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Awesome site - A few questions


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Hello All! I'm still in the wannabee stages doing my research, and I have a few questions I hope you can help me with.

I will be purchasing my LA with the intent of setting up a home quilting business. Everything I've read says one could realistically expect to have the machine pay for itself in a year or so.

However, I've never quilted a quilt, in any shape or form. In fact, I just completed my first top. And I may be crazy, but at the age of 40, kids out, hubby on the road a lot, I think I've finally found what I want to do for the rest of my life!

So, with my lack of knowledge, is it unrealistic to make a machine pay for itself say within the first 18 months?

It's not going to break us if it doesn't, but it will need to pay for itself at least in 3 years or I'll be in deep doodoo with my hubby, under 2 would be much, much better, LOL.

However, I'd like to be able to earn a living with the machine. Nothing substantial, if I could sock away 20k with it yearly I'd be tickled pink.

My other question was, what size room would I need to be comfortable in, to house the LA, a computer, my sewing machine, and whatever else I might want?

Currently we're in southern MO, and if we stay here, I have 2 spare bedrooms I could take the wall out between, but that would only give me a 13' x 26' area.

However, I'm almost positive we're going to be relocating to VA, and will know in a few weeks. If so, room won't be an issue, I'll simply allow for the space when we buy our next home.

Thanks all!

CJ

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I have only been quilting (sewing, for that matter) for 18 months. I recently purchased a Millenium that was delivered and set up in June. I am also lucky in that I don't have to worry about paying off the machine.

I have been practicing very hard and I have also signed up for classes taught by other Professional Long-arm Quilters. Members of my quilt guild are already asking me to do quilts for them. While this sounds great - I am waiting to do customer quilts until I do some of my own first. I also want to get some instruction under my belt.

I don't think you are any crazier than me! I think your 18 months to 2 years goal is not unreasonable. Just remember, you want to put GOOD work out there in the beginning. People will remember your work and quilters talk. Make sure you are ready to do good work before you take on customers. It doesn't have to be fancy work in the beginning, simple quilting well done will get you lots of work.

I say go for it! I love my machine and this company REALLY stands behind its products!

Just my humble opinion.

Mo

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I set up our machine into our family room. My frame is the 12' not the 14'. Our family room is 20' by 16'. I have my DSM and cutting table plus a few other decorative pieces of furniture in the room also. It is a great working space. It sounds like the two bedrooms you have available would be enough space to work.

Good Luck

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APQS will probably not like this but what they don't tell you is about all the rulers, books, videos, thread, batting and on and on... that you have to purchase to get ready to quilt. I'm not counting on making any money the first year. I have been spending money quite well though. LOL :D This might just be me but I don't even want to do customers quilts till I like what I'm doing on my own. A friend of mine said she worked on her machine 3 months straight full time before she took on any clients. How long did the rest of you take??

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Sharon: You do not HAVE to spend a lot of money on books, videos and classes. It does make it easier but it definitely is not something that you HAVE to do. When I first started out, I had no idea there were even videos, and classes available. There were few books available then and I didn't know about them anyway. I still have not spent one dime on classes!

You will have to have thread but you don't have to break the bank on that either. I still use a lot of Signature cotton thread. Kings Men sells it for $6.45 with free shipping if you buy 10 cones. So, for less than $70, you can get a good range of colors to start with.

My favorite "ruler" and the one I use 99% of the time is an oak board I purchased at Lowe's for $2.00 and had my husband cut into three sections for me.

Yes, you can go wild and spend lots of $$ on supplies but that isn't totally necessary and if money is an issue . . don't do it for now.

As far as how long it takes to pay off a machine, it mostly depends on how long it takes to get the customers. If you have customers sitting in line waiting, you can pay a Millennium off in 6 - 8 months if you're willing to work HARD.

I don't think anyone can tell you how long it will take YOU to pay off your machine because it depends on so many factors and I think the most important factor is how long it takes to get those customers. You can figure that the first two months, you'll be practicing and getting the word out that you're in business.

There are quilters on various lists that have been in business several years and still don't have enough business to stay busy and there are others who have been in business a short amount of time and have a one year wait.

