Gammill Ascend Upgrade!
Hi There!!! I am super excited to announce that I upgraded my Gammill Statler Stitcher to a Gammill Ascend…..oooohhhhh aaahhhhh!! How thrilling. but what exactly does that mean and why would one do that? Don’t worry, I will tell you! I will also share a bit about the process.
My Original Gammill Statler Stitcher was purchased second-hand and was a bit old. I believe the head is from 2012. The computer is that old as well. While the machine was happily stitching away and knocking one gorgeous quilt after another I could no longer upgrade my software due to the age and operating system of my computer. While that in and of itself was no big deal (there are plenty of workarounds) I knew the computer only had so much life left in it and I was concerned I would get up ready to quilt one morning and it wouldn’t work. I knew I needed a new computer, so I might as well upgrade to the new Ascend Model.
You might be curious as to what exactly an Ascend upgrade is - Here it is straight from the Gammill Website
Advanced Computerization
The Statler Ascend offers greater speeds without sacrificing accuracy or quality. No matter whether you quilt as a business, in competition, or simply for your enjoyment. The Ascend stitches intricate designs with the utmost accuracy and precision so you can finish those beautiful quilts at an even faster turnaround than before, saving both time and money. Let your creativity soar with the Statler Ascend.
Basically, a Gammill technician comes to your studio and installs some new belts, new cables, and new software. He (or She) will also service your machine. After the upgrade, your Gammill will be like a brand new machine that can quilt much faster, and be more accurate at a higher rate of speed.
It was very easy and convenient to schedule my upgrade appointment. I did mention that I was not in an extreme haste to have this done. Summers are generally slower for me as it seems most of my clients are doing other things. I know I am out in my garden and doing things with my family so I enjoy the slower months of summer. I ordered the new Dell computer from Gammill ( you do need a genuine Gammill computer to run your Gammill Longarm) and before I knew it Gammill called me with an appointment to come set it up. They also sent me an email requesting a series of pictures of my setup so they could see if I needed anything else before they arrived.
Jeff arrived bright and early and immediately went to work. He set up the new computer first then did all the other things. He noticed that the bearings were bad on my wheels and recommended getting some new ones. (if you hear a click click click when you move your machine down a nice clean track you might need new wheels as well.) I happily agreed. To be honest the new wheels have been an absolute game changer. Custom hand-guided work is an absolute joy on this machine now. I used to only do custom quilting on my Statler up in my sunroom, but now I can go back and forth with no drama whatsoever.
Jeff also found that there was quite a bit of other things that needed adjusting on my machine. I had been doing a great deal of compensating with this older machine and it was working very well, but now it is incredible.
The Ascend is known for being very fast. It is. It can stitch at a much faster speed so you can get more quilts done in a given time. To be honest I am rather weary when I have the Ascend quilting fast and the other machine quilting at regular speed. I find myself dashing to and fro between the two machines much more and I am definitely getting my steps in. For example, a pass that used to take about 30 minutes now only takes about 12 minutes on the Ascend. I have found it very helpful to have a second quilt prepped and ready to go as soon as I get one loaded.
Typically I don’t have both machines running with Edge to Edge quilts. I am normally doing Custom on one machine and a lovely digital Edge to edge design on the other, but when I have both machines humming away I can knock out a heroic number of perfectly stitched quilts. It is amazing.
Here are Jeff and I. I was so very impressed with the service and attention he gave my machine. Gammill is an incredible company and the management is almost fanatical about customer service. I truly love the business I have. I love my wonderful clients, I LOVE being about to quilt their gorgeous quilts everyday from the comfort of my own studio and I love that the Gammill Company has made this possible. When I first upgraded to a Computerized Statler Stitcher almost 10 years ago (from a massive hand-guided Gammill Supreme) I was amazed that this new machine could do everything that I wished the old one could do and it could do it perfectly, I just had to figure it out. With this upgrade I can now do everything that I could before, but faster. Which gives me more time in the long run. Time is our most valuable commodity after all!
Isn’t this a gorgeous quilt? One of my clients helped her friend make her first quilt and this was the pattern she chose! Wow. This is an older pattern by Alison Glass, it is called Timber I used my Gammill Ascend to quilt this quilt ( I did use my trick where I make the machine quilt the rows in order right down and to the left instead of stopping at the end of each row). I wish this technique had a name. Anyway, it turned out gorgeous and I didn’t even have time to make myself a cup of tea.
If you made it here to the bottom Thanks! I know that was rather wordy and rambling. I will attempt to sum it all up here in case you are a jumper to the bottomer.
I LOVE the Gammill Ascend Upgrade
It is a great choice if you are considering purchasing a second machine, but aren’t quite ready
It is a great investment if you are running a business with an older machine
If you have had your machine for over 6 years and never replaced the wheels (and they are making clicking sounds) you should. That alone was a game changer.
If you have never had your machine serviced call Gammill and get on their schedule. You will be so happy you did.
It is an investment, but for me, it was worth it. I love being able to provide quick and precise work for all my clients on their edge-to-edge quilts. Custom quilting is still slowgoing since it is just me running the machine.
If you have any questions at all I am happy to answer them. You can comment below or email me anytime.