DM Quilting System or Buyer Beware

After having battled for two years, I felt I needed to share my experience with anyone who might be considering making the same mistake I did. The following is a recap my my two year journey and are some things you should seriously consider before buying a stretched quilting machine, a.k.a. DM Quilting System.

In March of 2003, after several e-mail conversations with David Grice of DM Quilting Systems, I placed my order for one of his stretched machines. I was initially told delivery would be June of that year. June, July and most of August passed with no word from David. The only time I heard from him was when I wrote inquiring as to the shipment of my machine. He kept telling me a date and it would come and go and yet again, the machine had not shipped. I should have cancelled the order then and there.

Instead, I eagerly awaited the arrival of the machine that he assured me would allow me to quilt my tops smoothly and easily. He had stated that following patterns was not a problem with his machine.

The machine finally arrived after Labor Day. The wrong carriage had been shipped with it. There was no stylus to follow patterns. Once we finally got the correct carriage, the machine exhibited skipped stitches. When I asked him about this I was told I was moving the machine too fast. The next 3 weeks were spent “practicing” but still never got past the skipped stitches. Then a set screw fell out of the lower shaft. This caused the timing to be totally misaligned. During the telephone call to attempt to fix this problem, he informed me that if the set screw had fallen out, he must have missed putting LocTite on it to secure it. We attempted to retime the machine as best we could via the telephone. David does not provide any diagrams or photos to aid you in this. His answer if you cannot do it yourself is to ship the machine back to him in Texas, at your own expense.

In the two years that I have had the machine I have never yet been able to use it to finish a quilt. The machine continuously skips or shreds thread. Because of this, I would abandon it for months at a time after becoming totally frustrated when attempting to use it. Then I would attempt to use it, and encounter the same problems. I joined a Yahoo Groups list dedicated to the DMQS machine. When I complained of my problems on that list in the fall of 2004, I received a note from David’s wife, Margaret, informing me to call as there was yet another adjustment to be made. We made the adjustment, it didn’t solve the problem. I asked for a refund as the machine had never worked properly. David ignored my request.

Fast forward to August 2005. We decided to attempt one last try at the DMQS. My husband spent over 20 hours adjusting every possible thing that could be adjusted to no avail. It made no difference. Calls and e-mails to David brought no help. We then brought the machine to a local repair shop that specializes in all types of sewing machine repair, including industrial. $180 later, I have been informed that both the upper and lower shafts are bent and that they have timed and adjusted the machine as best as possible but with the bent shafts, it will not stitch properly. Since this machine is 70+ years old, and was not designed to be moved around on a table, stitching in multiple directions, they cannot do any more for me.

In the past two years I have found at least two other DMQS customers with the same “issues” as I have had. When we compared our experiences, they were nearly identical.

David has offered to replace my machine but refuses and totally ignores my requests for a refund or even a partial refund. I feel that since the machine has never worked properly, from the beginning, I should be entitled to a refund. I now have $2400 invested in a worthless quilting machine and table. If you had spent that much money on a machine, you would expect it to work. If it didn't you would bring it back for a refund, right?

If any one is even thinking of saving the money and purchasing a DMQS or similar system, I ask you to consider the following carefully:

1. This is a rotary machine, not electronic or computerized. Because of this it is very noisy, and the mechanics make it bouncy. 2. There is no needle up/down. If you want to pull the bobbin thread up while free motion quilting from the front, you must turn the wheel by hand. If you are short, it is a very long reach. I’m 5’10” and it’s still a reach. It also means that I must stand up each time. I have back problems so I have a tall drafting chair I use to quilt from.

3. It simply doesn’t quilt smoothly. Tracing a pattern smoothly is virtually impossible. It wasn’t designed to be used in any other manner than as a stationery machine in which the fabric is moved under the needle, not the machine moved over the fabric.

Rant

Ok, so once again I have been delinquent in writing. But, it's been a busy month what with agility, visits to the vet to discover that Arlo has anxiety issues (like we didn't already know this), baby quilts to finish and, my least favorite activity, jury duty.

And now for my rant. Last year we planted an Asian pear tree in the yard. I lovingly tended to it and was quite happy to actually see it bear fruit it's first year. Unfortunately, Arlo discovered one low hanging branch, complete with 2 pears and decided the challenge was to see how fast he could remove the branch from the tree. There went 2 of my 6 pears.

This year I had 8 or 10 pears. I was so excited. There are no longer branches at Arlo's height and thankfully he's taken a liking to pieces of wood from our old wood pile. Standing on the deck one morning, awaiting the Princess to do her business, I noticed something on the ground under the pear tree. Further inspection revealed that it was one of my pears, neatly nibble around the middle. Upon further inspection I could not find a single pear left on my tree! The *@$% squirrels feasted on every last one of them!

I guess it's time to teach Arlo how to catch squirrels. If granny Sneakers was younger I know she would be up to the challenge since she has several to her credit.

On a happier note, the group QB baby quilt for Niki was completed and received lots of accolades at the shower last week. It's always nice to know that something you put so much time and love into is genuinely appreciated.

Delinquent

I have been so delinquent in posting. But, I have a good excuse, really, I do. It's called painting the house. Almost 2 years ago we remodeled the kitchen. At that time we painted the kitchen and new island walls antique white. The rest of the house has been a dirty, high gloss white, from when we bought the house. Due to the nature of our house being more or less open from one room to another, there was no easy stopping point. So, the living room, entry hall, hallway, alcove and downstairs hallway all got painted. And not just one coat, but two! Due to our highly textured walls, two coats is a necessity. Between the split level entry and the alcove which was packed, the job was not an easy one. Not to mention, the spotted "helpers." But, I am happy to say, it is all done. Now I'm just trying to finish sorting through the piles of stuff that we're not sure what to do with. And I need to find those last few screws for a couple switch plates........

Meanwhile, life basically stopped while I read the latest Harry Potter. Amid many tears and lots of tissues, I managed to finish it this morning. Now I need to re-read at least the one previous as I don't remember enough of the details.

In the last few weeks, I did manage to get my row completed for the group baby quilt the QB's are doing. Now if I can only get myself motivated to finish that other baby quilt. Since the due date was today, I think I can safely say that it won't get finished and shipped before the birth. I'm thinking I may just wait until they move out here to Ft. Lewis instead of sending it to NY.

And then there is that Beige Behemoth calling out to me. Perhaps if the rest of the QB's weren't so dang far ahead of me I wouldn't be itching to work on it.

But then there's also all those nagging notes from the Fly Lady. I really do need to start paying more attention to her. My intentions are good, I think I'm just lacking enough motivation--story of my life.

Well, the spotted ones are whining to go out and chase the lawn mower so I suppose I should remove myself from in front of this computer and go supervise.