Favorite long arm machine
 

My dream for a while has been to have a long arm machine. I was into the local Babylock dealer and she talked about and showed me the Babylock Regalia. There was a lady in the store who owns one and is very happy with it. She says it has a lovely stitch. The other local dealers are Bernina and Juki/Pfaff/Brother.
I would love to hear from long arm owners about their machines, what machines they like or don’t like.
There are dealers for some other machines a few hours north and west of me.
I live in Washington.
Thanks so much for your input.

I started out with the Viking MegaQuilter 9" in 2005-6, added a PCQuilter robotic system and then added their maxthroat to add depth to how much I could quilt before having to advance the quilt. Didn't work for me all that well though I've heard others liked their system. I loved the Viking though as I could use any thread and never had a problem with tension ever. Then I tried my friend's stretched Juki 98Q with an 18" throat, loved it and the throat depth so got a regular 98Q and sent it off to be stretched during the time I was moving from Florida to Iowa. Used it on the same Grace Pro frame 10ft but had changed over to a PCQ retrofitted MQR system (robotics). Used that till I tried my hand at a number of quilt machines at my 1st ever Quilt Show in DesMoines. Fell in love with the Innova 26". Never looked back but have changed to the IQ robotic system now. Love that too. It basically is what feels good to you so try as many machines as possible to see what feels right under your hands.

You say longarm, but do you really mean midarm? The longarms are generally thought of as 18" or longer. Midarms are between 9"-18".

For longarms, you just can't beat an Innova. I have a lot of quilting friends who have upgraded from Tin Lizzie, Homesteader, Nolting, Voyager, APQS, just about every brand out there, and when they get to Innova they stop looking. Only one quilter hasn't switched from her Gammill and I'm pretty sure it's because she spend so much on that setup!

Where in Washington are you? It might be worth the drive to go to Boersma's in McMinville, south of Portland, and play on their Innovas. They have classes you can take that will give you hours to play and practice on the machines, really give them a thorough test drive and check out all the available features and sizes.

Curious about the "stretching" of your Juki 98. Had never heard about that possibility before. Where did you send it to have the work done? Was it expensive?

Another happy Innovian here.

Not 100% sure but I believe the Babyloc midarms and longarms are just rebranded Handiquilters with a higher price for the name.

Had the honor of test driving the Bernina Q24. It did make a beautiful stitch and moved like butter on the rack but IMHO it is overloaded with high end tech that can only be repaired by a dealer. You have no access to your upper tension nor the check spring. Upper tension is adjusted digitally via on board computer. Bernina domestic machines need to be brought to dealer for regular routine servicing (or at least manufacturer recommends they should be) Don't know if they have the same recommendations for their longarms but that would be a major inconvenience. The stitch regulator is laser light so no encoders to run on the rails but what happens if that laser light goes out mid quilt? Didn't appear to be anything the user could easily change on their own when I gave the machine a once over. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Bernina. My domestic machine is a Bernina and I really did love the way the Q24 moved and its stitch quality but I just didn't want to be left high and dry should anything go wrong. I like a machine I can possibly fix and get up and running myself on my time table, not a dealers. In addition removing the 74lb machine head from the rack every time it needs a "routine maintenance" and transporting it to a dealer is not an idea I relish. I also was a bit put off that everything, and I mean everything was extra (more $$) for the Q24. Want rear handles, oh you have to buy those. Laser light? Nope not included.

Innova still has a lot of mechanical features so users can do many things on their own once trained. Like reset the timing, completely swap out the tension assembly or replace the check spring, adjust the needle bar height easily and many other things. ABM (Innova's manufacturer) empower's their users, does not make them dependent because sometimes a dealer can be several hours away. They are not finicky about thread. Mine has taken any thread I have thrown at it in combination with different bobbin threads. ABM aftermarket support is bar none. They have 24/7 technical support line on the phone. A tech will get back to you on Christmas Day if you call. More and more big name show quilters are switching over to Innova machines because of the quality of the stitch and the Lightning Stitch Regulator (no one big stitch when you first start). Also the basic start up package includes front and rear handles, a laser light, and several other goodies and if you are one to wheel and deal, I bet you could get the dealer to maybe even throw in a ruler foot or open toe foot. The Innova has a feature I don't think any other LA has, which is a swivel head. You can swivel the machine head to the side so it comes off the rack without having to disassemble the rack. It also makes swapping out feet a breeze and comes in handy for installing the spectre LED/blacklight lighting unit (can't imagine being without mine) if you decide to buy that down the road.

well it is just like many things we have lots of choices and it is personal choices as to what you want. I would try them all out and get the one you have a good time using. Also price plays a part in the choice.

Like Suz and Peggi, I have an Innova and love it. Mine is a 26" on a 12' frame, without robotics, but I added lightning stitch and some other upgrades last year, things that weren't available when I first bought my machine. One of the nice features of the Innova is that it can be upgraded when new features come out. I'm noticing a number of friends switching over to Innova, but I have yet to hear of someone leaving Innova for another brand.

When I had an inheritance to spend I tried out several machines at the sewing expo. For the money I wanted to spend, Gammill was my first choice but the salesman put me off, plus so much of the extras were extra $$. Handi Quilter was my second choice. I went home to think about it and fell into a great deal from a local HQ dealer on a slightly used machine. I love my Avante and have no regrets, in fact I'm glad now that I didn't suck it up and buy the Gammill.
You don't say where in WA you are, but there are HQ dealers all over the state. If you're anywhere in SW WA, Cathy Moore in Rochester(Cathy's Classy Quilts) is fantastic.

Cari

I must give an amen to the Innova. I have an Innova 22 on a 12 foot frame and I love my machine. Dealer support is fantastic and the Lightning Stitch feature is worth every penny. Another selling point is the resale value, excellent. If you do some checking around many longarmers are switching from their well loved machines to Innovas but you cannot find a used one to buy. JMHO

I like my handiquilter. All have their pros and cons. My dealer sells hq, the juki longarm, ane qnique/dreamquilter so those were my choices. I do like the bernina but didn't like threading or price. One of my dealers just barely started selling gammil so i tested my few choices and went with hq