If you're fairly confident that the business is out there in your area and you have a fair shot at getting it, I can't see how you would have any trouble paying off a Millennium in one year.

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Guest Linda S

Wow! First of all, let me say that if you don't need to worry about paying the machine off in a big hurry, congratulations! That will also probably give you time to learn. I have been sewing since I was about 11 or 12. Dabbled at quilting probably 15 years ago and got serious about it about 10 years ago. I bought my Liberty with a home equity loan that I can manage without taking in any business for awhile, but I have to tell you -- I'm starting to sweat bullets here and it's not because it's been 103 degrees! Machine quilting is NOT as easy as it looks. I can probably do a decent meander or large stipple without problems, but I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever make a decent feather or rose. Granted, my machine has only been up for two weeks and I work full time at another job, so I haven't had as much time to practice as I would like, but this is no cake walk. Try a few machines first and make sure this is what you want to do. I KNOW it's what I want to do, I'm just worried that I'm not going to be good at it.

Linda

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I practiced, played with, and quilted a lots of my own tops for about three months before taking a customers top. It wasn't wonderful but she displayed it at the local quilt show and I began to get calls and the quilts coming in. I do customer quilts because I love to use the machine and with no pressure for payments I can pick and choose. In my area a person would really struggle to make 20K annually because there are many who offer to do a king size and supply batting and backing for $65.00

I didn't have a book, rulers, videos, etc. when starting. My ruler is a round steel bar about 24" long. Made an extended base which I don't use & I still haven't seen a video or taken a class. I will have had Sophie a year in Sept I think and I purchased LTs Longarm Book in the early spring along with Darlene Epps pocket books. Recently while at Sisters I splurged on several of Anne Brights books and also Pam Clarkes books. I did get some pantos off Ebay earlier this summer but mostly have drawn my own. A dozen basic colors of Coats and Clark Star cotton thread started me out and I have added since then.

I recommend that you purchase plenty of extra bobbins, makes life easier. I found a deal on Ebay for a dozen cases and 100 bobbins for under $20. My customers supply their own batting and backing. The extras might be nice to peruse and drool over but they certainly are not necessary. Spread your purchases out over time. I've only quilted one panto, most asked for meander or one of my freehand designs. Practice a bunch before offering your services, make sure your stitches are uniform and smile when the local biddy critiques your quilting, she will be the first one at your door hoping for 'cheaps' because you are new:-) Good luck - I can't imagine not quilting now.........started at age 62 a whole new way of life.

Mary & Sophie

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Linda, Linda, Linda! I am feeling your pain! I have had my machine since January, and I find myself despairing of ever being "good"! It doesn't happen overnight (darn :P!) The other day I was trying to do some background fills and it just wasn't looking as good as Nichole's! Then it occurred to me, duh, should I expect at a few months into this, after practicing the pattern for less than an hour, to be doing work to rival hers? How dumb is that :D! Granted, with kids and grandkids and a part-time job, I don't get to practice nearly as much as I want, but sometimes I am downright discouraged :(! However, I CAN do semi-decent feathers (if you don't look too closely ;)) and I can stitch in the ditch semi-well (same comment). We must just keep at it; it's not as easy as it seems it should be! It is unfair to ourselves to look at the work of Judy or Sherry or other experts and expect to duplicate it at this point. We see what they do now, and do not take into account the years they have already devoted to it. Cut yourself some slack and remember you've only had your machine TWO WEEKS! That's nothing! Keep at it, it'll come...and I say that to myself as well, with much hope!

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Linda, please don't fret. You know what I think the problem is? You're seeing quilts done by some who have been doing this 5 or 6 or more years. In a month or so, you'll be doing fantastic work. If it makes you feel any better . . not that I'm an expert . . but when I think about something new or even if I see something someone else has done that I'd like to try to do, I practice on muslin til it looks acceptable. Some of the first few things I do even now are just awful! The other night when I practiced my "fireworks" because I had never done them, they were wobbly and pathetic and they're EASY but they just weren't something I was used to doing.

So, do not fear . . just keep practicing. And, if you haven't already, you may come to a point where you really don't even want to go up and work on the machine. When (if) you get to that point, tell yourself that you'll work on it at least an hour or 30 minutes every day . . whatever fits into your schedule. Once you start, you won't want to stop.

