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George or Bernina 830??


Milly Young

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I'm selling my Milli as we are downsizing. I'm interested in the George because of its smaller size and sitting would be a wonderful thing. But it does not come with a stich regulator and I have always relied on the stich regulator on the Milli. The Bernina 830 does everything and has a sitch regualator But has a much smaller throat. I still do king size quilts but am getting into the art type quilt more and more. Soooo...what do you gals think which way would you go? And since I've never been really much good with stich size consistency on my own just how important have you all found that to be on the George??

Help!

Thanks,

Longarm Mill

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i have always used the SR on my Millie ... until recently, when I was encouraged to try stitching without SR ... so I practiced without the SR. It is amazing! I thought I couldn't do it, but it just takes a little practice time. And I only practice on a practice piece and not on my own or customer quilts. I feel ambidextrous now! Before you let your Milli go, put on a practice piece and just play without using the SR. I think you'll be amazed at how easy it is. And then you'll feel more comfortable with George. JMHO. Have fun.

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I have George and wouldn't go back to a smaller size throat area machine. Since I have never had a stitch regulator on any machine I can't comment on that. But I hasn't taken very long and I was able to get a feel for the speed and motion that fits my quilting and the stitches are pretty much uniform now. I think that having the Milly will help you with your learning curve on George go faster. Can you do a trial run on a George somewhere?

Here is a sample of the last quilt I worked on with George.

post--13461906786976_thumb.jpg

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I don't have a George...do have a Millie...and I have quilted many quilts on my DSM machines. Now with that said, I would never again try a DSM if I had a George. Stitch lengths aren't hard to control on a DSM without a SR so I wouldn't think it would be that difficult to use a George.... My Brother straight stitch didn't and my currant Janome straight stitch doesn't either, and I get very good stitches with it. On the Bernina you will be limited to throat size and after fighting several king sized quilts though even a 9 inch opening, I don't think I would go back if I had the option of using a George.

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i have not heard good things about the big bernina....and i am a bernina lover from way back.

i LOVE the 2 berninas i have for piecing and bindings. but i vote for george.

you will get the hang of non-SR in no time...i don't think one can ever get used to squeezing 10 gallons of quilt thru a 1 gallon hole. i think it takes the fun out of it.

jmho.

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I have a Millie, a George and a Bernina 730 (smaller throat but with the "stitch regulator"). I found out quickly that I cannot free motion quilt on my Bernina. I. Move too quickly for it and my stitches get wobbly if I slow down enough for it. With the adjustable max speed foot pedal on George I am able to only worry about the speed of my hands and am happy with the stitch quality. If I ever am without space for Millie. I would definitely have a George. It is nice to sit and quilt sometimes!

George is my vote!

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Guest Linda S

Unless you don't already have a decent sewing machine, I'd go with the George. The Bernina 830 can do a lot of things that make it very useful, but still, the throat isn't all that large. I'm also a dyed-in-the-wool Bernina Girl, but I've not been very impressed with the reviews of the machine. The George would give you lots of room for quilting and, if you've already got a nice DSM, you'd be all set.

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Personally, I think you have a long ways to go to beat the QUALITY you will get with APQS. Simply put they make a great machine that is built to quilt thousands of quilts. They have great support, a great forum where you get a fast response by experienced quilters, an 8 yr warranty, and most problems can be solved over the phone or here so you don't have to take your machine in for servicing. I too would go with the larger throat space. I used to quilt on my Janome 1600P with 9" space and it is very difficult to push even a double sized quilt through there. I vote George!

Donna

APQS Liberty

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I have a Bernina 440, with the BSR. It's a very, very different experience compared with a longarm with a stitch regulator. There are lots of skipped stitches, and the "regulation" is really not all that consistent. Moreover, if you use fabric without printing, it's trickier (the thing HATED kona cotton when I used it.) It basically uses the same technology an optical mouse does to track the movement, except you're not moving the BSR, you're moving the material under it. The 830 does offer a LOT of space, but make sure you bring even a lap sized quilt - something with a fairly substantial surface area - to a dealer to try out the feature before you buy.

The bells and whistles are nice. The automated, hooped quilting via the embroidery module was something that made me seriously consider it for a long time before ultimately buying a longarm. On the plus side, if you do decide you miss using a frame just that much, Bernina does offer a frame for the machine that is supposedly adjustable in length. That being said, more electronics just means more things to fail at the end of the day, and what pushed me to the APQS machines was how they were built - how much info was included on how to do things like re-time, etc, myself, rather than having to pay a repairperson.

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I've done a lot of quilting on a Bernina170 and Brother1500 - no SR. The small throat is a real pain for anything very big. I personally do not feel that the lack of a SR would be a big deal, and the small throat definitely IS a big deal, so I'd go with the George unless you don't have a good DSM. Can't comment on the 830 as a general purpose machine.

I decided I wanted to try a longarm and bought a used Ult 1. I thought my experience with the Bernina and my Brother would help learn to deal with a frame machine with no SR. But there were many other things that I should have thought about. I recently traded in my Ult 1 for a new Millie. I haven't had much time to play with it as yet, but it is a big improvement in many dimensions from the Ult 1. However, when I have something special to quilt, I still go back to my Brother or Bernina, as I feel I have better control. At some point, if I don't get the hang of the Millie, I'll probably be looking at a George for the larger throat and the control that I am comfortable with.

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Milly,

Please come back to the forum if you have any specific questions about George. I am the George rep in Arizona...I sew on Bernina DSMs. I make large traditional quilts and small art quilts. There is no comparison...you want a George. Nancy in Tucson

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I'm fromCushing Maine. Our house just went under contract yesterday. We have lots of time to make up our minds on a new place. We're looking at downsizing and moving to a funky condo in downtown Camden Maine, small, but great fun area. Or busting out and move to Sante Fe. Maybe then I could keep my longarm and Circle lord etc., and husband could keep wood shop. And we would both see a lot less snow. How do you like Florida?

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Milly:

Yes, quilts for George have to be basted. They can be pin basted. Personally, on important (show) quilts, I thread baste using Sharon Schamber's herringbone stitch & rolling on boards techniques. On bed quilts which will be washed, I pay my friend to baste them on her longarm with water soluable thread. Nancy in Tucson

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