Soon to be new Longarm Owner Question
 

I finally decided to make the move from a Sweet 16 Sitdown machine to a Longarm set up. I went to the dealer and spent a day quilting a 36" wholecloth quilt I had drawn spaces onto for borders etc to give it a test drive, trying familiar fmq patterns to me going in different directions etc. Tried using my straight edge ruler too. Of course they showed me how to load a quilt etc in the process. It was a great way to really get a sense of how I might like it and to see the differences in approach from one type in machine to the other. I put a deposit down to hold the sale pricing til I could finalize the sale in a few weeks. I obviously enjoyed it, as I put my deposit down! Here's what a learned: 1) It was a very humbling experience to go from moving the quilt to moving the machine and maintain the control and accuracy level I've gained quilting on my Sweet 16! But I think I can get there with practice. Definitely need practice doing border designs in different orientations!! 2) it's an absolute joy not to have to baste the quilt sandwich before being ready to quilt! 3) stitch regulation is going to be nice to have 4) it's easier to use template ruler 5) it quilted up quicker and lastly I'm going to have to learn how plan my quilting to work within the throat space of the machine to achieve better efficiency, as it seemed I had way more stops and starts than I do on my Sweet 16. And this is where my question comes in...what tips or tricks do you have for me in that regard? My new machine is a 22" APQS Lennie. I've chosen this machine for several reasons, namely there is a great dealer here in Canada accessible by me, it's a light weight machine so easier for me to wield and I have zero intentions of quilting for compensation so wanted to keep the cost down and I was impressed with its ease of use. The machine I test drove was actually a 26" model and while it's nice to have the throat space, I didn't feel comfortable with reaching to use it. But now I'm worried 22" is going too be tight for the style of quilting I like to do, ie custom quilting, and or big continuous designs. Am I worrying too much? Ugh.

22" is a great size. Do you have room for 26", $$ for it?, can you reach across? I have an HQ Avante and it is a good size for me--I am 5'3". If you really like this one then get it. That is a key point, if you don't feel comfortable with it you won't use it. This is for YOUR pleasure. I love my longarm, and yes it takes some practice and time to get it mastered (if you ever do!!!!). At times I think it masters me!

Ugh, I should have said its a 20" machine not 22".

Good choice........have had apqs for many yrs...no probs.......

I think you want at least 22" in order to easily quilt on-point 12" blocks.

I have a 26" Tin Lizzie long arm on a 12' frame and it's not a problem to reach any area of the quilt. If you have front and rear handles you can work on either side of the quilt. I've had it 4 years and have never had a problem with it.

well that's good to know! What size is your machine? I really wish they had one between 20" and 26". When I test drove the one in the store it was the Lucey 26" and I found it a challenge to control the weight. It got better as the day went, but didn't feel comfortable at the time working with my arms stretched out to reach. Not to mention the Lucey is quite a bit more money.

I'm going with a 12' table land it has front and rear handles so I have the option to do pantos.

Unfortunately they don't make a 22". The next size is 26", which I found a bit heavy to control. Don't know if I can overcome that with practice.

An Avante is an 18" throat correct? So how do you find it managing the 12" blocks on point for example? I have yet to make a quilt on point, but still curious how much of a pain it would be.