Nilla

Goodness! As I mentioned, my machine is made by TL and I've only had it since January, but I've never had a problem that wasn't solely user error. I know the Pfaff version is a newer one, released in Sept 2012 I think. I wonder if TL also released a new version and the problems were with the older one. This brings up a good point though. I have a local dealer. I buy fabric galore from them, other sewing and embroidery supplies, have purchased DSM's from them and take classes with them. I see them more often than I see some family members! If you aren't purchasing from a local dealer that you can trust, company customer service is very important since they'll be your point of contact for questions and concerns.

feline fanatic

Hi Sue,

OK I am totally biased for the Innova we will get that out of the way right now. Harp space makes no difference in doing a king, it is the rack length that matters. A 10 foot rack really only gives you about 100" of quilting width. Even then it a tight fit. So for a king you will want at least a 12 foot rack better even a 14'.
A good rack makes a HUGE difference and all bias aside the Innova rack is an engineering marvel.
1. It can be adjusted for many user heights so if you are vertically challenged it can be set up to YOU.
2. the dead bar is wonderful in that you don't ever have to make adjustments to your take up bar as your completed quilt grows. Many other makes you must make adjustments to the take up bar. Additionally because the take up bar on the Innova is high up off the machine bed you lose very little quilting space
3. It is made of aircraft grade alluminum. Very sturdy, won't bow in the middle as it is all one piece and minimal vibration.
4. NO Learning curve with the Innova rack.

And the lightening stitch is a thing of beauty. It really is the most responsive SR on the market today. But I understand A1 is coming out with something just as good right now.
between 18" and 22", consider a 12" block on point. You will not be able see the full block in your quilting space with 18". 22" you will.

Edited to add Innova customer service IS indeed 24-7 INCLUDING holidays. I had a problem over the Christmas long weekend and 3 techs called me back within 20 minutes, INCLUDING Michael, the owner. He walked me through a workaround that got me back up and quilting. THAT is customer service.

Candace

The Innova is my dream machine too for all the reasons listed above.

ckcowl

my machine is a 16" and I do king sized quilts all the time- no problem...it depends on how big of a quilting design you are doing- by the time I am at the bottom of a king sized quilt I have about 6-8" of quilting space- if i'm using a fairly lofty batt. more if using a thin batt.

laurlync

I have a Gammill Vision 18-8 with a 12' frame and I quilted a 120" x 120" king with Hobbs 80/20 batting. It was a little bit difficult changing the bobbins because the backing reached almost to both sides, so I had to bend or squat to see what I was doing, but that really wasn't a big deal. If you are doing a pantograph on a quilt this size, you would need to use one with a narrower stitch path because as you roll the quilt onto the take up roller, more and more throat space will be taken. I was doing an freehand design so that quilt so it was not a problem for me.

I have done a couple quilts that required me to roll the quilt back and forth to complete a pattern due to not having a large enough throat, but, since it doesn't happen often, it's not big deal either.

My frame does not have a dead bar. I think it would be a nice feature, but it really is not a big deal to adjust as I can usually do 2, 3 or 4 rows between adjustments and those adjustments take less than a minute to do.

Good luck on your decision and I hope you enjoy it as much I do!!!

dunster

I do enjoy having the dead bar. I didn't even realize how important it was until I watched a friend adjusting her take-up bar to roll the quilt and thought "I don't have to do that." I would love to have lightning stitch - it wasn't available when I purchased my Innova - but the standard stitch regulator is also very good, and I haven't had any complaints with it. Harp space does matter on some machines. It would be really helpful to figure out how wide a kingsize quilt with huge batting is when rolled up on a standard bar - wish someone would do that for us, because the question does come up pretty often. I have a 26" machine and have never regretted it.

yel

i will add a ditto in the innova ...love it

QuiltE

Exciiiiiiiiiiiiting!

DogHouseMom

indeed ... that's what I am trying to figure out. I know I need at least 12' frame to fit the width of a King size, but the length of a King is also larger - therefore a larger "roll" of finished quilt on the take-up roller. This is where the total harp size comes into play. It doesn't matter if I have a 26" harp if the top of the harp will interfere with the finished quilt on the take up roller. The Tin Lizzy looks pretty "shallow".

Feline Fanatic ... thanks for your thoughts on both the frame and the customer service that Innova offers. I must admit when I looked at the frame at the show I liked some of the features (the dead bar and the lift at the front to access the batting), but when my husband looked at it (pictures) he picked it apart. My husband and I run a business and we build machines out of the same extruded aluminum - so whenever I looked at the extruded aluminum (called 80/20) on the machines and the frames - I knew exactly what it was. Anyway ... because he engineers this stuff all the time he was picking apart some of the fittings they were using to brace and connect ... they do it differently than the way the 80/20 extrusion was designed be connected and braced. I think I'll take him up to the dealer and let him climb around on the frame a bit I DO appreciate your advice (and was secretly hoping you would answer this thread!) because I know you use this machine, and I've admired your work. I wanna quilt like you when I grow up

Ruby the Quilter

Machines are like cars we each have our preferences. No matter what machine you go with there will be a learning curve and some frustration. I have a Tin Lizzy 18DS and have learned that most of my problems are because of something I did or didn't do. Know you will enjoy your machine.