HQ Simply Sixteen with Little foot long arm machine questions
 

Just attended the AQS Lancaster Pa quilt show and saw the HQ Simply Sixteen long arm machine and would like to know if anyone has purchased it or any reviews. I have the table top Sweet Sixteen purchased in 2014 and get frustrated in moving the quilt around and found the Simply was so easy and within my price range. I would sell my table top machine to purchase the "Simply". It wasn't available I don't believe when I purchased my table top. Your quilt is clamped in and not on rollers but it seems so much easier to quilt. I have a dealer not far. I also saw a similar long arm call Block Rocket and they are based in Utah which would be a concern for me for support, service, etc. Price range was decent also.
Whereas , my quilt dealer is not that far and they are HQ vendor. So it makes sense to me to deal with them.
Any feed back would be appreciated.
Happy Quilting,
Mary

I have the BlockRockIt and service is really not an issue. Their support is just a phone call away. If you have an issue and the machine needs hands on service under warranty they will arrange for it to be picked up and then returned to you. I got mine just a few months after they released it. It has a built in stitch regulator, which is important to me. I have never regretted my purchase and I love my machine.

Have just watched the videos on loading a quilt on this frame and think this would drive me nuts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUkDcZpWkKo&index=12&list=PL9AWSLDAL8sw1I0 U7mCV8C5JwkYDp4DqZ

First you need to have a large area to sandwich the quilt - with pins, adhesive or hand basting - which is what you do now. You will probably need your backing to be at least 6" on the top side, to clamp to the back roller, unless you stitch it to a leader first (you need to be able to access the top edge of the quilt so must have extra 'leader' fabric).
Then, after quilting a section, you must undo it all, move the quilt along, and re-clamp.
Sorry, too much fussing for this little duck.
If space is not an issue, are you able to keep the machine and buy a new frame and accessories necessary to set up the Sweet 16? If that's an option it should not be so expensive.
I guess I'm lucky my garage houses my longarm and a 10' frame, but I would prefer what you have to this set-up, in fact I'm going to test out the Sweet16 sit-down next week.

Good luck with your decision

I had the sweet sixteen and just loved it. I make so many large quilts I purchased the Innova long arm and love love love it

Not having rollers to move the quilt along is my concern and once it is moved over will it be possible to pick up where you left off especially if it is a large quilt. So I have some thinking to do. thanks for the input.

I saw this machine a few years ago and was impressed then but they were just starting out and wanted to see in time if they progressed. I see they have and spoke to them as it is a family affair. They were all there at the show. I did like the price and the fact you put on the quilt on the rollers and not have to move the quilt once it was on the frame.
Will give it some thought. Would sell my HQ first before considering a purchase. Thanks for the input.

I did an upgrade from my sitdown sweet sixteen-simply took machine & put on an avante 12 ft frame! It is heaven!!

Freckle .. that looks like a very interesting setup. I like the fact that you don't need a 12' long frame for a King quilt, you can move the quilt around anywhere.

I wonder if you could use the frame to sandwich and baste the quilt??? I think you could.

Have you looked into buying the frame and mounting your Sweet 16 on it?

From the YouTube videos I've seen the Simply Sixteen has some features not available in the Sweet Sixteen like built in stitch regulation. The video also said the conversion of the Sweet Sixteem brings the price close to the whole Simply setup.

I just played with this set up yesterday. I've taken longarm classes, have quilted on Janome 6600, and for the past 3 years the HQ Sweet 16. I am not a fan of the tru-stitch regulator on the Sweet 16, I find it too restricting and jerky, so I don't have it. The stitch regulation on the Simpy 16 is comparable to a long arm, and I loved it! I would purchase a long arm if I had the room, but don't...this seems to be a great alternative and the "emboidery hoop" style of loading the quilt would not bother me as it is way less cumbersome than dragging the quilt around on a table top. I don't see how you would baste on it though, so I think we would still have to deal with the dreaded pre-basting.

Space is still an issue for me, this one takes up from between 6-8' x 8-10'...its got me thinking though...

I have a HQ 16 and have loved it. HQ has terrific phone support. When I upgraded part of my set up I even took cell phone pictures and sent them to the HQ tech in Salt Lake City as we talked. I was easily walked through the process. They also have great online videos.

In the process of trying to sell my Sweet 16 so that I could purchase the Simply 16, the sister (and HQ Infinity owner) of the prospective buyer told me that the Little Foot frame is a pain. She specifically mentioned putting together & pre-basting the quilt sandwich before you can load it on the frame. She told me I should convert my sitdown to a stand up and buy an HQ Studio Frame in a 6 ft version.

The problem with this solution is that the conversion kit plus the frame would be more that just buying the Simply 16 new. The Sweet does not have the stitch regulator so that would be an addition charge. I would have to purchase the Studio Frame separately then what do I do with the Little Foot frame? From the website it looks as if you can only purchase Studio Frame in a 10' or 12' configuration. If you have space issues you can reduce the 10' frame to a 6' but you then have an extra 4' section hanging around...

I don't understand why Handiquilter doesn't make their "packages" more customizable. It would be nice if you could purchase the machine you want with the exact size of frame that you want. Has anyone been able to do this? My HQ dealer doesn't act like she is willing to "deal" with me at all.