Stands

Grip-It is the way to go

. You can get the regular stand that has the clamp for the frame so that it grabs the frame at the top center. This is a regular clamp and should hold q-snaps easily. The other option is the Legend (this is what I have but not in a floor stand, I have the Sit-On-It) which has side pieces that hold the frame along both sides. The standard Legend "dohickeys" don't hold a q-snap so you would need to specify that you need the clamps for q-snaps. I absolutely LOVE my GripIt and have several friends who also have them. Janet (my stitchin' buddy) has the floor stand so maybe she'll see your post and respond. She got it so that she could work on some HUGE needlepoint pieces -- and I DO mean HUGE -- something like 40" wide!!! CiaoMeow >^;;^< PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

Can't help you on either, but will read the reviews.

BUT where in NJ are you?

I have an Edmunds stand (the really inexpensive one at WalMart, $25 or $30) with a Legend adapter and the Q-snap clippies (both purchased through NordicNeedle.com, probably about $35-40 combined), and I have a Gazelle II (purchased at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $69!) which hasn't yet been tried with Q-snaps.

The thing I disliked most about the Edmunds/Legend combination is that it became very top-heavy, between the stand itself, the adapter assembly, my project, and a clip-on magnifier. I don't have anywhere else nearby to clip a mag, though, so I was rather stuck in that regard. I also couldn't get a full 360 degree rotation with any frame larger than 7" vertical, which made getting to my backs a bit more challenging. Without the Legend adapter, the Edmunds clamp set-up grabs the top of your frame directly, which would have left marks on fabric had I not put a dishtowel in between, and getting to my back meant loosening part of the stand itself to swing the frame over the top of the stand. The Legend adapter allows me to work on pieces up to about 30" wide without problems.

Hope you can find something that works for you!

Jenn L. in Chicago (emerging from lurkdom for a bit)

I Love my K's Creation Stands. I have the ultimate floor stand, the medium lap stand, foot stool, and a punchneedle lap stand. NA just very happy with them. They will ship direct if you do not have a store that carries the stands.

have a friend that has the steel one (her dog would chew the wood otherwise) and Robin Ingles has the stowaway floor stand which she has used for a couple of years.I have most of the accessories and can vouch that it is easy to switch between projects as well. Bobbie V.

remove the knot with a net to reply

Hi Allura

I have a Gazelle and know what you mean about larger frames sagging! I now have the Mark 11 from Hearthside Craftworks and love it!

will hold any size frames, including Q-snaps from two sides. Is very stable and easy to move. The thing I like most about it is how easy it is to flip your work to get to the backside. Good luck in your search.

Mavia

Take a look at this K's Creations - it's similar to the Lowery, and really nice. This is the refined version, with a good, rotating head. Very portable, and stable. There is a link on the site to find retailers. I know a lot of folks and designers who have this, and really love it.

have the Stow-Away elite - which I got before this Stainless Steel one camout. It's very good, especially for big pieces, and quick to part collapseand hide. One day I'm going to get the stainless stand as well. Personally, I've been really happy with my K's baby z. There are some other floor stands that we've had in the shop when I was working, that I didn't feel were as stable, or more of a pain to put together. There are lots to look at.

Have fun shopping.

Interesting. IME the Edmunds are a fine option when you have a budget constraint, as they are certainly not as pricey as some of the other brands. But, I've found them to be kind of unstable generally.

Thanks for the info.

ellice

Well, yeah, but I'm still using my old Rocky Giraffe (essentially a clone of the Edmunds) because the pricier brands all had feet too tall to slide under the mechanism of my sleeper sofa. I had made up my mind to buy something better, took my ruler to HOXS where there were several brands on display, and none of them would've fit (unless I wanted to perch on the very edge of the couch and lean way out to be able to reach my stitching).

Since the Giraffe slides all the way under the mechanism, tippyness is not a problem, because it's weighted down by the couch. If I do have to put it in the corner for a party, I just set a tote bag with books on the feet to stabilize it.

