When I was looking to move up from quilting on a domestic machine, I was lucky enough to have a manufacturer not far away. He let me play on a number of long arms for over 2 hours. I was surprised to find I didn’t like them! I missed the feeling of fabric in my hands. I ended up with a Sweet 16 stationary machine. Everyone told me I “needed” a long arm, and I had the space and money for one. I do have issues in basting large quilts though since I can’t get down on the floor anymore, and long arming is faster, but I have never regretted my purchase of the sitdown. My recommendation is to try out types of machines extensively, not just for 10 minutes. Going to a quilt show as soon as the doors open or on a weekday is a good approach.

I have a Babylock Tiara, which is intended to be a sit down machine but I use standing. The table goes high enough that I can ergonomically stand, and standing lets me move around to address a piece from different directions and with better framing. I have bungee cords + clamps suspended from the ceiling which I use to hold the weight of the quilt, so I'm able to move large quilts around with ease.

I live in a smaller place and was never going to be able dedicate the room to a large quilting frame, but this set up gives me much more throat and table space than trying to FMQ on a domestic machine.

I chose this machine after doing a lot of reading and then going to a quilt show where I tried several different models. I love this setup and my FMQ has advanced a lot now that I can practice at home.