How wonderful to have a husband who appreciates what you do and wants to "help" you.

i love my innova ....it is a great machine and the service is unbeatable

Happy Gammill owner here. Love the needledown feature, horizontal and vertical channel locks, stitch regulation and fantastic customer support. In addition, the handle switches are easy to replace yourself and available at Radio Shack for only a couple of dollars. The frames are welded, very solid, which minimizes vibration. A real workhorse of a machine. But you really need to test drive many brands of machines before deciding. Besides Gammill, I would personally consider an A-1 or Handiquilter. No experience with Innova but know there are many satisfied owners. When I was looking, I didn't care for the APQS or TinLizzie. Just my humble opinion. You may feel differently. Have fun comparing machines, and keep that man!

I would go to a major quilt show, even if you have to drive & spend the night. Try them all, and find out where the dealers are in your area. Find out about set up options. It's usually a bit extra to have it set up in your home, but worth it to know that if you have an issue, it's not because you made an error in setup. They will also make sure it's working before they leave. My installers showed me how to do routine maintenance. I also get unlimited training at their site.
The other thing is make sure you have enough room. It's amazing the amount of space you need. The actual frame is about 10 X4 or 12X4. You need at least 3 feet on one end to work the gears to advance the quilt. If you are planning on doing pantographs, you need about 3 feet in the back, if not, you still need at least a foot so the machine head has enough room, and then about 3 feet in front.
I got a Handi Quilter last fall and love it!

I agree. Let him take you to a major quilt show to help you pick out the new member of the family !!

I have a Gammill and love it! I had an older New Home to start with and it was too small. When I got the Gammill, I felt like I was home! It's 5 years old and has been on a car trip to Georgia for service one time...something that happened at the factory; they covered the cost and it's been running like the Energizer Bunny since. So my recommendation is the Gammill, altho I know there are others out there which are well thought of as well!

Hi Misty's Mom,

Here's a suggestion for you. I live south of you in Sugar Land. Check out http://www.quiltyourown.com/ They are located on the Southwest Freeway just south of Beltway 8. The owner, Chris, is an APQS dealer and also has longarms available to rent after taking their orientation course. I took it last month and had a blast. They are in the same strip mall as Quilter's Emporium if that helps. :-)

If you want to try an Innova, Jo's Quilting Studio is n Richmond, TX. Give her a call and I am sure she would be happy to give you a test run. However if you can wait I really suggest you go to show and try all of them. I started wih a Prodigy which is a good machine however after my husband passed I couldn't find any local support and went ahead and got an Innova which I love. Not only did I love this machine but customer service is wonderful, if I have an issue that I can't solve Jo's son who is in my area often can swing by when he is up here or if push comes to shove their manufacturing location is in Houston

You didn't say what kind of quilting? Freehand, computer guided, both are cool but have different skill sets. There is a place for both. I am in the Statler Stitcher camp for the computer guided, we just had ours for couple weeks but it is a blast. The A1 we have had a few years.

Space is a big factor as well (table length) ours both have 14' tables then two or three feet on all sides uses up a bunch of space.

The throat space is a factor. If only doing freehand a 30" isn't needed but on a computer guided it is nice to have that extra space.

There are some youtube videos on different brands to see some of the features and options before you go check them out in person.

One more thing if you decide to go computer guided some (customers) think you just push a go button and the quilt is done. I wish it were that easy. LOL It takes lots a time to set it up, but worth every minute.

Great Husband. Mine got me a long arm and he used it too. Now we are getting ready to move to Texas and our long arm is ready for sale. I will miss her, Millie, but just too big for a house without a basement. But she is too big for my garage sale this weekend.