Watson

A lady in town offers LA classes and after you've taken the class you can rent time on her LA.

What would you expect to learn from a basic LA lesson?

Would you actually learn enough from one class to be let loose on a LA?

Does anyone here rent time on a LA? How long does it take to do a quilt, (assuming queen size, all over design)?

I will call the lady but I'd like to have an idea of what to ask, first.

Thanks, Watson

ckcowl

Before I purchased my first long arm I took a ( certification class) where you learned the machine then could rent time. After having my own a couple years I started offering the same class. To me-- well worth it.
We start with learning the machine, buttons, features. Learn to thread it, wind bobbins, clean it, apply oil, basic maintenance. Then learn to load a quilt.
Then we do a practice quilt. Learn to use the stitch regulator, cruise control and free motion ( no stitch regulation) recognize tension issues and adjust the tension, choose the right threads.
mark a quilt,free hand and with a stencil, then quilt the marked area, try out the laser and a pantograph. My certificate class is 4 hours ( generally) if we do our practice quilt and there is time and desire the ( student) can load and quilt a small quilt they brought with them.
People learn and become comfortable at different rates so sometimes there is not time for that. Sometimes people take to it very quickly and love it, sometimes people decide its work ( hard on shoulders, knees, back) they are too tense and hate it. Everyone is different. I highly recommend the class if you think you would like to rent time / quilt your own quilts or if you have been considering purchase. It is no fun to jump into that ( very large investment) only to find you hate the process.
after finishing the class, when you make an appointment to rent time you are not just dropped in blind, on your own. I'm always here- I help load the quilt ( it is a time consuming process that goes faster with two) and I'm here for any questions, trouble shooting, issues that may arise. I don't hover- I'm usually across the room at my sewing machine, working on my own project but am available for anything that might be a problem.
I have one person who's been coming in to quilt her own quilts for 14 years now- she can not thread the needle, has never been able to, so I'm here to do that for her in the beginning and if her thread breaks.

dunster

What I expect would depend partly on the price and purpose of the class. If the purpose is just to assure the owner that you are competent to operate her brand of longarm safely (meaning that both you and the longarm are safe) then I would expect to learn how to start/stop the machine, how to load a quilt, how to thread the machine, how to oil and clean it, how to change the bobbin, and how to unload the quilt so that it can be re-loaded, assuming that you won't be able to finish the quilt in one session. I would expect that the owner would want to be the one to set the tension and correct it if necessary, but if not then you would need a lesson on that too. These lessons would be sufficient for someone who has prior experience with using a longarm, even of another brand. If someone has no experience on a longarm, then they might also need lessons on using a pantograph (if they intend to use one), or on free motion or even ruler work. It just depends on what they know and don't know, and any additional training would come with an additional price.

How long it takes to do an all over design depends on several factors - the complexity of the design, the density of the design, the skill of the longarmer, the ease of operation of that particular longarm, the throat size (affecting how often you will have to stop and roll the quilt), the type of loading system used (pins, zippers, Red Snappers, etc.), and whether there are any problems encountered (thread breaking or shredding, poor tension, etc.). I would definitely plan on more than one session, partly because you may find it tiring, especially when first starting.

Have fun!

QuiltE

Watson ... I think you have been given some good insights from CKCowl and Dunster. I have never rented time, but have inquired, and asked many of the questions related to the outlines they have given you in the previous posts. My biggest concerns when I did inquire was how much would I be turned loose later on? ... or how much assistance would I get? I am sure a lot of it depends on how fast you adapt and learn.

Not everyone is a "good" teacher/instructor, and do you know the local person enough to have a sense of that Knowing how small communities are, and complications that can arise if there was a bad experience, before signing up, I would consider, what if the worst case scenario happens? Would I be able to meet her on the street? and could I be civil about my experience to this person? and others in the community who would be interested to know how it went?

To start the process, I would phone and ask to come to her studio, to ask questions and let her explain more to you as to how the lesson(s) would work as well as the rentals later. In doing so, I think you would have a good sense as to how comfortable you would be working with her and in the home set up. At the same time, be sure to see the work she has done and check whether it is to my personal standards. If I am not happy with that ... could I accept instruction from her?

As for the initial class ... you would have that experience and know whether you have an interest in continuing on further. Or know it is not for you!

It'd be all win-win for you .... a terrific way to try out a LA without investing.
And a way to have a LA, without investing!

I know there are some here in the province that offer the same. You could call some of them, and question as to what their lessons include. At least then, you have a somewhat local (meaning Ontario) perspective for comparison to your local person's offerings.

Good Luck!

Watson

Thanks, everyone! That's all fantastic information.
It's given me lots to think about and made me a little more brave about perhaps taking a lesson.


Watson

susie-susie-susie

I used to rent time at a local shop. We used a pentagram and the shop owner was there to offer help if needed. She had 2 Gammells (sorry about the spelling) and was usually working on a quilt while I was working on mine. It usually took about 4 hours to do a lap quilt. We used zippers to load the quilt and had to buy them before we could take the class. The zippers made loading the quilt pretty simple and quick (no time spent on that--money saver). The quilt we worked on was donated after we finished and was provided by the shop. I think there were 4 of us in the class and we each did one row of the pentogram and the shop owner bound the quilt and then donated it (probably Linus Club). I enjoyed the whole process, but the shop closed and there isn't another near my house. I would love to own my own machine, but I don't think it is worth the cost, so I recently bought the Westalee template set. I think that was a good purchase and certainly worth the money. Good luck, and I think it was worth taking the class and I don't think you will be sorry.
Sue

quiltingshorttimer

I took a certification class and rented time before I got my Gammill. The class and rental time was at a local quilt shop so very professionally done. I learned how to load/unload, start and stop the thread. Some basics about tension, etc. And used a pantograph to quilt my first quilt when I rented time. the 2nd one I FMQ and it definitely looks like my first FMQ! the more work you do on your DSM with FMQ, the easier it is on the LA.

Based on your creative piecing work, I look forward to see what you do on a LA!