What made you want to purchase a LA

[QuiltFaerie]

I currently do not own a long arm and have only made two quilt tops (yet to be quilted) so I must be out of my ever loving mind to even be thinking about maybe purchasing a long arm. Maybe I just like collecting machines?

I read with great interest the topic on why people chose to buy APQS as opposed to another long arm but what made you consider buying a long arm in the first place? Did you have a lot of tops that needed quilting? Where you fed up with trying to quilt with a short arm? What was it that made you start thinking you wanted a long arm?

I searched the previous discussions for this topic and didn't find a lot. One woman stated that she got a long arm after learning that the wait list to get her top done was a year. Now that's a wait list!

I purchased Long Arm Quilting by Carol Thelen and instead of encouraging me, it scared the pants off of me! I currently work full time and won't be in a position to retire for quite a while. I'm even thinking of taking a class to see what exactly is involved and whether or not I even like it. So much to consider! This is almost as bad as buying a new car.

Gail

[chickenscratch]

Gail,

Great question. The decision to purchase a longarm machine came to me as a result of the frustration of trying to quilt on my Singer. I hated trying to wad all that fabric under the arm, and I always ended up with a wrinkled place on the back. I went to Paducah to the show and played with the machines. Of all the ones I tried I liked the APQS the most. It ran smoother and was comfortable to move around. So, I was hooked. Now I can do things that I couldn't before, plus I can make a little bit of extra money quilting for others.

Teresa Taylor

Chicken Scratch Quilting Company

www.chickenscratchquilting.com

(731) 285-5040

[Myrna Ficken]

Gail,

We by longarms machine for all the reasons you said. Tops to be done, waiting list, extra money or tjust to make money . So quilt full time some part. It's a passion.

Taking a class is a great idea to see what it's all about ,see if you even like it. I don't know who is close to you that has something doing on. I'm having a week of classes in Co. Springs the first week of August. It would be a great way to get those quesions answered. Along with the classes I will be having machine seminars in the evenings. Check out my website to see what will be going on , dates and time. The start up class would be great for you as it is what new machine owners get after pruchasing their machine. Pick My Brain, and Just Do it would also be good. Oh heck just come for the week . Get out to the mountains for a hoilday:P

You will soon discover that you are NOT out of your ever lovin mind but that you have discovered a whole new and exciting world. Come play I mean work with us. Let me know if I can answer any question for you.

Myrna

[GERRY]

I think there as many reasons for buying a LA. as there are LAer's. mostly we all love quilting as a hobby & don't we all want to make a living doing what we love to do.

I bought a Longarm (it's only been here since late May 2006) because I was planning to go out & find a job (Wal-mart, Tim Hortins, or some other low paying job) when my 5 year old went to school in Sept.

Now I'm 48, never finished school, I have 2 grown Kids & 2 little boys at home, 5 grand babies 2 of witch live around the corner, my MOM is 85 this year, she lives in the next town, she drives (but we do all that we can to keep her off the roads). Anyway, I really like the way my life is, & I didn't want it to change to much so when the other LAer in my guild was saying that it was possible to earn $30,000 a year if you worked full time & that she paid for her machine in only 1 year (she has a A-1 mid arm) working part time, well lets say a lite bulb when off & I hit the internet running. That was Feb of this year, when get a good idea I get going, & when my DH agreeded (not to often that happens) & since her likes his dinner cooked for him every day,well ther you go. Money was a big problem (so whats new) so my family chipped in a bit here & there (they were all very supportive). My daughter (27 & has 3 little boys) said she was proud of me (also very rare) & thought it was a good idea as well.

My own confidence was a whole other problem, but I figured that I've been quilting for over 15 years, & a LAer that I have used in the past (she works a full time job only quilts on the weekends) said that my quilts were a treat to quilt (my borders never wave & I press like crazy), now I have never had my hands on 1 of those big Gals before & have only seen them on t.v., but I learn quick & I don't fail to often, I'm a bit of a perfectionist & I'm brave (so I'm told) so starting my own buss. was a bit of a leep, & the kind of bucks that are involved (more than all 3 of our cars combined, I made the DH sell his truck) well I didn't sleep for a week or so just thinking it over (& over, & over).

I had planned to wait untill Sept. to go to the "Innovations 2006" a LA convention in Tacoma WA. so I could try out all the machines, & see how the whole buss. end worked, but I spotted a 2year old Milli. for sale on this forum, (when I see a deal) I emailed Sue Patten in Ont. & the rest is history.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I think it's what you wanted to know.

