Has anyone purchased a Sunshine 16 Series machine by Pennywinkle Valley Ranch. They were at a quilt show in PA in Sept.'10 but I never got to try it out. I am interested in just doing wall hangings and small projects. Large projects goto one of our guild members. This company is located in Waverly Tennessee. What should I look for in a small machine quilting machine. Do they have programs for sewing the special designs or does it just take practice. I have a small 12 year old bernina and don't think I have the patience to try to work with it for quilting. Mostly straight stitching the quilts together is all I use it for.
Would appreciate some input. I do have a Bernina dealer near me but looking for other options.
This Sunshine machine has a 32x48 table and would work well in my sewing area . It suppose to retail for $2095. It seems to be a new company and that is my concern.
Thanks

Pennywinkle has had frames for some time. I was considering this machine because of price, but was able to find an older version of my 1st choice 'Homesteader' second hand. I think it comes down to price, options wanted and most important customer service for all of us that get this type of machine.

Good luck on your hunt!

I would also like to find out more on these machines, that price is in my budget range.

I saw and bought one at our Quiltfest. I ordered in Nov. There was a 3 month back order but I was aware of that at the time I placed the order. So I still do not have it. I did play with it at Quiltfest and went to their shop to use it a little more. It does not have some of the bells and whistles that others have but it was in the price range I could afford and believe it will work for my low key needs.

I have the Pennywinkle Sunshine 16, and really like it. I have mine on one of their older (2004) model frames. I was using a Brother 1500 on the frame and only had about 6-8" quilting space. The 16 can be bought with a new frame compatible to its neck length, but I opted to put it on my older frame. I did not want to go to the hassel of getting rid of the old frame and moving in another. With the 16 on the older frame I get about 10" quilting space which is quite adequate for me.

I got the machine in Dec. of last year and only got to play with it awhile before I had surgery this year. However, once I got up and running I have really put it through it's paces.

Pennywinkle does not have a "formal" training program, but I have just put scads of muslin on the machine and practiced. Watch some of the videos on You Tube or get some of the pros videos and just practice, practice, practice.

One of the things I would caution you is that tension setting is tricky. Don't be afraid to "turn" the dials and play with the tension til you learn it. Also my machine is set up in an older building and environmental issues (dry atmosphere that let's static build up) bothered me until I came across the Magic Bobbin Washers. They are teflon washers that go in the bobbin case (use the case without the spring) and won't let the static build up on the bobbin as it turns. Without the washer when the static releases as you quilt it makes "bird's nests" on the bottom of the quilt. They work for me. You can get them several places on the internet.

The makers of the machine are great people to work with and I recommend the machine highly.

Hi. Now that you've had the Sunshine 16 for a few months, do you still like it? I'm thinking of getting one myself but haven't been able to find many folks who've used it so I really would like to know what you think? Thanks.
Barb H.

Well, it took a bit of searching, but here is a website for the machine. I hope it is ok to post it here.

http://www.sunshine16.com/Home_Page.html

It sure isn't as sleek and pretty as some of the machines. I had never heard of this machine before now, and am forever curious.


Hmm, this is strange, found the site, peeked a bit then came back here straight away to tell you all about it. No it says the site is unavailable. Did we crash it with our enthusiasm?

I have been pretty happy with it. Not a lot of bells and whistles but a strong motor, good frame. Does what I need it too do at a reasonable price.

Thanks for checking things out for me. I've been on that website a number of times but I would like to hear from someone whose had experience actually using the machine. That way I would know better how it runs and how good is the customer service. So if anyone out there in blogland can help me, I sure would appreciate it. :)
Barb

My Sweet Husband bought me Sunshine for Xmas last year and I was so excited and thrilled that I couldn't wait to use it. Its been 3 months and I still have issue with the threads breaking, tension, etc. I already had it in shop and also they came to my house to work on it. Finally, they got it everything 'right setting' and they watch me how I did it then I started to practice on it for few days, it was acceptable but not Great. Decided to try again with a quilt - I couldn t get thru the first row without thread breaking or bad sewing. Sad to say after 3 months of pure frustration and stress that Im sending it back. Heartbreaking part is I was unable to use it to finish a Special quilt (less than a month to make this 'comfort' quilt) for my dad - so I did not finish it in time and he never saw it as he past away recently. I wish the company good luck bec the price is afford and seems to be a wonderful thing but sadly not for me.