nana4baj

What I like about this machine you can take it off the frame and use it for your sewing machine, it is so fast............... :)

stormatsea45

I don't know why the LA people you talk to have a problem with embroidery on the quilts. I've done a couple and they are very doable. You don't have to spend that much. My suggestion is that you watch the quilt magazines and look for the machine quilting expos. Go to one, they have most if not all of the machines there. You know that they make mid arm machines. You don't have as much quilting space, but you don't spend as much for them either. And you don't need all the bells and whistles to do a nice job of quilting. My Gammill Premier on a home-pro table works great. No stitch regulator, may take a little more learning curve, but not necessary. Edge to edge patterns or pantos will go right over your embroidery, which if it is hand that works and looks great. If you are talking machine embroidery that could be a problem with the dense stitching. Bach to the shows, I ramble, you can test drive all of the and decide what would work and feel good to you and your budget. I wouldn't jump into machine a decision without a lot of research and thought. Oh yes, I have quilted large queens on my DSM and did very well, if you have enough table space to help support the quilt. It is very doable then.

stormatsea45

I don't know why the LA people you talk to have a problem with embroidery on the quilts. I've done a couple and they are very doable. You don't have to spend that much. My suggestion is that you watch the quilt magazines and look for the machine quilting expos. Go to one, they have most if not all of the machines there. You know that they make mid arm machines. You don't have as much quilting space, but you don't spend as much for them either. And you don't need all the bells and whistles to do a nice job of quilting. My Gammill Premier on a home-pro table works great. No stitch regulator, may take a little more learning curve, but not necessary. Edge to edge patterns or pantos will go right over your embroidery, which if it is hand that works and looks great. If you are talking machine embroidery that could be a problem with the dense stitching. Bach to the shows, I ramble, you can test drive all of the and decide what would work and feel good to you and your budget. I wouldn't jump into machine a decision without a lot of research and thought. Oh yes, I have quilted large queens on my DSM and did very well, if you have enough table space to help support the quilt. It is very doable then.
PS Just thought that some of the DSM companies are now making machines with long spaces between the needle and the motor especially for quilting. Another thing to consider. :lol:

MarieM

I would ask myself how many of these quilts will I make and quilt is a specific time period...say 1 year? Depending on that answer I would base my decision on that. I would also look at different LA services. Many will do custom work at usually .03 cents per square inch, yes that's a lot of money but if you are only doing 1 or 2 quilts a year that large and aren't planning on doing quilting for others to off set the cost it may be worth it to pay to have it done.

Do you have room for a quilting machine and is that really something you want to learn to do? It does take a bit of practice and commitment.

The person you spoke with about the quilting apparently only does edge to edge pantographs but there are a lot of people who do beautiful custom work. I know Chrisma on this blog had posted photos of some gorgeous work she has done for clients and I'm sure there are several more.

Good luck and let us know what decision you make.

collady

Look for a different long-armer. I have a friend who has no problems working with embroidery. She does custom work, not an all over pattern. She charges a little more for the custom work, but it is well worth the little extra money for the beautiful work she does.

DanaNVa

I tried out long arms at shows and then got mine through the mail from Sewing Machines Plus. They ran a special -- 18" Queen Quilter, frame, laser, shipped for $5000 and they finance. I buy the rails at Home Depot (electrical conduit) and cut them to the size I need. The Queen Quilter is a Tin Lizzie and the frame is made by Grace.It took my nephew and I a weekend to set it up, and yes, it takes a lot of room, because you will need to walk al the way around it. A king size did not fit into my 10X14' room. The computer would be another $5000 -- go figure when you can buy a capable laptop for less than $1000. It also comes with a CD to show how to assemble it and leaders (that you put on the rails and pin the quilt parts to). Just another option to consider.

dorrell ann

I wanted a longarm but the price was the problem -and for just being a hobby could not justify it for the cost - instead I bought a New Joy quilt frame and a Babyloc quilters machine-this is concidered a mid-arm machine-I have had it for 5 years - but.... if I had to do it over I think I would go with a longarm that you sit down with on a large table- it is half the cost of a regular longarm.

soccertxi

I would do my homework before I purchased a long arm. I had a smaller system with a B-line frame and a JukiTL98Q and then upgraded to a used HQ16. It was a sit down model that I put on the trolley of the B-line. It was a good system, but I was ready to move up to a true long arm. I searched for about 6 months and found a used one local to me. It fit my budget and no shipping. I think the B-line frame was good for me. I learned how to troubleshoot, that long arming is a PROCESS..and that I would not be able to just do award winning quilting right out of the chute. I have had my Gammill for 2 years and just starting to quilt for others.

Test drive all the machines you can get your hands on. Ask around on this board to find a long armer that does the kind of quilting you are looking for. Good luck!

caspharm

Is there a place where you could rent a LA? That way you could quilt your quilt your way as well as see if you really want to purchase one or if you even like to LA. It is a big investment in money as well as space, so I understand your question.

I rented for several years learning on a Nolting (no stitch regulator) and then going to a Gammill (no stitch regulator) [the shop owners switched]. This worked well since I had no room at the time.

We have since moved and after trying out several different machines at shows and dealers, I have purchased an Innova with Lightening Stitch. I can't wait to get it, because I have several tops waiting to be done and I want to do them myself.

I love the entire process of both piecing and LA quilting, but it is all a personal choice of doing it yourself or shipping it out.

quilter1943

Have you thought about quilting each block separately? I've been doing more of that for larger quilts with pieced blocks. It would still be a lot to handle when you sew them together but probably managable. Also don't understand about not doing embroidery on a LA. Space is the my big issue with having one of my own.