When will you consider a Long Arm?
 

Here, I am assuming you are a hobbyist quilter, that is, you do not make quilts to sell.

When will you consider taking the plunge and investing in a Long Arm?
Has anyone done a cost analysis - include the one time price, material cost (thread, etc), and maintenance cost? How many quilts does it take to break-even compared to sending the tops out for professional long arm quilting? (This is an important question because husbands need to be convinced. LOL!)
I know many times it is more than just costs, it is the enjoyment of doing it, freedom to choose patterns, etc. But here I am looking at costs alone.

Anyone care to share? Thanks:)

it's an excellent question, and one i have wondered about myself. No i don't have a long arm. i don't have the time to justify it..sigh.

I never expected to break even with quilting. It is just something I love to do. My long-arm came from my husband who wanted to see me take my love of quilting as far as I could go. He is a believer in having the tools you need. I balked at the idea, even though it was my heart's desire. He won me with the argument, "if not now, when?". He is the one who really saw the need.

I don't know where I would put one. DH has been eyeballing them for years.

For a rough estimate just divide the cost of a LA setup with the average cost of someone quilting for you. As I said that is just a rough estimate but for me it was an eye opener.

My dealer called to tell me they had gotten a long arm setup as a trade in. They offered me a great price, a warranty and threw in some extras. She called on my birthday. I took it as a Sign From God.

ours was a used set-up as well. Bought it on a whim visiting a quilt shop that was going out of business.

It sounds as if it were meant to be for you, Paper Princess. I've thought of a long arm but realized there is just not enough room in my home, but a mid-arm ... maybe, someday. But still have to do the research and justification .... do I really need this? It's just like buying a second car. Good luck, liont.

A long arm is on my wish list and I will get one as soon as I can afford it, which in today's economy looks to be a long time, sigh. I have a mega quilter on a home made frame that works fine for now but the quilting space is so limited.

As much as I'd love to learn to LAQ, I figure my basic quilting skills need more work, first. Lots more work. :p Never mind that I have no room for one! LOL

i think if you are going to buy a used setup for under 3000 it would be worth it but not if your planning to buy new. and if you have to take out a loan it wouldent be worth it to me

I keep a spreadsheet of all the quilts I've made. For most of them I have the measurements. In order to figure out how much longarm services might have cost me, I added a field for the square inches and multiplied by .02, figuring that some of my quilts would have been custom quilted at a much higher price and most would have been quilted less expensively. I came up with over $4500, and I've only been quilting for about 6 years. I did a rough calculation like this when I bought my longarm, 2+ years ago. The calculations weren't enough to convince me that buying the longarm would save me money, but I am one of those quilters who wants every bit of the quilt to be done by myself. I quilted everything on my DSM before I bought the longarm, and I was getting tired of doing that. If I wanted to really save money, I would just quit quilting!

I looked at a top of the line with all the bells and whistles a few years back after attending a show. Well at that time it was almost $30,000.00 investment. I very quickly figured out that even if I send out 10 quilts per year... its not worth it. Granted you can get used or less bells and whistles ... but even at a $10,000 investment .. it would take lots of quilts before it paid for itself.
One cost that is often overlooked is the start -up.. the learning curve... you will need supplies to practice .
By using a pro , I can select a specific pro for the style of the quilt and I have no "learning curve" fo me to learn that style of quilting.
I would love to be able to complete all my quilts start to finish ... but I also enjoy going further into my skills as a piecer. I did not think I would have the time to do both as well as I wanted. So for me even if I won the lottery ... I would not get one... and if I did win the cost of sending them out would no longer be an issue.
Another note ... a friend bought a Long Arm set up .. and she has had a very tough time managing the expectations of quilting friends and relatives. She bought it strictly for her own use .. but is constantly pestered by those who want to "borrow" her machine or beg her to quilt "just this one quilt". She says its like being the only one in the neighborhood with a pool on a hot summer day.

Thanks. It is tempting, seeing the amazing stuff the ladies here do!

You are very disciplined to keep a spreadsheet:thumbup:

Yes, that is something I overlooked.

