brokahontis Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 Hello Everyone! This is the BEST site for quilters I've ever run across. The amazing part is not only are you all really sweet people, but that you actually use this site daily to talk with and help each other. I hope you will let me join in sometimes and post pics too. I've been quilting for a short time now, about 5 months and paper-piece quilts (and finished one jelly roll quilt for my mom with a mini version for her dog). I love to make quilts, table runners, fabric bowls and whatever else catches my eye. I would love to own a George! After contacting a local dealer it turns out they don't have one in their shop. Waiting to hear from another dealer not too far away to see if they have one I can check out in person. I have several machines. My main one is the Viking Diamond with the fab-u-motion w/stitch regulator for free-motion quilting with ease. I love using it but also love free motion quilting without it. I also have the Pfaff Pro 2058 and 3 brother machines. Yep, I love machines! My question (yes, I've finally babbled enough to get to my question) is if you had to choose between the HQ 16" sit-down and the George which would you choose and why? The stitch regulator on the HQ would be nice but the Diamond has a 12" arm on it. The George with the 20" would be awesome yet there isn't a stitch regulator for it. That puzzles me. They put the stitch regulator on every machine they make except for George. Why? And more importantly, will it ever be available for the George either as an option or come standard on it? I appreciate anyone taking the time to read this and reply if you have time to. I would be happy to post pics of my work if I'm allowed to. I started with a few wall hangings and the free motion turned out okay. The first quilt I free motioned I chose to do hearts and feathers in the border. One that I'm working on now is mostly done in feathers. I'm hooked on it and would like to step up to a quilting only machine. Just not sure which would be best for me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you, brok (Janet) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 Welcome to the board Janet, I have George and really like him. (I also have a couple of Pfaffs, 7530 and 2140/70, I almost just got a big one, the Creative vision but a wiser checkbook said not to.) Price and dealer distance and personality played some in my decision. I had looked at HQ16 but wasn't struck greatly by it for some reason, then my local dealer offered me a nice deal on her George. I love the size of his table, but would like the drawers on the right side instead (not a deal breaker for me). One thing that sold me on George was when my dealer friend said that he was made with components that could be fixed by unplugging the old one and plugging in the new one instead of always needing to take him somewhere for fixing. My George did end up with a short somewhere in his wiring, so I took him to IA (about a 3-4 hour drive for me, close to a sister) and in a couple of hours Amy had him running great. The service staff I have talked to on the phone have done a great job of talking me through the things I needed to do to check for the why of his problem. If you are doing bed sized quilts I would encourage the larger arm of George. I usually make queen sized quilts and those extra inches are wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.A Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 Hi Janet and welcome to the forum: I am a George owner and I can answer your questions...I was a proficient quilter on my DSM. I tried a friend's stand up longarm but decided that I didn't want to dedicate the space to one nor did I want to re-learn how to move the machine instead of the fabric. I was waiting until Gammill made a sit down machine or until apqs put a stitch regulator on George. Then I learned that they can't really do a regulator on a fixed machine. (Some of you with the Bernina stitch regulator might disagree but everyone I know with the BSR hates it). I was told that they will not be putting a stitch regulator on George period. Also, many longarmers wind up turning off their stitch regulators for greater fluidity in the machine. If you have been quilting on a DSM for awhile, you probably don't even need that feature. I took the plunge and purchased George without ever having sewn on one!!! There were none in Arizona to try and I managed to get a sweet deal from the factory on a 'scratch and dent' model with a full warranty. And you'd need a magnifying glass to find the scratches. George and I had problems for the first several months (mostly tension issues...I've never had a mechanical problem) and a year later I'm not even sure why it seemed so difficult at first. Now we are the best of friends...I love him and most of the other George owners I've met through this forum do too. He is much sturdier than the HQ16 and apqs has been wonderful about customer support. I can't say enough about them! Go ahead and post your photos AND your questions about machines. You'll find everyone here amazingly helpful! Good luck with your quest to find the best machine for YOU. Nancy in Tucson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bekah Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Janet, have you considered one of the long arm machines? if you didn't want to have a great big one, our Lenny is wonderful, in fact, any APQS machine is wonderful and you can't beat the support not only from this forum but from customer support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Janet, If I had to choose I would choose a Lenni. The difference between a shortarm, midarm and longarm are mostly based on throat space. I tried using a DSM for my quilting, had a quilt table and all but found that doing large quilts was beyond frustrating for me. I seldom do small ones. I loved the idea of no more pinning, hated that job. I laso did not like moving my quilt under the bed of the machine. The thing that drove me to the quilting systems was