I am only a couple yrs younger than you and I might be 80 before I get a longarm and I know I would use it all the time. No doubt about it. 73 is young and to do what you want in retirement is something you have earned over a lifetime. It is a toy that like any other will depreciate with time but you will get a great return. Who cares if you ever make a dime doing quilts for other people. You are doing something for yourself. Ultimately the decision is yours live your dream through yourself not through what other people think, from their experiences, you should do. Let us know what you decide.

I am also in the camp of try one out a few times first and if you like it then go for it.

Watson

Any time I need to make a big decision like this, I sit back and think "Am I going to reget doing this?" or "Am I going to regret not doing this?" After a day or two the answer is crystal clear to me.

Go for it. Who knows. You may be quilting for another 20 years. I for one would probably not use it. Just not where my interest lies. That does not mean you should not get one. You are not me, or your friends. Even if you don’t use it as much as you thought you would you will feel good just looking at it an knowing it is available whenever you want to give it a go. Heck, my DH bought a new boat 2 years ago. Due to health issues it has never been out of the garage. But it is nice and shiney and dusted off quite frequently. Makes him happy.

It is your money and your life. I hear variations of this theme of people saying that an older person should not do one thing or another. I can't help but picture them sitting with their hands folded thinking they are too old to do anything which is the surest way to "get old". A recent one I heard was from a man in his 70's was told by "friends" he should not get a puppy. Turns out he walks the puppy 7 or 8 times a day. Imagine the exercise he is getting, plus other great benefits from having a companion. My neighbor, who has been living in an apartment, was recently able to buy a nice "villa" type home and sure enough some people told her she was too old to buy a home. It drives me a little crazy! So go for it! If you don't like it, you can always sell it, but at least give it a try.

Go for the long arm! You can always sell it if it doesn't work out.

Look at it this way, you are investing in a move and a new house so why not a new toy? And as someone else already said, if not now, when??

My mom is 83, the women on her side of the family all live to be 90-100+. I tell her that any medical condition or thing she wants, she should figure she has ten years so is it worth fixing/doing without for those 10 years? My answer is if you can afford it, no. You've spent enough of your life on other people so buy this machine for you. And splurge! Get the computer driven model if you can afford it even if you end up not using it the time to get it is when you buy your set up and not as an addition afterwards.

At the end of the day do what is going to make you happy! Forget the naysayers, they have no idea and how do they know if you will or will not use it? What business is it of theirs if you don’t use it? How will your not using it impact their life? Reality is this, life is too short, if you get it and decide it’s not your cup of tea, you can sell it. This is your life and the opinions of others should factor very little, if at all into what you and your husband want to do with your money.

Like anything in life the more you do something the better you get at it. Loading a quilt it time consuming and as others have said, standing there for long periods of time quilting takes a toll of you. I have the robotics for my machine and it’s the best investment ever! I load everything, press a few buttons and let it work it’s magic. I usually work on another project while it’s quilting.

You’ve worked hard in life and now is the time to do something you’ve always wanted to do.

I agree with the people that say to take a class and try it before committing to buying one for yourself.

If you enjoy the process - go for it!

Although I still say go for it, I would actually also advise taking a class or at least visiting a shop and trying it out. It is still more physical than some people think.

You can also take in consideration the amount of tops you have, the rate at which you piece, and if you don't buy the machine are you willing to send them out for quilting? You can have a lot of quilts finished very nicely for the price of a long arm.

My last thought was to compare this purchase to a car. If you are still driving, if your car died tomorrow would you replace it or would you say you were too old?

I am a year older than you. I am slowing down a bit but, still going strong. If I had the room I would get me a sit dowm quilting machine. Lack of room is the only thing stopping me.

I say if you want it --- get it. The heck with the naysayers.