Thinking of buying a long arm? Read this Longing for a long arm book
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 540
#22
Super Member
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,684
Since we retired and decided to stay in our house, we’ve had to make a lot of these big ticket ( for us) decisions. Our windows were very overdue for replacement ( some wouldn’t open) , the car had 200000 miles on it, solar panels were purchased, we wanted to do a ‘big’ vacation. All these took a lot of time. I’m glad I’m done for now. I actually found planning for vacations was very very fun. We never plan day to day, just generalities for that.
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Colorado
Posts: 657
I bought a mid arm on the 4x6 frame a couple of years ago. Trying the machines out at a quilt show was very important. Most vendors had only small samples on which to try out their sit-down machines. When one vendor let me try to do a little practice on a larger quilt, my mind was quickly made up for the standing, framed version. I still have to baste the quilt and move it side-to-side if the quilt is larger than the frame window, but for me it is still worth the investment. I've only completed about 10-12 quilts on it, and most of my quilting patterns have been pretty basic. But I'm moving out into using rulers and trying designs that aren't edge to edge. I'm not sure whether I will try to get a larger frame (our new house has the space in the basement) and computer assist, but I do want back handles so I can try some pantographs. Still happy with my decision!
#25
Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 287
I am enjoying hearing the pros and cons that other people are posting, though. No offense meant, mkc. I always thought that I wanted a long arm, but did not have enough room in my tiny house. Then we moved to a much larger house, but by that time, I had heard about the learning curve and realized that I hate getting new technology, such as cell phones or new computers, so the chances of me learning how to use the long arm are practically nil. That is why I decided against it. But I still want to read this book.
#26
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,684
Actually. I thought the debate was helpful. Hearing pros and cons and how people came to their decision was great. There is no wrong decision on this, just your decision, which is different for everyone.
#27
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Alturas, CA
Posts: 9,393
Although I think I would like a longarm, I quilted a quilt on a friend's longarm, and decided it wasn't for me, but I did get a 20" sit down Bailey and really love it and the fact that it's quite affordable.
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mrs theo
General Chit-Chat (non-quilting talk)
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01-11-2011 12:33 AM