before investing in a large frame try to visit a shop (guild or sewing group) that has one in use, and see if you can sit at it and try it out. some people buy them, set them up, load a quilt, and an hour later are unloading their quilt and putting it back into a hoop...some people love them, it depends on your technique i think. also they take up alot of space, do you have space to have it set up with a large quilt on it for an extended length of time? remember, its not like a hooped quilt where you can fold it up and put it away when company is coming, with the frame it is going to be set up for a long time; takes a long time to quilt a large quilt framed, or hooped. i had mine set up for about 2 years, then took it apart and sold it...a whole quilt was never done on it, a practice one was set up and many people sat in front of it and tried quilting. the frame was used more as a hanging rack to drape stuff over than it was for quilting...and i really thought i had to have it.