PattyS

I had a Viking Mega Quilter and was not satisfied till I broke down and got a real longarm. I bought the Handi Quilter Avante18 and love it. It is the newest model out so right now you can find lots of the HQ16 with Pro Stitcher for sale. Check out www.Handiquilter.com in the Forum section.
Patty

FERSID

I purchased an ABM Innova 18" Longarm complete with a 12 foot frame.

It is an absolutely fantastic machine and the quality of both the machine and frame are excellent.

As mentioned in another forum member's response, the only place you need to oil is in the bobbin case.

Another fantastic feature on the Innova machines is that the needle head assembly can be released via a release lever and the whole assembly will swing up to the side and allows for fast, easy changing of needles, inserting extension tables, etc.

I purchased my machine from the ABM Innova website (after doing an enormous amount of research on every Longarm on the market) and the sales rep was exceptionally helpful in assisting me in making the best choices to suit my desired quilting needs.

I live in Ontario, Canada and my machine was shipped to me from Texas at an extremely reasonable $750.00 shipping rate (the entire shipment consisted of 4 crates.

In addition to the high quality machine and frame, the shipment packaging was amazing. All components were packed in wooden crates with plenty of interior foam buffers.

I also purchased a few extra add-ons. The machine is VERY user friendly and quilts like a charm.

I love my machine and frame and will be turning out many quilts for use personally and as gifts for friends and family.

Hope you find the machine of your dreams - everyone has their own personal preferences but I would suggest you check out the Innova Longarms.

In my opinion, they are the next best thing to a Gammil but cost less without sacrificing the quality and in some areas, the Innova exceeds in features you would not find on a Gammil.

I've attached some pics of my "baby" - maybe it will help in your decision.

Good luck in your purchase.

auntiehenno

John Flynn uses his sewing machine. Ck. under John Flynn.

DebraK

thank you for your input FERSID. Gorgeous setup. Price range?

Farm Quilter

My personal preference is the Innova by ABM International. It is a family owned and run business that has been making industrial quilting machines for 70+ years and make a wonderful longarm for home quilters, whether for business or just yourself and they have a real, live person 24/7/365 to call if you ever have a problem or question. You should check out Renae Haddadin's article on shopping for a longarm:
http://www.quiltsonthecorner.com/inc/sdetail/1349

You have to "buy" the article for $00.00 and then you can access it. It is worth it's weight in gold (or stash). She knows the questions to ask, ones I didn't know to ask before I bought my Innova (still would have bought the Innova!), but it would have made the process so much easier for me.

butterflywing

17" and less are mid-arm machines. it's my understanding that long-arms begin at 18". if that's what you mean, and you want to include a frame as part of a package and nothing more, no bells or whistles or computers, then you can buy a brand-new tin lizzie 18" long-arm with a stitch regulator for $7,000. you'll get the regulator, the light, the laser, the panto shelf, the leaders, the machine itself and the sled it slides on, as well as the good-looking wooden frame. that was important to me. if you don't want the regulator it will be $1000 less. i don't even use it and could have saved the money, that's how smooth i find it. it comes with a manual and an instructional disc, forever phone help and extra needles and bobbins. it's a family business in utah, not china. you will not get the poles, because that ups the shipping costs considerably, as well as the price. you have to provide the pipes from home depot. no big deal. you can stretch it to 140" with the right length poles, or keep the poles short. you can have more than one set of poles. you get the best deal at the big shows. there are a few of us here who have them and we are all very happy with the quality and the price.
i haven't seen anything in that price range that size. everything else was that extra inch shorter. the lizzie lets you quilt a 14" block without trouble and with space around it. the shorter the arm, the smaller block you can easily quilt in one run.
whatever you want to spend, try them all out at all the shows. they're all there, tying to sell, and the competition is fierce.

the hard part of reading articles is trying to get anyone to give you a price.

EDIT: there is a forum for every machine. not the website, but the forums. read them. you'll see all the good things and bad things people say.
i also forgot to say that the lizzie frame that i have is made by hinterberg.

FERSID

My delivered price to me in Ontario, Canada was US$9,543.00.
The Innova comes with many standard features included in the above price and they also have a wide range of optional accessories.

As mentioned, I purchased some extras:

Cross Hatch Ruler attachement which also included a separate rail for easy adjusting.

Open Toed Presser Foot

Magnifying Lens

20 "M" Bobbins

20 #16 Needles

The machine comes with a very impressive array of features and attachments (which are part of the base purchase price).

Then you can choose to add-on/or customize your machine (right down to having it painted your own special colour - how fun is that?)

I plan to purchase a light frame for my machine as well as lockable casters and eventually, I may even go for the computerized stitching system and the Encording System (ya gotta check out Innova's video on the Encording - awesome!!)

The price may seem a bit steep (it did when I first thought about buying a longarm but the more I reviewed the machines out there and compared the features and quality of the machines, when it came time to buy mine, I was convinced then and still am, that the Innova gives you the best BANG for the buck and is a superior high quality machine.

Even better, this machine is manufactured by a reputable company that has been manufacturing for and supplying to the commercial quilting industry for many years so they know what quilting is all about!!!!

This was one of the most important items on my list of things to look for in a machine.

A machine manufactured by a company that knows and understands quilting NOT a company selling GLITZY mediocre machines that end up frustrating you by not enabling you to do the quilting you had expected and even worse, realizing you've spent an large amount of money on something that is inferior?

Hope this helps and good luck in your Longarm travels.

gawney

I don't have a longarm as I am a new quilter but I saw a handiquilter frame for sale. so I went nline to check it out and I can use my regular machine with it so it will have to do for now. I haven't tried it yet but when I do I will post my results.

Candace

Thanks for the link.

FERSID

Further to my earlier posts, for anyone wanting to investigate the Innova Longarm, here is a great video link that provides great info on the machine.

http://www.wellcomemat.com/video/UT/...wn/08D462D229/