Originally Posted by rrhaigh

I took a couple of long arm classes when looking for a longarm machine. The teacher told me that the Tin Lizzy's are harder to use and learn on. She said they can be troublesome, but once her students got used to them they were okay, but not easy for a beginner - frustrated her students so much they were not enjoying the process. Handiquilter has a great website and customer support. Most Handiquilter dealers will come out and set up your machine for you and give you a lesson. Check with your dealer to see what their policy is. I have two dealers near me (one south of me and one north of me). One dealer would set it up and give an in home lesson and continued support for the same price as the other dealer who just sent it home with you and you were on your own to set it up and learn. So, check out what your dealers offer.

Originally Posted by caspharm

Definitely buy with dealer backing. I had tried both the Tin Lizzie and the HQ. I would have chosen the HQ over the Tin Lizzie. I was able to afford an Innova, but I definitely considered the HQ over the Lizzie, if I couldn't buy the Innova. The HQ felt like a better machine. When my old LQS started carrying a home LA (they have 2 Gammills in store), they chose to carry HQ's.

One of the LQS's near my house changed from a Tin Lizzie dealer (which they also rented time on the store machine) to a Gammill dealer (also renting time on the store machine after taking a store class).