Ghoney

PaperPrincess,

Thank you for the idea of a strong bar, had not considered that. I have thought about the "room" that this will require, still haven't totally decided the room yet.

Thanks for your input!

Ghoney

bearisgray,

I hope as you have pointed out that I am sure some machines have become a collection area. I really do not intend to do work for others. The question of how many quilts is a good one, I hope to do many, many of them.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Ghoney

Snooze 2978,
Thank you for sharing how you went through your process. My plan - hope is to make just one large purchase and then possibly add accessories to the model I go with, if I need to. Customer service is important. I live outside the Omaha area and have gone to an APQS roadshow, it was fun. I have not played with any other long arm machine as yet.

Thanks again for sharing.

Battle Axe

I bought a Grace Pro with a Janome 1600 QP and a broken stitch regulator. Never could get that together.

Then I bought my quilting mentor's APQS Milli with bells and whistles, but no computer. I began using pantgraphs and sold some quilts. But I have a hip that is talking to me. I need the computer if I am to continue.

Age is a factor. Good Luck.

Marcia

dunster

I had been quilting just two or three years when I purchased my 26" Innova on a 12' frame. Like you, I wanted to finish my quilts myself. I've been entirely happy with the purchase. Before I got the longarm I quilted my larger quilts in sections on my DSM. I hated the layering process, and even though I was quilting in sections my shoulders and back were sore after quilting for any length of time. I convinced myself that I would recoup the money invested in the longarm by not sending the quilts out to be quilted by someone else. I think that has been true, but it's probably not a good reason for buying a longarm.

All of the people I've known who purchased a true longarm (18" or larger throat) made by a major company (e.g. Innova, APQS, HandiQuilter) have been happy with their purchase, whether their machine sits on a frame or is a sit down model. From what I've observed, those who start out with machines with smaller throats or lesser quality frames usually get frustrated and upgrade at some point.

Dolphyngyrl

I purchased a long arm last year. I toyed with different setups for quite some time but I eventually chose a handiquilter avante and have never regretted my decision just wish i had more time to play

TheMerkleFamily

I'm eager to follow this thread as I ever-so-slowly prepare to buy a long arm myself.. I've made great strides learning to FMQ on my DSM during my first year of quilting but know it's inevitable I will make the investment into either a sit-down or stand-up long arm.

One thing I'm doing is taking the full day Long Arm Quilting 101 class at the AQS Quilt Week in Virginia Beach this October - the class is sponsored by Handi Quilter and is taught by a well experienced LA'er whom I'm sure will share nuggets of info on what to look for. I look forward to spending several hours on one of their machines. I'm sure I will then want to rent time on others to compare. I'm in no hurry and plan to get as much time on various machines over the next few years as I possibly can. Of course, that's if I don't do something silly and impulsive

Thank you to all those experienced for sharing such great info! And good luck Ghoney on your quest to find what works best for you

Christine

granky

I have a 'sit down' Tin Lizzie and have never had a moment when I was sorry for the investment. It requires the quilt to be moved instead of the machine, but that becomes easier with a bit of practice....Love my Tin Lizzie Queen Quilter 18!

Jingle

Never considered a long arm, because I don't have the room and don't want to take the time to learn something new.

My two 9" throat machines have enough room for anything I want to quilt.

pewa88

I was in the same situation as you 15 years ago. I could not afford to continue to pay a longarmer to quilt my tops. Because of chronic shoulder problems using my DM was out of the question. So...I bought a used Proto Stitch Wizard and she was a workhorse and served me well. I started having some problems with it last fall and since the Proto company went out of business I was not able to find any parts or anyone who could service my machine. My oh my did I agonize over my dilemma since I am on the other end of my quilting journey (old lol). I started asking all the questions that you have floating around in your mind. I then sat down and figured out how many quilts I will make on into the future and realized that a new machine, as expensive as they are, would pay for itself over time. So, I got an Innova 21 with a 12 foot frame and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Several reasons I went with Innova was that a dealer was 2 hours from me and the resale value of the machine is excellent. It is a wonderful machine and I really enjoy quilting on it. FM longarm quilting is not that difficult. If you choose to get one you will soon be able to quilt tops that look beautiful with just simple overall designs. Good luck with your decision making.