feline fanatic

Another happy Innovian here.

Not 100% sure but I believe the Babyloc midarms and longarms are just rebranded Handiquilters with a higher price for the name.

Had the honor of test driving the Bernina Q24. It did make a beautiful stitch and moved like butter on the rack but IMHO it is overloaded with high end tech that can only be repaired by a dealer. You have no access to your upper tension nor the check spring. Upper tension is adjusted digitally via on board computer. Bernina domestic machines need to be brought to dealer for regular routine servicing (or at least manufacturer recommends they should be) Don't know if they have the same recommendations for their longarms but that would be a major inconvenience. The stitch regulator is laser light so no encoders to run on the rails but what happens if that laser light goes out mid quilt? Didn't appear to be anything the user could easily change on their own when I gave the machine a once over. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Bernina. My domestic machine is a Bernina and I really did love the way the Q24 moved and its stitch quality but I just didn't want to be left high and dry should anything go wrong. I like a machine I can possibly fix and get up and running myself on my time table, not a dealers. In addition removing the 74lb machine head from the rack every time it needs a "routine maintenance" and transporting it to a dealer is not an idea I relish. I also was a bit put off that everything, and I mean everything was extra (more $$) for the Q24. Want rear handles, oh you have to buy those. Laser light? Nope not included.

Innova still has a lot of mechanical features so users can do many things on their own once trained. Like reset the timing, completely swap out the tension assembly or replace the check spring, adjust the needle bar height easily and many other things. ABM (Innova's manufacturer) empower's their users, does not make them dependent because sometimes a dealer can be several hours away. They are not finicky about thread. Mine has taken any thread I have thrown at it in combination with different bobbin threads. ABM aftermarket support is bar none. They have 24/7 technical support line on the phone. A tech will get back to you on Christmas Day if you call. More and more big name show quilters are switching over to Innova machines because of the quality of the stitch and the Lightning Stitch Regulator (no one big stitch when you first start). Also the basic start up package includes front and rear handles, a laser light, and several other goodies and if you are one to wheel and deal, I bet you could get the dealer to maybe even throw in a ruler foot or open toe foot. The Innova has a feature I don't think any other LA has, which is a swivel head. You can swivel the machine head to the side so it comes off the rack without having to disassemble the rack. It also makes swapping out feet a breeze and comes in handy for installing the spectre LED/blacklight lighting unit (can't imagine being without mine) if you decide to buy that down the road.