feline fanatic

Hi Empress and welcome to the board. It sounds like your plate is pretty full right now. I do know of several professional (and famous) LAQ that got their longarms with very young ones at home. Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts was just kicking off her business when she was pregnant with her 4th child and the other 3 were still very young. But quilting was her FT job and with her husband, she has built a very successful business. Another is Angela Walters, again I am pretty sure that quilting was her FT job. Margaret Solomon Gunn is another. Although her kids are now getting into their teens.

What kind of quilting are you planning to do with your LA? If E2E (pantos, all over designs that ignore the piecing) I would definitely not take the plunge at this stage of your life. But if you are going to pursue full on hand guided (not computer driven) custom quilting then I think you should take some days off from your work, get a sitter and actually enroll in some hands on longarming classes in the upcoming expo you mention in May. The reason I differentiate between hand guided vs computer driven and custom as opposed to E2E (pantos or CD E2E) is that you can continue to utilize the services of a pro with CD and E2E. Unless your passion is creating designs and digitizing them. But I think a $20K price tag is not a computer driven setup. It may include pantovision, hard to say without knowing all the features the dealer is including.

I do have an Innova and I love it. And it is one of the few brands out there that is super adaptable and you can add on things down the road (including the belts and box for Computer driven) and it does not cost any different than if you bought it as a package up front. I saved up so did not finance my machine (I am extremely debt averse). I bought a used dealer Demo and researched a full year before taking the plunge. My machine is a 26" on 10' frame standard SR that was upgraded to Lightening Stitch last year. The L/S is definitely something you want. I only had room for a 10ft frame but I can tell you I would much prefer a larger frame. The widest quilt I can fit on my frame is 100" and then I barely have room on the side to change bobbins, put the side clamps on and only a very small area to check my tension. So I try not to do anything that wide.

Prior to investing in a LA I had been quilting for 20 years. Mostly hand quilting with a bit of dabbling on DSM FMQ and lots of walking foot straight line quilting. I took a certification course to rent so I already knew I liked doing it. I don't have kids and I do still work full time. I am 59. I have fibro and mild CFS, not debilitating, except sometimes when I have a bad crash and need to sleep a lot. Mostly I need to sleep a minimum of 9 to 10 hours per day. Longarming does take a toll on the body. When I first got my machine 9 years ago I could easily stand at it 5 to 6 hours a day, even some 8 hour days occasionally. Now 4 hours seems to be my maximum. I did hit the ground running with my longarm. So not everyone has the steep learning curve. But I would say I am not the norm but I am not the only one. I have a few longarming friends (who were also hand quilters) that did amazing work as soon as they started playing. But they also did not have young kids to distract or interrupt them.

So when you say life is is short, this is true and while you have a full plate right now, you also have the stamina and energy of youth. But you also have commitments to your children and family (both time and financial) as well as a FT job. Only you can make the final decision to go forward this quickly. It sounds like you are taking a lot of the right steps. Don't let the dealer pressure you into a quick sale. Believe me, there will always be dealer demos, specials and the occasional trade in (but most of us Innovians do not trade in, unless it is to upgrade to a larger throat). Good luck in whatever you decide and I hope you hang around the board and participate no matter where your quilting journey takes you.

Watson

Welcome to the board! You're getting some great advice.

I was where you are about a year ago and I ended up deciding to buy a mid arm after doing my due diligence. A long arm just wasn't right for me for a number of reasons once I really got into it. That's why each of us needs to really get hand-on with a lot of machines and talk to a lot of different dealers and, as you say you are going to a big show in May I think? That is the best idea. Until then, renting time and working away at the quilts you have is a great idea, too.

Have fun and keep researching. It sounds like you are doing well working on the rented long arms, so you should do great when you get your own.

Watson

AStitchInTime

May I tell you my experience with deciding when to purchase and how much was too much?

When I found that I was spending more on LA service (or renting) per month than if I purchased my own LA machine and financed for 5 years....then I knew it was time.

So I did my research, found the machine/frame and accessories I wanted. I made a spreadsheet of the cost breakdown for each item on my list (machine, frame, ruler base, rear handles, stylus, various pressure feet, etc...) from several dealers online.

