Machine advice needed now - so confused
 

I am a new quilter. I have only made one bedsize quilt and sent it out for quiltling. That was a disaster- but another story already told on here. so I am thinking I really want to learn to do my own quilts start to finish. But I am trying to decide between a long arm quilting machine - mid arm machine (looking at a Baileys HQ15) or the brand new Brother sewing machine with the 11" throat, either the Sew/Quilt machine or the Sew/Quilt/Embroidery machine.

I am torn - what if I get a quilting machine and don't like it, what if I get the new Brother and still wish I had a quilting machine.

I am thinking that I have to learn quilting, either way right. If I get the Brother I can also use it for sewing and embroidery if I get the one that does all 3. That would help offset the cost. I know I am atrtracted to the quilts with with simple quilting - straight lines, etc. that is done more easily on the domestic machines. But love it all really.

I also think I would love a quilting machine - but really have no idea, never used one. I am taking a lesson in a few weeks.

But my urgency is this, the new Brother quilt/sew/embroidery machine is on a intro sale and the price goes off on the 18th - need to order by the 15th. then it will be 3000.00 more after that date! Wow, if I want that machine I feel pressure to act now.

Any advice - what do you use I need some pros and cons of each.

Thanks

Keeping in mind the only machine quilting I do is on my regular sewing machine = straight stitching....


Unless I'm really sure of what I want .... I'd wait on the purchase. Anytime I've bought something under pressure, I've been sorry.

Maybe someone else here owns the machine you're talking about and can give you better information.

I am like HillCountryGal when I buy under pressure I am sorry. The machine will go on sale again or at another place. If you are a new quilter I would make a few more quilts and decide what would work best for me. I would like a longarm but I would only be happy with the best there is to buy so I figure I can have a lot of quilts quilted for what a longarm would cost. Maybe if you found a different longarmer you would be happier with her work. There are a few on this board that could give you that help.

The learning curve for longarm quilting is pretty big. Some find they do not like longarm quilting at all and get rid of the machine,kicking themselves for spending the money.Another thought. If you have 1 machine to do it all then if it breaks down you can't do anything. When I first got my embroidery/sewing machine I embroidered just about everything that wasn't nailed down. Now not so much.But I agree with Hillcountrygal. Just about anytime I bought under pressure I was sorry. I assume you have a Brother dealer near you? You will want lessons on how to run the machine/hooping etc.

I bought a Bernina Aurora when I first started quilting and have sewed on it constantly, even doing the quilting for queen size quilts. I think before you start buying anything, you need to have some experience quilting. If you like the simple quilts without all the fancy quilting, then a long arm is not for you. If you like the embroidery, then maybe the Brother is for you. I personally hate the embroidery so that would be something I would not buy. You have to know what you like and some people take a long time to figure that out. Maybe you need to wait ? They have sales all the time and maybe you can look around. I bought my Bernina on eBay for 1/2 the price the dealers wanted and it has never been in the shop in the 6 years I've had it. I clean it constantly, use only the best thread etc. I have found that there are some options I wish I had now like thread cutting that my machine does not have, but I am keeping this Bernina for now. I also have some vintage machines that are fabulous. Just wait until you know exactly what you are looking for.

I visit here sometime... but could not resist commenting...from reading your note,,, you seem a lot like me... you "love to try"...I debated over buying a frame and machine for it... I am fortunate to afford what i want,, but will NEVER justify the Gammill etc... I have the Grace Pinnacle with the Janome 1600.. i LOVE it... Just the thrill of being able to quilt anything i want,, even just for having quiltied fabric for a tote etc...and i have a ton of fabric.. LOL
My next purchase will be the Bailey.. the largest throat that will fit my Pinnacle...
Go try a "mid/long arm"... you will know right away if your comfortable with it... i mostly do a loop d loop motion... much easier than the stipple.. My whole set up was around 3500.00... but i only have about 10" throat... if you can afford it... get the Bailey.. no bells and whistles.. but i've chatted with Chuck there.. and it's basically a standard machine.. meaning NO fancy stuff...something you can repair easily if need be... I'll never buy any machine that has computer stuff to fiddle with for something like "quilting"... Hope this helps you... Barbara

I recently bought the Janome 6600 and LOVE it!!! My old machine was 43 yrs. old (Bernina Record 730) .... time for a new one :)

I am newly back to quilting/sewing, after a 30 yr. absence. I had not even looked at sewing machines in all that time. Did not even know they had embroidery machines (wow, how could that be!!).

And I did look at quite a few machines. Was actually *wowed* by the embroidery machines. The only one I could afford, however, was an entry-level Brother. And I thought and thought, and looked and looked; and decided WHAT I really wanted to do was get back into quilting (all quilting done many years ago, was done by hand).

And I asked myself, just *what* will you do with an embroidery machine???? Where will you actually *use* those embroidered pieces??? And I must know myself, because I can see being really enthused about this for about 6 mos. and then not using it again.

