Long arm
 

Am I the only one in the world that doesn't have a long arm. ha ha ha! I've got to have a lottery ticket!

Since I was here last I got a wonderful frame from the Amish. Best frame I've ever had. Soooo easy to use and holds the fabric tight. I am halfway finished with the quilt that I am doing now. Yes! So many patterns such little time!

I have a long arm table and a sewing machine that I use to piece my quilts with but it goes with the table. It's not a LA sewing machine, just a deep throat. I have had the table for two years and it's still in its boxes. I send my quilts out to a gal who LA quilts them for me. I have no idea how to LAQ at all. It seems a lot of gals on this board have LAs. They can be very expensive...like the price of a car...but you can also buy used ones. I don't have the room to set my table up in my house and even if I did, I would use it as a coat rack. I wish I had a good friend who LA quilted who could teach me and then, just maybe, I'd set my table up and put my sewing machine on it and try it out. But I know nothing about it. I know you have to attach your quilt to the table in a specific way and I've seen a couple of youtube demonstrations on it and I realize why I pay so much to my LAQ. She deserves it.

And a big lottery to first buy the house which could HOLD an LA setup, then to buy the machine.

No, you are not the only one! I've been back and forth as to whether I even really want one. It was very encouraging when I recently saw the film "Stitched" and noticed that the Houston competitors they featured were NOT using long arms either.

I don't have a long arm either, but I DO NOT want one. Do you realize how many quilts you can pay to get quilted for you for the cost of a long arm. And you don't have to do the work. I have no room for one anyway and don't really want to learn how to do it.

"And you don't have to do the work. I have no room for one anyway and don't really want to learn how to do it."


Some of us don't think of it as work. Just another aspect of what we love to do.

thousands and thousands of quilters do not have a long-arm---
and thousands of quilters who make fabulous large quilts- sell patterns, books, travel the world teaching- do not own a long arm- they quilt on their domestic machines, hand quilt & send out their quilts to their favorite quilters-
not everyone even has any interest in the quilting part of creating quilts- they like to piece, create tops- owning a long arm is a minority market.

I would love to have a LA, but right now the budget doesn't allow for one. I am making do with a Janome 6600 and fmq, but I struggle as my mind can't make the switch from "moving the pencil" to draw, to moving the fabric under the needle. I can do basic stippling or simple feathers and while they aren't anything near as pretty as what I have in some of the quilts on this board, they are acceptable. I would love to watch someone else who does fmq on their DSM, because I know there are tips that they could share with me. So now, while I dream of owning a LA, I keep practicing.

I thought I wanted one at one time. Now I don't think so. I don't think I want to invest the time necessary to learn to do it.

I have a short arm on a frame, and am very happy with it. I bought it second hand, but it still cost me over $2500. I can't do large motifs, but I can do plenty of great designs that hold my quilts together sufficiently. A long arm quilting setup is not REQUIRED quilting equipment...it's really a luxury that relatively few quilters can afford.

[QUOTE=Quiltaddict;5200087]I don't have a long arm either, but I DO NOT want one. Do you realize how many quilts you can pay to get quilted for you for the cost of a long arm. And you don't have to do the work. I have no room for one anyway and don't really want to learn how to do it.[/QUOTE

I would love to have a long arm...and I intend to get one in the next couple of years. It is on my list after I get a new embroidery machine. Yes....one could pay to have several quilts quilted for the amount of a long arm but the convenience of it is what I am looking for. I do not like having to schedule months in advance to get a quilt long-armed. I like instant gratification....when I finish piecing a top, then I am ready to get it quilted right away. I hate like everything being put on a list for 3 or 4 months out.

Many of us on here to not own long-arms. I dream of owning one someday, but that day is a long way off. I quilt all my own quilts on my domestic size Bernina ( and Pfaff before that)

I quilted, both hand and DSM, for forty years before I bought a LA...now the only thing I wish is that I had bought one when they first came out! I have a Gammill, and I love, love, LOVE!!!! it! Space? Not too much of a problem; all depends on if you REALLY need somewhere to sit other than the dining room table, and if you REALLY need somewhere to walk besides the narrow path you have laid out beside the LA...haha! Kidding, of course, but it really is nice to have that big machine to use when I need it. Would I buy it again? In a heartbeat!

I don't have one. No room for one.

There's no way I would get a LA. Just the thought of all the ripping-out of stitches, I'd have to do, makes my head spin! :shock:

nope I am right there with you, need a car more lol!!! would have to trade it in for a longarm, come to think of it most cost more than my car?

I am totally with you on that one. Used to think I wanted one but it is alot of work to load a quilt and do all the associated work and then the learning curve to using a LA.

Watch the LEAH DAY videos. She shows how to use a DM with fabulous results. And the really big quilts, splurge on a LAQ. I have sent a few out recently and have been really happy with the results. Much cheaper than buying a machine too.

I had a short arm setup but now that I had to move to a small place I have it for sale cheap on my local Craigslist. I wish someone would buy it!

I have one and love it. I have the computer system with designs to use also. We did have to convert the basement den into my quilt studio to fit it. But we weren't using that room for anything special anyway. Now I have the room to sew, quilt, longarm and with a little moving of furniture to even teach a class or two. Love being able to work on mine and other people's quilts. I will be doing some longarm work for our guild's charity quilts later this summer. Several of us in the guild have longarms which comes in handy.
I had done just one large quilt on my regular sewing machine and knew I wanted a longarm or else I was never going to make a large quilt again. Even though I could send them out, I like the control I have to do what I want, especially with the computer system designs. So much detail available there.