Once I was armed with that info, I went to a quilt expo and met with a dealer there. I let her give me her sales pitch, even though I knew this was the machine I wanted, then presented her with my list and asked her if she could do better. She didn't bat an eye, took my list from me, went to her computer, did her magic and then presented me with her proposal. After all the freebies she thru in (all were on my list) and discounts, her total cost was 20% less than the lowest price I found on line.

So my answer to you on your original question ... heck no, $1,000 off $20,000 is only a 5% discount, and a joke!

mindless

Hi emperessally. I'm really glad you found this board. What a talented, encouraging and helpful group of people live here!!! I hope you come back a lot, and show us pics of your projects.

It sounds like you have lots of time to search for the perfect machine for you, if you are waiting until May.
I did this same search a couple of years ago.
I did something very similar to what AStitchInTime did. I found the machine I wanted, then found a great deal for it online, and then took a printout of all the goodies and the price to my nearest dealer.
She took the list, put it all together, added some thread and free lessons at her shop for as long as I needed / wanted them. She also invited me to her monthly longarmers group... sort of a 1 hour class plus show and tell and snacks and coffee/tea/water.
This dealer owned her own shop, and she is the most amazing person.
Anyway, I learned that the dealer you find is almost as important as the machine you buy. In the beginning, you may be leaning on them heavily...for set up, classes, trouble shooting, and maintenance, stuff like that.

I'm sad because my dealer has moved to another state.

Good luck to you, and happy quilting!

ashiecat

If your heart is set on getting a long arm here is one question to ask yourself (after the 'Can I afford this?') - how will I or any of my significant others feel about having a $20,000 clothes rack if I decide I don't really like quilting for myself? I won't try to discourage you, because there used to be a lady in my quilt guild who didn't care that much about actually making quilts, but boy could she do amazing things with that long arm!

tuckyquilter

How new? If you are under a year I'd give it some time before I spent the money on a Long Arm. Just pay someone for now and see if quilting is going to be a passion or a sometime thing.

Grace creates

Wow a 20.000 longarm. Hey you never know dreams can come true. Many gave you great advice on how to make a wise purchase. I don't know your budget and that is a big part of such a big purchase. What ever you decide enjoy the process of creating quilts. You mentioned "don't want to feel cheated again" that requires doing your h.w. on prices and then bringing that going to a dealer or a show.

sewingpup

Hi, I bought a crazy midarm with a sagging frame first for about $3000. I did do about 20 quilts on it and learned...yep...I liked doing my own quilts. So, I upgraded....not to the fanciest, lot of bells and whistle model.....but to a basic APQS Lucey. She has a stitch regulator, a needle up and down, one channel lock, a 26 inch neck, and a 12 foot frame. and I opted to go with "bliss" which makes her very easy to move. She was a demo..and when all was said and done, I paid about 12,000 for her..this was about 7-8 years ago. I quilt only for myself, I make quilts that folks can throw on the floor, have the dog lay on it, throw it in the washer and dryer and plop it on their bed. Most of the quilting I do is an over-all with things like loops, double loops, leaves thrown in....I have done some ruler work but found I just don't have the patience to do fancy and custom work. I like the softness that quilting larger gives to a quilt....heavily quilted ones look wonderful...but...really aren't all the cuddly. I am entirely content with my machine...she does what I want to her to do...and I have room to grow...if and when I want to. Basically, she runs fine....and is easy to maintain you want to look at things like service provided by the manufacturer....APQS has a lot of video's and how too's and have designed the machine with the thought that the owner should be able to do quit a bit of the servicing...not that I have had to do much other than cleaning and oiling. One of my friends had to send her longarm head in and it was gone for four months...not good nor easy to ship.

Mazo

I’m new to quilting as well and am finding lots of good info on this board. I can see myself in the same situation one day and do a lot of window shopping on the web. Anyway, I’m curious, what’s everyone’s opinion of the Janome long arm with Grace frame selling on amazon for $3,600. Would it be a good starter or something that just might frustrate you?

[h=1]Juki TL-2010Q 9" Long-arm Machine, Grace Continuum Quilting Frame, SureStitch Regulator, Pattern Templates, 100 Needles,[/h]

QuiltnNan

I started with a Juki 9" on a frame. It is limiting because by the time the quilt is rolled, you only have about 4" of quilting depth. That said, if you are creative in quilting the blocks in parts, you can quilt up to 12" blocks by rolling several times for the block roll. I quilted a queen sized with 12" blocks this way.