I hope to see your quilts on this forum, I just posted my first quilt photo last night......under A NEWBIE'S FIRST QUILT PHOTO'S

And dreams can come true even if you don't know you have a dream until it hits you in the head

[KQC]

Gail: I echo much of what the others have said. I have had my Millenium x 3 months. I learn something new everytime I put my machine to work. I work 3 jobs and have now started my own LA quilting business in my supposed free time. My hope and dream is to gradually do more LA business and back off on my hours at my other jobs. I researched LA machines for nearly 3 years before I took the leap to buy from APQS. I read, I visited all LA machine vendors at shows and users at shops. My friend had bought a HQ16 but quickly burned out the computer due to oversewing the stitch regulator (she sewed faster than the machine could handle). I selected APQS because of their customer service, support and quality of their product. It is much easier and less fatigueing to "drive" airplane sheet metal (APQS) than cast iron (another brand). And finally I could not keep up with all of the quilts being demanded from me with just my Bernina sewing machine, not to mention I can not stand to wrestle a big quilt under the "little" arm of my sewing machine; its fatigueing, frustrating and time consuming.

Good luck in your quest!

Kristie

[CLRtoQuilt]

Hi Gail,

Welcome, I too am very new to LAing I bought my Freedom in March of this year, used again because of the money. I am a stay at home mom doing foster-care, at this time I have 3 foster boys and then my own son (2-13 yr olds and 2- 16 yr olds) I have been doing quilting for a while and I was paging through one of my magazines (quilting of course) when I seen an ad for a grace frame. My husband and I have been racking our brains for over 6 months trying to find a busines for me to do at home. We are a treatment foster care home so we work with the harder kid (in other words we are their last stop to try and get these kids turn around before they end up in juvinal jail or a residental facility ) The foster care agency we are with is very strict about one parent being home, not working outside of the home at all. Seeing this ad was like a light bulb for me. I love to quilt and create, what a wonderful combination for me! Don't get me wrong doing foster care is a reward in its self but for my own personal self I needed something for Me!!!

I did the research and went to the closest dealer (2 1/2 hr drive to Sue in Elkhorn) I spent 4 hrs there that day and tried the machine. I was hook!!!! Oh and don't let that book scare you, find a dealer near you and spend some time with them and have fun!!!

Char

[QuiltFaerie]

Thank you all so much for your replies. It is interesting to me to understand what was the driving force in purchasing a LA.

Way back (and I do mean way back) in my teens. I got the quilting bug from my grandmother who was making a Jacob's Ladder quilt. This was before rotary cutters. All through out high school, I cut each and every little piece out by hand and also hand stitched it together. It never occurred to me to use my mom's machine. Once I got it all done, my mom quilted it. Again, by hand. While I was living in my first house, it was broken into and guess what was one of the items they took? You guessed it. My first quilt.

I stopped sewing somewhere along the line but never, ever lost my love of textiles (color, texture, fabric, yarn). In an effort to satisfy the need to do something creative, I started knitting. That held my creative urges at bay for a bit.

Three years ago, I was laid off for the first time. While out of work, I once again decided I wanted to quilt. I didn't think I wanted to quilt by hand, but maybe with a machine. Perfect time to drop money, right? Basically, until this past year, I have made just about everything except quilts. Now, once again the quilt bug has bitten me.

I am fortunate that I have a great job so I can't justify staying home and trying to start a business. But, I am going to need something when I retire in about 15 years. Otherwise, I will go nuts.

I'm still in the thinking stage and want to make sure I am not doing a very expensive impulse. I can see buying a used machine but I'm not quite there yet.

Thanks again for your responses. I love reading them. I also enjoyed reading about why you choose APQS.

Gail

[chickenscratch]

Gail,

I noticed you were in Michigan. Are you aware of the Quilting on the Waterfront show that will be held in Duluth, MN on August 17-19th?

This would be a good opportunity for you to see and try out all the different brands of longarm machines, talk to people and then make your decision.

Teresa

[QuiltFaerie]

Hey Teresa,

Actually, I have a much closer opportunity coming soon. The American Sewing Expo is in late September (9/29 - 10/2) and is less than 5 miles from where I live. I know from past years that LA representatives are at the show. I plan on looking for the APQS representative when I go.

I live in a suburb of Detroit. I know that there is a rep on the western side of the state but I don't think there is anyone local to the Detroit area. Maybe I can become the first.

