Iceblossom

I think a lot of people plan on paying for their long arms by quilting for others (and the dealers promote the idea), but I know a lot of people that bought long arms and for a wide variety of reasons did not like quilting for others. Of the many that try it, very few paid off their machines or are still doing it 5 years later -- and those are busy enough that they aren't taking new clients!

First thing I tell people to do is measure the space they intend to use and dedicate to the machine. You need a good sized family room or living room or single car garage to start with, and then you need storage and work space and where you will meet with your clients.

It does take time to build up sufficient skill, even using a computerized machine. Using my own skill set, I think I wouldn't be willing to quilt for someone else until I had about 6 months of pretty regular use. I was able to use a friend's set up for several years and know that for me at least it takes quite a bit of physical dexterity and hand/eye/muscle coordination and if I took off more than a couple of weeks it showed. If I had 3 months off, it took me 1-2 projects before being back up to snuff. I'd say that me personally being a bit fussy wouldn't be willing/able to do a custom piece for someone else until after maybe 2 years of regular/almost daily use on more basic projects. But that's me.

So I think part of the answer might be who you think your client base is? Are you able to tolerate working on badly made projects? Even if you are using a computer guided edge to edge design, it's amazing how non-straight someone's project can be... Can you treat heirlooms with the proper care and respect? Are you able to follow directions and give the client exactly what they asked for -- even when you know something else is better, or are you able to tactfully make suggestions? If someone like me comes in and has a top but has no idea of what to do with it, are you able to think of those ideas, giving me a lower priced starter edge to edge idea or two, and then a higher priced option?

And the final thought is, how cheap are you willing to work? I say that I give freely (so most of my projects are donations, some are gifts none are commissioned), but I don't work for cheap. I like to take about two days to load and quilt a queen sized top. I can do it faster, some are just an easy day project, but I can also do it a lot slower depending on what the design is. I tend to like fluffier batts and less quilting than is currently popular (that's another thing to think about). I think highly of myself and figure that with 40 years of quilting experience, surely I'm entitled to Seattle minimum wage of $15/hour -- call it $120-250 per top. In my area, I could probably keep pretty busy in that price range, but Seattle is expensive and the semi-custom work I want done that I'm not good enough to do myself is more around $350.

edit: and that's just labor doesn't include the thread or batting or anything else especially not binding. From what I understand what is expected to be included varies by the part of the country. The costs of thread or pattern designs or rulers or marking tools or other things in addition to electricity and such are very real and add up.

Other people are willing to work for less, especially with the goal of paying off the machine. But from the stories I've heard it is going to cross your mind that "I'm not getting paid enough for this" on a regular basis, depending on the quilt and the client.

Having said a lot of negatives about the business side, my personal belief is that if you have the money and the space, get yourself the best toys you can! I would so love a professional model Statler and it is in the top 10 things I'm going to buy if I ever win the lottery. I have a large backlog of tops, and can easily make 1-2 a month. Only thing that keeps me from that getting them quilted down.