Originally Posted by
joyce888
Boy this is a thread that hits home with me. I've been talking about getting a longarm for several months and my DH was all for it at first. Now he's got me concerned because he thinks I wouldn't quilt enough quilts to justify the cost. I will turn 61 next month and if I did 12 quilts a year I wouldn't do enough in my lifetime to pay for the longarm. I think he's right that I enjoy the piecing more than I would the quilting. So now I'm concerned that I wouldn't learn how to longarm to the skill level that I would be satisfied.
Check around for classes. Before I make that purchase or even start researching I'm going to take some classes and then rent thier machine to do a few to make sure it'll be worth it. I bought a Gracie Small Frame that only does up to crib size and at the time my machine was so small it was a pain but now I have a Mega quilter so my goal is that if the near future to put the quilter on it and then start practicing. I got the frame on sale and just so that I could see if I like the whole process. Since it's like the big metal ones it has sme panto boards on it and a stitch regulator and you load it like the big ones so at least I'll be ahead of the game if I get the big one. Right now I'm just getting into FMQ so one thing at a time; FMQ that I like so far. I can't afford to send them out not that I haven't seen some quilts done locally that I would have paid the 300 to get that done; it was amazing but I just can't afford it. I'm tired of seeing my quilt tops just hanging on the quilt rack; I want finished quilts hanging on it.