It’s a great machine. If you are getting a good deal, you can always purchase a 10’ or 12’ Studio2 frame later.

I wonder if it is the same machine as the Q'nique 15 and Brother sit down mid arm, (I was told by a dealer that the Brother and Q'nique are the same machine). I would consider it (and the others) if I wanted a machine on a frame

What are you saying that is wasn't the machine for your or that you loved it.

Grace Company told me that the Brother and Q'nique are not the same machine, but Brother wants us to think they are. :o

The Simply 16 is made by Handiquilter, the Q'nique by Grace and the Brother by Brother. I have Q'nique 21 and enjoy working on it.

If you have the money go for a bigger one. I got the 20" Amara HQ and boy is it a wonderful machine, I was sewing on a Husvarna Mega Quilter with a 9" neck. There is a bit of a learning curve but so far I'm OK.

wow. I was told by the Q’nique dealer at a quilt show that they are the same machine. I have brochures for both of them and they look identical. I was guessing one factory made them and put different decals on them. Kind of like brother and babylock.

It's not the money so much as it is the space. I hope I can handle the learning curve!
Thanks for the input.

Wondering why... lyric girl, can you elaborate on what you didn't like?

Handiquilter is a great company to work with. I started long arm quilting on an HQ sixteen 16 years ago. I’ve since upgraded to an Avante. Through the years I have found customer service and tech support very friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and my machines have been a joy to own, work with.

The machine itself is not bad, but the smaller frame really needs to be understood or you'll end up frustrated with the purchase. I would see if you can get credit/swap with the larger frame, especially if you're used to a traditional frame setup.

This small frame has been discussed on the board in recent months. One of the advantages to a traditional long arm frame is that you don't have to baste up a quilt sandwich. With the 5' frame of the Simply Sixteen, Brother Little Foot, and Babylock, you still have to baste, plus now you have to clamp and unclamp the quilt multiple times. The latter isn't all that easy and you aren't able to avoid basting the quilt first.

I would lean more towards a sit-down and large/expandable table if space prevented a 10' or 12' frame or asking for credit towards a larger frame with the machine.

Also take a look at Q'Nique's/Block RockIt's 21" Titan model and compare pricing (and try both it and the HandiQuilter out to see which works best for you).