the question about the loading is important. loading takes a while, even when you're familiar with it. it would be easy for a beginner to use up 1.5 hours loading a double each time you used it. add that to your quilting time and it's not that cheap to do your own anymore. if it takes you about 2 hours to quilt it and almost 2 hours to load it, it costs over $100 all together for a double. a twin isn't that much less. a queen is a lot more effort and time somehow. if you want to do it to save money, i don't know. if you want to do it with an eye to having fun and maybe buying one in the future, then go for it. of course, that fist time expense is in the there, also. so that first quilt will be pricey.