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Awesome site - A few questions


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It would be the Lynchburg area, hubby is considering going to work for Framatome. I have an online "penpal" I've know for a couple years who lives there, and she's concluded between our conversations and looking at pictures of our farm on our website, that'd we'd be most happy in Amherst county. The internet is so cool!

I've decided while I'm stuck cooling my heels, I'm going to work on building my quilting website. I know I will learn a lot by looking at other folk's sites, and it will keep it frontmost in my mind. Plus, I won't have that urgency when I actually get to open shop! LOL I bought my domain this morning, talk about an eager beaver :)

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I so appreciate all the questions and responses posted here. I'm afraid that a LA is not in my immediate future ($, time and space limitations), but I love hearing how it works. I'm hoping to join all of you in about 2 years. In the meantime, I'll be listening in.

Kathy

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Guest Linda S

Linda/9Patch,

I have a small white board and pens and can sit for hours practicing the designs in Darlene Epp's little Pocket Guides. I'm really good at drawing feathers, but so far, not at all good at quilting them. HOWEVER, I've decided that for now, I don't need to do feathers. I'll practice the other stuff for a while, keep drawing my feathers on the white board, and one of these days, hopefully, I will turn out a half-way decent looking feather on a practice piece. I have a feeling that one of the things that is really holding me back is that I need to get my cord up. I can feel a drag every now and then, so I need to get the cord off the floor. Just need some unsuspecting relative to come by and hold the bracket while I screw it in!

Linda :D

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I can tell you from personal experience that you can pay off your machine in a year - 18 months, but you have to be very careful about what you spend $ on as far as threads, books, classes, rulers, ALSO you will have be willing to work really long days, like 10-14 hours/day and sometimes 6-7 days/wk.

My goal was to make the machine pay for itself in a year and I did it but I knew that I would be working those kind of hours and I knew exactly how much I could spend on things and how long I had to do each quilt that came in. Sometimes I had to work really long hours in order to keep on schedule. I have to admit that I suffered major burn out at the end of that time, but took a few weeks off and felt much better. Now although, I would love to say that I work shorter hours and get time to work on my own stuff that is not usually the case. I have a great client base and they keep me very busy and I hate saying 'no' or that they will have to wait, so I still end up working a lot of long days.

It is hard to say how many quilts that you can do in a day because of the variety of styles and sizes, however I figured it out that I can do so many square inches in a day, so that I might be able to do 4 crib sized, but only 1 super king. If this helps you in figuring out your pricing structure and time management I will tell you that using a golf ball sized freehand meandering pattern (basic or other type of continious type design) I can do approximately 16000 square inches in a 8 hour day on a good day and about 10000 on a bad day (thread breaks, frogging, tension issues, etc). So I guess that means that I can do about 2000 square inches/hour. I don't know how that compares to other quilters. I just sat down and figured it out so that I would know what I needed to do to pay that machine off. With the millenium costing $16,000, at $0.01/sq" (this is what I started out at, being afraid to charge 'too much') you have to do 1,600,000 sq" + figure an extra $1000 for shipping, threads, rulers, etc to get started so 1,700,000 square inches minimum in that year. At 2000 sq"/hour you will have to work 850 hours to pay it off, without taking anything out for your wages. Figuring that you have about 240 working days in a year (without weekends and holidays) it will take 3.5 hours each day all year to pay off the machine without any wages for you. Now on the good side if you could do another 3.5 hours each day theoretically you could do another 1,700,000 square inches and still have a hour to spare each day for client interaction, bookwork and maybe get lunch once in a while, while making $17,000 that first year in wages. Not a lot compared to many other professions, but not zilch either, at least it's a start.

Ok.....here's the truth, you won't be able to do the extra 3.5 hours/day every day - the phone will interupt you, you can't schedule clients to all show up at once so that you can condense their visits into the 1 hour per day to only make you work an 8 hour day. You will have bookwork to do, design time to figure in, travel time to fabric store, classes, not to mention you will probably spend at least a month or more practicing before you really feel comfortable with client quilts, so that subtracts from those "wages". You will also have electricity and heating expenses to figure in - yes - even if you do it in your house - it still takes more of these things so they need to be counted a little at least. You will have a learning curve once you start taking clients - probably misquote a few quilts that end up taking longer than you thought, spenc time unquilting some areas that you are not happy with when you try new designs, and there is more things, but you can figure that you can safely figure that you can pay off that machine in 12-18 months if you are willing to put in a lot of time, watch your expenses and you may have a little bit of money to take yourself out to lunch as a treat once in a while that first year.

