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Think I'm in love with a different machine


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Today I was able to try out an Innova at Let's Quilt in St George, UT. I think I'm seriously in love with this machine. :wub: 

The frame is lightweight and strong and the machine head is much, much lighter than the rental Gammill that I've been using this past year. Tomorrow morning I'll go and see if the APQS showroom is open and try out a Millie before I go back to see the Auto Pilot on the Innova.

 

Is it wrong that I feel a wee bit guilty about liking the Innova more than I do the Gammill even after all this time working on one?  :o

 

Oh and I did get to visit Superior Threads for a quick visit. Did you know that they have an over the top fabulous selection of fabric at their fabric store too? It took a lot of will power but I didn't do much damage.

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Hi Tami,

 

I'm sure the crew at St.George would love to see you! In fact, they're preparing for a big open house beginning on Wednesday beginning at 9:30 (with lots of door prizes, and some great deals on APQS machines at the Road Show on Thursday). I sent them a note to let Tony, Myrna and Marilyn know you might pop in tomorrow for a test drive. :)

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You have a great opportunity in St. George. Teryl and her crew at Let's Quilt are great and have great classes. I use there machines when I'm down there and need to finish something. Great to work with. I still prefer my APQS and I was happy to visit with Myrna while down there last time, it will be a great resource to the area. Make sure to stop at Scrap Apple Quilts a couple doors down from the APQS showroom, and Ace Hardware has lots of fabric also, then a block over is Quilted a Works. It is like car shopping, find the right one for you. If you choose an Innova over an APQS you will get Great Service From John and Jason. Enjoy your time, I'm back in Wyoming so sorry I missed you. I won't be back down for a couple of weeks.

Enjoy the sunshine, and the toys.

Shirley

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The title and your post are cute!

As everyone says above - try them all and decide what is most important for you.   My friend has an Innova and really likes it - but I don't know that they have anything like this forum.  APQS is very happy to help you over the phone (even if you bought your machine second hand) and everyone on here is so helpful!  Not that you couldn't still come here - but, she had a couple things she needed on her machine (add CL, stitch issues) and she paid the gentleman to come up here (we are north of Salt Lake City).  Those things Amy or Dawn (or anyone here) can help you do?   just a thought . . .

Good Luck!

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I think you have to remember, you are on an APQS forum, courtesy of the APQS team. There are very good reasons I chose an APQS machine over the competition. Since buying my machine in 2009, I have had exactly ZERO issues. Every piece of this machine is made with quality materials. If I ever trade in my machine, it will be for another APQS machine. This forum is proof that APQS is confident in the quality of their product. Otherwise, the forum would be closed and only APQS owners would have access.

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Tami:  Don't feel guilty.  Boersma in McMinnville OR was the (according to him) the largest Gammill dealer in the world.  He has switched from selling Gammills to selling Innovas because he thinks they are better machines.  There are is a lot to like about the Innovas.  Jim

I drive by there all the time but have never gone in...I should stop by as it may be a good place to pick up small quantity supplies when needed quickly! You never know what you are going to learn here!

As to the different types of machines...To each their own, much like cars there is no single machine that is right for everyone but I am sold on APQS as a company and love the machines, and I compared quite a few. All personal taste though....

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Dave:  Stop by there.  It's an interesting place.

 

To everyone:  I agree that the customer service from APQS is great.  Their machines are quality made, and I will probably never replace my Ult2.  I don't know about ABM's (Innova manufacture) customer service.  But there are features of their machines I really like.  That being said, Tami asked if she should feel guilty that she liked the Innova more than the Gammill she had been renting time on.  I'm not pitching to sell one machine or another.  A machine choice is very personal, and I appreciate the fact that this forum helps people sort through their likes and dislikes.  Thank you APQS for sponsoring it.  Jim

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Tami,

You are in a very fortunate position.  osst of us have never had a chance other than fleeting moments at shows to try out machines 

Please stop in and try out the APQS machines for an extended time.  You have spent a lot of time on another brand machine so you now need to spend an equal amount on other brands.

 

You may find once you find the brand that fits!!!! that you become one eyed like the rest of us.

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Tami,

While I certainly agree that you should buy the machine which feels most comfortable, I would also encourage you to at least consider support and service.

I bought a machine last March (not APQS) based largely on the fact that there was a quilting store relatively nearly who sold and serviced (and used) the brand. Within a few months, they terminated their relationship with the company, and are now selling innova!

I am left feeling abandoned. There is no one I can ask for advice and guidance and the company's web forum has little usage and poor support.

So, I spend a lot of time on this forum learning what I can from all of the kind participants here.

In the end, I made a very expensive mistake. Please consider all the options and choose based on which things fit you best (and, no, don't feel guilty).

Best of luck,

Janice

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Before purchasing my new Millie with Quilt Path, I went to a large Innova studio in Virginia. I was impressed by some of Innova's innovations (hence their name, I suppose), such as the sequen stitcher (lots of bucks) and the couching foot. As well as the Panto from the front thing they have. It's a screen you can follow from the front of the machine to stitch pantos.

