Adding on to Bree123's comment about renting time on long arm machines - my local shop also rents out time on large sit-down quilting machines. It's a new program and I haven't done it myself yet, but for the sit-down machines they aren't requiring the class beforehand and it's a lower hourly fee than using the stand-up long arm so the overall cost is a lot less than renting time on the stand-up machine. Drawback is that you'd still have to build your quilt sandwich and baste it yourself, but that shop also has some large tables you can use for free as long as there isn't a class already using them.

I know a lady in St. Louis county that does long arm work for $40 a queen. It is panto work but beautifully done. You supply the backing and batting, but she does have batting also. If you want her name and phone number, PM me.

OK--I do long arming professionally--but do understand that you are looking for way to finish some quilts for your Mom and not break the bank? I visited the LQS in Stover MO and they have a unique set up and only do edge2edge--but the prices were very reasonable so you might check there. Also, I'm hearing of more churches with quilting groups that raise $$ for charity by hand quilting for others--check with the LQS in Denver to see if any know of these groups.