I’ve been wanting a larger quilting space. I love my Juki TL 2000Qi, but it only provided me with about 5 to 6 inches of vertical quilting space. It could be taken on and off the Cutie frame, but with such a small space to quilt in, there was a LOT of re-hooping!
I had been thinking of possibly upgrading my entire setup to a different brand of quilting machine. A used machine and rolling frame seemed like a great idea. But by the time I tried to ask about it, they had added automation and it quickly went out of my price range.
I researched just about every single company and machine that I could possibly find information on. I just couldn’t see myself buying something for $15k to $20k when I’m still learning and just don’t have that in my budget to spend.
Then there was a sale on the Q’nique 19x Elite! The 19x fits on my current Cutie frame setup, but the best part is that if/when I want to upgrade my frame later, the 19x will upgrade with me to a larger Grace frame!
I ordered it and of course, tracked the package all the way here as if my life depended on it! When it got here I was soooo excited!!
The box alone is so pretty!! Okay, so I might be a little biased, but I was doing a little dance when it got here!
When I opened the box I was pleasantly surprised to see that the insides are wrapped in protective plastic. Which makes so much sense. I mean who wants their machine to arrive damaged because of rain? Especially since I live in Florida, this was a really smart move!
Everything is very well organized and in 2 layers. The top layer holds the base of the machine and a bunch of boxes: tool box, display box, wheelbase hardware box, thread stand hardware box, power cord/oil bottle box, encoder box and the wheelbase cover box.
Now, don’t remove anything from this top portion just yet. Take off the top portion and it reveals more underneath. The actual machine, the thread stand and the handles.
The reason you don’t want to remove any of the items yet from the top portion is because you need to put the top and bottom next to each other. Grace has made it really really easy to put the machine together and you need to put the actual body of the machine on top of the base that is in the top part. Thankfully I read the entire manual before I even received the machine!! I’m crazy that way. I downloaded it from the Grace website and read the whole thing while I was waiting!
Here’s where we put the boxes together. I say us, because there was no way I was going to do this alone. Hubby definitely needed to help me pick up the machine. I mean, it is a 19″ longarm machine, it’s HEAVY!
And here it is with the machine on the base.
Once it was secured to the base, then it’s time to put it on the frame.
Then it’s time for the wheelbase covers.
The handles are next, and I will say I needed more than 2 hands for this, so I am so glad hubby was helping me!
Next it was time to put the display on the front.
Did I mention how clear the instructions are? I seriously couldn’t be happier with how clearly labeled everything was and how easy it was to put it all together. Next comes the thread stand.
Next it was time for the encoders!! They are what helps the machine with stitch regulation.
Last and most important is the power cord!! I liked that the power cord area was extra protected during shipment.
Turning it on for the first time I did a little dance. Nope, I made sure my husband did NOT take pictures of me while he was laughing! It was so exciting to see it loading and then to see that it was truly BRAND NEW! Just one stitch ever!
After I put it all together then I got a chance to look at the thread package that came with it! I still haven’t played with all these colors, but I do have ideas of what projects I want to use them with!
Finally I decided I needed to name her! Since she is an Elite machine I wanted an “E” name for her. Then it hit me! My mother’s middle name was Esther, and since she HATED it, I started looking at nicknames for Esther. I found (somewhere online, so don’t blame me if it isn’t true!) that Ettie is a nickname for Esther in the UK! It was the nickname I loved the most, so Ettie was born! I even decorated her with her name and some hearts in honor of my mom!
I’ve had Ettie for about 6 months now and I love her more than I did when I first got her! She’s help me make some awesome things that I can’t wait to share with you!
Thank you for reading my blog post!! Check out my page on my favorite Grace Company products! Feel free to reach out if you have questions or suggestions!
Your instructions are so well written. Thank you!