I will be keeping my Janome 1600P for piecing and free motion quilting smaller pieces on the table top.
It's still a great workhorse of a machine that has served me well.
Have a great weekend whatever you are up to and thanks for visiting today.
Rhianon :)