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Lynn, you were quicker at your response than I was. Here's something that might help. On those first few pieces you're doing, write the date on them somewhere. Then stick them aside but keep them. After a month or so, dig them out and look at them compared to what you've done recently. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at your progress.

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Thanks for all the responses. I spent the morning in town (an hour a way, LOL) talking to the quilt shop owners. Both would be happy to work with me, and they said that while there isn't a huge backlog of orders, it's generally around 2-3 weeks. Both however, said that anyone in this area who does good work shouldn't have any trouble at all supporting a business. Going rate is $.01 to $.02 per square inch here, depending on the skill of the quilter.

However, I noticed in each response, it's assumed that the market will only be local. Why is that? Is it unrealistic to expect to be able to develop a market via the web? I had certainly planned on doing so.

You guys are great, thanks a million for answering my questions.

CJ

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CJ . . A good bit of my business is not local. For me, mostly custom or heirloom business comes through the mail because by the time it costs $12 or $15 to mail me a quilt and the same for me to mail it back, that's an extra $24 - $30 added to the bill.

If the local going rate is .01 - .02, is that pretty much all meander or panto work? I hope the quilters aren't charging in that range for custom.

When I first started out, I had a friend in the Baltimore area who taught at 3 of the local JoAnn's and I did quite a bit of quilting for her and she showed my samples. It really blossomed for me and I get about 40% of my work from there still.

Then, somehow I got a good following from CA. The Fed Ex lady laughs because all my packages either go to Baltimore or CA.

So, I believe there's plenty of business to be had.

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I am impressed that you are up and running in two weeks. At that point I was still trying to get all the parts in the right place, figure out why my muslin was at a 45 degree angle and if I had used up all the pieces that were sent in the crate.

I am jealous of the Mille owners - ooo - I tried it in Des Moines. Sweet! I just have the bare bones Ult I - I've had to learn stitch regulation on my own.

I first practiced on muslin and got bored in a hurry. I got a couple of friends to let me quilt their pieces for free. Given the price and the wait time - I had some takers. (Okay one quilt had a 300 count sheet already partially hand quilted as the backing.) I didn't do anything other then meander, I picked threads that would be 'forgiving' if I started to get out of control. Truthfully, they were all delighted and I just had to tell myself that it would get better in time. (I won't go into how many pounds of flour it took before I could turn out a loaf of bread or a pie crust.)

In my frustration for not having ideas, I purchased a book that was written for machine quilting on your sewing machine. I did get ideas but I got some good exercises that have helped me.

It's a visualization excercise and I didn't get it right away but one day I was quilting away and realized that the exercise had clicked in and I had moved on to a new place.

Like a lot of you, I work at my 25 year career job 45+ hours a week. But quilting is what I will do when I am on to my next mini-career.

Don't get frustrated ladies.....just get quilting. There are no rules.

Lynn - Minnesota (visualization exercise with author credit in another post for those that are interested.)

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A quote and author credit to Harriet Hargrave, HEIRLOOM MACHINE QUILTING, A Comprehensive Guide to Hand-Quilted Effects Using Your Sewing Machine, revised and expanded third edition.

"Imagine yourself driving a car. You back out of the driveway, and as you start forward, you stare only at the hood ornament. If you do not look down the road, and you only stare at the hood ornament, where will you wind up? You have no control, and are flying blind. Now think of how you need to quilt. If you only stare at the needle, not the line ahead of you, you have no idea of where the lines goes and what you need to do to get the line and the needle in the same place. You must know where you are going to get there successfully..........."

Also from her book

"While practicing, give yourself plenty of uninterrupted quiet time, and don't expect to quilt perfectly at first."

Lynn - Minnesota

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This is a P.S. to my other posts - about meander and stippling...in my novice ideas.

I am very lucky to have by chance had the opportunity to put together a Rainy Lake Puzzle when they first started out. You wouldn't believe the detail.

They have a website rainylakepuzzles.com. Their work is very intricate. Even one with an Album Quilt.

