armybandvet

I've been quilting for others as a part time business for a few years now. I've been using a Handi Quilter Simply Sixteen with mostly hand guided pantographs and some light custom work. I've realized that I've done a substantial amount of quilting in the past year and I'm thinking I'm at the point where it makes sense to consider robotics/software to help automate and speed things up where I can. My personal quilts are utility quilts meant to be used and loved. I can't speak for my quilting customers, but as far as I know, their quilts are also utility quilts. I don't enter shows or fairs and I do not promise "prize winning" quilting or anything like that.

For what it's worth, I purchased the long arm for my personal use as I have physical difficulties which prevent me from pin basting and wrestling a quilt through a domestic machine. My options were to buy and use a long arm for my quilts, pay another quilter to long arm quilt my quilts, or stop quilting entirely. I'm stubborn and want my quilts to be the result of my own efforts from start to finish, so I chose to buy a long arm. If I had to give up long arming for others, I would still use it quite heavily for myself. The part time business aspect has really been a pleasant bonus, and something I enjoy in addition to my own projects. In short, I'm not depending on potential quilting income to finance or justify the additional expense of an upgrade.

Would anyone be willing to share their experience with Pro Stitcher or any other computerized quilting options that can be added on to an existing machine and frame? I'd be willing to upgrade from the Simply Sixteen if necessary, but the 12 foot frame I have is the largest frame I can set up in the space available to me.

I think I'll probably love it once I bite the bullet and do it, but it would be wonderful to hear about others' experiences. Is there anything you wished you would have known or thought of but didn't? How steep was the learning curve? What are the "must have" features for you, and what things are nice but not really necessary? How about Art & Stitch or other add-on software? Do you know of any great links, you tubes, or other resources for training or learning? What was your experience if you went from hand guided quilting to computerized quilting, regardless of the specific machine/frame/software combo? Anything else I'm not thinking of? Good, bad, or ugly, I want to hear it all!

Thank you in advance for sharing with me!

donna13350

I have a qbot and love it. There is a learning curve to any computerized robot for a longarm, so be prepared for that no matter what you buy. Sewing machines plus was running a good sale on them, not sure if it's still going on. Watch youtube videos of all the major robotic setups and see what feels comfortable to you. Look at warranties (qbot has 5 years), and most of all, how is their help the sale? If a company sells it, then you're on your own..not good. Look at facebook groups for different setups and see what the trending complaints are...is it user error or does the head seem to need an awful lot of factory service? Lastly...they all do the same thing...some have a few more bells and whistles, so price is a factor...learn what the basics are for 99% of them..(move a design, resize, etc.)...and what the extras are and if they're worth the price for what you'll do with it. Lastly...are the updates free or do they charge an arm and a leg for every new update coming out???

wc00007

I have both Pro stitcher and Intelliquilter . Intelliquilter hands down so user friendly.

armybandvet

Thank you both for naming other systems to look at. I really don't know what I don't know here!

lilli480

I was in the same boat as you, started with Simply 16 and pantographs/custom designing. Upgraded to an Amara with Prostitcher and never looked back. It is simple and slick to use. I do not have Art n Stitch as I didn’t want to spend time designing. My frame is 10 feet because my room is 10.5 feet. Never have regretted the purchase. I have dealer located in Elkhorn WI, The Quilting Connection. Good luck!

ka9sdn

I have the prostitcher and use it a lot. Before you buy one call Handi Quilter and tell them what machine you have. Some of the older ones (like mine) cannot be upgraded anymore so be sure you are getting the newest you can use.

cenpaqltr

I purchased ProStitcher for HandiQuilter Fusion recently and have found it to be a wonderful addition to my quilting. User friendly - there are so many great videos online they are such a great resource. I have never taken a class and have found these videos to be great. I am sure that I will learn more as I use the program. Take it one step at a time and soon you will be quilting beautiful designs on your quilts. Have fun - well worth the price of the unit. I love it!

armybandvet

Awesome, thank you all! I'm really digging the Qbot so far, something about it just fits my way of thinking. The intelliquilter definitely looks to be much more intuitive than the Pro Stitcher. I really don't need a bunch of fancy features (I'm probably fine with anything that I can import digital pantos to and some basic resizing abilities) but I also don't want to cheap out and regret it in a few years.

mtpockets1

I too have the QBot and love it. I bought it used and upgraded along the way. I taught myself along the way with the QBot Group information. Upgraded my machine and the people at QBot helped me make the decision of which machine to buy and what parts I needed to get everything going. I really have had great luck with QBot and they have been a company that upgrades numerous times adding small features people are looking for and many, many times at no charge. I really can say the company has been very helpful and people friendly. Here is the group info
https://groups.io/g/QBOTSquad

Good Luck on your decision!

Macybaby

I bought my HQ Fusion without the pro sticher, then upgraded a few years later to add it. My husband wanted to be able to do some quilting and he had no interest in FMQ. He did a few, then lost interest. I probably use the robotics 75% of the time. I do a lot of all over pattern, and quite a bit of special quilting using it (like motifs).

I was so-so about it the upgrade to the Pro Stitcher premium that came out this spring. They finally fixed some of the more difficult issues. I super love the new features with the accelerator (slows down automatically for corners and curves). Now I can do an all over pattern at 100% (full speed) and the machine slows down as needed so I get a much nicer stitch and it's not jerking all over the place. That has significantly shortened the amount of time when I use it.

Until I got that software upgrade, I was seriously thinking of upgrading my whole system. Now I feel like I've got a new machine compared to the problems I had before the upgrade. I wasn't having a lot of problems, just felt like I was having to do "work around" to compensate for some lack of features.