I have a Tiara 1 which I bought new in late 2012. My husband had to time it when I forgot to tighten the needle and it fell out jamming the machine. My tension is rarely a problem and easy to adjust. I wind my own bobbins with the included external bobbin winder. I use all kinds of thread including variegated serger threads and Gutterman MARA 100. I bought both extensions and just recently added the ankle for easily changing presser feet. I free motion and use quilting rulers. I have MS and could never complete quilts if I had to stand at a long-arm- and wouldn't have room for one anyway. I absolutely love my Tiara and anticipate many more years of enjoyable quilting with it,. I have never had it upgraded and feel no need to do so. If it's not broken, I am not going to fix (change) it!

That's my understanding as well. But then I thought maybe some sit-down machines have been set up like embroidery machines, so the quilting is done in a large hoop.

Thank you all, I drove out to test it and the woman selling it would not let me look at the bobbin when it was making clunking noises and laying down a nest of top thread on back of sandwich. Needless to say, I was disappointed but she did save me money because I think I would have wanted it if I had enjoyed the experience.

I think I am back to quilting on my DSM which I do enjoy but wish I had more space. Sigh!

I found mine on Craigslist, so keep looking! The right one will come along.

Watson

[QUOTE=Darcyshannon;8132209]Thank you all, I drove out to test it and the woman selling it would not let me look at the bobbin when it was making clunking noises and laying down a nest of top thread on back of sandwich. Needless to say, I was disappointed but she did save me money because I think I would have wanted it if I had enjoyed the experience.

I am sad to hear that you had a bad experience with your HQSS test drive. I have owned an HQSS Sit Down machine for several years and absolutely love it. Believe it or not, I previously owned an HQ Long Arm machine and sold it because I never got comfortable with it and was not pleased with the quality of my FMQ. If you already know how to FMQ on a DSM, wherein you move the sandwich to create your designs, then the learning curve is much less than having to adapt to long arm quilting that involves moving the needle rather than the quilt sandwich. Anyways, I am totally in love with my HQSS Sit Down and completely echo the comments made by QB member Coffeecozy. One does need to invest some time in learning how to manage tension .... on any quilting machine. One really nice thing about Handi Quilter is that they provide wonderful customer support. I have called their main headquarters in Utah on more than one occasion and an HQ educator has "walked me through" the problems I was experiencing. Their website is filled with education .... much of which is free, no cost. Though they do have DVDs and classes that you can purchase. i have learned a lot from Angela Walters classes that I purchased from from Craftsy. Her ruler-guided quilting classes are fabulous. I hope that my "pep talk" has encouraged you to keep an open mind about the HQSS Sit Down machine, as I think it is well worth the investment. Happy Quilting!
Nita

The only ones I know of that do this are the very high end domestic machines like a Janome 15000 embroidery machine. Throat size is nowhere near as large as a sit down quilting machine.

Strange that she would not let you look at the bobbin case. I think anytime a seller doesn't let you thoroughly check something out, that's a red flag.

It sounds like the top thread may not have been properly flossed into the tension disks. If so, then that would cause the nesting of the top thread under the sample and would also lead to bobbin case clunking as the excess thread could get caught up when the needle goes down.

I wonder if perhaps the seller just doesn't know enough about the machine and was thinking there was a problem, when it may be easily fixed?

If you have a chance to go to some shows you can test out an HQ Sweet 16 that is properly set up and working to see if you'd like it. That way you'll know what a properly working one feels like if you run across another used one. Be sure and take lots of sandwiches made of the materials you like to use, and also take some of your own threads.

The dealers love it when folks who know how to FMQ ask to play with their sit downs at the shows. I spent several years going to the larger shows near me and asking dealers could I play with their sit downs--- every single one was very accommodating, even when I brought my own materials and threads and asked them could we change out to see if my oddball thick/thin sandwiches and multiple different kinds of threads worked well in their machines.

Good luck with your search. The right machine will turn up.

Rob

Darcy
I have a sit down sweet 16. Used. I’m pretty happy with it but I’m not sure I use it enough to warrant buying it. I got it used a year and a half ago. It was vetted by a sewing machine owner and repair guy. who specializes in these machines.

The previous owner was wonderful. Spending a lot of time with me. Making sure I understood how everything worked. Allowing me play time so I could check out the machine.

If you ever get down to San Diego you can spend a few days playing with my machine. There is a nice Murphy bed in the room next to the sewing studio. :)

Btw The tiara is orientated differently than the sweet 16

I LOVE my Juki 2200QVP sit down. Tons of space, great visibility, and the sewing is happening right there in front of your nose... (almost)! No stitch regulator but I do fine without one. And it has an auto thread cutter like the smaller Jukis. I have the two table extensions, left and right. I bought some hoops but find I still prefer to quilt with my hands (with quilting gloves on). I learned to fmq on my domestic Juki, so the switch to the longarm was pretty seamless, technique-wise.

That's too bad she wouldn't let you check out the bobbin area. It sounds like the top thread wasn't threaded properly like rider mentioned. I don't know where you live but if you're ever in Florida you can come visit and play with mine.