DebbyT

As the quilt rolls up the 9" space gets shorter. Don't forget the pole with the beginning of the quilt will take up appx 2". As I roll the quilt, I do it with as little slack as possible so the roll dosn't get to big.

dgmoby

Well, there's a misunderstanding on the comment regarding the HandiQuilter. The HandiQuilter is only the frame that holds the ordinary sewing machine, not a mid or long arm frame. (The smallest Handiquilter machine is 16".) There is no HandiQuilter machine that comes with this package.

Just trying to clarify...
Debbie in Austin

And this is how I started out...with a grace frame and my old singer...for about 4-5 months, then moved up to my longarm. NOW I'm a happy camper :) The 9" will work just fine, if that's all you can have for now, and many people make it work. It does limit you to about 4" at the end of a large quilt. But, there are also Bailey machines, WOWs, and others that are not as expensive as a longarm, and allow you more inches at the bottom. Just something else to consider ;) Hope this helps.

rivka

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I originally bought a Juki with a 9" throat (basically the twin of this Janome), and personally, I found it far too limiting. If you're working mostly with crib-sized quilts, then maybe it would work okay for you, but as soon as you get any quilt of a decent size on the frame, the amount of throat space you have to work with after you've rolled the quilt up will be very limited. The size of the pattern you'll be able to work with will be very small; some people are happy with that, but I certainly wasn't.

I highly recommend looking into getting a used Bailey. You can find one for approximately the same price (with a frame) on the Bailey user group on Yahoo Groups, and get a substantially larger throat! There's someone on there right now, in East Texas, selling their 15" and GMQ Pro frame for $2000, just as a heads up (Once you're a member of the group, go to Database->For Sale or Wanted to see what people are selling). The machine in question doesn't appear to come with a stitch regulator, so that would be an extra expense, but that's still a pretty darn good deal.

katiebear1

My pfaff expressions 2.0 has a 10 inch throat I got it on sale for $1,000 That one only has a 9 inch throat.

katiebear1

Fogot to say I have quilted an oversized King on it using the "poof and puddle" method. :)

Barbm

I have the Juki, had looked at this as an alternative. Love my Juki, but looking for a long arm now. I've "outgrown" the 9" throat. Thinking Bailey as it is for my own use but want a 15" throat.

Wonder what shipping is to PA? hmmmm.