I am interested in purchasing a mid arm machine and frame.....
 

what do you ladies have? Why do you like it ....or not. What would you buy if you were purchasing. I would prefer something that is somewhat portable as I don't have a dedicated place for it. I anticipate doing wall hanging and mid size projects. I'm not sure what size to get. I tried a 9" throat and feel it's too small and know that I don't want a 24" so what do you recommend or what experiences have you had? Thanks for your input.

I have an Avante from Handiquilter and absolutely love it. It also sits on a 12' table that's not so portable. They do have a Sweet 16 sit down model that doesn't take up quite so much room. The main selling pointfor me was the dealer. It can make all the difference.

Innova also has an 18" sit-down machine. It's not a frame-based set-up, but it does have the large throat and might serve your purpose. I just heard that Boersma's in Portland OR is going to be an Innova dealer.

babylock crown jewel

I have HQ 16 with 12 foot table... absolutely love it... It is a great machine.

Don't know about a mid arm being portable. I'm guessing that you would need to take it down and put it back up when you need the space? I hope that you have someone with muscles in the background ready to help! My 18" long arm head weighs 75 pounds and while you are looking at something a bit smaller, it will weigh more than your sewing machine. Also, the frame will need to be re-leveled each time it's set up again, especially if you have a stitch regulator system, not a big deal but something to consider. I would really see if there is room somewhere in your house to set it up permantly. I purchased a used setup, with a 10' frame from a dealer. It was set up in the showroom. I paid an additional fee to have them deliver & install it at my house. Even with the frame being partially assembled and 2 guys knowing what they were doing, it took them about 3 hours to get it set up and leveled. Don't know how much time it took them to take it apart at the showroom. Don't want to sound discouraging, but your comment on it being 'portable' was an important comment to me. Oh. They do sell frames on wheels so you can move it a bit to the corner of the room, or against a wall. That might work.

Mine is a 15" Bailey. It works great on the frame, but can also be used as a sit-down machine, although there are no feed dogs.

Brother did just come out with a new 11" machine, you'd have to check your dealer for that one. I recently acquired a Wow, it's a Singer 201 that has been stretched (meaning, someone took it apart and put new, longer parts on it) to 18", I haven't had a chance to play with it much yet. But I agree with the earlier poster who said these machines aren't really portable. They're heavy and there's a lot of work involved in setting them up on a frame and getting them adjusted correctly. It's not something I'd do more than twice a year.

I too have a 15" Bailey, I just don't know how portable you get a frame, the Bailey can be used as a sit down if you want to move the fabric not the machine, it is very affordable and a very good machine.