Would you upgrade a quilting machine without trying it?
 

You may remember my "what to look for in a quilt machine thread" where I narrowed down some features to look for and was planning to go at the end of May to start testing machines out. Lockdown for in person shopping is May 20th but there is a good chance they will extend it to the end of May, I'm in Ontario.

I was looking to try a:
Viking Brilliance 75Q $3500
pfaff Quilt expression 710 $3200
pfaff Quilt expression 720 $3900
And I was going to look at a place that sells Janome but they don't post their machines online.

Yesterday the quilt shop posted a video stating that sewing machines usually go on sale April/May in anticipation of Quilt Canada and they usually get a huge selection of sales. But this year they only got one flyer with 2 machine in it because of covid and supply issues.

Ladies, the viking Brillance 75Q is one of them. It's on for $2600! My initial budget was $3000 so it really fits!!

Problems/pros/cons: I can't go in during lockdown to try it out. She said in the video it will likely sell fast. I don't know how fast but I would hate to wait until July (like my original plan so I could save) and find out I love it and have to pay full price. They open soon and will likely be willing to do a zoom video to show me but on a Saturday this may be hard and I have to wait until next week...what if they sell out!?

My DSM is a viking emerald 118 and I LOVE it so a Briallance can't be that different right?

As I type this I am itching to just pull out my credit card and just order it today....

Would you buy something untested? In my situation?

I'm kinda looking for enablers but if this is a bad idea you gotta tell me.

I believe in serendipity and it seems that the right thing came up at the right time...

From your first post, it certainly fits all your requirements.

Are you desperately in need of buying the machine right now or is this a "I'm bored with the lockdown and want to buy something" idea? If you aren't needing it immediately, I'd just wait a while until I can try out the machine. Its a lot of money to pay for something that you aren't sure you'll like. .

And definitely consider whether or not the shop will service the machine and have classes. New machines aren't like the vintage ones. There are a lot of ins and outs to using them. I've always takent the guide classes for my machines. There are things I learned in the guide classes for my Bernina's that have proved invaluable over the years.

I think they hire someone to fix machines, so you can bring in a machine and leave it for a couple weeks and I think the guy comes every week or two?

They always teach you how to use a machine you purchase but that may be zoom due to covid.

Not bored. I stopped quilting for four years and with covid I started up again. I realized that part of the reason I had quit was i had outgrown my machine and it wasn't meeting my needs/wants anymore. I went in just before Christmas to ask questions but I didn't really know what to ask/look for so didn't order one.

I got a new to me out of the box Viking Topaz 40 and while the topaz had been out for a while it is still being made and importantly, this was what they actually had in stock at the time. Well anyway, I went to sewingmastery .com and they have done a ton of videos on various viking models...and yep....they have done some on the Brilliance. So you might want to watch a few of them! I think it will be a bit different from the emerald as it can do a lot more.

Ahhhh! Just watched some of the videos for the Brilliance. OH my, it will take you a while to outgrow this machine. Now I am kicking myself cuz I got the topaz. My Bad. I told that dealer I wanted one that would do what my old D1 would do...and he suggested the the topaz cuz it would do that and a bit more. I also wanted a smaller machine. But watching the videos, the Brilliance would have been sweet and do even more. It is a bigger than the topaz 40

Interesting. I don't know that I've ever "outgrown a machine". I still have my mom's machine that I learned to sew on. It's one of my favorites machines to piece on.

No I would not. You never know if it will fit your needs or leave you in the same place you already are.

Well I just bought it over the phone.

I talked to the owner on the phone and she said when at work she always uses the Brilliance 75q and uses a different one at home. She is also buying one with the sale and was able to give me lots of personal insights on the machine and why she loves it. She said it's better than the expression 710 but the 720 was on par with the brillance but in some ways was better. But not $900 better ya know? We talked about my needs/wants it it just felt so right.

She also told me that she suspects they are renaming it the sapphire 75 and that's why it's so cheap. She had already sold 3 since yesterday.

It will be in within 2 weeks and she will do in person training and I can go in for machine help/demos for life. I am finishing up 3 quilt tops and will use them as guinea pigs when it arrives!

