Good for you!

If I had the room I would love to own one. I have paid as much as 200 to have a quilt done. It seems to me that whenever we make a big purchase we get cold feet - second thoughts - trying to justify it - but I think you will enjoy it once it is there and you can play on it.

Ditto. I love to quilt but will leave it to the ones who have the patience. I like to work on my own car too but won't buy a dealership. Enjoy it when you decide. HUGS♥♥

You will love that Fusion!

Well, I think I feel a little bit better about it. I mean, I wouldn't hesitate to go out and buy a car, now would I? I always get buyer's remorse though. But, so far I've gotten over it. But, oh, which one and how much? Help!!!

I would look into buying a used machine to save money and
there are also some less expensive machines, eg: Bailey

I tried on a home machine quilt frame first(Inspira). Not too pricey and was able to realize that a long-arm was not for me. Good luck with your descision.

I belong to two large quilt guilds and each of them has several people with longarm machines that do beautiful work. A couple of the girls have burned out and gotten rid of their machines. Unless you can afford the machine just to do your own work you may find it is a burden. Once doing other people's quilts to pay for your machine becomes a necessity it takes a lot of the pleasure out of the process. I was a handquilter for hire who is basically out of business because of the longarmers so I probably sound like sour grapes. Having to deal with other people's tops, loading and unloading the machine etc. and just he time and space it requires can become a burden. You will have to quilt a lot of quilts for other people to pay for the machine before you can feel free to leave it sit when you are tired of it. IF money is no object enjoy your new toy. If it is a problem it won't belong before you feel like you are working in a sewing factory. Just my two cents.

I know the feeling. I bought mine and am still struggling but am doing wall hangings and baby quilts. One of these days I will graduate to the bigger quilts. I wish I had done this years ago, I am 75 yr old and hard to teach an old dog they say ha ha. If not now you may regreat it. Hope your dealer gives lessons. Mine don't which is the mistake I make. Good Luck. Just do it.......BJ

If you're questioning your choice now, you may want to reconsider and test drive more or even rent time on a long arm before making a final decision. There is more costs into owning a long arm than just buying the machine and frame. I'm very happy with my choice of buying a long arm and knew I wanted one from the start. I don't quilt for others, just myself and for charity. I have a job and a busy life so it's just a hobby for me, I may do 2 tops a month and maybe none at all, but that's okay with me. Good luck with your decision!

I bought mine last November and I don't regret it even though I have not used it. I have taken some classes (lecture) and am looking forward to getting "Maxine" up and running in a few weeks.

I'm sure she and I would have been the best of friends by now if it hadn't been for my shoulder surgery.

Hi Calo

What longarm did you get. I know there are not too many available in SA. I tried to buy one to ship to the Middle East and did not have much joy.

Sharon

you will love it. It took DH 5 years to talk me into getting mine. then he suggested I take a class somewhere. at the time the only places were Linda Taylor in Texas or I think Cindy Roth in Seattle. I chose Texas because it was closer an the plane ticket lets. LOL I am on the east coast. Anyway, first day I called home and said I really liked it. 2nd day, I called home and said I loved it. 3rd day, I called home and said Rick could deliver it in 2 weeks, because was delivering another one in the SE. He made me wait until I got home to talk about it. I did look at some others, but called back and got my Gammill 2 months later. had to wait for Rick to be coming to the SE again. Now the have dealers all over and it is easier to get to check one out. Check the gammill and others web sites and see if there are dealer in your area where you can test drive. a 4 hr drive is worth a test drive when you are leaning on the fence. good luck. 9 yrs later, I am still happy with what I did.

Wow, that's a fantastic price...they go for $200 to $300 for a queen in my neck of the woods here in Ohio. Is that for stippling or for a specific design? If I could find someone to do it for $115 I'd be thrilled!

Check with machine shops around town. I know there's one in Knoxville that will do tutorials, might be worth a short drive to find one.

My feet got cold AFTER I bought my LA (Mega-Quilter and Grace frame) It did not come with any instructions on how to load or anything and I immediately messed things up and am now afrid to use it, HELP.

I really enjoy being able to quilt the quilts myself after I finish piecing. If I had to do it all over again, I would not have bought such an expensive machine (over 35K). I would just send them to a long-arm quilter because I would never spend that much in my life to have them quilted. There are too many long arm quilters in our town to make any money. I do maybe 15-20 per year and that does not justify my cost. Right now owning it makes me happy and it is paid for. So no harm no foul.

Go for it...best investment I ever made. I love it. You can pay for it faster if you quilt tops for others. ( after practice of course ) Good luck :)

I had gone to "just look" at an HQ16 a few years ago, and my hubby said "we can do this"! So I went for it! I do love my machine, and wish I had the $ to get the computer thing~
But having the machine has saved me lots of time and $$ in being able to do my own quilts, as well as a few for others.
Hope you jump in! :)

I found mine on Craig's List, it was still a big investment. I was on the way to see it and on the phone with DH and he said if you want it get it, I reminded him of the price and he still insisted. It's in perfect condition and I got to play with it. I paid for it but had to wait 2 weeks to get it as we had blizzards. In the meantime, my husband lost his job, got another after 2 weeks and then was in a car accident and couldn't work for 3 weeks. Talk about guilty feelings for spending money. I never spend money on myself and when I do, look what happens. Anyway, we survived, I still have my LA, my husband is very proud of the work I do, I love my machine and I'm not sorry I bought it. And I can't express my feelings for my husband.

