Hi All,
Thanks for the wonderful ideas you all post, I just love this community. I took a LQ16 class at our LQS and fell in love, the quilting was so easy! Now, do I save money up to buy my own (I like to finish projects fast, not run to the local store) or should I just increase my skills in free motion quilting? If I do, what kind of sewing machine would you all recommend? I have a Singer professional for now, but I am ready to upgrade. I am willing to pay pretty decent money for a machine that would make my free motion easier. Any ideas? I don't know enough about Viking and Berninas to do a comparison. Its hard to trust the stores, since they usually will want you to buy the brand they are selling! Any advice would be welcomed!

Do a test drive like you did with the LQ16. That's the only way you'll really be sure which one you like.

I am in the same boat but I don't have alot to spend at this time. I am going to a quilt show next week. Hey you are in MD...if you can find the time go to the quilt show in Oaks, Pa near King of Prussia. test drive some...

Your dilemma is exactly what I went through 15 years ago. I opted for the long-arm (although, at the time, I got a custom stretched singer 201 on tracks...not fancy!) It was the best decision that I ever made. Ultimately, I was able to upgrade to a 30" Gammill, but that never would have happened for me without starting down the path of LAQ. Good luck with your decision!

How large was the harp space of your stretched Singer? My DH and I have thought about those and wondered. When we last looked it was about $2000 for one.

The stretched singer 201 was an actual long-arm, believe it or not. They are just old singers that have been chopped and re-welded into stretched machines, then mounted on 12' table with track systems. "Wow Quilts" is the company that produces them and you should be able to find them with google. They are great little machines to learn LAQ, if you don't care about all the bells and whistles. Truthfully, I wouldn't have the skills that I do, if I had started with a fancier machine. Good luck!

Oh thanks. That must be the outfit we saw on the web. They paint them white, right? It looked cool. My $$ aren't there so for the time being I am just going to mount my Singer 3401A on my used Grace frame and also perfect my skills with FMQ. I'm Happy! :-D

Thank you all, I love the idea of testing one out. It makes sense!

If you got a chance to test the Viking 18x8 and see how it feels, i have one that is brand new in the box with the imperial frame that extends to 10 feet for sale.

Do you like the Vikings? I am going to go to a show next week and I can look for one to try out.
If you can provide the model I'll can look more specifically for it.