dmackey

Mike,

I have done three quilts on the HQ16, using groovy boards, and I really didn't care for them. Very limiting in the designs, and you may need to purchase three or four boards of the same design so that you can continue the line across the whole quilt. As the stylus travels through the grooves, you have to get a good feel for which edge of the groove to travel against for a crisp stitching line, and especially points, such as stars.

Now that my LQS has upgraded to the computer and HQ Fusion, she has the machine rented out for use all the time, and had to purchase a second machine, the Avante. So much better for quilting! We can download designs and really get a custom quilt job done, with very little experience.

Rather than wait for a quilt show, maybe you can call on local quilters who own a machine and see if they will 'show' you their machine and get a feel for what is best suited for your needs. You could get some experienced opinions that way too.

Diane

daisey

What days are those expos...in Des Moines. I was planning on going to that one too, but wasnt sure what the dates were. I am originally from Des Moines. In talked to a sewing technician in a quilt store one day and he works on machines for people and he told me that HQ were great machines and parts were really good on them. That is also a reason I bought a HQ Avante and also made in USA ..that helps.

zz-pd

sorry cant help you. I don't even know what it is. Penny

dljennings

my dd & ddil are going to the sewing expo in worcester ma next month, and even though we are a couple years from getting one, we plan to test drive them all and ask all the questions we can think of...

so we will have a good idea what we want when the time is right