Originally Posted by bamamama
No micro handles, I'll have to look into that eventually, I am terrible at the really small stuff like stippling. I like the idea of using tape and other household items as guides. Just don't want to waste $$$ on things that I won't use. I am taking a class on feathers and drawing ALOT and practicing NON STOP! I love it!
Are you going into business? If you are planning on doing your own and love stippling, go for it. If you're quilting for others, I'd suggest you wait and see what your market dictates. See what type of quilting designs the people in your region prefer.
I've found very few quilters in my area want who want me to do stippling; I think it's because they stipple their own quilts at home on their domestic machines. I've stippled less than 6 client quilts in 6 years of business, and I do hundreds of quilts. Most quilters here prefer a pretty freehand or custom.
The only quilters who have asked for miccro-stippling wanted it behind stars or NY Beauty blocks, or as filler behind applique. Since I micro-stipple so infrequently, I haven't bought the micro-handles.
It's easy to read all the longarm digests and websites and feel like you need every gadget and template and feature out there. But it's best to wait and see what your own particular style is, and then get whatever tools YOU need.