Quilting machine??
 

Does everyone here have a quilting machine? Several years ago, I tried a Juki on a Handiquilter. I did not like it at all. The throat was not large enough on the machine and the quilt would bounce into the machine. The handiquilter was very free and sloppy. Needless to say, it was not a good experience. I sew on an older Singer which is an old favorite of mine. I attend the quilt show in Paducah every year. I would like a small quilting machine. Nothing too expensive. I don't want to go into business, just do personal items. I see the quilting done on this board and I am envious of the beautiful work. What would be a good, affordable machine?

There are two different ways to quilt -- one is on a frame where you move the machine; the other is sitting down at a machine where you move the quilt. Most people prefer one method over the other.

If you attend the quilt show in Paducah every year, I would suggest that you try out every frame quilting machine they have at the show. There is a lot of variation among the different frame setups. My personal "dream" machine is an Innova with lightning stitch.

Machines themselves can be categorized as shortarm, midarm, and longarm depending on the area under the arm (harp). You probably tried out a shortarm on a frame; these are very limiting. Most frame setups use a midarm machine (my Voyager 17 is a midarm) or longarm machine (which start at about 18" of space under the arm and go all the way up to 26" or more).

There are several sit-down machines that have large harps: the Sweet 16 and George come to mind.

What is your price range? Chances are, if you are looking not to spend a lot of money, your choices will be limited to just a few brands.

A lot of us don't have a "quilting" machine, the newest machine I have had for at least 5 years and I bought used, it does have a fairly "large" throat space, but believe me, it's sure not easy wrestling with a king size quilt in it. They do make "reasonably" priced quilting machines, either with a frame or a sit down version. One of the most reasonably priced one is the Bailey, good price and reputation plus customer service, they will be the company I go with, when I have the space and the money.

I have a Gammill long arm....and I don't suppose the price would be reasonable to a lot of folks; to me, it was worth the price. I bought mine four years ago and have quilted many a quilt on it with no problems (knock on wood!). I would recommend that you pick the one you think you need and then work on trying to find a price you can live with. There are many options out there, lots of deals from various companies, including gently used ones for a lot less than new, but just as good as new. In other words, look around and try them out. You'll find what you're looking for....may take awhile, but it's out there. Good luck!

I have a Janome 6600 and I love it. I am not sure if it is classified as a "quilting machine", but I do quilt on it. I have straight line quilted and I have recently started to play around with FMQ... and even a rookie like me is having some fun... getting a little better every time. For me this was a lot of money to spend on a machine .... actually can't believe I spent the money. And its cheap compared to what other machines I have my eye on :D

I don't have a quilting machine but have several vintage machines which do have large harps. But my favorite is my dinky mechanical brother about ten years old. I'd rather wrestle a quilt in that one than any of the others. I did do a king size stitch near the ditch. It was a struggle but doable. I'm happy with what I have now.

Recently sold a midarm with 9 " throat and bought an HQ Avante 18 with Prostitch pc along with a friend so we split the cost ... LOVE IT ! Three paid gigs, more to come :)

While you are at Paducah, try the Sweet Sixteen, George and the new Charm. I love the control I have with the SS.

Yes, try them all at Paducah, both the long arms and the sit down machines. Which are you more comfortable with ... moving the machine, or moving the quilt sandwich? Consider that when you test drive one of the sit down machines the quilt sandwiches they use to practice on are small, would you feel comfortable slinging around something larger?

Also with the sit down machines, you still have to baste your quilt sandwich together *some how*. My loathing of this task was one of the driving forces behind purchasing a long arm on a frame :)

If your budget is tight, or if you are not 100% sure that you want one of these pricey machines, troll craigs list, e-bay, your local news, and all of the various online boards that specialize is selling used quilting machines. This is the route I took to make sure that I really did want to work with a long arm. I purchased a used Voyager 17" which is a good solid machine, but no bells and whistles. When I grow up I want the Innova with lightning stitch.

I have a friend who owns a Viking Mega quilter 9" throat with stitch regulator and 10' Grace Metal Frame that she used to make 2 baby quilts and for health reasons needs to sell. Let me know if you are interested.
Oh and we both are in So California.