I did it so that I could take a breather without having to worry about it in the following years, and it was worth it - but this is just my opinion.

BTW - if you go with this plan.....find a good chiropractor, get a hot water bottle, some ice packs and several really good pairs of running shoes.

Jessica

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Howdy Ya'll!

Way down here in Central Texas it is wonderful to hear that there are so many beginners among this group. This weekend at a quilt show I played on a "Handi-quilter. Has anyone ever used one of these machines?

I still have so many questions and am not sure which ones to ask first. My package from APQS arrived today, so I will have some night time reading.

Due to my son being in a severe auto accident last year, I am currently not employed oustside the home, as I am kept very busy helping out with my 7 month old grandson, I have 1 quilt in the frame to be hand quilted, and took one out of the frame last week. I desperately need to make a decision soon on which type of machine I need! Any helpful hints and ideas would be appreciated! Is it really as easy to learn to machine quilt as you all have said? I know I will need lots of practice!!

Thanks for all the kind votes of confidence!

Debbie

(Texan Quilter)

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Hi, Debbie! I had a Hinterberg machine quilter (a lot like the Handi-Quilter) before I got my longarm. It is a LOT less expensive than a longarm. And, depending on what you want to do with it, it may be all you need. But your quilting space is dependent on the size of the throat of your domestic machine that you mount on the quilting frame, so depending on the size there, you may have only a few inches in which to quilt. I have a Brother PQ1500 which has a 9" thoat that I used on my Hinterberg, and I had about 5-6" of space to quilt in. But it wasn't long before I wanted way more space!! If you plan to do a lot of quilting on it, and you can afford it, the longarm is definitely the way to go. The Discovery machine is what I have, and is the least expensive APQS machine, but it is wonderful. However, although it is easy to quilt on the longarm, it is not necessarily easy to do it well ;). It takes much practice, depending on how good you want to be and how much time you can spend on it. But I love my machine, and am sure not sorry I moved up from the Hinterberg quilter to my Discovery!

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CJ - I've been sewing & making quilts for many years on my regular sewing machine. I have had my Millenium since December. I am not nearly as good as I thought I would be by now but my clients are very happy with my meanders and pathos. In this area of California the meanders and pathos (nothing fancy) go for about .01 per sq. inch. Even at that rate I have one very busy competitor that charges less. I wish she would retire!

Consider this: Assume your average quilt is 100 X 100. That's $100 per quilt. Assume your LA costs $14,000. You need to do 140 quilts to pay for it. At one quilt per day, 5 days a week, it would take 28 weeks. Add in other expenses and it takes a little longer.

Now for a reality check:

My average quilt is smaller than 100X100 because there are so many quilters making lap quilts & throws these days.

Set a minimum fee because of the time it takes to load each quilt regardless of size.

Ask yourself: Can you handle 5 days a week of physical work? Physically I can't quilt for more than 2-3 hours at a time. It's hard work. And 5-days a week doesn't leave me with enough time for my own projects. How much time are you willing to dedicate to quilting for others?

You will meet many LA quilters as you proceed. We are great people and most of us quilt because we love it. It's a passion, not a job. We aren't going to get rich but, yes, we can pay for our machines. At your age I would think a year is reasonable. And by the time you pay it off you will be good enough to start charging more for custom work. Then the real fun begins. If you love it, do it !

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All good points. Realistically, unless I just go crazy with it, I only expect to dedicate about 25 hrs per week to quilting. I dont' (at least, I don't think!) I want this to be a full time job. I farm, and love it, and need time for it as well.

Worse case scenario; as long as I can pay for the machine, and support a hobby, I won't get grounded for life from my hubby, hehe.

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CJ,

Well I am glad to hear that you are coming to VA but a little disappointed that you are not coming to my area, you sound like someone that would be fun to hang out with.

I was reading all of your comments about not being a pro and hour after you have been on your machine. IT REALLY STINKS, doesnt it. I go into the quilt shop that is closest to my house and see all of the wonderful quilt work and say to myself, someday you will be that good.

I dont know why this came to mind, but I have a pattern holder that lays across the two middle bars. I put my border designs and squares onto it and quilt them on the freehand side. It is wonderful. We saw something like it that the sales people had made at the quilt show, so my husband and I put one together for me. If ya wanna see a pic of it lemme know, I can try to upload one on here or email it to you.

