Starting up a local longarm group - any ideas?
 

I have had my longarm just over 2 years now, and I feel that I'm stuck in a rut, not progressing as fast as I would like. When I started quilting, I learned quickly, thanks mostly to the wonderful friends who answered questions and showed me what they did and how they did it. I would like to participate in a longarm group, hopefully where longarmers meet in each other's homes every month or so and exchange ideas. There is one such group in this area, but it is all professional longarmers, and they are not looking for new members. I would like to form a new group, hopefully with both pros and non-pros using various brands of longarms. I'm not sure whether it would make sense to mix longarms, shortarms, stand-up machines, etc. I suspect that there is a lot of cross-over knowledge.

I plan to check with the local guilds to see if there are people who would like to join, and also at the LQS's in the area. I'll post with the longarm groups on yahoo. And of course I've posted here. :)

Any other suggestions? Anyone interested in joining a group? Has anyone started a similar group? I'd love to find out how you got started, what you do at your meetings, and what you have learned from the experience.

I am doing the same thing! For our 1st meeting, I am asking everyone to bring a sampler of what they CAN do and attempts of what they want to learn. Hopefully, this will get us started!

Sounds like a great idea to me

Ohhhh, I wish I lived near you! I'd love to have a longarm group near me. I like your idea of having pros and non-pros, what a great way to share ideas.

I bought a Tin Lizzie 26" and pick it up this weekend. I'm so excited!

Christine-
http://quiltdasher.blogspot.com/

Great idea! I have no experience with anything like that, so I'm afraid i can't help. But I'd surely join if I were nearby. Good luck to you!

I would be happy to just have one friend who loves to make quilts but I'd be over the moon to have a whole group of friends who longarm.

Me too!:o:o:o

I agree, what a great idea! Wish I lived nearby, I would love to be part of group like that.

Wish I was closer too! I have a feeling that most of the long-armers around here want to keep their ideas and tricks to themselves---competitive.....

Dang, I'm on the other side of Oregon from you. I have a Bernina 830 with a long arm table and would love any help. I've had the table for 1 1/2 years, but it's still sitting in all the boxes in my garage because I know nothing about quilting. Having a group would be wonderful. If you do start one, maybe I could drive down, get a motel and come to one of your meetings and get some ideas. Maybe I could come 3 times a year. I'm up for that. I'm about 6 1/2 hours from you. I'm in northeastern Oregon. By LaGrande, over the mountains from Pendleton.

Jeanne, I'll keep you posted. I'd love to have you come down to join us whenever you can - as soon as there's an "us" to join!

That sounds like a wonderful idea! I wished I lived near you too!

At least one of our LQS's has a group. It has HQ owners of various machines.

I also think some other LQS's, the ones that rent out their LA's would welcome and host such a group. The upside of this is knowing where you'll meet each time. Also someone at the LQS might be able to do a brief program or two to help you all learn. Especially if you are going to buy supplies from them.

ali

I suggest you spend that travel time setting up your frame and practice. You'll be surprised how fast you learn by putting your hands on the "wheel". Any "mistakes" are lessons at a small cost. Give yourself some lessons!

Dunster:

Long time since I have been on, oh so busy. But our local Heartland Longarm Quilting Group, meets one Saturday (odd months only) and we usually meet at one of the members homes, it's potluck each member bringing something for the lunch (runs about 10-1). We start the meeting with introductions as new members are always joinging. We have many different machines, Nolthing, AP, HQ etc. At our last meeting, we discussed different "fav" websites, and compiled them for our members. Other than that we do a show and tell, new things learned, new pattern favorites, customer quilting questions, and tips that we may find useful to other members.

I'm not sure what kind of things you're interested in learning, but would you consider an online class? I just took a class from Carla Barrett called Quilt Whispering. Her quilting is gorgeous. She teaches you how to envision different ways to quilt your quilts. I believe the next class starts in June.

Her website: http://quiltwhisper.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=18
Her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/feather...7615007435583/

I know of another quilter (Margaret) who also took Carla's Quilt Whispering class and she does beautiful work. You can see her quilts here: http://quiltsoflove.blogspot.com/

My Inspira with a Juki was delivered yesterday and I'm having a hard time concentrating on work today. Visions of quilting on my new mid-arm keep popping in my head. I noticed that there wasn't a "group" for long & mid arm quilters. Could we start one? I know it's not the same as a meeting but surely we can help one another out with ideas and inspirations. There was an old thread about leaders I looked at but when I did a search nothing came up. So how about it?

Wow Peggi those are some awesomely bodacious links you just provided for some LA eye candy! How do you find these??
I never even knew there were LA groups that met! I like to follow blogs and look at pictures of various artists so a resource of weblinks and such would be great. I am assuming it would be kind of like a guild so maybe you could eventually look into getting a group rate with a famous teacher like Karen McTavish. Alas Dunster, your Albany is on the wrong coast for me, Hmmm I remeber that same lament was made by me when you first got your Innova. I ended up getting my own! Maybe my Dunster envy will lead to my own LA group as well! LOL If you decide to form an online group I'd be interested.

I tried to register for quiltwhisper, but it keeps rejecting my entry. It says one of the fields in the "prove to us you're a quilter" needs to be filled in. It is! It asked for the month of MQS - which is held in May. I couldn't find anywhere to contact an admin to ask about it. :(

Oh no!! Try email: Carla at quiltwhisper dot com.

Thanks Peggi, I sent her an email just now.

I just finished Carla Barrett's class. It was awesome. I recommend her class to anyone wanting to learn how to see quilting designs in everyday objects and transfer those into designs in thread.