Monday, April 24, 2017

Love At First Stitch

When I bought my Handi Quilter Sweet 16 in July of last year, I never dreamed I would outgrow her so quickly. But outgrow her I did. I got tired of dealing with basting, and managing bulk and gravity. I found myself compromising on my vision, and I found myself dreaming of a real longarm. (Literally. I had dreams where I was longarming.)

The decision of which longarm to get, however, is a confusing one. What brand? What size throat? Does it matter if there is a local dealer? Do I want to pay for extra features? Do I want a computer?

The advice I always hear is to test drive as many machines as possible, and to talk to as many brands as possible. So, I visited dealers with a blogger friend and went to a quilt show, and I played with tons of machines between Gammill, Bernina, Handi Quilter, A1, APQS, Q'nique, and Innova.

From all of the machines I drove, there are some I can rule out immediately because I had a hard time controlling them. Some were nice. Some were really nice. And then ...

Love at first stitch. It's real.

When I tried the APQS Lenni on Bliss for the first time, I fell in love. With every other machine I've tried, I had to manage the resistance and momentum to some degree, and I just thought it was something I have to learn to live with. But with Lenni, it just felt perfect, and it felt right. Lenni moved so easily and beautifully that I felt like I was quilting on air. It truly was a blissful feeling.

The only other machine that came close to feeling like Lenni did was the Handi Quilter Avante. But ... Lenni wins!

3 comments:

  1. Yay for APQS! Okay, I might be partial since I drive an APQS!?! Your practice quilting is absolute beautiful!

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  2. Oh I hope you and Lenni have many happy hours together!!

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  3. What fun! Downsizing prevents this part of my dream, but I may do the sit down long arm at some point. Congrats on your purchase!

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