Reaching New Heights

The first thing anyone notices when they see me is that I'm really tall.  REALLY tall.  I'm just shy of 6' 3", and have been since I was 15.  While it would be great to be able to find clothes that fit easier, I wouldn't change it.  Not even half an inch.  Being tall is a huge part of who I am.  However, one downside is that it can affect my posture sometimes, especially when I'm quilting.

This picture shows me standing next to my quilting machine.  I have to bend over a LOT to see what I'm doing.  Ouch.

Well, it just so happens that I have a pretty great husband.  Look at it now!

He added 8" leg extensions.  The belly bar is 47" off the ground.  Yep, almost 4 feet. =)  I learned at HMQS that optimal location of the belly bar is right around your belly button, and this makes it just about an inch higher than mine.  I think it will work really well for me.  This was a good weekend to do it because I just finished two quilts for a friend of a friend (photos coming soon) and didn't have any pressing deadlines, so I could take a day off of quilting.

Okay, this isn't a great expression on my face, but it is so much more comfortable!  I'm sure I'll still bend over sometimes, especially when doing more detailed work, but this is going to save my aching back and neck so much!  Thanks, Babe!  I'm looking forward to getting the next one loaded so I can see what it's really like to quilt standing up straight.  When I upgrade to a real longarm I'm definitely paying the extra for a hydraulic or electric lift system.  Totally a must for me.

Something else I'm excited about is the 8" more of space under my frame!  I'm thinking of all the stuff I can store there now.  My studio is fairly small for everything I have shoved into it, so it's nice that I'll have more room to work with.

Yes, that's my unfinished bargello on the design wall back there.  One of these days I'm going to decide how I want to quilt it.  I like to throw something up on the design wall so it isn't blank and boring when I'm between projects.

Thanks again to my sweet husband!