Husqvarna Viking Mega Quilter and Inspira Quilt fram - Opinions please?
 

I ran across a Husqvarna Viking mega Quilter and Inspira Quilt frame on Craigslist this afternoon. I'm still waiting on the details to be emailed from the person but in the mean time -- can any of you shed light on this machine, the good, the bad and the ugly please. :)

It can be a nice starter setup, especially if the price is right. I'm pretty sure the harp size on this machine is only 9" (similar to a Jukie harp size), which becomes limiting. Mid-arms have 13-15" or so harp sizes, and longarms go 16-26" or so. I ran across a website that sells the machine for $750. I would definitely check prices for the machine and frame online before deciding if the price is good. I would probably not want to pay more than half of the price new for this setup.

Been searching
 

I've been doing some searching online to check prices and try and get reviews. What website did you see one for $750?

I have a Pfaff Hobby Grand Quilter 1200 (actually two of them). They only stitch straight stitching but I am happy with the machine and love the the 18" throat space. I also bought the Next Generation quilting frame they were a set at a quilt show. I have issues with the machine working on the frame, the thread breaks constantly but I know there have been others who have the same set up and have been successful.

Yikes! Not sure where I saw it but I will look again and post if I find it. I did a little more checking after I posted and found this:
The Husqvarna Viking Mega Quilter, the Janome 1600P QC and the Pfaff Grand Quilter are all made in the same factory (Janome) and are exactly the same machine, just with a few cosmetic differences

They are all fast straight-stitch machines with a 9" harp, I think. I tried out the Janome 1600P at a quilt show -- very nice, although I have seen online that some people complain that it is touchy about tension. Amazon has the Janome, so you may want to read the reviews there.

Another place to check for reviews is http://www.patternreview.com

Here are some websites I found that talk about the Viking:
http://kateconklindesigns.blogspot.c...or-janome.html
http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php?topic=6206.0

The harp size is 9" wide and 6" high (which is why I would not call it a midarm or longarm). That is not a lot of space for rolling up a queen size quilt. However, a lot of people start with a harp size like this and work their way up to larger harps.

Edit: Aha! Here's where I found the machine listed for $750:
http://www.alvasewingcenter.com/shop...ga-Quilter.htm

For some reason, Viking named their mega quilters the same for their 9" and 18" machines so you need to figure out which one it is. The 18" inch one is made by Tin Lizzie and is identical to the TL 18SL. I have this one on the inspira frame and like it very much.
$750 is a good price for a used 9" one, expect to pay thousands for the 18" version.

Here's the one I am talking about:
http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/us/3537.htm
Also found this:
http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/us/In...uilter_FAQ.pdf

But I don't know anything about the longarm version.

Mega Quilter and love it. I use it on the kitchen table. No room for a frame.

Lori -

If you're talking about the 9" version, we have the Pfaff 1200 on Imperial frame and we love it. As others have mentioned, the space is a bit limiting, but it's a great entry into frame quilting. We have only done pantographs, but I think we've saved money in the long run by not having our quilts done by a LA'er, and I'm sure we would never be able to learn to quilt on our DSMs.

We had some issues when the machine was new, but after we got those ironed out we haven't had any trouble.

Let us know what you decide.

Darren

I don't know where you're from, but I've seen the same set up on our local CR for $1500. A while back I even went to see one that was on CL, but I think it was listed for $2000. I was worried about the same thing, the 9" harp. Still seems like a good choice for beginning quilting machine. My problem is it would have to go in my DR area and I would have to move buffet cart and table. Good luck

I started out with Mega Quilter with 9 inch harp but wasn't satisfied with it on frame because of lack of space. It convinced me I love longarm quilting so we immediately went out and purchased an APQS Millenium with 14' frame. The Mega Quilter does sew beautifully and would be great for fmq and piecing. We have fallen in love with vintage machines and are trying to decide whether to keep or sell the Mega Quilter.

I bought the Pfaff GQ for 500$ on Ebay and the Grace frame for 300$ on C.L. because I wanted to see if I liked quilting on a frame or/and had an apptitude for this. It's great as a starter setup. I have done alot of quilts in various sizes and if I don't want anything too fancy, this is the way to go.
There are some great groups on YAHOO that will help as well.
K

I have a mega quilter, never again, should have saved more $$$$ and bought something with more throat space, It's gathering dust!

I was lucky and my hubby bought me the Mega Quilter on sale. I love it!!! I do not have a quilting frame, but have quilted from table runner up to queen bed size on it and it is wonderful. We only paid $500 but that was on a "this is
the last one" sale. I do not think the bobbins for it hold as much as a sewing machine bobbin, but it is hard to tell,
since I am quilting. When I start to quilt on a quilt, I usually wind several bobbins at the beginning and it saves me
time. I named mine "Titanic"---not because it does not work, but because it is the largest sewing machine I own, and it just seemed to fit. Like I said, I love her to pieces.

I have the smaller mega quilter. You should ask if its the 18 in or the 9in. I love the machine. It does only straight stitch and you do need to oil it. It isn't finicky with thread, very fast. Needle up/down, thread cutter, knee lift. Put it this way, I've had the opportunity to trade it in twice on two different Vikings and it's still at my house. It's a great machine. If it's a 9in then about 750 is the right price the frame is more. I'm including a link for our LQS that sells them. You can click on the link under the machine and go to Vikings web site to read more
http://www.bellafabricsva.com/sewing-machines.htm

I have the Imperial frame with the Inspira carriage. It will hold up to an 18 in machine which I do not have. Mine is a Baby Lock Jane with the 9in throat. Do not go that route it is awful. It is way to small to do anything but baby quilts and those you can do with just your regular machine.
I paid 2300 dollars new but it did include a stitch regulator that was 500 dollars.
I dont like the way the rods latch on the ends. You pull out a small knob on each end to make adjustments. Also the rods are too big around and take up most of the room in the throat area. The shelf underneath is nice.
It takes a million screws to put togather so taking it apart is a pain.
The carriage is very smooth rolls easy. But the strait stitch machine is awful. Very primitive and hard to work with. Cant even pull my thread up when starting to sew because you cant reach the wheel to turn it.
So get a larger throat machine.

Thanks for all of the replies. I will check out the links for sure. I didn't realize they made a 9" and 18" arm for these so I need to confirm which one this person has. If it's an 18" it's a deal, if it's a 9" it doesn't sound like a deal.
Thanks again, you guys are awesome!