Well it sounds to me like you got a lot for your money. I'm really happy for you. I think the Longarm Quilting 101 is a good description. Learning to do various quilt designs and patterns usually requires taking specific classes for such info. And you sound very confident, which is half the battle, imho. I can't tell you how many people I've met at shows and classes who are afraid to try longarming. Some even own machines but rarely if ever touch them. I guess they are very intimidating to some. I suspect the size must have something to do with it. They do look rather beastly compared to our DSMs. lol

I like your idea of taking some plain white fabric for your first session. It's great to be able to practice the designs you might want to use on your quilts. The shop you were at sounds like a great place. Love the donation idea. Free batting and donuts - well who's gonna turn those down. lol And you got to try rulers - yay! I tried them in Houston at the quilt festival. I didn't think I wanted to learn but I was wrong. It was a lot of fun and not nearly as hard to learn as I thought they would be. Much easier than on a sit down, for me anyway.

I don't have my machine yet but I love using a longarm whenever I can. My choices are narrowed down to the Innova and the Bernina q20, which I would get with a frame, not the sit down. Today I played for over an hour on the Bernina Q24 at my fav quilt shop. For free! It's a great shop and the owners are always generous with their time and knowledge. Being a Bernina girl, I find using the Qs so intuitive. And they made me an awesome offer. Oh my, I'm not sure I'll sleep tonight.

Again, thanks for sharing your experience. I'm looking forward to hearing about your longarm adventures! Di

That should actually read "The class did *not* cover loading a quilt onto the machine."

Confidence is one thing I have plenty of, when it comes to various types of crafting! I think it is a huge benefit to learn to sew clothes early on, because to sew fitting garments you are expected to modify modify the pattern: if your waist measures for size 8 and hips for size 12, first cut the pattern out at size 12 then taper the pattern in to the size 8 line at the waist, if your arms are shorter or longer than the arm used for the sleeve design, shorten or lengthen the pattern piece, etc. I learned to sew in middle school and then sewed through high school for the drama club (with some very good help from mother here and there), and modifying patterns for fit and sometimes for simplification (no need to spend time on details that can't be seen from 30 feet away when doing drama costumes) taught me to always consider modifying or adapting patterns or instructions. Since then, I've applied that concept to a variety crafts: knitting, beading, and quilting among them.

I think it's wonderful to see Angela Walters video of her young (maybe age 10 or 12?) daughter doing long arm quilting by herself. I think that sort of thing would help more people get started. That and the recognition that it's not going to be prize winning quality on day one - like anything, it's a skill and it will take some work to get good at it.

Thank you for sharing your class experience. It sounds like it was well worth the time and money and a great way to begin your long arm journey.

sounds like you had a pretty comprehensive class and I agree that learning specific quilt design techniques (i.e. feathers, etc)is often more a separate class and practice, practice, practice. Bet you will love using a long arm judging from your attitude toward it all!