Tartan

The harp or arm space is the distance between the needle and the solid post of the machine. The larger that distance, the more space you will have to stuff the quilt sandwich through while machine quilting. I started with a simple Singer machine years ago but own a higher end machine now.

Rose Marie

I have a Viking Sapphire with a 10 inch harp space and it is not enough.
Bought a long arm table but cant afford the machine. I want an 18 in harp but they are too expensive.

Jingle

I have quilted many quilts on smaller harp machines. I now have two 9" throat machines that I quilt on and I have quilted many, many quilts on them. Not all that hard for me. I make quilts all the time and guess I am just use to it. I made and quilted 15 quilts 2013. Always make 10 - 18 quilts a year, since 2002. Practice never hurts.

AliKat

Besides budget, also consider buying a used machine [check your LQS's and work of mouth at quilt guilds] and which machine you 'bond' with. That is using it is more instinctual for you so that you don't need to refer to the manual for new things.

mckwilter

If you want a machine that is dedicated to free motion quilting, I would suggest you purchase a sit-down free motion machine because it has at least a 16" harp, nothing on either side for you to "bump" into, and costs much less than a long-arm and you can sit and work. You will have to spend more than $1,000 (mine cost $1,700), but if you are doing a lot of quilting, it will be worth it. Of course, if you need the machine to piece with, too., a FM machine won't work for you.

Handi-quilter, Baby Lock and Inova all have FM machines, but I purchased mine from Pennywinkle Valley Ranch. Their website is www.sunshine16.com. Their machine was comparable to the HQ, except they don't offer a stitch regulator (which I would probably never use, anyway) but cost half the price. Also, the Sunshine 16 is a portable machine, will sit on any table, and only weighs 35 lbs, so it actually portable if you needed to take it to a sewing event. All the other brands come with a table (which you pay for) so you have to have room for the table.