Like Benno, I just saw this Forum pop up! I about fell off my chair laughing at Margo's earlier post about her collections, and "Help, I sew and can't get up!" I have also heard that the John Flynn frame usually has a hard time getting out of the box, and when it does, it just doesn't score many points with the user.

As to the number of machines one has, I have two. Only two! Janome 9000 and her little sister Gem. I am getting better a FMQ on the 9000 (which has a relatively small harp) but would really love a Janome Horizon. I do not see a long arm in my future, nor do I have the space for one. So I will just have to practice, practice, practice on what I do have!

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

I bought one thinking it would be the answer to my machine quilting issues. It has a very small workspace area. I still have it and may try it as a small frame to sit and hand quilt. I ended up buying a long arm and now I am happy! Good luck! Tammye

Annis, I'll keep you posted on the Innova once I spend some time on it. In the meantime, good luck on your proposals.

debkendall wrote:
Please let me know how you like it. I know I won't have much time this year to quilt, but maybe next year. I'm still waiting on a response to my book and product proposal. I'm guessing no news means they're still considering it. If it's a yes I may have to reconsider whether there will be time in my life for longarm quilting.

Just noticed this topic on the forum and it started me thinking ..... there's the "little" Brother (my first machine), the BIG Brother (1500S), an Elna Airtronic (from 1979) which I bought secondhand from Toni which still runs like a dream, my Mum's Singer from the 1980's (don't use that one!), then I bought another lightweight Brother in the post Christmas sales last year just because I needed a machine which would blanket stitch...........then there's my husband's grandmother's Singer machine from about 1910 - that's one has a hand control, a Singer from the 40's and one from the early 50's which both use a knee lever - these 2 still work. So I think that makes 8 - that's a bit scary :shock: :shock:

Oh boy!! Debbie, you will have to let us all know how it goes with your new toy!! Congratulations!

Annis, I have been researching long arms and doing some test driving myself. I've decided to purchase an Innova by ABM. I haven't gotten it yet, but I can't wait! At first I wasn't even sure I really wanted a long arm, but a friend of mine invited me over one afternoon to play on hers. If you can do that first, it takes away some intimidation when you come to Festival and try several there. Some guilds have long arm groups. If there is a group near you, that could possibly be a good resource for information and test driving. The great thing about Festival is that there are many brands to try under one roof. If you have any questions about the Innova down the road, I'd be happy to try to answer them once I get my machine and learn my way around it a bit.

Thanks for all the great tips about long arms. Forgot to mention I was given a John Flynn frame, but never have taken it out of the box. :
My husband has a shop full of tools and machinery so doesn't say much about my quilting collections.
Would like to purchase the new anniversary black singer. (Just for my collection)I think it's suppose to resemble a Featherweight.

Annis, I concur with the advice to try out longarms before you settle on one. We have the big Road to California show every year, and I have tried out all of them! One year I spent 3 days at the show and must have spent at least half an hour on each of them. Some of them, I couldn't pilot well, some of them were smooth. When I saw the handiquilter sit down model and tried it, that felt just right to me. So time spent playing on each one is a good investment. You'll get a feel for which ones work for you.
Kathy

Yes, I will try them all first. And the Handi-Quilter is on my list. My DH thinks I should get a used one. That's the way he buys most of his heavy equipment. Of course I'd rather have one straight out of the box so will probably lean toward the less expensive ones. A trip to Portland would be nice since I have relatives in that area, but will probably go to Houston in November instead since that is closer to me. Quilt Market is in Portland next May and I'm making tentative plans to go there then. For now I really need to stay away from the computer and get my 2nd room cleaned. This is going to take a long time. The first room didn't stay clean long. I'm using it to put everything from each room until I can decide what to do with it.

Annis I don't know where you live, but I'd highly recommend you go to a machine quilting show to look at and try all the longarms. MQX has a show in Portland in Oct, and of course, Houston is a great show too. But MQS, MQX, and HMQS are geared more for machine quilting.

Buying a longarm is a very personal, physical decision. You really have to try them all and compare. I did not buy the brand I thought I would, after I tried them all... I have had my A1 Elite for almost 9 years now, and LOVE IT!!!

ajclapp wrote:
Annis, you really need to get your hands on as many different kinds of machines as you can. It's like buying a car. You decide what features you really need, and what your budget is, then find the machine that you are most comfortable driving that has the most desired features within your budget. And, like buying a car, sometimes you will know right away when one "fits".

I hope you will check out Handi-Quilters. I LUV mine!! http://www.handiquilter.com/

I've been researching them but have never sewn on one so will need to do that first. The ABM Innova sounds interesting, and I know people who do outstanding work on an A-1 and a Prodigy. But since I don't plan on quilting for others I don't need the most expensive machine. Although it would be nice to have one that you can put on AutoPilot! It will be a few months before I make any decisions. In the meantime I hope to spend a few hours a week practicing free motion quilting on my Janome.

Sounds like a plan to me, Annis! Which long-arm machine are you interested in?