I WOULD buy it because free quilting on my sewing machine is hard and also being able to put the three pieces together has to be more simple than the floor. I would never try to earn money with my little machine but with a big one, you would still have time to do your own quilting. at 77 I dont think it would be worth it to me to buy one, but if you are much younger Isay go for it!-- J

I don't know how much you spent, but I have already made my money back just finishing my own quilts because it costs too much to send them out to be quilted.

You are going to LOVE your new longarm. You already know that because you enjoyed your ten minutes so much that it is on its way to your house.

I started out by stippling and then branched out into other designs. I'm excited for you, have fun!!

I have a midarm & small frame & I love it! Even just doing your own quilts, & not having a business, it is such an easier way to machine quilt your own quilts! Easier on your back, easy to end up with a flat quilt & a nice, neat back to it, &, on a frame, you can walk away & leave it, & come back to anytime, to do more! I don't think you will be sorry, it's a good investment for any quilter who wants to quilt her own quilt, or do it for a business....

I also have a Nolting and you are going to love it regardless of the kind you bought. I am still alittle scared of mine but I am getting there. Good luck

I can almost guarantee you 100% you will love it. I have just a very basic short arm that I am over the moonwith. I wasn't sure I would be able to do much with it but I am so glad I got it, now I want to upgrade to a bigger one but that is beyond our budget right now. Its a someday thing.
Don't hesitate at all. I don't have all the answers and know nothing about your setup you are wanting to get but I would certainly be willing to help you out if you get stuck on something... also there is a yahoo group for almost every brand on the market and several others that are just for general machine quilting and those ladies and gentlemen are always ready to help us newbies with questions or problems. I have made a very nice friend who I now email privately when I have any trouble. They are just a great bunch of people.

A long-arm is an invaluable tool when you love to quilt. Know it's a scary investment, but you will so enjoy it. Hope you can find a quilting group in your area. Hang in there and I do hope you go for it - not everybody has the opportunity to ever own one ... you've earned it - GO FOR IT.

You will love it. I have drooled over long arms for years but It will probably never happen. No being negative just facing facts. I will never have my orange Vet either. lol

Before you listen to the "you are going to love its" go to a store and use one. They usually let you try it. I was told I would "love" and embroidery machine and was talked into an expensive one. I didn't "love it" and ended up selling it and getting only 1/2 of my money out of it. I held a resentment for that quite a while. I hate to be the negative one but after having been talked into a couple of things that I ended up not enjoying at all (and being made fun of when I sold them) just make sure you try it enough that you are comfortable spending that kind of money.

I did the same thing when I purchased my Bernina 830. You will get over it as you use and love it! :lol:

I think it is Renee Haddadin that has a comparison of different longarms on her website. Check it out if you're not sure what to get.

I agree with both of these replys. It would be very hard to return it (if possible) if it doesn't work out for you.

Is it like cutting into that first piece of expensive fabric?? I'm sure you will love it and get over it.

You will love it promise,promise,promise. I did have a place
to go and test it out.But the best is to do it your self.that way you will longarm your way, not trying to do it like someone else. Just play and enjoy it.

I haven't used a longarm Yet..but what are the easiest to use .......some look so scarey.
name me some names you all like ...Thanks

ohhhhhh i think you are going to LOVE it !!!

We have at least 4 ladies that I know of in our area that has a longarm and they all seem to love it. One lady invested in it to run a business, and the other three just because they wanted one and that was that and they do use it and love it.

I have a Nolting & I love it. I have never had any problems with it. I was like you with doubts, but so glad I got my Nolting. I tried several different brands at a guilt show & decided on my Nolting because of the simplicity. You really don't need a lot of bells & whistles. And they are easy to maneuver. Not as heavy as some.
Hope this helps & enjoy your new machine.

Awww! What a sweety.

I thought of getting one ,then my friend got hers,Now I'm glad I didn't , It was a bit much for me to handle once I took the class. I didn't realize the strain on neck shoulders and back.Yup I'm a sissy, But she too now also has a computer attached to hers so it does the work. She just does the programming.
Just another thought.

Reading more posts here, & now I see you haven't bought one yet. Kind of hard to try them out with none around to do so on. If it's any consolation, I had never machine quilted on a frame before I got mine. The biggest thing for me to get use to, & realize, was, on a frame, you move your machine, not your fabric. I had no trouble with mine, just getting the thread to work right, tension & so on. Did a practice quilt piece first, & that really helped too. I think, even if you don't have one to play on first, if you really want one, you will love it! Also, you may want a less costly one at first, think about that too. You can always upgrade later, should the need arise, & if you can afford that. My setup was not high end, but it's all I want & works for me. So keep looking, & thinking, before you buy. But, if you love to quilt, I'm sure you will love having a frame to quilt on. It makes all the difference in the world!...