[/quote] You may want to see if you can rent time on a longarm machine to do some of your own work, it is a cheaper way to go.[/quote]
I have a friend who does this and has become an expert at it. She can't afford to buy the long arm, but she goes to the shop and uses (rents) theirs and is quite happy doing that.
Her quilts are beautifully quilted, and the ladies at the shop help her with the machine if she runs into a problem. It's the best of both worlds if you want to make a really large quilt.
8-)