Have you ever rented a LONG ARM?
 

There are a couple of places near me (30 min away) that offer renting their LA. Both require a training class, for a fee. Then you can 'rent'.

Have any of you rented a LA to do your own quilting? Were you happy with the results? Was it hard to learn? Is it a good deal?

Any comments and suggestions appreciated.

TY

Oh yes, yes, yes!!! I have a very good friend that has a studio where she events out her LA. Her class for learning is $30.00 and the fee fir the LA is $65.00 for the day. Hours 10-5. You can do how we've many you can get done I. That time frame. If you have a king and think it may take you more than one day you can rent the second day and keep your quilt on the LA if she doesn't have someone else scheduled for the next day. It's great!

When I first decided to buy a long arm, I opted to rent time on one first to see if I was really interested in working on one before I bought :p

I paid about $100 or so for the first class. It included all fabric, machine and a teacher. It was about 4hrs long and we went over loading the quilt, tensions, threads, etc. Everything really. It was the best money I ever spent. So I strongly encourage anyone interested in buying a long arm to rent one. :) The rental was $25/hr, and included the thread and machine plus support while working. I purchased the batting there and brought my own backing fabric.

With that being said, if you plan on doing mostly pantographs or simple all over designs, then rentals are the way to go. Doesnt take too long to learn how to do pantographs and they stitch up relatively fast. Now, if you have dreams of doing detailed custom designs, you may need to buy a machine. It will cost you more in rental fees than just sending it out. For a quick comparison, a simple pantograph on a throw sized quilt will take me about 2-3hrs from loading to unloading. For a custom design on same size can take me anywhere from 6hrs to 40hrs depending on the amount of detail.

In the end, I think renting a LA is a great investment in time/money. You definitely get your money's worth.

I love being able to say I make my quilts from piecing to quilting ... and do it cheaper than the least expensive long armer in town - with better quality, centering, etc. etc.

I highly recommend it for anyone who is even remotely interested. You'll be hooked.

I have never rented one. I jumped in with both feet and bought one. I love it. I think renting one is a great idea !!!!

I rent my LQS Gammill quite frequently - in fact I have it booked for this Wednesday. Like others, I had a training session first. I haven't tried the pantographs yet, but will one day. I don't think I could go back to pinning quilts now, lol. You don't say if you can FMQ already - if you can, then it'll be a breeze. If not, it'll take a little practice. Good luck!

TY all for the positive responses. It makes me really want to give it a shot. :)

Both the places have pantographs.

Knitette ~ I am 'okay' with FMQ, I don't think I would win any awards, but 'not bad'.

I've met quite a few quilters who just didn't have the money or room for their own LA. They were willing to do the class then rent out the LA from either a LQS or another LA'er. They do quilting for others to augment their income. It is a win-win solution for them.

My LAQ is so inexpensive and very talented. So I feel there is no point in my learning how. I can spend my time on piecing and let her do the quilting.

Personally, I send out all of the quilts I don't home FMQ. I use basic and simple FMQ on things like charity quilts. The ones I want to really look nice goes to my long arm quilter. The way I see it, anyone who does long arm quilting as often as she does has to have an advantage over people like me who stick to basic stitches and haven't learned anything fancy. It's a matter of practicing a skill, really. I don't think I'd get enough practice on a rented long arm machine to justify learning to long arm quilt on them. Just my opinion, and who knows, I may change it if I get more comfortable on home machine FMQ.