Hi Mary Jo-
Sounds a bit like my decision. I still work full time, have three grandbabies- 5, 19mos & almost 2 mos. They all live 5 hrs away!
And don't have enough hours in a day to piece like I want to.
There are a lot of free learning sites out there. Have you tried "Longarm University"? She has some free lessons on her site that might help you out. I had a wonderful LAQ'r in my area that did a terrific job and then she paid her machine off and quit. I tried another in my area and she charged more & I was very disappointed. Since I'm a bit of a control freak, I have been quilting all my quilts on my regular sewing machine. It's really hard on my shoulders & takes about 3 days for a queen size quilt.
I'd like to do the LAM quilting for a business but I don't want to be too busy to travel when I want. So not only do I have the dilemma of deciding whether I should buy a LAM (HUGE investment) but whether I do this as a hobby or a business.
Here's another thought, those grandbabies grow up sooo fast! And then they're not visiting grandma quite as much as they used to. I'm torn, so I can imagine you are too.