Our LQS rents out their mid-arm for $50 per day. You have to take the introductory lesson first which is $10 but is refunded when you rent the machine. If you take a friend who also knows how to load a quilt, you can probably finish two twin/double quilts in a day using an all over meander. If you use the pantograph it is slower. I so agree with Clair- they are not easy to run and it takes a lot of practice for everything to become automatic. It takes quite a while to load and you have to stop every so often as the bobbin runs out after two or three passes. I now have a lot more respect for LA"ers and understand why they charge what they do. Long arming will not be my new career and I'm so glad I found this out before I bought my own machine. I don't want to work that hard every day for other people.