Iceblossom

It's a decision to make. I make enough tops that I could easily use a quilting system of some sort. I didn't have access to computer driven options and I've found that machine quilting is a physical activity for me. Requires coordination and movement and muscles I don't otherwise use and that my skills deteriorate rapidly after about 2 months I need to do a practice project or two before I do something "serious". I would not be happy with my finished product if I only did one year but that's my experience.

So prices vary across the country. I think the lows are going to be around $100-120 on the low end and $200+ on the high end for the edge to edge. But that mostly just includes the quilting, not the batting or backing or any trimming or binding. Some places your money goes a lot further than others!

For me, there are some tops for donation and others that don't require much work. But I'd say what I want is probably more custom and would cost around $350-500, and some of that is for artistic creativity for the quilter that I don't have myself. Designing the quilting is usually my downfall. Keeping in mind that minimum wage in Seattle is $15 and that's what I put my quilting time at, I actually thing that is pretty reasonable -- except my budget says no way when I'm churning out a quilt a month or so. But once a year, that seems much more reasonable.

When people are looking at buying a quilting system, I tell them you really need to look at how big they are and that they don't just get put up and down. And then most of us have to look at the cost, especially when compared to how many quilts do you do per year. You can get a whole lot of quilts done very nicely indeed for $10k!!

Edit: Shop rates out here for rentals usually require you take a class for about $100 to learn how to load and use the machine/frame. Then it's about $100 a day for use, when I'm in good health and my quilts are smallish/easy designs, it can be easy to do a queen sized in the one session. Other days I don't move so fast. Other people can do two twins faster than I can do one too.

I tried once last year, this year I really need to try again. I'm going to post on Craig's List looking to rent time on a home set-up. I'd rather have 2 days a month (or more of course!) available for that $100. I would also be supplying everything else on my own, needles, thread, bobbins, batting. I know there are people out there with set-ups that are largely gathering dust for one reason or another, but I also know I'm asking to be let in to their homes and playing with something worth more than most of the cars I've owned.