Charming

I have a friend who owns a Viking Mega quilter 9" throat with stitch regulator and 10' Grace Metal Frame that she used to make 2 baby quilts and for health reasons needs to sell. Let me know if you are interested.
Oh and we both are in So California.

Rose Marie

So far only have the long arm table with a 9 in throat machine and a stitch regulator on it.
It was set up by the shop installer and works great. Don't recommend doing it yourself.
Cant wait till I can afford a bigger machine as a 9 in is very limited. Threading and bobbins are a pain to work with besides the quilting area being so small. Loading and reloading is a lot of work.
The stitch regulater is a must have but is expensive.
I would not like a setup where you have to move the quilt, much easier to move the machine.

TeresaA

I have a longarm and also do some free motion quilting on my domestic. For big projects, I choose the longarm, for little things, I more enjoy sitting down and relaxing, being able to move the quilt in any direction because it's not on the frame, so I choose my domestic.

My longarm is 30 inches which gives me far more than enough room. I can't even imagine doing frame quilting on less than 18 inches of throat length.

BTW, my quilter is circa 80's (a Gammill PDQ-30!), has no bells and whistles but I can repair it using parts from Grainger tools. I love it. It is how industrial machines were meant to be! ;-). For awhile I wanted a stitch regulator, but I've heard they can be temperamental. Besides, I prefer that hand-made things have a hand-made look. It doesn't look hand-made when every single stitch is exactly the same length. So now, I shrug about that. I really enjoy my quilter

Grammahunt

My back just couldn't take the stand up long arm any longer. My Handi Quilter Sweet 16 is just the ticket for me. All HandiQuilter did is take the stand up long arm machine head and put it in a table. If/when I can no longer quilt, this handi machine can be put on a stand up frame too, even add the computerized quilting program if one wanted. For me it is the perfect choice--easy to use, 16" throat, fast and efficient.

I totally agree to go to the show and try them all--stand up and sit down. That's what I did. The most valuable part was what I learned. My 'dream machine' (Baby Lock) is made by Handi Quilter. That's why I went with the Handiquilter instead.

tessagin

I don't have a "quilting machine" other than my dsm. I don't do a lot at all. I've tied a few and dsm'd a few. Didn't have the time. When I get around to a couple large ones, I may be sending to my cousin since she has a longarm.

Dolphyngyrl

Bailey is super affordable

Mariposa

I have an HQ16 on a 12" frame, and I love it! Someday, I'd like to get one with more throat space, but this works for me!

mpspeedy2

I guess I am just getting old. I am not crazy about piecing. The only thing I machine quilt are Linus blankets that are no bigger than crib size. I make at least 21 Linus quilts a month more and more of which are fleece with a crocheted border. I have looked at long arm machines at quilt shows and I am sorry but they remind me of a sewing factory. I physically couldn't stand and operate one of them for more than 10 minutes without being in real pain. I am in remission from a rare muscle disease, Dermatomyositis, that destroyed or injured most of my bigger muscles, shoulders and hips. While I produce a lot of sewing and quilting work a lot of it is because I am retired with only a husband to take care of that still works fulltime. I have always been fast at everything I do. Every time someone tries to sell me a raffle quilt chance I tell them I have trunks full of them at home. I really do. The last chance I bought to help a friend I won a king size quilt that not only was machine quilted but too big for my bed and the wrong color scheme. I have rose colored carpeting in our only bedroom and the quilt is mostly beige and olive. I do most of my personal quilting by hand. I have also occasionally done hand quilting for other people. Most are not willing to pay anywhere what my time is worth. I am glad that most of you like to piece so that part of quilting stays alive. The quilt show I just attended in Lancaster PA this past weekend had a display of what appeared to be beautiful appliqued quilts. Upon my close inspection I discovered that they where only coverlets. While they were beautifully appliqued they were not quilts. There was no batting or quilting involved. I believe they had some kind of backing to hide the knots etc. involved in embroidery and applique. I believe they were made in Europe.

ManiacQuilter2

I agree. I don't have a longarm either, just an older Bernina 1530 that I bought new. I actually quilted my Best of Show queen size quilt on my avatar picture. Also pieced and quilted another watercolor quilt that the Nixon library purchased from me for a fund raiser. I made numerous quilts for the Women's conference at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove.

What you need is good support. Without support, doesn't matter how big of a throat, any quilter will continue to struggle with the weight of a queen size quilt.

Jim's Gem

I only have my domestic size Bernina. I do have a stitch regulator but the machine itself is regular sized.