And so I somehow spied the Janome 6600 ... and sooo glad I settled on this.

But I have to say, those new Brother machines look pretty darn wonderful. A Brother machine would have been my second choice .... have only heard good things about them.

Good luck with your decision ... it certainly is NOT an easy one. And I agree, there will be sales after this one. But if they are reducing the price by $3K, what is the cost of one of these machines???

jody

I love my brother/babylock, it only has a nine inch throat but I love the way it stitches. It cost me about 2000 used and it doesn't have embroidery, so me personally I would jump on the brother because that is a good deal, they will probably end up costing around 5000 once they are out so you probably wont get one for 3000 unless it is used if you want it later. But thats just me. Try out their laura ashley with the smaller throat and see how you like it. if it fits you go for it. I want a long arm but don't have the space, and you can always get one later. You can also do machine quilting with your embroidery machine as well so also keep that in mind. For the brother is moreversatile than a longarm so you can do more with it

Can you go to a store and try a mid -arm or long-arm and try one before committing to using a domestic?If you could try one --any brand to get a feel if you like the machine on a frame??

You should see if a place in your area is offering long arm classes so that you can see what it's like. I think anyone thinking about a new machine of any kind should try it out to see if they like it. Not all machines are made for all people. Then make sure you have good support from the store you got it from; like I wouldn't have bought a Bernina mainly because I wouldn't have wanted to deal with the dealer here; I'm not the only one who doesn't like the people who work in that store. Thank goodness my choices that I even thought about was Viking and Janome and since I love the people at the Viking store and they've always been helpful when it comes to sewing I stayed with my first love the Ruby. I haven't regretted that at all and the store never lets me down and I keep learning so much so I don't get bored and set it aside. Check things out before you dive in; all of these things are alot of money even on sale.

If you've only done one quilt, I'd wait on a long arm decision. I started quilting in 2004, and have quilted all of my own quilts - even 3 queen size quilts - on my regular domestic machine. It is possible, and if your "usual" quilt is likely to be on the smaller side probably a good way to start. Make sure you really love the process, before you fork out the thousands of dollars for a long or mid arm machine.

For my piecing, I have never used anything other than straight stitch and the occasional zig-zag. I bought an embroidery machine at the behest of my husband, and I regret the extra money. I have never used the embroidery, and probably never will. It's not what I enjoy doing. So for me, a simple straight stitch machine - with a wider throat - would have been the perfect purchase 7 years ago. And until about 2 years ago I was perfectly happy quilting on it. Then, as I graduated to big and better- and wanted to do more with my quilting, I started thinking about a long arm machine. I just bought one last month - 8 1/2 years after I started quilting.

And note that long arms - if you want to do bed-size quilts - take a significant space investment - 12' x 8' clear space for them at least, which you can't put anything else in.

My advice is to take however much time you need in order to be sure, as this is a big purchase. There will always be another sale.

Sounds as if you have not explored all your options thoroughly yet. For example, if you are interested in frame quilting, then you really want to consider the Juki 2010Q which is a high-speed straight stitch machine (about $1,000). You can mount this on a Ken Lund homemade frame (about $200) and practice frame quilting to your heart's content. If you decide you don't like frame quilting, the Juki makes a great piecing machine and at that time you can purchase a sit-down machine for quilting. If you decide you want to take the next step with frame quilting, you can purchase a Hinterberg stretch frame with refurbished Voyager longarm for $2400 (on the Hinterberg site) and retire the Juki to speed piecing. (Or sell the Juki; lots of people would love to buy a used 2010!)

Personally, I would stay away from a machine that does everything. For embroidery, ideally you want a separate machine so it can be sewing out an embroidery pattern while you are piecing or machine quilting on another setup. It's also really nice to have a machine dedicated to quilting (the frame setup) and still have a machine available for piecing.

The rule-of-thumb on the homequiltingsystems group at groups.yahoo.com is to spend a year researching and trying out setups before actually buying one. This helps people avoid under-buying, over-buying, and buying the wrong type of quilting setup.

That's my 2 cents, for what it's worth......

I would do a bit of research and see when there will be a large quilt show in your area, with several long/mid arm vendors attending. They will have demo units set up for you to try. Even if you have to make an overnight trip to attend, it will be well worth your time and money to see the different options available. The next best thing is to research where the local dealers are and try the units out at their sites. Again, even if it's a road trip it's worthwhile. Nothing beats a hands-on demo. Even a mid arm is a big ticket item, so do as much research as you can!

My advce is to foregoe the long arms and the embroidery units and get a regular machine with the larger throat area (11") It will probably service your needs for now. I have the embroidery unit and never use it. The larger throat areas are worth it as it makes quilting larger quilts much easier.

Thank you all for the advice. I love getting your opinions and hearing about what works for you. I do think I will continue to research, the quilting/sewing machine will not go up in price so that is a good thing and I really want to get my hands on a quilting machine at least once before I try to make a decision. If you have more advice, please share!