lmanna

I had the HQ Amara and upgraded to the HQ Forte mainly for the larger throat space. I absolutely love everything about it. I do have Prostitcher as well and am pretty sure I would not like/use it as much without it. I was kind of on the fence about purchasing Prostitcher right away but am so glad I did. For the first month or so I just played around on the machine without Prostitcher and honestly was not that good at it. I started learning Prostitcher and have never looked back. AdamSewFun has some amazing free tutorials on YouTube.

I went to a retreat at HQ in Salt Lake City, UT to learn how to use the machine and I highly recommend doing so if you can afford it. I was very imitated/scared of the machine when I left and I came back confident and capable. Plus it was really cool to see the production floor where the machines are made.

My hubby is quite handy. We set the machines up ourselves. I have a couple of dealers close by and would be able to either have someone come out and clean/fix it or bring it in.

I have not had any problems with mine yet (approx 2 years) so I cannot attest to how good their customer service is.

My best advice would be to get the largest frame you can afford and accommodate in your space. I doubt a quilter has ever said "This long arm is too big for me" (assuming they have the space for it.)