So far only have the long arm table with a 9 in throat machine and a stitch regulator on it.
It was set up by the shop installer and works great. Don't recommend doing it yourself.
Cant wait till I can afford a bigger machine as a 9 in is very limited. Threading and bobbins are a pain to work with besides the quilting area being so small. Loading and reloading is a lot of work.
The stitch regulater is a must have but is expensive.
I would not like a setup where you have to move the quilt, much easier to move the machine.

I have a longarm and also do some free motion quilting on my domestic. For big projects, I choose the longarm, for little things, I more enjoy sitting down and relaxing, being able to move the quilt in any direction because it's not on the frame, so I choose my domestic.

My longarm is 30 inches which gives me far more than enough room. I can't even imagine doing frame quilting on less than 18 inches of throat length.

BTW, my quilter is circa 80's (a Gammill PDQ-30!), has no bells and whistles but I can repair it using parts from Grainger tools. I love it. It is how industrial machines were meant to be! ;-). For awhile I wanted a stitch regulator, but I've heard they can be temperamental. Besides, I prefer that hand-made things have a hand-made look. It doesn't look hand-made when every single stitch is exactly the same length. So now, I shrug about that. I really enjoy my quilter

My back just couldn't take the stand up long arm any longer. My Handi Quilter Sweet 16 is just the ticket for me. All HandiQuilter did is take the stand up long arm machine head and put it in a table. If/when I can no longer quilt, this handi machine can be put on a stand up frame too, even add the computerized quilting program if one wanted. For me it is the perfect choice--easy to use, 16" throat, fast and efficient.

I totally agree to go to the show and try them all--stand up and sit down. That's what I did. The most valuable part was what I learned. My 'dream machine' (Baby Lock) is made by Handi Quilter. That's why I went with the Handiquilter instead.

I don't have a "quilting machine" other than my dsm. I don't do a lot at all. I've tied a few and dsm'd a few. Didn't have the time. When I get around to a couple large ones, I may be sending to my cousin since she has a longarm.

Bailey is super affordable

I have an HQ16 on a 12" frame, and I love it! Someday, I'd like to get one with more throat space, but this works for me! :)

I guess I am just getting old. I am not crazy about piecing. The only thing I machine quilt are Linus blankets that are no bigger than crib size. I make at least 21 Linus quilts a month more and more of which are fleece with a crocheted border. I have looked at long arm machines at quilt shows and I am sorry but they remind me of a sewing factory. I physically couldn't stand and operate one of them for more than 10 minutes without being in real pain. I am in remission from a rare muscle disease, Dermatomyositis, that destroyed or injured most of my bigger muscles, shoulders and hips. While I produce a lot of sewing and quilting work a lot of it is because I am retired with only a husband to take care of that still works fulltime. I have always been fast at everything I do. Every time someone tries to sell me a raffle quilt chance I tell them I have trunks full of them at home. I really do. The last chance I bought to help a friend I won a king size quilt that not only was machine quilted but too big for my bed and the wrong color scheme. I have rose colored carpeting in our only bedroom and the quilt is mostly beige and olive. I do most of my personal quilting by hand. I have also occasionally done hand quilting for other people. Most are not willing to pay anywhere what my time is worth. I am glad that most of you like to piece so that part of quilting stays alive. The quilt show I just attended in Lancaster PA this past weekend had a display of what appeared to be beautiful appliqued quilts. Upon my close inspection I discovered that they where only coverlets. While they were beautifully appliqued they were not quilts. There was no batting or quilting involved. I believe they had some kind of backing to hide the knots etc. involved in embroidery and applique. I believe they were made in Europe.

I agree. I don't have a longarm either, just an older Bernina 1530 that I bought new. I actually quilted my Best of Show queen size quilt on my avatar picture. Also pieced and quilted another watercolor quilt that the Nixon library purchased from me for a fund raiser. I made numerous quilts for the Women's conference at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove.

What you need is good support. Without support, doesn't matter how big of a throat, any quilter will continue to struggle with the weight of a queen size quilt.

I only have my domestic size Bernina. I do have a stitch regulator but the machine itself is regular sized.