AshleyR

I obviously don't plan on doing anything fancy on the LA, just practicing loops and "C"'s and "L"'s and maybe trying a panto.
The shop is one of my favorite places to go to. I've been going there since I was in High School, and have made friends with the sales rep there. Her daughter is the one who is in charge of the LA so they don't mind if I ask a bunch of stupid questions. I will send her a message later asking if there is a class and if I could use the thread. I was just hoping someone on the forum could tell me if it's a good idea or not.

Thanks!

susie-susie-susie

I guess I'm missing something. Why would you want to quilt something twice? I rent time on a Gammill at a LQS. It usually takes about 4 hours and I was required to take a class. I also had to buy zippers to load the quilt. They cut the loading time considerably. $8.00 an hour sounds very reasonable, by the way.
Sue

PaperPrincess

I understand what you are saying, but I think I would start with something smaller than the quilt top you describe. Superior does make a WS and according to their website, it can be used in a long arm:
http://www.superiorthreads.com/shop/...FWQDQAod80WB2g

Please let us know how it works out!

eparys

Never a waste of time - lol. My first quilted projects were just fabric and batting. I practiced meandering. Then I used the fabric for quilted bags. I put the printed fabric on the bottom and the plain fabric on top so I could "see" my stitches and pattern. (posted two of them below)

It seems like a lot of time and $$ to have nothing to show for it. If nothing else - purchase some cute Juvenal fabric and donate it to Linus. - Just my honest recommendations!!

feline fanatic

I was introduced to LAing this way. A LQS 60 miles away from me (hour and half drive through the mountains) had a similar deal. Take the class get certified and then you could rent time. I realized 3 things immediately. 1. I really liked LA quilting 2. I would never get any good at it renting time at a shop when I could only get there every few months. 3. The pressure of the hourly rental rate hanging over my head while I was loading/quilting etc would definitely have an effect on my quilting.

It was then that I started saving and shopping for my own LA. Before you even toss around the idea of water soluble thread, better make sure the LQS renting time on the machine is ok with it. It may just be a moot point if they won't allow it. You can practice your loops, C's L's etc but I can tell you right now it will be practice pretty much thrown out the window if you can't get back to practice more often than once every two to three months. LAQ is just as much about muscle memory as it is skill and talent. If you can't practice the designs enough to the point that the movements to make them become second nature to you it will be an effort in futility IMHO. May as well just use the LA for basting if that is what your ultimate goal is anyway seeing as you plan on doing your "real" quilting on your DSM at home.

Tweety2911

Lots of great advice already posted. For my first attempt I would just bring muslin and backing for a crib size to practice working the machine. FMQ on your domestic machine is very different from quilting on the longarm. I say it is a great opportunity at $8/hr and worth trying it out. At the very least you can learn to load and baste and then take home to quilt on your domestic machine. Definitely worth planning on spending a few hours! Let us know if you decide to take the plunge and share your experience

Tartan

I would check with the shop and see if their machine "likes" water soluable thread. That should answer a lot of your questions right off. If it can't, I would see if she offers a basting service on the longarm. She might baste the sandwich for you at a nominal fee and it will be ready for you to machine quilt. If you just want to try your hand at LA quilting, bring in a cheater top (printed design) and quilt your heart out. It will make a great picnic or car quilt and it might turn out nice enough for a extra winter blanket.

kountrykreation

I think I can see where your going with this and honestly, think it's got some potential. Your getting your practice in on 'real' quilts, without having to 'worry' about the learning curve errors on the LA, or wasting 'practice' materials. In short, your basting the quilt on the longarm, just to be able to take it home and quilt it, and if you end up liking the initial quilting w/the WS thread, you can always quilt over the WS thread with regular thread. The zipper suggestion would save time on loading the quilts, that would be a plus, if the LA frame has that option. I think I would first try taking a class, to see if LAing is appealing, or not. The downside might be the time spent between LA visits. The longer between visits (maybe because of my senility), the harder it might be to learn the LA process? With either route though, it would seem something is being wasted, the material used for practicing, or the time spent duplicating the efforts?

AshleyR

UPDATE: I talked to my friend that works there. She said there is a class (yay!) and that water-soluble thread is ok to use!

Now to find the time to do it....!

candi

I drive two hours to rent a longarm and it is something I look forward to now...as much as I would love to, I just cannot fit a longarm in my house right now, unless it can convert to a bed and we can sleep on it
At the studio where I go rent, I normally rent it for the whole day, and go when I have a few tops to be quilted depending on the size and pattern I want to use, now that I have done it for a few times, I have a pretty good idea on what to expect. To be able to rent that longArm, the studio required a certification class, where she taught us the basics of long arming, preparing your quilt top to be longarmed, attaching it to the zippers, which she sold to us and with them I can have a queen size loaded in 10 to 15 minutes, operating the machine and included in the class fee was a muslin sandwich, I think something like 40" square, where we got to practice hands on zipping, loading and quilting. It was an all day class, and I would recommend that if you are going to rent a longArm to get something similiar..I have never even seen a long arm before that class and after that class, I booked a time to bring my my first queen size Bargello to quilt it on the LA..I guess I loved that much, lol.
Here are some points to consider:
1- what kind of quilting are you planning on doing on your quilt? All over? If so, I personally won't take time quilting it with water coluble thread..because chances are if you can doodle that all over design on paper and the longArm has a stitch regulator, your all over quilting will look just fine.
2- how good are you machine quilting on your home swing machine? If you are great, you probably won't like your first try at LAing because sure there is a learning curve involoved.
3-I won't recommend using a panto or custom quilting on your first or second or third LAed quilts...this is just from my own experience, to me pantos are stressful, lol, you are trying to focus on them so much, my eyes and head start hurting, of course I only tried it for five minutes in the first class and decided, no thanks, I'll stick to what I can doodle and quilt free motion. Custom quilting on the LA requires a LOT of practice..after renting the LA for I guess five times now, the last time I started practicing custom, and it is OK..not great, but if I keep practicing I'll get there I hope, lol.
I am attaching links to the threads of the first two quilts I LAed on first rental time, and the last charity ones Ipractcied custom quilting on.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...d-t110136.html
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...d-t114058.html
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...g-t187902.html

All this being said, if all you want to do is baste a quilt quickly and then quilt it on your DSM, why not just rent the LA to baste the quilt? It won't take you long, you would have played with it, and you won't waste your time and efforts quilting with water soluble thread. Most LAs I used have a basting stitch and many LAer offer basting services.
Hope this helps you make a decision on what to do.