I do mostly quilt, but also make clothes and bags. I have always wanted an embroidery machine and would love to incorporate embroidery into my quilting. Have you used yours much for quilting? I know it's not really longarming on this machine because the throat is so small compared to a longarm. If was 18 inches instead of 12 there would be no hesitation on my part!

The 830 is amazing for embroidery. Besides the jumbo hoop (10" x 16"), the ability to drag and drop on screen, absolute positioning, as well as being able to take any decorative stitch from the sewing side, alter it however you like (turn it 180 degree, stretch it, add more stitches to it, etc) then send it to the embroidery side to be sewn out in the hoop is really, really amazing.

You can download the emulator (onscreen virtual 830) and try the machine out here:
http://www.exnovodesign.com/DOWNLOADS/setup.zip

Also, lots of Bernina webinars showing some of the 830 features here:
http://www.exnovodesign.com/830.html

As for quilting on the 830, no. I have a commercial longarm.

I use mine for quilting all the time and use the embroidery, quilting designs on many of my quilts. It's awesome!!

My two bits are probably not worth as much as listening to ladies who have the machine. I looked at Bernina's 820 to use for quilting and it was really smooth and nice,except you cannot see your needle as it stitches because it sets back under the machine head a bit too much. A longarm has perfect needle visibility. Friends who have a longarm business done some demos on the 820 and told me it stitched beautifully,but felt that the lack of comfortably seeing the needle was a real detriment,so I decided that for all the money and still not having what I would really be comfortable with to opt for the Jamone Horizon and maybe someday have the longarm. This is just some thoughts to consider because buying expensive equipment can be mind-boggling! Good luck in making a choice!

The 830 is a super nice machine but the price is just mind-numbing, to me. And goodness - just getting the machine set up to do something is a chore.

You already have an embroidery machine - did it change your life?

The longarm has the potential to save you a lot of time and enable you to finish many more quilts. Maybe even build a small business. Would that change your life?

It would change mine - I would go for the longarm without even giving the 830 a backwards glance. :)

Candace, I had not even thought about using it to quilt patterns in the hoop on the machine. I think that just might be the clincher in this decision!!! That's like putting a computer on a longarm! With this machine, I wold finally have my embroidery machine, a frame with a short arm, and the capability of quilting computerized designs on my quilt. I will have to practice FMQ too! We had planned on waiting until Oct to purchase but the specials on the LE end 30 June. Guess I am getting a machine very soon! I can always rent a longarm, you can't rent and embroidery machine!
Thank you all for your input!

Yes, the quilting designs on the machine are wonderful. Also, go to the OESD embroidery site and there's a design package (also from Diane G.) called 'Whimsy'. It's $100 or so, but compliments the built in 830 designs nicely.

Hi, I saw that you have the Sweet 16. I have a Bernina 430 and was looking at the Sweet 16, Bernina 730 or 830. Are you still happy with the HQ? I have been machine quilting for over 20 years and just need more room and viability to see what I am quilting. Also, do you stitch in the ditch and use the acrylic 1/4 inch rulers? We have a AQS show in Grand Rapids next week and I have already sat down with one last year and at the dealer. I do like it. Do you use different threads. I currently like to quilt with Bottom Line by Superior or Silk. Thank you for your insight.

Cyndi Anderson
Rochester Hills, MI

I love my 830 - I like to quilt on it, the embroidery unit is awesome. That machine can be very particular about how it is threaded,and the type of thread you use. Wouldn't trade it for anything. I wanted a long arm for quite a while but just don't have room for one. (my husband told me to take over the family room for one) Then I finally decided I didn't want to have to learn yet another process and another machine. Good luck in your decision!