I tried out the machines at the Paducah quilt show and have it narrowed down to two, HQ 16 or Tin Lizzie. If you have one of these, please help me decide. Thanks.

I've had a Tin Lizzie 18 with stitch regulator, but the older model, for almost 3 years. I sew for myself, family, charity quilts. It is a wonderful, sturdy machine for a reasonable price. I have a few friends in the area who also have it and love it. It has a big enough throat space that I have been able to roll one long backing fabric, batting, and three tops to do "assembly line" quilting of 3 charity quilts at a time, so that is the equivalent of putting a king size quilt on the take-up bar! Worked fine. Rarely have tension issues, use King Tut, Coats and Clark, Bottom Line, whatever thread I have handy! Lizzie does have a drinking problem, however, needs oiling before every new quilt or after sitting alone in the dark for several days! Takes just a "wee drop" here and there, then she is ready to roll!

Thanks Cathleen, I've heard good things about the Tin Lizzie
from others, too. It's probably the way I will go because the dealer is right here in town.

One of my friends has the Tin Lizzie, no dealer real close to her, so she has had to call the company a few times for help.. They have been absolutely wonderful, solved all her problems over the phone. she loves it, great machine.

I also have a Tin Lizzie and am very happy with her. A part of my decision making was the fact that many of the other machines are made by Tin Lizzie but under a different name. I thought that I would rather buy from the manufacturer than a third party. I am not sure who makes the HQ, but for sure, you will be happy with Lizzie. I have the Tin Lizzie 18LS and she is sturdy and reliable.

I have a Tin Lizzie..she is three years old. I love her..she has not given me one minute of trouble. The model I have is the 18LS.

I have an HQ16 and love it. I've had it a little over a year and am amazed at how good it is with different threads. The only oiling is in the bobbin case, 1 drop every bobbin or two. And the HQ people are really super.

If you're looking for the 16inch machine, you can get some really good deals right now on lovingly used ones since some people are selling them to get HQ's 18 or 24" machines. I wouldn't be at all afraid of a used HQ. They're built like tanks.

--Heidi

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32113973@N05/

Thank you everyone. Still not sure. It's hard to decide.

I got the Tin Lizzie Queen Quilter and one of the main reasons is the fact that so many others are made by them, so you are just paying extra for a different name. Runs like a dream, and since it's a pretty simple mechanical machine, I have fixed the few little problems I had by myself. My only complaint has been the lack of a good manual for it.

Please let us know which one you decide on.
I love my HQ 16 I have had for 3 years, but having a dealer in your town or nearby could be a deceiding factor:)