Originally Posted by butterflyquilter
I was talking to my local sewing machine shop owner and he discouragaed me from getting a long arm for just myself to use if I was not going to quilt for other people. He also said the frame does not come in pieces and you must have a straight shot into a room because you can not turn with the pieces.
My husband didn't buy his hobby car so he could charge other people for riding in it, nor did we buy our photography equipment with the idea of making money. I did fine without a long arm for a long time, but I'm having a blast with it now, as are a couple of friends. That's the whole point of a hobby, isn't it?
I had a Grace frame that I liked a lot, but I couldn't fit the king-size extension in the room. I now have a Handi Quilter (more of a mid-arm) that fits in the same space but enables me to do quilts up to 120" wide. I had one 4-hour training session at the dealer's store, and one 3-hour session in my home once I got the thing assembled, both free of charge. If you can get instruction, I recommend it.
The Grace frame came in a bazillion pieces, but I wanted to do it myself so I could understand it better. It did take much longer than the "one afternoon" they told me to expect. The HQ16 table was incredibly easy to assemble, and I only needed help lifting the 50-pound machine itself up onto the tracks.
I spent an entire day trying out every machine at the Pacific International Quilt Festival. It was a great way to spend a day, and I paid special attention to who offered training. I know Tin Lizzie and HQ come with instruction. I'm pretty sure Gammill does, too. Try them all, even if you don't think you'd like them. I was set on Tin Lizzie, but sometimes you're surprised. Have fun with the process of deciding.