Phyllis
QuiltingGrannie

I had a Juki 98 on a grace frame and couldn't wait to get a quilt on it. I spent about a week messing with practice sheets before I disassembled it and put it in the garage! I can baste one and stabilize it on my sewing machine in less time than it took me to load it! It was too big for the room it was in too and it ran from corner to corner because that was the only way I could walk around it. And that was the "crib" size! Now I store all my UFO's in that room and my sewing machine and the huge desk it's on takes up a corner in my bedroom. I can quilt and spend time with my hubby too. Or I can plop my laptop down on the desk and watch something on Netflix. Or listen to music or audio book. And I can sit! With my weak knees and back, I can't stand for long.

I was lucky that I got a good deal on my setup and I sold it for a good price too and I didn't lose too much money on it. I have had to try out many sewing machines to find the "prince" I have now and I don't want a frame at all. I do drool a little when I see a long-arm but I'd want it on a table. I'd like something like that Sweet 16 but can't justify that price one bit.

I don't want one!!

I agree with DebraK. It's another aspect of quilting that I enjoy doing. It can be just as creative & fun as we want it to be.

No you are not. I don't have on and don't want one. I have a Bernia 1170 and just finished a 120 x 100 in quilt on it. Yes I did a lot of twisting but I can't stand long enough to use a LA

You're not alone. I like piecing quilts, but the actual quilting, not so much. I take mine to the Amish or stich in the ditch.

I do not have one, and being on disability, will never be able to afford one..or have my quilts sent out. I handquilt eveything I make..Luckily, I enjoy it!!

I love mine....I have had it for a few months and am learning daily. I know it was an extravagance but oh hell I wanted it! I drive my cars into the ground so I just consider this a " new car".It gives me more fun than any car(except the Miata) that I have ever owned. Life is short and I intend to enjoy every minute of it....

I have to agree. Charisma has been doing my quilting. I think it looks like a lot of work, loading, quilting, unloading, not to mention trying to think how you want to do your quilting. I have decided I would rather pay.

speakfor yourself ! I WANT ONE A LONG ARM YES MAMA i WILL GET ONE ONE DAY WORKING ON IT

No long arm at this house. I'm a hand quilter and my arms are pretty short! :-) I do have a floor frame that works great and I don't have to baste when I use it.

I don't have one either. Money, space, and the big question of do I want to learn that particular skill. I'm working on my DMQ and getting better all the time. I did rather like the Sweet Sixteen HandiQuilter, which lets you move the fabric as you do with a domestic, but lots more space to do it. Plus it has features now like stitch regulator. But the new one is now over $6,500 or something. Maybe some day, but I'm enjoying what I have now. Took a class on LA and didn't much like the process. All that setup and standing for so long. You are surely not alone.

Not everyone wants one, but some really love them. What is the film Stitched?

I have a long arm APQS Discovery. Have had a long arm for over 11 years Used to quilt as a professional, but after my divorce and having to battling with ovarian cancer (Teal ribbon) I have not quilted professionally for over 7 years.
I moved back into my mobile home after my divorce, and have a 12x15 bedroom that I now quilt in. My sewing room was drastically reduced and is now quite compact, but still functions. I now just quilt for myself and friends. It is not difficult after practice, and now there are so many classes, rulers, and on line help links that it is not such a big deal.
I have quilted for over 30 years, and began machine quilting on a short arm over 20 years ago. I also have had quilts I basted on my longarm, then machine quilted on my short arm.
There is always a way to fit a LA into your home, and one of my single girlfriends bought her Gammill because she said if guys can spend 15-20 thousand dollars on boats and man toys, she can have her own longarm.....
I'am just saying..........

I just bought a LA and it's going to be delivered next week. I'm so excited! Four years ago I bought a short-arm Pfaff with a Grace frame so I know I like quilting on the frame but it was frustrating trying to do large quilts. And I do a lot of double/queen size so it was time to move up. Now if I could just find someone who wants a used short-arm frame system. Don't know if I have enough posts to put it on the forum because I'm one of those people that read all the posts but don't talk much.

Nope, no LA here. Even with a lottery ticket I'd still be outta luck unless I could convince hubby to move! There is simply no room in our house.

Suzy

I used to do the "man toys" stuff. The only reason I can afford to quilt and that I have time to quilt is because I stopped riding motorcycles and camping, etc. I never have nor never would go into debt for any of my toys. I only owe for my houses and I hope to have them all paid off before I'm 50. It amazes me what people will go into debt for, but that's a whole nother thread!

I know Leah Day wrote about this last year, but I don't have the link. Here's her reasons why she doesn't want a long-arm

They're huge.
They're expensive.
I Quilt for Me - Because in order to afford a longarm quilting system, most quilters will start quilting for other quilters.
I quilt from the center.
I don't want to learn how to quilt all over again.
Most quilters start on domestic machines - Most quilters getting into the hobby have a domestic sewing machine, or can easily get one for under $500.
It's NOT any easier.

LOL! I'm in the same spot. When the lotteries are big, I day dream about the house I will buy with an upstairs with a huge game room, which will be by sewing studio, and the surrounding bedrooms will be for storage! Dream, dream, dream.

...Stitched....am curious...where is this film? sounds interesting

My daughter went into LA several years ago. First she rewired her room as the quilt needed a 'dedicated' outlet. Then the fun of trying to get it into the house, even though it came in pieces. It helps a lot if you are mechanically inclined to take of the day to day cleaning, oiling. It cannot be in a damp area as it will mess up the computer. Service calls are very expensive and usually the repair person lives in another state. You, indeed, can get a lot of quilts longarmed for the price ($20K and up). Give it to the longarmer and get to doing what you like best....creating another quilt.

So, in terms of quilting and quilts what is the difference between a "short arm" and a "long arm"