I too find no enjoyment in machine quilting so now I quilt by hand even the king size quilts I have made, yes, it takes a long time but so relaxing. Why not try yourself Zozee you may find it suits you better - just a thought!!!!!

I hated the quilting part until I decided to QAYG on my last quilt.

I quilted each block before I began assembling them. Much easier, more control and very manageable.

I'm going to do all my quilts that way in the future.

I loathe the quilting part. I like bed sized quilts, and wrestling that quilt through the machine, and worrying about making mistakes on a top I've worked so hard on is gut wrenching for me. I've done it, but hate it and mostly send quilts out. I would love to try hand quilting sometime. Maybe this summer if I can find someone to coach me through it a bit.

A large throat on a machine will definitely make it easier to maneuver your quilt when quilting. I like the quilting part even though I mostly do straight line, STID, and just recently some curves. I did just "go for it" with FMQ on 1 lap quilt and it looks horrible. I was tired of practicing but obviously need more practice. Ha! For now, for me, straight line and STID works best for me. Try working on small projects (maybe placemats) to see if you enjoy the quilting part more then you can move up to larger projects. You might just need to feel the satisfaction of doing a small piece well w/o a lot of hassle before going to a large quilt. But, hey, if you find you still don't like the quilting part, that's okay too.

Good luck!
Sharon

I can't wait to finish piecing a quilt so that I can start quilting it. I would not have put the money into my sweet16 if I hadn't felt that I loved FMQ on my DSM as well.
The only thing different about quilting on a machine with a bigger harp space is that it is not as difficult to move the quilt around. It is still the same process.
There is a setting and foot for my Pfaff machine called a dynamic spring foot and goes on the dynamic spring foot 6d mode and it is very nice for FMQ. Maybe test drive something like that to see if you enjoy it more.

I too suggest quilting by hand. Since you make smaller projects it might be fun to try marking one with chalk and stencil and hand quilting it. I hand quilt and I enjoy it more than piecing by far. I piece so I can quilt. If you hand quilt I recommend a plastic quilting hoop maybe the 14 inch size hoop. I use a Comfort Thimble. They are out of Oregon and are also sold through several sites online. After trying more than a few thimbles I hope my recommendation saves you some money and headaches if you decide to hand quilt. Also I use Gutermann thread sold at JoAnn fabrics to quilt with. I hope that what ever method you choose for quilting your projects that you enjoy creating.

This was going to be my suggestion as well. You don't need to do intricate designs unless you want to. I find handquilting very relaxing; can do that while watching TV w/hubs in the evening; etc. It's actually one of the reasons I started quilting. I love to do hand work of any type and was getting frustrated as to what to do with the many finished items. How much cross stitch, etc. can you have in your home?

It is hard to say. Have you looked in taking a class at a LQS that you can then try renting one of their LAQ?? I would want to test drive something first before making that kind of investments. Some of them cost as much as a car !! With being disable, it is difficult for me to quilt but I still love piecing so I found someone to quilt my charity tops for me. I am happy as a clam. Now if I could fins someone to do the binding.......

I don't enjoy that part either. So happy when a quilt is finished but still don't like that part of it. Like you I love the piecing. This is why I have so many UFO's. Every so often, I make myself finish one. Usually I just do simple SID or Cross Hatch. I cannot afford to send every quilt out to a LA. That is for those really special quilts I don't want to mess up. Since this is my hobby and I truly enjoy what I do, this is OK with me. Just put your tops in a box so you don't have to see how many UFO's you have collected.

I don't think anyone can answer this question but you. I can tell you what I suspect though. I suspect that if you don't enjoy quilting on your domestic, you're not going to enjoy it any more on a long arm. A lot of folks have this notion that a long arm just magically makes your quilting easy and flawless. That couldn't be farther from the truth. It takes time, effort, and hours upon hours of practice and some determination to overcome the obstacles of frame quilting. The frame itself has it's own quirks, just like any sewing machine, and you have to learn those and learn how to work with them. It doesn't happen overnight. Then, tension is another thing that many folks struggle with. If you don't have the passion or interest to kind of work through those challenges, it could be very easy to walk away from it.

On the other hand you love to piece. You had the passion and motivation to work through the problems that can arise to become a good piecer. So it's kind of the same concept.

But if you're essentially asking if buying a larger bowl of spinach is going to make you love the small bowl of spinach you're not so crazy about...I would say probably not. LOL

You could always try and find a friend who has a long or mid arm and ask if they might walk you through the process...or even quilt something of your own on it. Or look online at YouTube videos. Look at not only the quilting that looks so easy peasy on video, but the loading and trouble shooting too. That might give you a more accurate idea of what you're contemplating getting yourself into.

I can tell you for me, after about eight years I began losing interest in piecing and became more of a quilter on my domestic. I was quilting intricate heirloom pieces on my little Simplicity Quilter's Classic and knew I wanted more. I finally purchased a long arm and I rarely piece now...the things I do piece are generally simple piecing with lots of negative space for intricate quilting. I feel like I discovered my true passion in the quilting process and it began on the domestic...