Mimmy:I quilt on my sewing machine .. I wish I had a Tiara for sure .. but oh well the "Lottery Gods" have not smiled down upon me yet !LOL

I only piece the tops and have a wonderful LA quilter who does the quilting. I know this is not what most call making a quilt but it has been the greatest time filler I could possibly find for the past twenty years. I do not know how many I have made they are such useful gifts everyone seems to enjoy them.

I have a Janome 6600 and do quilts of all sizes on her. The largest quilts can be difficult, but can definitely be done. It's all a matter of supporting the weight of the quilt on the left side (I use my ironing board) and knowing what design needs done in that area.

I bought a Janome Horizon and quilted lots on it. I've since moved up to a HandiQuilter Sweet Sixteen. Don't regret any of it.

You can quilt any size on a regular machine if you want to. Obviously, larger quilts will be more difficult to pin baste and manipulate through the machine depending on how you want it quilted, but it certainly can be done. I wouldn't start out with a queen size if you're just new to quilting, but you'll get there if you want to. I always did mine until the LA trend came around. I am happy to pay to have it done, because I really did not like the process of preparing and quilting a large quilt on my home machine. I love to free motion smaller quilts , wall hangings, table runners, that kind of thing. But sending it out to be quilted now, to me, is a real luxury and a treat!

I quilt on my sewing machine. I mainly do SID, as I really like the way that looks when all is done. I find the quilting process very satisfying. I haven't done anything larger than a twin sized though, so I can't speak to one that size. I think I would just have to be more patient, but I could do it. I have been quilting 3 years and just finished my 50th quilt. (Can you tell I really really like this hobby?)

It really all depends on what you enjoy doing.

Dina

I use a Baby Lock Quilter's Choice Professional. It has a deeper throat than a standard machine and it's great. No long arm here, but maybe someday....

I recently free motioned my first quilt on a Brother 1500S. The quilt was 96 by 96 and I had no problem moving it through the nine inch harp. I think I could easily do a larger quilt. As others have said, a large table to the left and back of the machine is invaluable. I also use gloves, forgot and left them off, could not figure out why the process became so hard. Duh! This time I only meandered but I hope to get more creative. Love the process!

I do all my quilting on my Viking Sapphire 830 - it has the larger throat space and I do up to King Size 120 " x 120" regularlyon this machine. I do not do it in sections and havenever had any specific instructions other than what I have read here at the QB or on the internet. I use one of three methods to sandwich my quilts.
1) Spray baste with 505 in the red can
2) Use Elmer's washable School Glue to secure the sections together
3)Use Hobbs 80/20 Fusible batting and iron it with a slight steam setting

By using the above methods, I can start quilting on the outside edge and work in towards the middle. No one told me I couldn't start on the outside and work inward and it works the best for me. It makes it easier for me to hand the larger quilts and because my layers are so secure there is rarely and I mean rarely a pucker. I always wash my quilts prior to gifting so the glues wash away and everything it clean and ready to go. I made a few scrappy doll quilts to practice on when I started my FMQ and gave them to the granddaughter to play with. I don't do anything fancy mostly meandering, micro stippling and I am expanding into stensils.
Good luck andpractice makesfor almost perfect :)

I have a Brother cs6000i and I have quilted everything from a mug rug to a king size quilt 120 x 120..I just did it in quadrants! I have never had anyone else quilt for me! Hope you find a great new machine! Happy quilting!