Patsydee Posted February 7, 2007 Report Share Posted February 7, 2007 Today was "club" day at our LQS. One of the teachers has started quilting the shop samples and tagging them with her business name. They are so perfect and so beautiful. She has a computer-operated long arm. My first feeling was how can my work ever being to match up to that? I know that is a whole different process, but how does the regular longarm operator stack up to the computer stitched quilts. I have been practicing and am getting to know Millie pretty well these days. It will be some time before I can market my skills, but I must say today I feel pretty inadequate. Just a little pity party for me.... Pat (The deep freeze must be getting to me because I don't usually feel this way) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 Pat, I feel your pain. I am an average quilter, plugging along. I read the posts of the girls that have the CQ and they say they don't charge any more for their quilting....Help....I feel like I might was well sell right now...cause I sure cannot afford the CQ. How can they justify it....ya got me. Mary Beth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linda S Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 Some quilters prefer their quilting with more character and less of perfection. I'm among those. God is perfect, not me. I don't see a CQ in my future, even if I win the lottery. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerri Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 Pat, Don't feel discouraged. I still find customers mostly want to pay for nice overall patterns, from basic medium stippling to a pretty floral swirl overall. They are to me, a good way to make a decent pay for your time. You can get one of those done in the same time as a computer quilter. If you were doing massive volume then, maybe adding a computerized system to reduce fatique might be an option. I believe on a custom quilt, even with a computerized quilter, you would be filling in some areas by hand. A few pretty pantographs can really make a quilt look great before you feel like your freehand skills are as good as you want them to be. Pantographs also help you master all the basic shapes, so in no time you can freehand the same pattern just as well as the panto. It is amazing how the brain remembers those patterns with enough practice. I think the computerized quilters are really neat, but it would be a big expense for me to recover, or I would need to have the spare money around to try it as a novelty. Take care:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patsydee Posted February 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 Thanks for the encouragement. You are right in saying all the blocks looked the same with no freehand individual expression. And yes, the overall look is all a lot of quilts need. I'm humming along. Just finished one of my quilts and it does look good, if I do say so myself. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbWetzel Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 Keep plugging away,, it will get better... I am not perfect yet either, but I sure love the Compu Quilter.. It does perfect work!! Good job... keep it up.. Barb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltingtina Posted February 8, 2007 Report Share Posted February 8, 2007 Hi. I have CQ. I wouldn't have purchased the machine without it. At this point in my life, I am not able to do as much free handing as I would like ( I have two young sons). But, I like being able to get up to the machine, warm it up and go, with out necessarily my full attention. I do have to keep an eye on it, but I can play with my boys while it runs (in the same room). Otherwise I could never get any quilting done. I have played with digitizing a bit, and so far so good, nothing too complicated. Yes you still have to fill in some areas without CQ. I like having the option to do both. How I justify the cost is that I knew that I would have to go all the way with this investment. The money came and I knew if I didn't use it for my best case scenario, that it would disappear by the time I was really "ready". If I had gotten the millie without CQ, it would just be sitting there unused because I'm lucky to get an hour or two without the boys. Believe me, I know I will have a lot more fun with it when they are a little older and I can have more time alone with the machine. For now this is what works for me. But, I know I will be very good at freehanding, and I spend a lot of down time drawing out ideas. I am fascinated by the great work everyone does without CQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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