nanna-up-north

Many quilters don't have room for a LA so Viking and Babyloc have come up with a machine that looks like a LA but it's at a table where you move the quilt under the machine like doing FMQ. They have a stitch regulator so you get even stitches (that's the part of home machine FMQing that I find challenging) and they look amazing. I stopped at Joann's on Sunday to pick up thread and saw one made by Viking..... played with it a little bit and was thinking..... oh, my goodness, this is what I need. I still have some trouble with FMQ on my machine but don't want to spend what it costs for a true LA set up.... and do I have the room for one? The Viking was on sale, very tempting.... but then I started thinking.

What I love about hand quilting is that the quilt is taut while you are putting in the stitches. That makes for a very smooth looking quilt. Using a true LA, you get the same result. But, FMQ on my home machine doesn't give as smooth a look.... at least, I haven't been able to achieve the smoothness that I like. And then, there's the problem of getting even stitches. So, with this new LA-like machine you move the fabric around like FMQ..... unlike the LA where the machine moves over the quilt. I see this as a problem. So, I'm asking you....... what do you think? Do any of you have one of these machines? Do you love it? Is it as great as a LA? Inquiring minds want to know..... especially before spending a pile of cash.