I bought my LA after paying over $1200 to have 3 quilts custom-quilted....at $400 each and a LA that costs $10000...you'll be on top in 25 quilts....(I think that's the right answer...mind is somewhere else today so please double-check....)let's see; 400X25=10,000...yep, seems to be correct. Then of course, there are all the additional costs associated with LA'ing like thread, needles, pantographs, etc., etc. But to me, it's worth it. I do quilting for my shop, myself, charity organizations and my family...so I figured it was money well spent. Good luck if you decide to go for it!

I bought a small Gammill last year and have never regretted it. I do quilt as a business, but only to keep me in quilting funds. I don't need to make a lot of money just enough to pay for fabric and retreats. I have found that I really love it. I am branching out into custom quilting and am enjoying the challenge. It is just another dimension to quilting. If you are thinking about it and weighing the pros and cons, I think you might be ready to take the leap.

So what does the average quilt cost to be quilted by a quilter with a long arm? I know that it varies, but say, a typical twin sized--from the simple wavy lines to the complicated?? My guess between $75-$300? Just a guess as I have no idea...none whatsoever...maybe someone can correct my guess...

The idea is floating in my head now -- has been for several years. But I haven't been able to make space for it in my home yet. In the meantime, I'm renting time on a long arm at one of two places. If I ever can figure out how to get the machine in my space, I will look at used machines. I've enjoyed quilting my own quilts, but would like to do more time custom quilting, but with the meter running, I stick to quicker freehand panto type quilting -- all appropriate for the quilts I've done.

My husband bought me a Gammill at a garage sale last summer - it's huge - had to sell the pool table. I am learning, slowly but surely, how to use it. Have only taken one class, definitely would like to take more - why are they so darn expensive?????

I like making large quilts (king size) and at $300-$400 a piece for LAQ, I figured I could have paid for the darn thing in the years I have paid other people to do my quilting.

I have been doing quilts for a charity group (no pay), and have been getting better with practice. Not sure if I would be comfortable charging someone just yet - it's pretty scarry to take someone elses' baby and be responsible for making it into the final product.

We had to sell our pool table to make room for it - but, I really miss that pool table (alias, cutting table)!

Oooohhh, please tell us more about the homemade frame! :-)

Very honestly, when hell freezes over. I think LAQs are wonderful, but I will never have the money or a space big enough for one. Til then, I will continue hand quilting sometimes and paying someone to LAQs. Even if I had the money and space, I'm not mechanically or technically savvy enough to do any worthwhile justice to what I may have made.

Well...I would very much like to have one. My main reason for wanting one is so I can LA my quilts when I want to instead of being at the mercy of someone else's schedule. I have no desire to custom quilt for others. Yes...one day I shall have one.

Excellent analogy.
Annie

How about the HQ 16 ? I think they are less expensive then a Long arm. Thats on my dream list.

I had been thinking about wanting one, because of how much it costs for professional quilting service. Then one day I was opening the mail and had received some unexpected $$. Fortunately, I was able to find a used system here on the Quilting Board and got it last April. I still need lots of practice, though. I don't think I'll ever be confident enough to work on others' quilts for pay.

Check out the APQS website and look for a roadshow in your area. I went to one, learned alot and they give you several handouts, one of them being how many quilts you need to quilt to pay for your machine. Its a rough estimate, but great information. Im not buying one of their machines, Im going to be buying an A1 at the end of the years. Super machine.
Anyway, several women brought their hubbies to the roadshow (I chose NOT to) :) but they actually had some great questions, all which were answered by the APQS guys.
Good luck with your search.

I have a Bernina 830 and bought the LA frame that goes with it. The frame is sitting in my garage, still in the boxes, 2 years later. I had the choice of the frame or a desk. I should have picked the desk. I have not quilted on my machine at all. I don't have the desire to. I love to piece and applique and am learning to paper piece. I love taking my quilts to the LA quilters and talking it over with them what they will do with my quilt. They come up with some wonderful ideas I would never have thought about.
It just doesn't seem like something I would like to do. And I don't know what to do with the frame. I paid only $500 for it. It is all metal and white. There was a sale going on at the time and if you bought the machine you got to choose either the frame or desk so it was inexpensive. I thought "Oh, how much money I could save", not "oh no, I'll have to learn something I have no desire to learn". And I don't mean this disrespectfully. I have the upmost respect for anyone who quilts. It is way beyond me. I bow to anyone who machine, hand or LA quilts. It's just not something I want to do right now and haven't wanted to do for the last two years. Anyone want to buy a brand new LA table for $500? lol

As much as I love piecing...I also love turning my top over to my long arm quilting for the finishing touches. It depends upon how you feel about your own work. I don't "love" the quilting--but do love the creative process of piecing. You need to have a long talk with yourself as to what you LOVE to do. If it is the actually quilting--go for it and forget having it "pay for itself". It is for the love of it.

