Originally Posted by Eagle Hawk
gail-r, I had a Viking Saphire 870 and just traded it last week for an new Espire. It is so much nicer. What is you opinion and experience with Espire? I used it in the Eleanor Burns class in January at Road to California quilt show when they provided machines for the day long class, and loved it, and it is what she uses. The store I got it from offers 20 free classes to learn how to use it, so I thought I would get used to it first then take the classes. I have already put together an entire quilt since I got it 3 days ago. I love the embelishment stitches, although there are not very many compared to the Saphire 870, but the machine is so much smoother and easy on my fabric that the loss of designs seems worth it. Anyway...any opinions on the Espire, while on the subject of Baby Lock, would be great. I also have a Designer I Viking as a back up machine and it does embroidery, so I didn't need another embroidery machine, and it runs really smooth and nice compared to the 870, also. I use it to take to classes.
I used to teach at a locally owned Viking store located inside of the JoAnns in Draper, UT. I have always said that if I couldn't get a BabyLock my next choice would be a Viking. The ones that I had experience with in classes had an equally beautiful stitch quality, many of the good/great embroidery edit features. They are a tiny bit less user friendly than the BL's, but a ton more user friendly than some models of Bernina and Pfaff. Viking machines are known for their durability, several of the professional longarm quilters I know use Viking machines for peicing. If you are looking at the huge hoops and machines that can handle huge embroidery stitch counts, the Viking Diamond will do a great job for you. More expensive than most of the comparable machines. Only downside in my book or maybe I should say pocket book.