suggestion on purchasing long arm quilting maching
 

Hello quilters. I an mew to the posting. I am looking to buy a long arm quilting machine and frame. I have been on various sites to look at them. Any suggestions on one that is affordable but does a great job. I have rheumatoid arthritis so I want to get one that is easy to attach the quilt to the frame-- I have been viewing them on sewingmachinesplus.com. I appreciate all the feedback I can get. This is a big purchase and I have saved a long time for it :) I have never even used on--always given my quilts to someone else to quilt for me.

A couple of my quilting friends have Bailey's and are very happy with them. The Bailey's come in a 13", 15" and 17" and come with a frame for a very reasonable price. I understand that their service is also good, it's also a family owned business and they know what they sell. When I have the room and the money, I'll be getting a Bailey.

Hello and welcome from Texas. Don't have a long arm.

Welcome from western NY and happy quilting :)

Thank you, I appreciate the feedback, I will have to check the Bailey's out.

Welcome!

Since you have arthritis, ask a couple of questions about the height adjustment flexibility of the frame and the various options for loading a quilt.

I have a used system I picked up used for an excellent price, and am very glad to have. But I would really like all the poles to 'flip' out and/or up to a comfortable height for attaching the quilt. Like you, I have arthritis and sometimes the bending over is just too much. Pinning the backing, batting and top on the frame can be painful, too! There are other devices - like Red Snappers (I never tried them) - to help you easily attach the back, bat and top, which might be helpful to you.

Also think about your height in relation to the minimum and maximum height of the frame plus the sewing machine. Bending or stretching for long periods of time is not fun!

If your arms and hands are affected by your RA, you might want to consider a computerized quilting system. The computerized systems read a pattern that you load into the software for the long arm, and then push the sewing machine around on a carriage to quilt out your pattern.

See if one of the long armers that you take your quilts to will let you try their set up. If a local quilt shop has a long arm set up and gives lessons on how to use it and/or rents time on it to customers, take advantage of that. That alone will be very helpful when you make a decision about which machine and frame to buy.

Good luck with your purchase.

I have a HQ16 - midarm - and it works wonderfully. I've had no problems with it since bought it used and am very happy with it. So I can recommend the Handiquilter line of long arms.

Welcome! This board will provide you with so much helpful information, but you posted this under the introduction section, so many people may not even see it. If I were you, I'd ask the question again under the main section. I suspect you will get much more help there.

Having read many of these types of threads in the past year (I got my long arm in January) I suspect you'll get a lot of responses suggesting that you really need to try out as many different long arms as possible. First, because you may find that you really don't like the process or the work involved in loading, rolling etc. Second, because personal preference is very important when you're spending so much money. It's kind of like buying a car. One way to see many models in one place is to attend a big quilt show where the various brands are set up in the vendor section.

You can also use the search function. Type in purchasing long arm or something along those lines and you can look at old threads about this topic.

Anyway, welcome!

Welcome from Michigan!:)

:) welcome from se TX -- good luck!!

Welcome from S CA. I have a Babylock Crown jewel on pearl frame.