This reply is spot on! Just do the math first. It'l like trading a paid-for, gas-guzzler for a newer, high mpg vehicle. You have to ask how much gas can you buy for $10,000? Just do the math first.

I never thought of it this way Quiltaddict. Now I can justify sending my tops off. Thanks

If you can afford a LA and you like quilting your own tops, why do you have to justify the cost vs. how many quilts you could send out to someone else for the same price? You never hear anyone say "how many pounds of fish could we buy at the market for the cost of that bass boat, fishing gear, gas, etc.?" If you don't like quilting your own, send them out. Not everyone buys a LA to quilt for a business so it can be an investment in equipment for a hobby you enjoy and that alone can be enough to justify the purchase.

Wholeheartedly agree!

No you are not. I am just starting out in this wonderful world of artistry, on my fourth piece, and I do want to do my own quilting, but the only thing I think I would want (at least right now) would be a deep throat on my machine, but it is only 2 years old so nothing else right now, unless I have two older ones fixed.

A tiny minority of quilters own long arms. Most of us would not want to invest the price of a car and a whole room of our house for something like that. Many who do own them think of them as business investments, and maybe get small business loans to help pay for them. After you're good at it and can do quilting for others, the machine might eventually pay for itself, and as a home based business, the overhead would be minimal. It would allow the owner to stay at home, set his/her own hours and have this marvelous machine for quilting not just other people's tops but some of your own. If you can quilt on a domestic machine, you can probably do it better on a LA, once you've learned the basics.

On the other hand, a person like myself with a long history of dabbling in various crafts would be insane to buy something that expensive. It would feel like a ball and chain to be that ($$$) committed to quilting, even if I love it at the moment.

If you're considering such a plan, first try it either at a local shop or at a quilt show, where there are often several different machines to test drive. You might surprise yourself.

I don't have one, and to be honest, do not want one. I have the room, but can't justify the $ with the number of quilts I make. I don't really want to take time away from my other interests, because I know I would if I bought one, just to say I needed it!

I gotta be honest, I love playing on my regular old machine! Love to FMQ!

I was just shy of being 60 when I got my long arm. Always wanted one, couldn't afford it or didn't have space. Then one day we moved, had space, still couldn't afford it but bought it anyway.lol I love mine and don't think of it as work.

Having a long arm is just another way to have fun with quilting. It's not for everyone obviously, it's fun for those of us who have the room.