that I would no longer have to pin all the layers in advance and best of all I wouldn't have to man handle my quilts to get them done. I started off with a bottom of the line old stretched rotary machine with a 17" throat. That meant that I could stitch about 10" without rolling. I was amazed at how much more I liked quilting that way! Within about 6 months I was looking to upgrade. When I purchased milli I had not intended on such a big system but hubby convinced me to go for it so who am I to argue! :P:P I would have gotten a Lenni but they were not available yet. I have never regreted buying my machine. I know the Lenni is a little more expensive than an HQ but my personal opinion is that the additional price is so worth it. The tables are much better, if I remember correctly the throat space is also more and you couldn't ask for better customer service. In fact when I was searching for my machine that was my #1 priority. I have never been sorry! The other option for you is to buy a used APQS machine. If you are patient you can certainly find one within your price range. These machines are made to stand the test of time and you can't go wrong. I never considered the George because I just did not want to deal with not having a frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 But Bekah, what about the times when she doesn't want to have the length/space of the stretched out frame in her area? That was one of the reasons for my decision. A 10 foot frame took up a lot of my space without providing dual use. George's table is able to be about 20 inches by 60 inches when everything is folded down and still can be used for cutting, holding piles in the order for piecing, all kinds of things. Then just pop all the sides up and a large surface and George can get to work. The other consideration was the method of which do you move, the machine, or the fabric. Can you stand for long periods, or walk the length repeatedly of the frame or is sitting a better option for you. For me, the answers to those questions took me to George. Otherwise I could have gotten a less expensive set up and still not use it much because of the re-learning curve that isn't built into my timetable of life right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bekah Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 I hear yo Madelyn and those are very valid questions for anyone to ask themselves before they purchase any type of machine and thank you for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Madelyn, I seldom stand when quilting on my longarm. I have a saddle stool and it works wonderfully. You are right that you have to have a dedicated space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyful Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Hi: This is only my second post, but I wanted to weigh in on this. I recently bought a George, and couldn't be happier. I tried both the Handi- Quilter and George, along with the rest of the machines at the Paducah Show. I found that I didn't like the position of the Handi Quilter, whereas George sits in the traditional position. His table is great in that it can be folded down into a convenient size when he isn't being used, and then opened up to provide good support for your quilt. The large throat space makes it so much easier to work on large quilts. I thought about a longarm machine, but space is a problem for me, as well, I like to free motion quilt. I also talked to several longarm quilters, and they all said that there is a steep learning curve, whereas your existing free motion skills are transferable to George. I have found that it didn't take alot of practice time before I felt ready to begin working on actual quilts, rather than practice pieces. Hope you are able to find a George to test drive soon, I think you'll be impressed. Joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neher-in-law5 Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Bekah and Heidi, Thanks for the responses to my question post. I think we each get into our own machine/system so much that we can easily come across as that is the only one to get (no matter what brand we own!) I appreciate that we can each bring our thoughts and experiences here without it getting out of hand. I appreciate your encouragement in all things quilting (and any others too.) Have a great day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Hi Janet, While I own a stand up long arm machine, I still sit and machine quilt on smaller quilts. It was my "roots" so to speak, and I still love to sit and quilt when I can. I don't think the HandiQuilter sit down machine has a stitch regulator? only the stand up version. right? I don't feel a stitch regulator for sit down quilting is that important. If you have ever used the Bernina BSR stitch regulator, then you know there is a learning curve to this attachment, and if you have been sitting and machine quilting without a stitch regulator I think you would find something like Berninas BSR would slow you down. It also is not that regulated as one might think. I used to work in a Bernina dealership, and while I demoed the BSR, I didn't find it that useful. I always turned it off when I was playing with free motion on the machine and working on projects during down time. I think either a sit down machine, the HandiQuilter or the George would be very nice machines to own and use. I'm not going to even try to convince you to buy a stand up quilting frame. They are nice to have, but I also like sitting down at a machine, and can understand the appeal of a George or HandiQuilter. I've thought of buying one myself. But, I have a new Babylock Ellisimo and it does just fine for my smaller wallhangings and table runners. I would probably consider dealers in this equation before I purchase either of the sit down machine. How close they are to you? How supportive they are. I do have a friend with the George, and she really enjoys it. Best of luck choosing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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