Originally Posted by
TequilaandQuilts
I’ve looked at a few stitch regulators and there doesn’t seem to be one for my machine (can I just say how much I love the automatic buttonhole feature on mine? I just got done building in thumbholes for a fleece pullover for my daughter using the automatic buttonhole foot and it is seriously the easiest thing ever). It also doesn’t have one built in, which is to be expected. So that leaves the question, would I find one to be beneficial? I have not done any free motion quilting.
Many people quilted before stitch regulators existed and continue to do so. The quilter themself was the stitch regulator - moving the sandwich (if doing at a domestic/sit down) or moving the machine (if on a carriage and frame) in as constant a speed as possible, in rhythm with the stitching. Many people just use the stitch regulator for ruler or pantograph work and don't bother with it for FMQ.
Now, that said, if you have your machine set up to do the quilting, you won't be able to use it for sewing without changing things up. If you just do "piece a top, then quilt the quilt", it's not so bad. But if you want to have a quilt in progress AND also switch over to a sewing project, I would definitely consider getting a second machine that would be mostly dedicated to quilting. It would also give you a back up machine if your main one were to go in for service.