I am one of those people that likes to make quilts from beginning to finish in order to call it mine. I went to several FMQ classes after I started quilting, but didn't like having to shove the quilt through the machine or do the pinning. I started doing the LA after the LQS, near my house at the time, bought a unregulated Nolting to both rent out and quilt on. I took the class and was hooked. They upgraded to an unregulated Gammill and I used that. Then we retired and I couldn't find a place to rent a machine, so my DH said we had room and I bought my Innova about a year after I retired.

Now I quilt for me and for charity. I don't need to quilt for income, but I did do one for an acquaintance for pay (baby quilt). The other reason I love owning my Innova is I do larger quilts (queen and up), most of the time and it is definitely easier on my LA than trying to do it on a DSM.

I have my HQ16 in a recessed alcove in the living. We have a small house and the second bedroom is only 8 x 8. The living room is quite big tho. It does not show all that much and we are fine with it.

my friend has one, and I've used the machine 3 times so far. it is far more easier to quilt a quilt on it.
i'm going to start doing meandering on the next quilt and learn how to do that next. It's fun. It gives you the freedom to do bigger quilting, I feel. but i'm new to it.

Long arm quilter
 

My mom and I purchased an hq16 and love it.. We self taught and enjoy using it for pleasure and some friends have given us quilts to do for them. We are not professionals, but have fun. No only to figure out the pro stitcher. We cannot understand that. Anyone that knows how to use it can help us. We would appreciate it. Have a great day!!!!!m

Like many of you, I started with quilting on my DSM,but hated the pin basting, can not get onto the floor due to knees, and found that not only did shoving it through the small harp hurt my shoulders & back, but wasn't satisfied with my quilting. I then rented time on a LA at a shop and loved it! When the opportunity arose to purchase a 2006 Gammill Classic Plus with all her threads, rulers, pantos, etc I jumped on it and just love it.

There was a learning curve, I've had to add a drafting stool after my 2nd knee replacement. I am retired and do quilt for others and achieve my goal of supporting my quilt "addiction" and while I would like to earn more to cover some insurance expenses, my husband reminds me that was not my original goal, I wouldn't want to lose my love for quilting and I am not going to starve!

it allows me to piece more and bigger quilts than I would if I had to use my DSM or pay someone else and it allow me to do more complex quilting too.

i bought an innova in2010 just quilt for charity and that also gives me practice ......then i do a few for friends and family ...i am almost to 700 .............we were quilting by hand and would only get 2 or three done in a year ...that is a big difference ....i had the room and went to paducha tried out all of the ones on display ...checked the pros and cons ....and for the money and the innova was a good fit for me ...reasonable price ...easy set up...and couldn't ask for a better support team ..thanks guys

I love my long arm machine for so many reasons. It is so much easier to put a quilt on the frame, no more crawling around on the floor. It is so much faster to finish a quilt. I don't quilt my blocks heavy because I like a puffier quilt. I thank my husband every day I use my long arm machine. I am the only one who uses my machine except for a niece, 2 nephews and my granddaughter who I have taught to quilt with it.

I was concerned about the expense and if I'd like it, so I started out with a 15" Bailey on a king size Gracie frame with the speed control. It wasn't a huge investment. And I loved the quilting so much that I found myself frustrated with the small/slow machine and last fall upgraded to an 24" HQ Fusion. It "corrected" all the little annoyances I found with the Bailey (but a huge additional cost as a trade off).

I have no regrets starting out with the Bailey - it was very affordable and a great machine within it's capabilities. It now belongs to a good friend, and I would not have sold it to her if I didn't believe it was a good machine. She likes having it, but does not "love" the quilting part like I do - she has no plans of ever "outgrowing it" like I did.

I would like to do quilting for others at some point - not so much to make money but because I love that part of it. BTW - Mine is set up in the formal dining room. It was the only room in the house long enough for the 12'6" frame. Never used it for eating anyway.

I bought an Avante with the prostitcher and have not regretted it one bit! I do not hire out, this is my hobby. I tried all different longarms at a couple of large quilt shows so I knew what I wanted. My dealer is 2 hours away but it has worked out. He had the system shipped directly to me and came down and set it up. I will add out cottage is up by his shop. This summer we'll take the machine up for cleaning and an update. I never thought I had to justify my purchase.

There is a B-Line with a Juki 98Q in my local online classifieds for $800.00. I know it is a regular machine, but I have read good reviews on it at PatternReview.com. It is a 12 foot table top model.

Any thoughts for a first set up?

I do have room.

Tothill -

That is the way we started (short arm on frame) and we were able to finish ~40 quilts on our setup. The machine is a Pfaff and was running fine when we traded it in. $800 seems like a good price to me. I would definitely go for it. I think you will get your money back if you ever decide to trade it in.

