I have been toying with the idea of getting a long arm quilter . I was going to upgrade my Designer 1 then thought that it might be a better idea to get a 2nd machine instead.
I’m getting to the point with my sewing where I have ideas, and no way to “bring them to life” ….
I have tried and tried but I can’t get my Designer 1 to work with free motion quilting (read lots and lots of tutorials, I just think the machine wasn’t made for this)…
SOOO… this brings me to where I need help from all of you…
I pretty much no NOTHING about long arm quilters… I don’t even know where to start looking for information/brands/features etc…
-What do you have? Do you like it?
-What features should I be looking for?
-Any brand recommendations?
Any ideas or help that you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I’m just in the beginning stages of looking, I have no idea if it’s even possible to get one, but thought I’d see what my options are….
Thanks!!
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My mom has one Melissa. She loves it. I’ll give her your email and she can tell you al about it. :)
I have a Voyager 17 with a stitch regulator on a Hinterberg Stretch frame that I bought used off of Craigslist and I love it! It was reasonably priced (compared to some of the others) and has allowed me to do whatever I want. If I was going to get a brand new one however, I would look at an Innova. They seem to have all the features of a Gammell without the huge price tag. Good Luck!
I would absolutely LOVE to have you come by for a test drive of my two APQS longarm machines. I offer a free pre-orientation session on two different sizes of longarm quilting machines made by APQS, the Millennium and the Lenni. My guess is the Lenni would be a perfect fit for you. Give me a ring and come and play! *FYI I am an APQS dealer so, yes, my opinion is a tad biased. :) Call me at (502) 509-4739
I have had in the past a Handiquilter. Loved it and it was easy to use!
I have an HQ16 by Handi quilter. I have had it for almost 6 years now, and have really loved it. I think they are affordable (considering) and they have improved their machine a lot since I purchased mine. I quilt almost everyday and have had very little problems. Would love to answer any questions, if I can.
My MIL has one and LOVES it. The one she has takes up MOST of a room, so you definitely need would need to have the space for it, but it does a beautiful job. She has now started doing the quilting on toppers for friends as a business!
I guess it depends on what is available in your area, and how easily they can be serviced, I know they are the things that I am looking at, and I am pretty keen on a Pffaf model,and following up on that, so I am keen to hear what others advise you! Good luck
My mom has a Tin Lizzie Eighteen and while it does what she wants it to do, she wouldn’t buy one again. Of course, it was very affordable comapared to the other ones but she is at the point where she feels like she got what she paid for and wishes she had gone with one of the other brands and spent a little more.
Thanks for the tutorials. Love your site. Linda
Hi, my name is John. My wife and I used to sell the Gammil machine and now sell the Innova. We have great service, offer three days of formal training free in our training center in St George, Utah and would love to have you come in. Check out what we are about on our web site,terylloy.com, Look at our video and see all of the benefits of owning one of our machines. Have a great weekend and give us a call at 435-817-4159, John
i love your blog! my quilter has a long arm and said it cost as much as a car. i saw one at joanns for three grand. what a dream! good luck!
I too have a D1 and could never do machine quilting successfully. I then got the Bernina with the Bsr. Great for small projects but difficult with anything bigger than lap size-although it can be done. I just bought a juki with a little gracie 2 frame. The juki has a 9″ throat-certainly not a long arm- but the set up allows me to do quilts for myself more easily and the whole setup was less than $1800. The juki is a work horse and fun and simple to use. The frame took a while to set up but very nice to use. I am very pleased with my purchase!
I own an Innova 26″ – I purchased mine from John and Teryl :) I see that John has responded to you. I love my machine. And the service is great. Kristi
From what I know the Statler brand is “top of the line” but they are $50,000.00ish! Pretty steep, but if you use it as a business it will eventually pay for itself.
Hi,
Just thought you might like this link that is about getting a long arm quilter from some pretty well known quilters. They have a blog post about this issue here: http://craftnectar.com/2009/10/16/so-you-think-you-want-a-long-arm-quilting-machine-do-you/
My name is Leona Harden. I own a Tin Lizzie. I’ve had it for almost 2 years. I’ve been quilting for 3 1/2 years. A few weeks ago I won Best of Show -Wall Quilt at Smoky Mountain Quilter’s show in Maryville, TN See our slide show at: smokymtnquilters.com/quiltshow.htm
Please go to : http://leonahardensquiltstudio.blogspot.com
I only just started blogging this week. I have a unique quilting style using embroidery thread.