Ready to purchase a long arm & quilting frame - need suggestions on how to select one
 

I want to purchase a long arm & quilting frame, but don't have any idea on what features are important or what to look for. I would love to hear suggestions on how to find the right machine. There are so many out there that it makes it confusing to me. A local dealer sells Handi Quilters and Tin Lizzies. I would love to hear from anyone out there that has one of these. Thank you:o

I have the viking 18x8 on the inspira imperial frame. I really love my set up. I think you should see if you can test some of the machines you are interested in. Also do some checking on line and compare machines to see which machines have what would meet your needs. Good luck and enjoy your new set up.

I have an Avante. It's more of a midarm but I really like it. The dealer we bought it from is about 1 hours drive from me, but I chose to purchase it from him instead of a local dealer simply because of the quality of service. The machine is great and the dealer has been wonderful. I think the product is the first concern when purchasing, but the quality of service definitely ought to be a close second.

I'm going to follow this thread because I am going to be purchasing one soon and I'm just like you, I don't have a clue. I did play with a Nolte at a quilt show last year and it was fabulous!! I am going to check out a Gammill before long. We are so far from any dealer that I'm worried about making the wrong choice in case something goes wrong. So, I want the best and I want some instruction. Good luck!!!

I have a queen quilter 18 which is the exect same thing as a tin lizzie without the 'lizzie stitch'. I LOVE mine!!! A few things I was looking for was a stitch regulator, at least 15" or longer, would come with a frame and be able to do a quilt 110" quilt, and like most find the biggest bang for your buck. We do not have dealers within 250 miles of where I live so I went online to find the best deal and for my test drives around here I have seen a nolting, gammill, and a viking. I knew right away after seeing the Gammill this was way out of my budget as she had every bell and whistle available. It also had a computer which did all of the quilting while she watched her grandkids. My personal opinion I do not care for a computer as yeah you pick the designs but you are not quilting it and to me the stitching looks too perfect and I prefer the character added my doing the quilting with your hands rather by machine or the best of hand quilting. I found my machine on the website www.sewingmachinesplus.com for less than $5000. It included the machine, stitch regulator, wooden frame, laser light, a few packs of needles, a few bobbins, grace cloth leaders, the table on te back side of the frame, extra parts such another set of encoders and wires for the stitch regulator and plenty of other bolts, nuts, etc. For the frame I did have to go and purchase my own metal conduit pipes but was way cheaper then having them shipped. Again we live in a rural area and the selection for these pipes was limited and we ended up having to grind down each one as the metal was bumpy. If I was willing to wait six weeks I could have purchased them at a home depot with no problem but I wanted to get busy right away. If you have any questions about any of this please feel free to ask.

Don't get apqs i have one an have had trouble with it since day one

I actually live about 40 miles from Sewing Machines Plus and was planning on going there today to check out machines. Thank you so much for your info on the queen quilter. It will be very useful in helping with my decision. I don't understand about the metal conduit pipes. Does the frame not come complete - was this to make it sturdier? Or, did you puchase it without the pipes only due to shipping and figured you could improvise?

What does apqs stand for? Thank you for the info!!!

I have the queen quilter and the shirley stitcher ll which is the
computer. I got mine from sewingmachines plus. The conduit is for
the machine to glide on and they are very long so it would be hard
and expensive to send so I just went to homedepot and bought them.
I like mine but as with all of them there is a learning curve. It takes time
to learn how your machine works.

While I have the HQ 16 with the ProStitcher, I would love a Avante or fusion but just plain 'ol don't have the money or room. Of course if I won the big lottery then I could get a house with a really big studio and the Statler Stitcher.

In the meantime i absolutely love my HQ. I can call them and they will walk me through whatever problem I might have. I did this when I upgraded. Maintenance is easy. Service is great.

ali