I've tried twice to watch the webcast and both times it plays very haltingly. Are there any other links where this can be seen?
eileenkny

It's 1/2 hour later and now the webcast will not load at all. Oh well.

Darlene how exciting for you! You sound like a perfect customer for this machine being a teacher and pro quilter. It must be hard to make the decision and purchase but have to wait so long for it's arrival. Hope the time goes by quickly,
Karen

bymachine wrote:
Thanks, Darlene. Twelve grand doesn't seem so bad if it includes the frame, too.

How long is the frame? I'm a bit frustrated by the lack of specs on the official site.

Do you know how deep the machine is from front to back?

Anne in Vancouver

Darlene, It sounds like the timing was perfect for you to buy this machine. I hope the 4 months go quickly and by using the other machine, maybe it will give your some good questions when you get your training. Congratulations though. Looking forward to your review of the new machine.

Hi Anne,

The machine and frame were $12K and since I have a business license I didn't have to pay tax, so I bought a bunch of presser feet for the 730. My dealer said if I wanted to exchange them for some of the new 830 feet for use with the dual feed I can do that when the machine comes in. The frame should be in sometime in September, but the machine won't be delivered until after the dealer attends Bernina training in November.

The footprint of the machine with the embroidery unit attached is 40 inches! The bed of the machine is 15" and the distance from the needle to the right arm is 12". The machine is also taller so there is more vertical room too.

Some dealers have free CDs with a virtual 830 so you can play with the features. It also has the full instruction manual so can read through all it will do.

I've used the 730 for about an hour and I really love it. If this is any indication of things to come I'm very pleased with my decision. I just talked to the owner of the quilt shop where I teach and she thinks I definitely made the right choice based on the type of sewing I do and my circumstances. It helps to have encouragement when you spend this kind of money! Believe me, you second guess yourself a lot in the middle of the night, but by the light of day I'm all smiles.

Have a great weekend!
Darlene

Oh, yeah, and another question for you, Bymachine.

Do you know how big the footprint is? And how high the bed is?

If so, please share that info with us.

Anne

Congratulations, Bymachine! Woohoo! That's very exciting!

So tell us . . . what did you pay for it? How close to the $12,000 suggested retail price did it come? Inquiring minds want to know!

Anne in Vancouver, saving my pennies

I too am getting the new 830. I had planned to buy a Gammill Premier on the Monday after the unvieling...I had the cash in the bank to buy...I agree with the no financing if you can. Then the new 830 was introduced and I just fell in love. My DH, who really is a dear! has been very encouraging about the purchase. Reminding me how much his ATV and other "toys" have cost through the years and how much more the 830 will do compared to the longarm.

I'm a pretty accomplished machine quilter, I teach advanced classes and really enjoy it. I know the long bed on the 830 alone will be worth it. So on that long awaited Monday I drove 3 hours to my favorite dealer and paid cash for the 830 and the new quilt frame. She gave me a brand new 730 to use until my new machine arrives sometime in late November. Since I was the first person to buy an 830 from her, she also gave me the new bobbin on a necklace that the dealers received at BU...she's a real sweetheart!

So now I learn the meaning of patience! I figure I had three kids and waited 9 months for each of them, I can wait 4 months for a sewing machine

Happy Stitchin'
Darlene

Anne, Sounds like a good plan. I should be able to buy one in a few years, just before I retire maybe. It has SO many of the features I've wanted and I don't have room for a longarm.

I'm going to buy an 830. I've been waiting for several years for Bernina to produce a mid-arm machine, and this one exceeds my hopes and expectations!

I'm not going to go into debt for it, though. I never buy things like that on credit. Instead, I'll save my money and pay cash. It will take quite some time, but that's okay, it will give Bernina time to work out any bugs that turn up.

The newest machine I own now is an old 730 that my mother bought for $600 in 1968. At the time that was a huge amount! But man, that machine is fabulous! You get what you pay for, I figure.

I've never had an embroidery machine, and don't know how much I'd actually use one. But so what? I want to try! I didn't know how much I'd use my serger when I bought it, either (okay, it's newer than my Bernina 730, now that I think about it), but I've sure enjoyed it. I use it a lot.

IMHO, the size of the arm alone makes that machine worth the price. And the machine does waaaaay more than any long-arm I've ever seen!

Anne in Vancouver, Canada, hunting through her purse for extra pennies for the piggybank

When Bernina brought out the BSR I said to my friends: 'I don't understand them. Why do they bring out this thingy and don't offer a machine with a bigger throat at the same time?'

Then Janome brought of the 6600 and my comment was: 'Nice, a bigger throat. Would be even nicer with a BSR!'

To be honest, if I had $ 12.000 in a suitcase under my bed I'd go and buy a longarm.

My final comment: All these new machines have such a lot of features and bits and pieces that can go wrong, I think it would be prudent to have a second machine for when 'ASAD' (All Singing All Dancing) refuses to cooperate.

And just in case anybody from Bernina reads our messages: I volunteer to test drive the new machine!

Lorchen

I am a self-confessed gadget girl! I don't own any bernina's. But I definitely enjoyed watching the launch. This is launch season and I'm just eager to see what's the latest and greatest. I'm perfectly happy with my machines as they are. I consider it a blessing that my DH supports myhobby to the level that he does. That being said I would rather invest in improving on what I currently have rather than going into hock over "the latest and greatest".

We have owned one too many lemons to know about buying a car the first year of that model, we'll let the kinks work themselves out, and hopefully by then all our chips will be lined up and we can splurge on a "new" machine. (DH enjoys using the short arm and the embroidery machine--men and their gadgets...)

Wow! That price is heartstopping. I'm one of those really not interested in all the embroidery features, so the 830 doesn't get me excited. I'm afraid that what I see of the 820 fails to get my heart started again at those prices. I'll just have to be content with my 430.

With our U.S. economy on such a drastic downturn, I wonder about the timing of offering such an expensive machine to sewing hobbiests. This will be interesting...

i would love to have this new machine,but i have a730. i've only had it 2 years and i love it. but ill wait and see if there will be any problems with it in the future. the price alone is stagering.


karen in calif