I've been thinking of taking a class and renting time on a machine also. I really enjoy piecing, but quilting even a twin size on my machine, SITD, was torture! Wall hangings, table runners - no big deal. Maybe I just need more experience and better technique (I'm sure I do),but not seeing the whole quilt at one time so I can judge where I'm at was difficult. Here's my question. How much can I save (if any) by renting time on a machine as compared to having someone quilt for me. Nothing fancy, just the basic stuff.

Just wanted to emphasize my earlier comment: for me, the motion of a long arm on a frame, where you move the 'pencil' is different from the motion of a sit down machine, where you move the 'paper'. Renting time on a long arm on a frame may not give you a feel for using a sit down.

That, of course really depends on you. A difficult question to answer. I have a friend who took the class, came in to rent time, and started really, really dense, time consuming quilting, I questioned her about it in the beginning but she really didn't understand what I was ( getting at) until 4 hours into it she didn't have half of her quilt done, she tied up my machine for a week. In the end she was happy with her quilt, willing to pay, and said, ' now I see what you meant' ... She also knew I could have had it done in about 1/3 of the time. She was happy with the experience but paid more to rent time, do her own than it would have cost for me to do it. Most of the people who come in to rent time do it because they want the satisfaction of making their quilt start to finish on their own, not because they are trying to save money. A couple do save money, they just load up, do large, all over easy quilting, done in an hour, got it done. Everyone is different.