If we ever have enough money to move to CO and build our log cabin I will find a dealer in Denver and buy a Statler Stitcher. I will have a big enough quilting room to hold one. Right now I don't have the space or the money.

Follow the advice of feline fanatic. Take a class, rent one, go to shows and consider how much space you have for a machine. You need room to move around the machine as you load and quilt.

Two years ago my husband made the same announcement on my birthday. Well he bought the machine, a Viking 3000 and he is the one enjoying it. I still don't know how to turn it on. It is computerized that is a great feature.
Frances in Tennessee

The Innova Corp Headquarters are right there in the Conroe/Spring area...there website is www.innovalongarm.com
They have a nice showroom and offer classes there in their studio. Innova was my first choice, but I found a gently used APQS Liberty at a great price and absolutely LOVE IT!!! Like others have said, try different ones out and see which one you feel at ease with. The International Quilt Festival in Houston will have all the brands there, but you have a wealth of opportunities for a less crowded and less hectic experience for playing with machines of the top companies right there in the Houston area. Best of luck in your search

Who is the machine for - him or you?

And if for him - do you want/trust him to quilt your quilts?

I have a Gammill Vision 18/8 (the smallest) on a 10' frame. It also comes with a 12' frame for the same cost (or at least that was the case in 2011). I love it. Service is excellent. Linda's Electric Quilter's stores are located in McKinney, Tx and somewhere around Houston. Since you are in Texas it would be worth a drive to one of their locations. I bought my machine from a subdealers of theirs in San Antonio but I have always dealt with the McKinney store since that time. I took the 2 day course after I purchased it which was included in the price and I would highly recommend it. There are other good machines on the market, but after several years of research, I chose my Gammill.

Can you clone that man!!

I have a Innova 26 on a 12 foot frame. It is very light to handle. I have some medical issues that will only get worse and this LA was a perfect fit for me. The biggest quilts I do on it are about 120 in. x 120 in. DH or my DD load these for me.

If you look at a computerized machine the Handi Quilter Fusion 24 in. is a great option or Avante 18 in. (?) I found the fusion too heavy for me to do by hand only but the Avante is lighter but has a much smaller opening. To get the Innova computerized is significantly more expensive then getting a Handi Quilter Fusion computerized.

Take your time trying and testing many machines. I took several years. What I learned was that the opening of the long arm and the length of the table will determine the size of the patterns and the size of the quilt you can do on your machine. Do not buy a Longarm with a very small opening. You will almost immediately want another one with a bigger opening.

It is also important to have resources to help you with learning how to use a long arm. I did a significant amount of quilting on a sewing machine with a large harp opening but quilting on a frame still had a pretty big learning curve. Be prepared to spend a couple days a week practicing for about a year to get to where you want to be.

Very good idea! The last thing you need is a big white elephant taking up space. Also just because many of us like a long arm it doesn't mean it is everyone's dream. You can get many quilts quilted for the cost of a long arm. I also found out I do not like long arm quilting as much as piecing, appliqueing and designing. I do like long arm quilting way above sitting on my regular sewing machine and trying to quilt, especially anything bigger then a small baby quilt. I make so many quilts it would have been prohibitive trying to do all on a regular sewing machine.

I absolutely love my innova and recently upgraded to a larger one. Even if you don't have a local dealer they have 24/365 telephone support that is phenomenal! !