What you said makes a lot of sense. It is about what one loves to do most. If it is the process of quilting that one enjoys, then whether it pays for itself is irrelevant.
For me, I enjoy piecing, choosing the color combinations, composing the overall imagery. I guess quilting is not as primary in my quilt making hierarchy. Most of the time, I dont make large quilts, like King sized ones. I make wall quilts, so a LA is an overkill.

But still, it will be nice to have one in the basement,... or a kind neighbor's house where you can pay for use with cookies.. Haha.. just kidding!

I never tried to justify it-My daughter and I both quilt and shared the cost.There is a learning curve to factor in.We love it and that was justification enuff for us.

I will never consider one no matter what the price. I had a quilting business before there were Long arms. My machine was an industrial and so were the sliding frames. I charged enough to discourage quilters because I was overwhelmed with business. I could do three quilts per day and for years I worked at this pace. The pressure to get them done and out became worse as time progressed. When I counted the undone quilts one day I found I was more than three months behind, I decided that was enough. This machine and frames costs a whole five hundred. A lot of money back then.

I'm with Learner747. Don't want a long arm ever. I'd much prefer to do my own on my machine or by hand. What I'd like is someone to look at my tops and make quilting suggestions like "put feathers here" or "Baptist fans would look good here". I just don't have that artistic eye to pick just the right quilting pattern.

Jcrow, I sent you a PM.

I'm with Dunster, I bought my long-arm because I wanted to do the whole process myself and quilting on my DSM is not for me..I wish it was. I have done some quilting for others and that has helped pay for the machine, but the machine is just the start, there's classes, rulers, lights, and just all kinds of goodies to help enhance your quilting. ;)
I bought an APQS Millennium and I do love it, but if I had it to do over, would I? Probably not. They tout the extra quilting space, well, I free-hand mostly from the front and only use, at the most 8 to 10 inches of that space. The only time I use that extra space is when I quilt from the back. The one thing that I would have to have is the stitch regulator...I love it.

Oh I am thinking about it right now, but there is no way I will be able to talk DH out of vacating his half of the hobby room!

When I win the lottery!!! And then buy a bigger house that a long arm will fit into.

That'll be the day - since I seldom buy lottery tickets.

Thanks for my chuckle for today.

Nita in Wisconsin (not Michigan)

I got my Tin Lizzie for the same reason. My DH felt with my health issues (MS and 2 Shoulder repairs) that I would really benefit from a long arm. You may not be able to justify it now, but, as time goes on, you will. I have done a couple of special requests on my Tin Lizzie, but, I don't make it a habit. Quilting is my hobby now that I am retired, and I do not intend to make it a profession. If you turn your hobby (passion) into a job, then it isn't fun anymore. Anyway I'm rambling... not everything has to be justified and sometimes it has to be fun and make you happy. I do not regret my DH convincing me to get a Tin Lizzie.

I just got my Queen Quilter 18 the end of March. I'd been using a longarmer for several years, as I didn't have the time to do it myself. (I was an over the road truck driver & time home was very limited.) Now that I've retired, I have the time & desire to expand my horizons. I've done several quilts now & learn something with each one. Yes, there's a learning curve, but we're constantly learning new techniques & ways to accomplish the looks we want in our quilts. This just takes it one step further. I've so far only done my own quilts, but will probably doing for others when I feel more comfortable with my skills. If you're considering purchasing a longarm, do some math, as was suggested earlier, to determine if it is cost feasible. Consider where you're going to put it, & how much time you're willing to devote to learning. Yes, it's expensive to purchase & maintain, but to me it's worth the effort.