Quilting machine??
 

Does everyone here have a quilting machine? Several years ago, I tried a Juki on a Handiquilter. I did not like it at all. The throat was not large enough on the machine and the quilt would bounce into the machine. The handiquilter was very free and sloppy. Needless to say, it was not a good experience. I sew on an older Singer which is an old favorite of mine. I attend the quilt show in Paducah every year. I would like a small quilting machine. Nothing too expensive. I don't want to go into business, just do personal items. I see the quilting done on this board and I am envious of the beautiful work. What would be a good, affordable machine?

There are two different ways to quilt -- one is on a frame where you move the machine; the other is sitting down at a machine where you move the quilt. Most people prefer one method over the other.

If you attend the quilt show in Paducah every year, I would suggest that you try out every frame quilting machine they have at the show. There is a lot of variation among the different frame setups. My personal "dream" machine is an Innova with lightning stitch.

Machines themselves can be categorized as shortarm, midarm, and longarm depending on the area under the arm (harp). You probably tried out a shortarm on a frame; these are very limiting. Most frame setups use a midarm machine (my Voyager 17 is a midarm) or longarm machine (which start at about 18" of space under the arm and go all the way up to 26" or more).

There are several sit-down machines that have large harps: the Sweet 16 and George come to mind.

What is your price range? Chances are, if you are looking not to spend a lot of money, your choices will be limited to just a few brands.

A lot of us don't have a "quilting" machine, the newest machine I have had for at least 5 years and I bought used, it does have a fairly "large" throat space, but believe me, it's sure not easy wrestling with a king size quilt in it. They do make "reasonably" priced quilting machines, either with a frame or a sit down version. One of the most reasonably priced one is the Bailey, good price and reputation plus customer service, they will be the company I go with, when I have the space and the money.

I have a Gammill long arm....and I don't suppose the price would be reasonable to a lot of folks; to me, it was worth the price. I bought mine four years ago and have quilted many a quilt on it with no problems (knock on wood!). I would recommend that you pick the one you think you need and then work on trying to find a price you can live with. There are many options out there, lots of deals from various companies, including gently used ones for a lot less than new, but just as good as new. In other words, look around and try them out. You'll find what you're looking for....may take awhile, but it's out there. Good luck!

I have a Janome 6600 and I love it. I am not sure if it is classified as a "quilting machine", but I do quilt on it. I have straight line quilted and I have recently started to play around with FMQ... and even a rookie like me is having some fun... getting a little better every time. For me this was a lot of money to spend on a machine .... actually can't believe I spent the money. And its cheap compared to what other machines I have my eye on :D

I don't have a quilting machine but have several vintage machines which do have large harps. But my favorite is my dinky mechanical brother about ten years old. I'd rather wrestle a quilt in that one than any of the others. I did do a king size stitch near the ditch. It was a struggle but doable. I'm happy with what I have now.

Recently sold a midarm with 9 " throat and bought an HQ Avante 18 with Prostitch pc along with a friend so we split the cost ... LOVE IT ! Three paid gigs, more to come :)

While you are at Paducah, try the Sweet Sixteen, George and the new Charm. I love the control I have with the SS.

Yes, try them all at Paducah, both the long arms and the sit down machines. Which are you more comfortable with ... moving the machine, or moving the quilt sandwich? Consider that when you test drive one of the sit down machines the quilt sandwiches they use to practice on are small, would you feel comfortable slinging around something larger?

Also with the sit down machines, you still have to baste your quilt sandwich together *some how*. My loathing of this task was one of the driving forces behind purchasing a long arm on a frame :)

If your budget is tight, or if you are not 100% sure that you want one of these pricey machines, troll craigs list, e-bay, your local news, and all of the various online boards that specialize is selling used quilting machines. This is the route I took to make sure that I really did want to work with a long arm. I purchased a used Voyager 17" which is a good solid machine, but no bells and whistles. When I grow up I want the Innova with lightning stitch.