[Guest Linda S]

I was having a particulary bad time at work and really wanting to get out of there!! I know I can't leave until I have my 30 years of service in and can collect my pension, but I figured I wouldn't be able to go then because I would never be able to afford the health insurance, etc. So, I started to think about what I could do to make money to supplement my retirement income. I had five years to go till retirement. I had never even tried a longarm machine, but I had overheard so many people in the quilts shops (yes, I've been a piecer, hand and machine quilter for years) complaining that they couldn't get their quilt tops quilted for Christmas, birthdays, etc., because there weren't enough longarm quilters! Lightbulb moment! I decided right then and there I would get a longarm. Besides, I had some back and neck injuries that were making it next to impossible to shove queen-sized quilts through my Bernina. I contacted APQS, went up to Corvallis to try (name removed)'s Millennium, and decided I wanted something a bit smaller, so I ordered the Liberty on the spot. I have never been sorry. Only three years to go till retirement now -- I've got a building customer base, have learned most of what I need to know, and can just keep learning and improving from here on out. I think I'm gonna make it!

Linda

[mrsbishwit]

I am a stay at home mom (5 kids, ages from 15 down to 6 year old twins) last year my youngests went off to kindergarten and I wanted to bring in some extra money to help save for retirement and my quilting obsession I had only been quilting for little over 1 year when I decided to jump into this business and buy my Liberty (never regretted it yet and I have had my machine for almost a year now). Having this type of business lets me be flexiable enough to be home when the kids are home and gives me an outlet for my creative side. Not to mention all of the wonderful people that you meet in this business.

We were able to pay for our machine by taking advantage of the housing market boom last year (we refinanced our house to pay for the machine and to start my business...since then our house value in our area has gone up even more and we have more than made the $ we took out of the equity).

Good Luck!

Joann

[QuiltFaerie]

Wow Joann. That sure was a leap of faith! I can see where the LA comes in handy if you are a stay at home mom. Working for minimum wage at WallyWorld or someplace similiar just won't cut it.

I may still do this at some point and I sure enjoy reading about the quilting adventures of everyone here. The work posted here is just amazing.

[Cheryll]

GEt down on the floor with your backing,batting, and top and try to fuse it down with the fusible nbatting. Sweat and keep going. Now try to push it all through a mid arm like the JUki and then if your shouldners and neck down hurt and your cussing improve then you don't need a long arm. I was so afraid that I wouldn't be able to get the quilt on the machine. I took some classes. The zipper leaders are woth their weight in quilter's gold. Don't be without them. Don't overlook the older A.P.Q.S. machines. I have an Ultimate 2. I bought one for 4300 then I figured if I never got good enough to quilt for others it was O.K. They are much more straight forward to operate. It's more similar to a big sewing machine. I love my machine and it is 10 years old. I don't have all the new things like a thread cutter, stitch regulator but I find I do fine without it. I actually went to a class after using my machine for awhile and could not sew good with the stitch regulator. I know others who had the nice new machines thought this old bag is crazy but it's O.K. You know how they say you rise to your level of inefficiency well I'm there. I get enough challenge on my old machine without worring about computers to confuse me and more expensive things to break or mal function. I have quite enough challenge adjusting my tension and making sure all is well. Ha Ha Good luck it sure is fun but it is big and you need a big space. Mine is now in my living room and my younger son told me "Mom you are eccentric with that big machine in your living room,:)" I just smiled and said it's a good thing. Ha Ha Cheryll

[QuiltFaerie]

Cheryll,

You are a scream! I drive in rush hour every day and think my cussing has graduated to advanced level. Yeck, I may even have a PHD in cussing at this point.

Like you, I would definitely consider an older machine. And since I don't have a husband or kids, have thought about setting up my sewing room in the living room as opposed to the basement. After all, most of the time I watch TV, I do it my bedroom. Also, I would have to navigate an "L" shaped corner down into my basement and I don't see a 12 foot rod going around that corner.

I'm working on a wall hanging sized quilt right now and will see how that goes with my D1. I also have queen sized log cabin that I need to send out for quilting. I won't even attempt that on my machine.

My brain is scheming on how to finance a LA. I have an unused Home Equity that might be an option. I can just feel the wheels in my brain turning.

[xtraquilts]

I have been making quilts for over 30 years now. The first 23 I quilted on my home sewing machines-even up to king size. Then I started with back trouble (gee-maybe too much quilting?) When my hubby retired from the Army and my youngest (of 4) was just starting college, we needed extra income. The Gammill dealer was only 5 mi. away so I bought a Gammill. Now I have sold it and bought a Millenium. The only problem is when you start quilting for a business you seldom have time to make your own quilts.

My biggest problem has been scheduling. How much time to spend on the job-I now work part time and play part time. I still like the income, but the four kids are all finished with school, married (2) and employed. My responsibilities are fewer and I can choose how much work (money) I want to earn. How many other jobs can you schedule like that?

I'll have to work more to pay off the new machine-but then it's worth it for the upgrades and the differences-especially this opportunity to chat. Customer service with APQS is marvelous!

Sue:)

Sue