Quiltingboard Forums - Martelli, Millie, Or Handi?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by mkc (Post 8293979)

For Innova, I believe the closest training center/dealer is Jo's Quilting Studio (although there appear to be several MetroMess sub-dealerships listed on the Innova website). Jo's is typically at the big Dallas Quilt Show in March and their team is super-helpful.

From what I hear Jo’s Quilting Studio is absolutely awesome! They are mentioned a lot on the Innova Longarm Facebook page. I definitely suggest a trip there to see them!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barb in Louisiana (Post 8293861)

...............edited........

Having a dealer close that does repairs and understands your machine is something I consider important. I have an older Nolting that I bought preowned. I need to do something different on my table because the machine hangs up going both ways. The machine itself doesn't give me very many problems and is all mechanical which means my husband can time it and do any maintenance.

A couple of other things....Buy the biggest throat you can afford. Mine is a 24 inch and the maximum pantograph I can do is a 15". You would think I could do up to 24, but you have the needle back from the edge and the quilt rolls up into the throat so you lose that space. I would expect that a 20 inch could maybe do a 12" panto. Check how far across from the front you and your wife can reach. I can't reach all the way across a Gammill quilting frame. That would never work for me. Sometimes I have to do adjusting of fabric and stitching with my hand smoothing the fabric and I have to reach the other side

Having a dealer that could do maintenance on my machine in my area was the #1 reason for purchasing a Gammill. I did not want to have to do the full maintenance. This is a good machine to think about in your search.

My friend had a TinLizzie and upgraded to an Innova.
I have a 26” throat and can do a 17” panto. Also I can “just” reach across my frame. If it was wider, I would not be able to. As Barb said, this is something very important to think about when sharing a machine, especially considering your wife’s height/reach.

I have HQ Fusion Love, Love ,Love it . Had a HQ sisteen years ago . moved sold it, got a A-1 Hated it it would not sew
to much money :shock: had it 4 years . had to almost give it away . I Love my Fusion got pro-stitcher don't like it . I'm not good with computers , packed it up in the box put away ????? so after all that ( HQ )

Go and play on it first ,

I have a Martelli adjustable cutting table and love it. I recently bought a Qnique 15R machine and the dealer set it a little bit low for me. THe thought of tearing it down to make it higher is daunting! Having a power lift would be awesome!

You can rent time on a longarm at Quilt Country. That might help your decision. Urban Spools in Dallas also rents time, but I have no idea what machines they have. (They've changed owners, but they would not let you rent time on the computerized one with the old owner.

It might be worth it to actually quilt a quilt on a machine to see how it works for you. (I don't have a longarm, nor have I rented time, but I believe I would do it, as it's not really a sales situation.)

bkay

Handi quilter also has an adjustable table. It is an add on.
I think service and a dealer you like is very important.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pagzz (Post 8293828)

I bought my Millie from Connie Keller in Lewisville, TX (north of Dallas on 35E) http://www.apqstexas.com/

Make sure the company that gives you the warranty is nearby, it will make demos or repairs a whole lot easier.