I have to agree, I thought I would like the panto side better. I went on Kingsman's website about a million times looking and I have a catalog from them I drooled over at lunchtime at work. I finally had to put it away and unplug the computer, It was driving me nuts waiting for my machine.

Anyways, I like the freehand side better. I can pay attention more and I can hear my TV better on that side, espically while soaps are on, LOL.

As far as practic goes, I have been practing on charity quilts. My quild does Project Linus which supports children's charities. We make the quilts and donate them to the childrens hospital or some of the hospices, etc. I have done 6 quilts for Charity and one for my step-daughter. The co-ordinator is thrilled that I am able to do them and I am thrilled that there is nearly an endless supply of practic quilts. And it feels good cause I get to help the community. The other idea I was given was to make matress pads. Maybe take a fitted sheet, and some batting and then a top sheet or a piece of fabric, and quilt on that. Who is gonna see it when you have the bed made up for guests. And you can maybe make your cost and a slight markup selling them. I have been told by lots that it is hard to find 100% cotton mattress pads in the stores.

Dont be discouraged, it is kinda like when you go to the store and buy steak, you see the nice ones, but you have to buy the cheaper one and marinate it so it will be good.

Keep practing, and share with your friends. My quilt circle loves to see my work when it is done and they are already seen and improvement.

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CJ,

Well I am glad to hear that you are coming to VA but a little disappointed that you are not coming to my area, you sound like someone that would be fun to hang out with.

I was reading all of your comments about not being a pro and hour after you have been on your machine. IT REALLY STINKS, doesnt it. I go into the quilt shop that is closest to my house and see all of the wonderful quilt work and say to myself, someday you will be that good.

I dont know why this came to mind, but I have a pattern holder that lays across the two middle bars. I put my border designs and squares onto it and quilt them on the freehand side. It is wonderful. We saw something like it that the sales people had made at the quilt show, so my husband and I put one together for me. If ya wanna see a pic of it lemme know, I can try to upload one on here or email it to you.

I have to agree, I thought I would like the panto side better. I went on Kingsman's website about a million times looking and I have a catalog from them I drooled over at lunchtime at work. I finally had to put it away and unplug the computer, It was driving me nuts waiting for my machine.

Anyways, I like the freehand side better. I can pay attention more and I can hear my TV better on that side, espically while soaps are on, LOL.

As far as practic goes, I have been practing on charity quilts. My quild does Project Linus which supports children's charities. We make the quilts and donate them to the childrens hospital or some of the hospices, etc. I have done 6 quilts for Charity and one for my step-daughter. The co-ordinator is thrilled that I am able to do them and I am thrilled that there is nearly an endless supply of practic quilts. And it feels good cause I get to help the community. The other idea I was given was to make matress pads. Maybe take a fitted sheet, and some batting and then a top sheet or a piece of fabric, and quilt on that. Who is gonna see it when you have the bed made up for guests. And you can maybe make your cost and a slight markup selling them. I have been told by lots that it is hard to find 100% cotton mattress pads in the stores.

Dont be discouraged, it is kinda like when you go to the store and buy steak, you see the nice ones, but you have to buy the cheaper one and marinate it so it will be good.

Keep practing, and share with your friends. My quilt circle loves to see my work when it is done and they are already seen and improvement.

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CJ,

Well I am glad to hear that you are coming to VA but a little disappointed that you are not coming to my area, you sound like someone that would be fun to hang out with.

I was reading all of your comments about not being a pro and hour after you have been on your machine. IT REALLY STINKS, doesnt it. I go into the quilt shop that is closest to my house and see all of the wonderful quilt work and say to myself, someday you will be that good.

I dont know why this came to mind, but I have a pattern holder that lays across the two middle bars. I put my border designs and squares onto it and quilt them on the freehand side. It is wonderful. We saw something like it that the sales people had made at the quilt show, so my husband and I put one together for me. If ya wanna see a pic of it lemme know, I can try to upload one on here or email it to you.

I have to agree, I thought I would like the panto side better. I went on Kingsman's website about a million times looking and I have a catalog from them I drooled over at lunchtime at work. I finally had to put it away and unplug the computer, It was driving me nuts waiting for my machine.

Anyways, I like the freehand side better. I can pay attention more and I can hear my TV better on that side, espically while soaps are on, LOL.

