CarolTee:
I've never tried a long arm quilter but when I went to a quilt guild meeting recently they said many local quilters will "rent" time on their machine for people who want to learn. Before you invest you may want to look around and see if there are any quilters in your area who rent. I know several people at the meeting said it was a wonderful experience to go and learn and it helped them decide IF they really wanted a quilting machine or what they wanted in a machine when they get ready to buy. Good luck.