Yeah mine I can't really do free motion quilting and I really want to start trying that, even for the practical reasons - I just made a 12" dresden block quilt and I'm at a loss how to quilt them as SITD wont work in the flowers. I also have wanted to do some applique pieces and can't as there are hardly any stitches on my machine. And with 5.5" throat space it's challenging to do bigger quilts.

Congradulations! You will have fun....and also have a few monuments of frustration as you go through the learning curve for a new fancy machine. I got two new machines within a short period of each other. The Viking Topaz 40 and the Bernina 590. Just shaking my head at myself. but both of my older machines went down and I had so many extra feet ect for them, that I had to get new ones so as to use the extra feet. Oh my. My first new Bernina 570 I struggled with and finally traded her in for the 590. I really think that first one was a lemon and so far I am loving both the Topaz and the 590. They both do embroidery so I actually may have them both running at the same time.

No way would I buy a machine that expensive without putting it through it’s paces first. As much as you want it at a good price, that’s an impulse buy. Too many unanswered questions without trying it out first. Is it really noisy? Is it heavy to move? Does it feel comfortable? Quilting doesn’t need more than a simple straight-stitch machine with maybe a few decorative stitches, a buttonholer and maybe a feed dog drop if you want to do FMQ. I’ve got an expensive machine and I’ve never used any of the “bells and whistles”. Once it dies I’ll get something much, much simpler and a whole lot less expensive.

Just wait. It will go on sale again.

I am now of the opinion that one machine just does not cut it anymore. But that is because I really, truly, like to do a lot of different things with my machines. I have had times when I have loved doing the embroidery, made a lot of cute little wall hangings, lace ornaments for the Christmas tree, lace book marks. And then I got into doing machine applique, again a lot of wall hangings and I did all my blanket stitching by machine and some free motion quilting with the BSR on the Bernina, and of course, currently my favorite is piecing quilts. So I have a good simple machine (but that is mostly for going to retreats and classes if we ever get to go again), the two machines that can do embroidery as well as utility stitching, a serger which is mostly a utility type machine for me but works really well when I am shortening pants or working with stretch materials. And the Longarm....which for me is basically a utility machine as I do not like doing the custom type quilting on the longarm but really like doing my own quilting on bed quilts. saves my knees and as I have done over 60 quilts on it, actually has paid for itself.

Congratulations on your new machine! I bought a TOL embroidery machine online 20+ years ago. Best thing I ever did. Took it out of the box and started using it. Still going strong.

Congratulations, you've bought a great machine. You already have a Viking so you are familiar with it, machine feet will fit either machine. I have two Vikings, different models, and am very pleased. You got a great deal and I'm sure you'll have many hours of great fun.

Good luck, enjoy the new machine! I love my Husqvarna Viking Ruby Royale....

Simple answer- no, probably not
with the prices as high as they are I really want to try them out, test drive as many as possible before making a decision- a big part of my decision is also based on local GOOD service, free owners classes, free first cleaning. ( my upgrade included free cleanings/ tune ups for the first 3 years and along with free new owners classes I can stop in any time and talk about any issues or work out a problem I’m having with them. They are great at the local level and the company itself although very long distance has great customer and tech service has helped me with tension issues and a few other things over the phone.

Congrats on the new machine!

I've owned 2 machines since I took up sewing again about 15 years ago. Both bought sight unseen online since there aren't many close places to buy them. This past year I took my machine in for work (and didn't get it fixed- I wound up listening to the wonderful people here and fixed it myself with a new bobbin case for only $35 compared to the few hundred I already spent on cleaning/repair work which did nothing) and to look at what new machines they have, they had 2 and a third in a box. They're a Janome dealer with not a single one in the shop to try out. The second closest shop is still pretty far from me and they might have a few to try out, but not really the two I'm looking at. Shopping local isn't really possible for me unless I could travel many hours, which I can't. So yes, my next machine will also be bought unseen/untested. It's just a slight upgrade from what I have so I assume I'll like it, just like I assumed I'd like this one, and I do love it. At the time I had never even heard of Jamone brand and bought it anyway. Crazy I know!

Have fun with it!