Originally Posted by Little RoO
It is my dream to have a long arm and about a year ago I started to look seriously at them.
I am in the UK so not such a wide choice and not so easy to even see them....but I have decided against one not just because of cost, but also because of the space needed and also the time that it would take me to learn to use it so that I would be confident to do a quilt.
If you just want to do the computerised designs then that would be fine...but if you want to quilt round dsigns...then this becomes an art which unless you are really talented will take much time to learn.
It's such a huge purchase I think you have to be really confident that you will be able to do what you want to achieve........best of luck with either your purchase or finding someone talented that can do the quilting for you.....as for me I'll continue practising my FMQ and dreaming.
I went to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham (UK) last year and ended up ordering an HQ Sweet Sixteen sit down. Sixteen inches of room, but set level in a table 30in x 36in. Loads of room to quilt a King size, and the only way I could get a machine this big in my house. Since I can't stand for long periods, a true Long arm on a table with frame wouldn't have suited me anyway, but as second hand value, my machine can still be converted to that set up if needed. Check out the Handiquilter website to see what it looks like. I love mine.