As far as practic goes, I have been practing on charity quilts. My quild does Project Linus which supports children's charities. We make the quilts and donate them to the childrens hospital or some of the hospices, etc. I have done 6 quilts for Charity and one for my step-daughter. The co-ordinator is thrilled that I am able to do them and I am thrilled that there is nearly an endless supply of practic quilts. And it feels good cause I get to help the community. The other idea I was given was to make matress pads. Maybe take a fitted sheet, and some batting and then a top sheet or a piece of fabric, and quilt on that. Who is gonna see it when you have the bed made up for guests. And you can maybe make your cost and a slight markup selling them. I have been told by lots that it is hard to find 100% cotton mattress pads in the stores.

Dont be discouraged, it is kinda like when you go to the store and buy steak, you see the nice ones, but you have to buy the cheaper one and marinate it so it will be good.

Keep practing, and share with your friends. My quilt circle loves to see my work when it is done and they are already seen and improvement.

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I got my mille 3 days ago and I thought I'd really like to do pantos too. Well, I just took my first baby quilt off and I'm not quite so enthused with them. I love looking at the pantos and to dream. I did get better as I went along, but the math killed me!! I did Little Hands, may have been a mistake. You really have to stay on the lines or else they don't look like hands! I do like to meander--which totally surprises me. It's totally different than doing it on the regular sewing machine. I just keep reading everyones comments about just hanging with it and slowly it'll get better. I'm very surprised how simple the machine is to run. I hadn't even touched one until it got home. The problems that I've had with it have been user problems--I'm so stupid sometimes!!

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Guest Linda S

Kelly -

I think that's where my initial frustration came in. When I tried the machine at my dealer's, I did pretty well on the pantograph. I think I was scared to death of freehand. So, as I waited for the machine to come, I visualized that I was going to be great at pantographs and the freehand would have to come later. Turns out, I'm one heck of a lot better at the freehand than I am at the pantos! :o Now that I'm cutting myself a little slack, I'm starting to have fun with it again. I must realize that I cannot be perfect at everything (maybe someday I'll actually wake up to the fact that there is actually very little at which I AM perfect!). I plan to spend the weekend sewing and quilting (after one quick cleaning of the house, that is). :D

Linda

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I already have a lot of machines (63) I use a Minnesota from 1920 a long bobbin and a bullet shuttle with an 8 inch bed on a moving table with a trolley system that my husband built ove a 120 " Hinterberg frame. I have done a bunch of scrap quilts on this machine each one seems to be getting better the last one was a drunkard's path that I outline quilted fairly well. I have an antique double wedding ring top that I pieced by machine. I am a bit hesitant to do it on the machine. It took me two years to quilt a king size pioneer quilt by hand. I am running out of time and need to quilt about twelve tops that are waiting. It takes me about a month to find the time with all the other stuff going on to quilt a top. After reading all the posts I don't know if it would be worth me spending all that money for a longarm. I tried to find a used one but so far no luck. I will do a few more of the scrap quilts and see if they look good enough to try the double weeding ring, other wise I will have to do it by hand.I live in Northeast PA and do not have any dealers nearby. :D

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Marion: I don't have an answer for you but wanted to welcome you to the group.

You know, 73 really isn't that old! It's getting younger every day! :D My mom just turned 70 and I think she'd have a ball with a longarm. Sounds like you would too.

If you decide you're going to get yourself one, be sure to check out the Liberty. It's a lighter, smaller machine and definitely the one I'd recommend for my mom.

Heck, if I lived in NE PA, I'd be scrambling to get myself one before winter sets in. You'd have all those quilts finished by spring!:P

Good luck with your decision.

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Guest Linda S

I think Judy is right. And, if you're savvy enough to be surfing the internet at 73, you'd probably enjoy a longarm. You can check for used machines by calling APQS - they do have used ones every once in a while. If you find you don't want to invest in a machine, you should at least find a reputable quilter nearby to help you get those beautiful tops quilted! Are there any places in the area that rent time on a machine? You might try that and see if you would like to have one of your own.

Linda

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  • 2 weeks later...

Marion, I'm not as old as dirt but probably almost as old as grass and I just got my Millennium last Nov and started a business. Friends ask me "Why would you want to do THIS at your age?" I answer, "#1. This is what I love to do and #2. It is just impossible for me to do it any younger!"

Wow, you better believe that puts a shocked look on their face...

If you are like me you don't feel any older than you did a few decades ago so live like you're going to be around for another 30 or 40 years. Enjoy what you love to do!

