For me the straw that broke the camels back was basting. I baste by hand and I LOATHE it. That said, I hated everything about basting by spray, glue, and pins. Basting just sucked the love out of quilting no matter how it was done.

I also had issues with quilting on my domestic. Sore shoulders and neck ... I would have to visit the chiropractor for several weeks after finishing each quilt. So I started looking at the sit down long arms and test drove them and LOVED them and I was >< this close to buying the Sweet 16 and then I remembered ... basting.

So I bought a long arm and moved it in to my husbands shop.

The down-side is that it's not at home so I really don't use it as often as I should. The up-side is that I don't have to baste. I really hate basting.

oh yes, the basting! so glad not to do that anymore that I put it right out of my mind ;-)

I am going to retire in 2 years and my husband decided I needed my retirement gift now! I got a HQ Avante. It will be here next week. I don't have room either - but who needs a big dining room when all the
kids have moved away :)

I'm trying to decide between a Sweet Sixteen and an Avante, so I'll be interested to hear about your experiences. I'm torn between the two of them!

For me, it was a quilt I fought with. It was lap size size, not really that large, but a million pieces (Bonnie Hunter's Orca Bay, to be exact). And HEAVY. I fought that thing through my machine - figured I'd take the "easy" route and stitch diagonal lines on it. Hah! Half-way through I said to myself "never again", and went out and bought a long arm (Handi Quilter Avante) the next week. Had it in my hands within a month and haven't used my domestic for quilting since. Yes, I did finish Orca Bay on the domestic machine before the longarm arrived.

Of course, I have since realized that diagonal cross hatch on the long arm isn't that much easier :) So I've adjusted my quilting patterns to fit the machine.

Tried one out at my dealer's and was hooked. She called me when they got one in from a trade, so I got a used machine from a dealer with a warranty. having said that I really wish I had done more research, I think I may have gone with a different machine.

I could have written this myself. I have a Janome 6600 and plan to get a Sweet 16 when I return to the US. Even though I haven't purchased yet, the decision for me to do so was that I spent so much time carefully piecing a beautiful quilt top, and then it looked all amateur hour when it came to the quilting. I made 11 (lap top sized) quilts, so I would expect to see more improvement than I saw. I felt like I was becoming limited by my machine. I want something dedicated that I can go to each time and know what to expect. Also, I want the extra room so that I don't feel like I'm wadding up the quilts I'm working on. I spray baste, and I always cringe when I wad it through the machine thinking things are shifting in the process.

how do you feel about basting your quilts?

I have a fair amount of room on my big Elna, about 9 1/2" but it's not nearly big enough. I have no choice though to keep on quilting with it, since I don't have the room for either a frame or a sit down quilting machine, but when we eventually put/build a larger home, a Bailey is what I'll be getting.

You might also look at George - http://www.apqs.com/machines/george/