Long arm machines are way out of my budget.
I have tried to machine quilt with my 10 inch troat machine but just hate pushing the quilt thru it. Have been trying to do a good job for about 5 yrs, no luck.
So bought a frame with a 9 inch throat domestic strait stitch machine and added a stitch regulator for $500. The stitch regulator is wonderful. The area for quilting is very small, only about 4 inchs but someday hope to find a long arm machine at a good price.
My frame will hold a long arm machine and is metal and can be set up for crib or full size quilts. It takes up my whole dining room area.
So far Ive just been practicing as it has a learning curve but love it. I want to learn to do pantograms but so far since you cannot watch where you are going on the quilt, Im having a problem with the edges of the quilt getting caught under the foot.
So just doing free motion from the front of the machine.
This setup is a lot cheaper than a long arm but is harder to use.