My first longarm class!!
05-22-2010, 10:15 PM
#31
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Stacy, Minnesota
Posts: 227
Originally Posted by JanetM
Originally Posted by kbiederman
I went to my first longarm class at my LQS! It was a lot of fun, I am so excited to learn how to longarm. Anything beats trying to shove my poor quilt through the throat of my little Singer while being pin-pricked to death! I have learned that I have little-to-no fine motor skills. My second class is three hours, one-on-one with the teacher, then I will be able to go in and longarm my own quilts!! Now I am excited about the whole quilt, not just the piecing. Just had to share my excitement, have a great week everyone! ~Karen
I was just at my LQS and the owner was showing me her new longarm machine. She plans to offer classes to teach us how to use it. She will require that we buy the leaders for approx. $90. and the classes will cost approx. $110. After we do this, the machine will be available for rent for $15 hourly. Is this is line with the cost at your LQS?
How is it going for you. Easier or harder than you thought? I'm interested to hear about your experience. ;)
05-27-2010, 03:10 PM
#34
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Oregon
Posts: 124
when i first used the long arm i decided to quilt in a meander or in a stippling pattern to get used to the feel and while i am learning to adjust the layers after rolling to a new unstitched area. i am still having trouble figuring out the latter. my first quilt i did dollar size loops. after i had a few more in the same pattern under my belt i thought i would do the stippling pattern. the one that looks like puzzle pieces. i had tried this with FMQ on my home sewing machine and i had a hard time. so i naturally thought it would be harder than loops on a long arm. i was wrong. it was faster and a lot more fun quilting continuous puzzle pieces than loops. when i did loops the machine kept beeping at me to slow down. i had a lot less reminders with the puzzle pieces.
i did try doing a feather with the long arm. i can do free hand on FMQ with my home machine real well. i think i need to put in more hours on the long arm before i try some of the motiffs.
since i am renting the long arm machine i prefer to quilt quick and easy since i am paying by the hour and i don't want to over work the machine since it is not mine. when i have my own long arm at home then i can do more intriquette designs because i won't need to take the quilt off the leaders when i go home. i can leave it on the rails and work on it here and there so i don't ruin it with my hurry.
when you start adding up how many quilts you normally do in a year. How many you would do renting a long arm and the cost. if you add that up it would seem cheaper to buy your own machine. even if you only take the larger size quilts to quilt on the long arm. the most important thing is that if anyone decides to buy a long arm or even a mid arm, you must learn to use it. whether it is used or new don't waste your purchase. think long and hard before money is plot down. once the purchase comes to your house and it stays in the box, then you may be better off renting. i think that decision is more important than how much room is available to house it. one thing i have learned when growing up poor is that if you want something bad enough, you will find a way. so....first decide if you really want your own personal long arm or mid-arm bad enough. once that is decided sometimes you would be amazed at what life or fate or etc. will do to set things in motion to get you that goal. never stop believing in miracles. everytime i see pictures of people showing their quilting room done the way they like it i think a miracle.
i did try doing a feather with the long arm. i can do free hand on FMQ with my home machine real well. i think i need to put in more hours on the long arm before i try some of the motiffs.
since i am renting the long arm machine i prefer to quilt quick and easy since i am paying by the hour and i don't want to over work the machine since it is not mine. when i have my own long arm at home then i can do more intriquette designs because i won't need to take the quilt off the leaders when i go home. i can leave it on the rails and work on it here and there so i don't ruin it with my hurry.
when you start adding up how many quilts you normally do in a year. How many you would do renting a long arm and the cost. if you add that up it would seem cheaper to buy your own machine. even if you only take the larger size quilts to quilt on the long arm. the most important thing is that if anyone decides to buy a long arm or even a mid arm, you must learn to use it. whether it is used or new don't waste your purchase. think long and hard before money is plot down. once the purchase comes to your house and it stays in the box, then you may be better off renting. i think that decision is more important than how much room is available to house it. one thing i have learned when growing up poor is that if you want something bad enough, you will find a way. so....first decide if you really want your own personal long arm or mid-arm bad enough. once that is decided sometimes you would be amazed at what life or fate or etc. will do to set things in motion to get you that goal. never stop believing in miracles. everytime i see pictures of people showing their quilting room done the way they like it i think a miracle.
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