Darren

Thank you wesing, that is my thought process too.

When I retired as a quilt store manager, I had about ten quilt tops finished and about 15 as started projects. Most of them were quilts I had made as store samples and as classes so when I thought about how much it would cost me to have all of these quilted I started looking for a (cheap) longarm quilter. Saw one on Craigslist for $1,000 so i bought. After 2yrs of using it I wanted something more modern.

Sold that first one also on Craigslist for $900.00 so I got my moneys worth out of it because between my daughter and I we quilted about 20 baby quilts and about 5 of my queen size quilt tops.

Again I went to Craigslist and found a HQ16 for $5000. So I bought. I have quilted for myself and also for some friends for $ and they have recommended me to their friends.. I give myself a one month time of return so I am not rushed.

All this to say that I love my "Harriet". only one problem she only loves Aurifil Thread.

I visited my local sewing machine dealer yesterday to pick up some thread and bobbins ... turned around and WOW! There sat the new Juki 2200 QVP Virtuoso on a frame. I nearly fainted. Ha! They had just got it set up but didn't have a quilt on it yet. I asked them to call me when I could try it out. I told them "upfront" that I knew it was out of my price range but I still had to try it. Maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket. LOL

Well, I finally got to try the Juki 2200 QVP Virtuoso long arm machine this week. Now I "get it"! This is the only long arm I've ever tried ... and only used it for abut 5 mins. This machine has a stitch regulator with a cruise setting or a manual setting. I tried some free motion and OMG it was a breeze. I found this machine to be much easier to move on the cruise setting ... it just seemed to "glide". The manual setting I would say was sort of like driving without power steering on a car.

Obviously, I need to "test drive" the Juki more as well try other long arms. But I better understand why all of you w/long arm machines love them. Thanks for all your input.

I never thought about quilting till I went with a friend to check out a machine system and ended up ordering one myself. That started things rolling for me. Hadn't even made that many quilt either at that time. Then I got a robotic system for my little 9" machine, had lots of problems with it and was getting ready to ship it back when my dealer talked me out of it. Bad move on my part but it came out okay later. Upgraded the robotics with another brand so no loss in original setup. Then moved up to a stretched 18" machine. Finally moved up to a 26", 12' frame and upgraded robotic system. Now all this time I only quilt for myself as I never felt I was good enough to make it in business plus I just don't care for all the stress of worrying if I ruined someone's quilt. I have quilted a couple small quilts for some friends but oh the stress the I went thru while doing it. Though I use robotics all the time it can still go badly for you when things don't line up as you think they should, etc. I do mainly custom quilting on my quilts which are given out as gifts to folks that wouldn't know a bad quilt if it hit them in the face so I don't worry about it.

I can quilt when I feel like it, no time limit set for when I finally get it done. Only finished 1 quilt last year but have made up for it with 7 so far this year with 5 tops waiting to be quilted, 3 more in the planning stage. I can quilt in the middle of the night when I feel up to it. I like being able to schedule my quilting when I want instead of having to wait in line for someone else to do it for me. I do enjoy working up the quilting layout using ProQ Designer program. So many variations I can come up with and then decide which one I want to use at the end.

Just a few reasons why I have a quilt system of my own with no business ties.

I have quilted for others and quilted for myself. I just finished 10 quilts for QOV and have 30 project linus to finish...for now. My suggestion is this: If you buy a long arm, you need to learn the craft, like charity quilts, and watching utube quilting videos. If you feel that you are proficient at it, you can take in quilting for others, but start with your quilting friends first. Practice is the best. I have had my long arm for 2.5 years and have completed a lot of quilts and feel that if I had tried quilting them on my DSM it would have killed my back and shoulders. The cost of sending them out for a LA quilter should be taken into consideration too. I like the thought that my time is my own and if it takes you a couple of weeks to LA your own quilt, that should be good for you. I hope this helps a little.

Several years ago I had a "mid-arm" quilting machine with 10 ft. table. Only did pantograph designs from back of the
machine (no handles). It was extremely successful in that ladies sent me their projects from as far away as Alaska,
New York, etc. Downside was having to do of re-working on some tops, purchasing large rolls of batting/storing it,
and finally constant running to Post Office or UPS to mail quilts back.
Would still love to have a Long Arm machine for personal projects. Prices are still out of my range.

I prefer the peace and ease of hand quilting while watching a good movie. I have more money for fabric. :p

I have never owned one. I mostly make lap quilts and hand quilt them. However, I am fascinated by long arms. I would love to be able to just watch someone run one. All the choices for stitching, the swift way they can be finished. Oh my! I wonder if there is a video in youtube......

I recently bought a Sweet Sixteen Demo unit from my daughters quilt shop. I haven't been able to use it yet, but can't wait until I can. It will be so much easier than trying to get the quilts through the regular machine!