Shirley Reed

APQS-Millennium

Atkinson, NH

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Guest Linda S

Shirley - I LOVE your responses! ;) I didn't think I could love quilting any more than I did before I bought my Liberty. But, seeing those beautiful even stitches coming out in those nice little swirls is just so wonderful. I think no matter what your age, if quilting is your thing, you should go for it! After all, it's staying busy and active that keeps us young.

Linda

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  • 1 month later...

I have had my Mill for only one month. It is tough to follow Panograms. I haven't figured the lazer light out yet. I know that you have to look ahead, like driving a car.

I think I need to practice on something a little easier. I too hope to have a business up and running within two years when I can retire from UPS.

I am anxious and ready to dig in. I need some good direction first. I did take the first class with Dawn and she did a great job. I think I have feathers, and stippling down pretty well. I am going to tackle one of my own quilts this weekend.

I hope it will be good enough to start showing others and they will want to send their work my way.

Barb

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Barb: When I first started, I tried a few pantos and decided I just couldn't do them. Didn't touch them again for 3 years and then when I tried it again, I really liked it. I get bored with them but I don't mind doing a few every now and then.

If I try a new panto, it's sometimes kinda wobbly. I think part of it is because I'm a bit unsure of myself the first few times I do one.

Hang in there . . relax and remember that you are probably much more critical of your work than anyone else.

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  • 3 years later...

My how my life changed! My husband never took that job in Virginia, he ended up taking one in Arkansas, and we sold our farm, bought an RV, and fulltimed in it for 3 years.

We finally bought a house in AR, as it looks like we'll be here for some time, and I am once again, tossing around the idea of building a studio, getting a longarm, and setting up shop.

I can quilt now, that's about all I did in the RV :D

I'm not sure about my new area however. There's not a quilt store, fabric shop or sewing machine dealer of any sort closer than an hour away. I'm going to have to write a business plan and so some local research.

This time around, my thoughts are a little different. I'd still like to be able to make a bit of money at it, in case anything ever happened to my husband, as I haven't worked outside the home in years, but I'm not so worried about making the machine pay for itself.

More, we need an addition to the house, this way I could have my cake and eat it too, and write the addition off as a home office, and as the for longarm business... well we could seriously use a tax writeoff!

But with the economy like it is... will it recover in 3-4 years? Or will I be staring at that longarm wishing it was a stocked pantry instead? LOL Obviously I have to make some money at it not to be declared a hobby.

Anyway... here I am again, back to square one!:P

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at least you can quilt now :D

wow, this was fun seeing names we have not seen in years...makes me wonder where in the heck are these people?? :o

If you have been lurking all this time...then you know the routine. Do your homework. Find out supply/demand. Yep, an hours drive is icky...but for me to go to quilt stores right here in KC, I have to drive 40 minutes or so....so whats another 20. And if they need machine quilters in the are and are willing to pay...that is another thing to think about...in some areas down that way...the machine quilters charge $50 for any size...check that out too. That's like giving your quilting away.

BTW...I'm an Ozarks gal myself. Born and raised in Springfield....spent every weekend of my natural life on Bull Shoals Lake - in my opinion the most beautiful lake in the world!! My sister raised her kids in Mountain Burg, AR...again...right in the heart of the beautiful Boston Mountains!! Oh, if you could eat scenery!!

Good luck in your quest. I hope you can follow your dream. And there is always the option of just quitling for you.

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Ooooh I don't know Mary Beth, say $20k for the longarm, and I haven't a clue what a room addition will run, $30k? I'm thinking if I spend $50k and then decide to just quilt for myself my dearest, darling hubby will clobber me over the head with a cast iron skillet.

We still cook with those things down here in the boonies ya know :P

I'm guessing I'd have to develop some sort of niche market... probably online. Maybe I could become the hillbilly quilter! LOL

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LOL!! I love that name: Hillbilly Quilter. It has a nice "ring" to it and everyone will remember the Hilbilly! :D

CJ, I remember seeing you on the Bernina chat page (they tore that down!) :( And I remember your tales of sewing in the RV. You are such a FUN person! Surely you make the best of every environment you are in.

Take your time and look around at the machines out there. People sell used ones here, and APQS has some they recondition through their factory, and they have sales, too.

PS: I don't live anywhere near the Ozarks (wish I did tho--- consdering retiring there some day) and I have a set of All Clad skillets and pans that I cook with, but I absolutely love cooking with my cast iron skillet. My all time favorite skillet. It is the best to fry with. Love that thing!

Welcome back to the chat and please don't be a stranger.

Shana

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