So, at this studio I visited, they had about 7 machines up and running with their computerized quilting, and it all looked nice. Even though the machines and frames looked like a large erector set (not like the pretty white APQS machines), I was willing to overlook that if they stitched nicely. Well, the stitching looked good, which is something I'm very particular about. But when I tried to use it in free motion mode, it did not perform well at all. It was clunky feeling. I couldn't do a smooth turn. Nothing like my Millie with or without Bliss. So I asked the shop owner to try it. She admitted it wasn't very smooth and that maybe they needed to get the tech guy to add some SHIMS to it (wedges to fill up spaces)? Well, that puzzled me. Still, I asked for a written quote for comparison sake. To get everything I wanted (and got on my new Millie with Quilt Path), their quote was between $37,000 and $38,000. Whew!! Almost $10,000 more than I paid for my new Millie with Quilt Path. Their setup fee is $1,200 vs. APQS $500.

I ended up getting a new Millie to replace my hand guided 2008 Mille. So, just be sure check out the movement. Maybe the machine the shop owner showed me needed some tweaking, but my Millie had never been that hard to move, even before adding Bliss to it.

Don't throw stones at me now. I'm just relating my personal experience when I was shopping around. The Innova was the only other machine I looked at, because I had narrowed them all down to APQS and Innova.

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Cathy my mother lives in Mesquite 40 miles from St George. They have great classes, both long arm and dsm in both St George and Las Vegas. I will admit a few trips to do moms honey dos just happen to coincide with a class someplace.

Tami, try them all. APQS is my first choice, Innova would be my second, as far as I have used them, but I haven't priced them, but before APQS opened a showroom there I rented time on the Innivas and took lots of classes there. They are wonderful people too. I don't know if you can work on their machines, like I can my APQS, and living in the middle of no where you get used to fixing thongs yourself.

Shirley

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Okay today was a very long day and wonderful. First thing this morning my husband and I went over to the APQS showroom and met Myrna and Tony. They both were so very nice and took time out from preparing for tomorrow's Grand Opening to spend about two hours with us answering questions and letting me try out Millie. The Auto Path wasn't set up on Freddie quite yet so we took off for lunch and to take the dogs to the dog park.

 

We then went to Let's Quilt to check out the Auto Pilot on the Innova. Okay I have to admit that I was a wee bit disappointed with the UI of their software. Their InnovaSketch is cool but not something I'd spend $1500 on. The real test was to try out the machine with the Auto Pilot on it but with the belts disconnected. It didn't feel quite as smooth as the Millie did. But the Millie didn't have Auto Path on it so I didn't know whether that would make a difference or not. We weren't in a rush to leave town so we headed back to APQS to try out Freddie and see the Auto Path in action. Myrna showed the Auto Path and wow was I impressed with the ease of the UI. It felt like it would be super easy to figure out. Also I liked that a shape that you drew created vector points as opposed to saving it as one complete bit map of the Innova's Auto Pilot. The real surprise was when Myrna took off the belts so that I could try out a bit of FMQ. WOW! That felt so smooth and easy to move.

 

So here's what I personally felt about each of the three brands (JMHO) and how I ranked them:

 

1) APQS Freedom (Freddie)   PROS... Smoothness of FMQ and handling, pointy and fantastic stitches, super friendly UI of Auto Path software which will come out with more features in the future, computer hardware is easily replaceable at your local Best Buy if anything goes wrong, Just a tablet as opposed to a huge computer set up, touch screen on tablet and can pause at machine head,  fantastic customer service, of course this uber friendly forum :lol:    CONS... My husband didn't like that the wheels aren't made of longer lasting nylon, nor the frame or open areas of motor in back, it does have some routine maintenances (motor brushes every 3 years or so) etc

 

2) Innova    PROS... My husband and I both thought the frame was very sturdy even though I think it looks funky, non exposed motor area, only one oiling point, long lasting teflon part, decent stitching, 24/7 customer service   CONS... The UI of the software wasn't as fantastic or advanced as I'd expect, the small computer that runs the Lightning Stitch is an outdated hardware (how long will it be made? Innova doesn't support any problems with this hardware), no way to pause AP from machine head unless you pay extra to get the remote access tablet, non-smoothness of FMQ when belts are dropped

 

3) Gammill Statler Stitcher    PROS... Love the sturdiness of the table, nice stitches, nice software, great local dealer   CONS... oil dripping from machine head on table (or God forbid a customer quilt!), really heavy machine for FMQ, robotics are on the inside of the sewing machine so if something goes wrong with robotics it affects the entire machine

 

Bottom line is that I think that I want to get a Freddie! (I hated the bobbin thread cutter on the Millie and the Auto Path can make straight lines so I don't need the electric channel lock) Now I just have to figure out financing and see if we can get this going.

 

Thank you every one for all the support. This is truly a fantastic forum full of sweet people willing to share their advice and knowledge.   :wub:

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Tami - don't forget that you don't have to have Quilt Path as your computer driver.  I have an Intelliquilter on my Liberty (and APQS machine no longer made) and it is fantastic.  Linux operating system, fantastic customer support, and free upgrades as time goes on.  The creators/owners are so open to requests from users and are always improving what is already a splendid product.  While I love my APQS quilting machine, I'm not convinced the Quilt Path is the way to go on robotics.

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Tami, I think you're wise to get it all at once.  It's good though to learn the basics and do some free motion quilting and custom work like stitch in the ditch and ruler work, etc., but having the option of the computer from the get go, will save you money in the long run.  You won't be buying a bunch of rulers, stencils, pantographs, templates, etc.  I bought enough of that stuff to pay for a computer and then some.

 

But, for me, I'm glad I waited since Quilt Path wasn't available when I bought my machine, and I like the idea of it being an APQS sponsored or promoted item. I can hardly wait for my new machine with QP to arrive.  15 more days.

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