Their puzzle pieces stuck in my mind and when I stipple or meander - I think of those puzzle pieces.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised when I get comments -- 'how do you get it to look like puzzle pieces?'

I will have to think of investing in one as thank you.

Lynn - Minnesota

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I got my Mille today. I was so scared you can't believe it. They delivered and set it up. After getting an explanation of how things worked I was quite surprised how much this machine worked like my sewing machine. I have actually gotten over my fear of running it and now I'm just scared about paying for it. I thought I would like to do pantos, but I think I was wrong. I haven't even worked from the back. I set a panto up, I have to use one for a baby quilt that has to be finished by Saturday. I have just practiced and actually meandered--without even worrying about it!! I hate to say it, but it looked pretty good. I did a smaller one and then a little bigger one. I tried to meander on my regular sewing machine, but hated it. This was so much easier!! I guess I needed to have more faith in myself. I basically just jumped into this and I am the worlds biggest worrier. I hope I can do the panto tomorrow!! Sorry to toot my own horn. Thanks for listening!!

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CJ

I hear you loud and clear...I'm waiting on delivery ... september. Its like waiting for a baby...the anticipation, the ideas, the hopes and dreams of what it will be like, then the PANIC!!! Funding is from Husband and our home. We are getting down to the remodel, and I'm taking the "pre-natal" SBA classes. I'm working on a business plan, trying to guess how many quilts I'll do, how much I will charge? Geez....what am I thinking???? I finally gave notice at work that August would be my last (don't worry, I have another job..I'm doing 2 ptimes). BUT, everyday I talk to anyone who will listen and I have more people who want my card, including a decorator (can you do spreads?) and all the people who say "my granny left me a top".

Email me privately if you wish, and I will try to be a long distance support person...I'm still getting lots of support from all the wonderful folks here who have already made the leap!

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If you like doing that kind of work, there's good money working with decorators! If you think about those spreads, most of them have way little quilting -- way less than on a custom quilt. And, you're usually dealing with only the decorator and being paid by him/her and not dealing directly with clients.

Definitely something you might want to pursue.

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Guest Linda S

You know, I think I got so wrapped up in thinking about how everyone makes such beautiful designs that I was thinking that I needed to know how to do everything right away. I read something written by Sherry Rogers on another board tonight and she had some words of wisdom. Very similar to what Judy said above. Start with one thing and practice it until you have it down, then move on to something else. As you might have noticed from the speed at which I made my decision to buy a machine, start a business, remodel a room and get going, I'm an instant gratification kind of gal.

I just finished a wonderful practice session. I've got the meanders down -- that was pretty easy the first day or two. I've been working on the burning bush panto (border) and I think it looked darn good by the time I finished up tonight. Also some trillium flowers from Darlene Epp's books. I think tomorrow I'll do the same until they are permanently etched on my brain. Then I'll move on the the next thing.

Thank you all for calming me down. I'm gonna be fine now! ;)

Linda

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I heard someone say once that quilting with a longarm is like writing on a piece of paper with a pen the way we usually do it. Quilting on the sewing machine is like if you are holding the pen in one spot and moving the paper under the pen in order make the letters.

I used to do all my quilting on the sewing machine and after a few years of doing none on the sewing machine, it just looks awful when I try. I do teach a class on machine quilting on the sewing machine so I try to maintain my skills enough to look like I halfway know how to do it. It is just SOOO different!

CJ, order that longarm . . you're hooked!

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ROFL I already know it's a done deal, once I set my mind on something it's like pushing a ball down hill, it picks up momentum until WHAM!

It's killing me not to order one RIGHT NOW, but I have to wait and find out if we're moving to VA or not first, should know within a month.

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Hi,

As I was reading all of the above posts, I was thinking about a couple of things. I have had my machine for 2 and 1/2 years, but my original plan to retire from teaching hasn't happened yet. So my machine hasn't had 2.5 years of use yet. Not even close.

When I don't have time to quilt on the machine, I use newsprint to practice drawing different designs. Like Judy mentioned, I figure that if I can draw it, I can do it with the machine in my hands. I give myself a space, on the paper, to quilt and see if I can fill it in a pleasing way.

Practice, practice, practice.

Linda/9patch

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