For me the straw that broke the camels back was basting. I baste by hand and I LOATHE it. That said, I hated everything about basting by spray, glue, and pins. Basting just sucked the love out of quilting no matter how it was done.

I also had issues with quilting on my domestic. Sore shoulders and neck ... I would have to visit the chiropractor for several weeks after finishing each quilt. So I started looking at the sit down long arms and test drove them and LOVED them and I was >< this close to buying the Sweet 16 and then I remembered ... basting.

So I bought a long arm and moved it in to my husbands shop.

The down-side is that it's not at home so I really don't use it as often as I should. The up-side is that I don't have to baste. I really hate basting.

oh yes, the basting! so glad not to do that anymore that I put it right out of my mind ;-)

I am going to retire in 2 years and my husband decided I needed my retirement gift now! I got a HQ Avante. It will be here next week. I don't have room either - but who needs a big dining room when all the
kids have moved away

I'm trying to decide between a Sweet Sixteen and an Avante, so I'll be interested to hear about your experiences. I'm torn between the two of them!

For me, it was a quilt I fought with. It was lap size size, not really that large, but a million pieces (Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay, to be exact). And HEAVY. I fought that thing through my machine - figured I'd take the "easy" route and stitch diagonal lines on it. Hah! Half-way through I said to myself "never again", and went out and bought a long arm (Handi Quilter Avante) the next week. Had it in my hands within a month and haven't used my domestic for quilting since. Yes, I did finish Orca Bay on the domestic machine before the longarm arrived.

Of course, I have since realized that diagonal cross hatch on the long arm isn't that much easier So I've adjusted my quilting patterns to fit the machine.

Tried one out at my dealer's and was hooked. She called me when they got one in from a trade, so I got a used machine from a dealer with a warranty. having said that I really wish I had done more research, I think I may have gone with a different machine.

I could have written this myself. I have a Janome 6600 and plan to get a Sweet 16 when I return to the US. Even though I haven't purchased yet, the decision for me to do so was that I spent so much time carefully piecing a beautiful quilt top, and then it looked all amateur hour when it came to the quilting. I made 11 (lap top sized) quilts, so I would expect to see more improvement than I saw. I felt like I was becoming limited by my machine. I want something dedicated that I can go to each time and know what to expect. Also, I want the extra room so that I don't feel like I'm wadding up the quilts I'm working on. I spray baste, and I always cringe when I wad it through the machine thinking things are shifting in the process.

how do you feel about basting your quilts?

I have a fair amount of room on my big Elna, about 9 1/2" but it's not nearly big enough. I have no choice though to keep on quilting with it, since I don't have the room for either a frame or a sit down quilting machine, but when we eventually put/build a larger home, a Bailey is what I'll be getting.

You might also look at George - http://www.apqs.com/machines/george/