I have since had a one-on-one conversation with the maker of the Hearthside Craftworks stand Mavia mentioned, and was assured that since each stand is custom made, they would make the feet to fit under the couch. I've seen their Mark II in other stitchers' homes and it's a lovely piece of furniture that you would not be embarrassed to have in your living room when company comes over.

Heh. I'm in Scotch Plains, parkway 135. You?

(Shameless plug: I run a NJ stitching yahoogroup:

*g*Allura

The stowaway one is particularly interesting. I don't have a very large apartment, and would love to be able to put my stand away when we have company, etc. Hmmm....

Allura

it!

> It will hold any size frames, including Q-snaps from two sides. Is very> stable and easy to move. The thing I like most about it is how easy it is to> flip your work to get to the backside.>

Yeah, I like the look of the Mark II, but the price on the website seems a bit high, I think. Then again, the K's Creations stands don't have prices on the site, so maybe not. It looks like the good stands are all going to be US$200-300. The Gazelle was pretty cheap, comparatively, I guess.

The DH grew up (teen years) in Bergen County.

C

Hey, when we go to NJ, that's where we stay - my cousin lives in Scotch Plains (they back the golf course). My DH is from Bergen cty, but we only occasionally go to meet some old school friends there.

Ellice

That's the floor frame I have. It collapses quite quickely. Most of the time, I just drop the arms, up the base and slide it quickly behind the futon in my studio/office. It's very quick if you only need to drop the top, so to speak. My goal, hope, is to get the steel one soon. I've been really happy with the K's products, and in the LNS I previously worked at, she's carried the line for seemingly forever, and personally, her stands are the K's as well.

I will say, that I use my baby Z lap frame, a lot. But, for the big things, having a floor frame makes stitching so much faster than holding a scroll set, etc.

Good luck on the looking. There are a lot of nice things out there.

Ellice

Around ten years ago (after some very pointed prompting), Santa Claus brought me the Gripit Deluxe floor model. I have no complaints, it works for me and I have been known to use it for 15" diameter round frames. Before it was put together, dh stained and varnished it - three coats of polyurethane. Before it was finished, it looked like something out of a very upscale architectual office; afterwards, it became a piece of furniture, at home in the most elegant drawing room (which mine isn't, BTW)

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

Following up on my own post - I think I mis-quoted the prices for these things, and should correct that. Brain burp, so to speak as we'd been looking at the wholesale catalog for ordering from a supplier. Some suppliers list retail prices, others wholesale - just confuses my poor little brain at times.

Anyhow, I think that most of the floor stands we've been talking about, including the K's run about $200 - give or take, depending on the accessories, stain, etc. So, somewhere between $180-$250 is a good estimate. I think the K's wooden stands run $180-$220 - with the ultimate stitching station being higher.

Sorry if I caused anyone some grief with a shop, etc.

Ellice

I want to thank everyone for all their advice. Ironically, since no one mentioned it, I'm tentatively leaning towards the Needlework System 4

I really like twofeatures it has. First, it only uses one foot, which I think will meanit's easier to get in & out of. Second, it's one of the few designsthat has a dedicated q-snap clamp, as opposed to a "universal" clamp.One of the problems with most universal clamps is that they're flatand trying to grip round plastic. My *perfect* stand would have (bypriority):

-Grab on both sides

-Q-snap specific clamp

-Chart Holder

-Simple way to move it out of the way (like the lowery and K's metal one)

-Collapsible or small footprint for storage

-Magnifier mount

Of course, the NS4 looks like it comes out around $400 with the accesories that I want (chart holder namely).

I suspect it might be easier to find the "perfect" stand if I used scroll frames, but I really like the 4-way tension that q-snaps give you. That's another issue, though.

IIRC, we had the NS4 in the shop I worked at a few years ago. It's light, and pretty sleek. But, I think you may find yourself having to put a weight on the foot - I think it was a bit tipsy. But a nice stand. We sold a couple of them.

Did you look at the K's steel frame that is similar to the Lowery? Those are both very nice stnads, with a single base plate, and can have a universal clamp which holds Q-snaps (my addiction as well).

Whatever you decide, I hope that you can actually physically go see and touch before you buy.

Best of luck - there's just so much nice stuff out there!

Ellice