Help out a Newbie, Please

[DoryJM]

My Millie (think I\'m gonna call him Mel) came this last week; we picked him up in Reno and then my husband set him up on Saturday. I spent Saturday night looking at the room that used to be our bedroom with this giant (12\' table) in it and wondering, "what the heck did I do???"

Sunday (after rearranging my stash and quilting area--think I was procrastinating?) I got the binder out that came with him and wound a bobbin, threaded the machine with the sample thread from Bob at Superior (King Tut), loaded an already partially quilted practice sandwich from Longarm U, and played--can\'t even really call it practice! I discovered that I like the way the machine moves better when not on SR mode and that after hours of practice, I didn\'t vibrate when I stopped like I had when trying out another brand. I\'m not quilte so intimidated anymore!!

I\'m currently marking another piece of muslin to put on top of that sandwich piece for more practice. This time, it will be practice because I\'ll have lines to stay between, etc.

So, as a newbie looking to eventually start a business, what accessories are necessary? I\'m trying not to buy everything I see and to make some intelligent choices. Any advice???

[quiltmonkey]

Hi Dory,

Glad to learn you got your new machine all set up and are over the intimidation. I agree with you that the machine runs smoother (quieter) without SR but it\'s nice to have that SR function when you really want it or need it, especially for ruler work, SID and tricky designs, or when learning feathers, and where you want more control with stopping and starting. I like to run in non SR mode, too, but it\'s nice to have both options.

Re: tools & assessories, take it slow. Over the past year, I started acquiring some quilting books (e.g. Sherry Rogers Harrison, Karen McTavish, Sue Patton, Darlene Epp), pantos that aren\'t too tight or intricate, some basic straight rulers (dainty ditcher and a longer one), temporary marking pens (blue and purple) for fabric. I really like my extended base to use with the rulers. I would go with the basic stuff like this for now and see how you feel as you get more into it. Have fun!

[DoryJM]

Hi Shana...thanks for the help. I won\'t say I\'m totally over the intimidation, but I don\'t start to shake every time I walk past Mel now!!

I\'m assuming the extended base extends the base to make it easier for holding the ruler on to quilt next to? Not sure if I have that right. Saw some folks talking about a Wonder Disk--would this be basically the same thing?

I\'m definitely planning to get on of Karen\'s books--she\'s incredible!! I already have the CD that Darlene Epp puts out as well as her practice books--those are great.

I loved your pictures with Sandra and the ice bar...makes the cold seem almost inviting!!

Thanks!!

[Quilting Heidi]

Dorthy,

Shana gives excellent advise. I think first it is wise to figure out what kind of quilting you like to do, panto\'s, free-motion, heirloom, etc. Then build your stash based on that. I absolutely could not live without my extended base, dainty ditcher, micro-drive handles and my templates I use for marking (quilters rule nested rulers). All the other tools so far are just tools that I haven\'t really played with much. Once you have an idea of what kinds of designs you lean toward then go for the gadgets.

Have fun!

[quiltmonkey]

Another thing besides all these is to get some basic videos or DVDs: Linda Taylor, Nichole Webb, Pajama Quilter, Myrna Ficken beginner DVD, etc. These give you good ideas and help lower the intimidation level and the learning curve.

Oh, and a white board (2\'x3\' or 3\'x3\') with erasable markers to practice PPP drawing.

[DoryJM]

Okay...so what do you do with the Dainty Ditcher? I just looked online at Columbia River Quilting and its SMALL...

[veg-girl]

The dainty ditcher fits around the hopping foot and gives you control down at foot level, especially following around curves for doing SID. I also have the striaght rulers that came with the extended base and a set of circles. I\'m buying slowly as I find a need for a new ruler. You could spend a fortune and find that you don\'t like or need what you\'ve bought. If you can get to a show you can then look at the various options. The rulers all have small differences which suit different people in different ways.

[DoryJM]

Thanks, Yvette. Now it makes sense that its so small.

I plan on going to the show in Tacoma in October, but until then I don\'t think I\'ll be anywhere that demonstrates these products. Good thing about that is that by then, I should have some sort of a handle on what I\'m doing...

[ffq-lar]

That is a great idea to wait to make purchases. If you do SID you will need a straight ruler, of course. There are several brands and sizes out that have quarter-inch extensions on the ends to help you line up with the seams--very easy and handy rulers to have. I have found that for SID or echoing, I do better with a small hand-size ruler--I use Sherry\'s Dainty Ditcher. The longer ones make me anxious to race down the seam line so I get much better accuracy moving slower and with a smaller ruler. Just a thought.

[roberta]

Where do you buy the video\'s and/or dvd\'s? I have done searches on amazon and the only one I was able to find were a couple Fon\'s and Porter shows dvd\'s with a section on long arming. I would love to get my hands of some of them. Especially Myrna\'s. I was just at a website where she was a runner up for best teacher of the year award in 2007 ... Plus, she has helped me out a bit around here

[quiltmonkey]

Some of the longarm quilting supply stores will carry most of everything you are looking for, including instructional DVDs or videos from those listed above.

Some of these quilting supply stores include:

King\'s Men Quilting Supply

http://www.kmquiltingsupply.com/

Columbia River Quilting

http://columbiariverquilting.com/

Golden Threads

http://www.goldenthreads.com/

Linda Lang at Longarm Supplies

http://www.canadianlongarmsupplies.com/

Myrna Ficken\'s web site

http://www.aquilterschoice.com/

Oh, and if you go into business, you can buy stuff wholesale (thread, batting, fabric, etc) from distributors.

There are others, but this is a good start!

[roberta]

Oh thank you. I think you just cost dh alot of money

[DoryJM]

We just contacted the State Board of Equilization today to get our resale number--I\'m already buying stuff in my head. This could be scary!! I need to keep reminding myself that two quilts do not constitute a "business"...yet.

[barbm]

Dorothy,

Good luck with your business - it\'s a slow process, and for some it never works out like they expect. The best thing is to be in a financial position to cover your out-of-pocket costs (machine purchase or payments, supplies, startup equipment, etc.) without any additional income, and then see if "they will come."

I was in your position almost a year ago - recently filed my state tax form, and my gross income for the six or seven months that I was quilting for others was just over $1000. I\'ve spent LOTS more than that on equipment, supplies, training, etc., but I\'m blessed to have a DH who understands the startup cycle and supports me 150% He has refused to take any payments on the loan his company took to buy my Millie - and just this afternoon he was pushing me (gently!) to "put the needle in" on a quilt that\'s been intimidating me.

The good news is that I have loyal customers, even after just this short time, I\'ve already grossed more this year than last, the local quilt guild wants me to come do some demonstrations, and one of the local quilt shops wants me to do some classes for the ladies to whom they have sold HQ16s. I don\'t think I\'m really good enough for all that, but it\'s encouraging, even if it\'s not profitable.

I guess the bottom line from me to you is, have fun, learn lots, do your best to make this a real business, but don\'t stress about it. There will be some easy and some hard decisions down the line, but that\'s all that life is - decisions, then living with them to the best of your ability. Might as well have fun in the meantime!

(I\'m off my soapbox now)

[DoryJM]

Hi Barb! No, stay on that soapbox, you make lots of sense.

I\'m giving myself two years (less a few months) to get my business going and to see what kind of income I can bring in. I\'m hoping to retire and augment my retirement with my quilting; but I also want to have time for my own quilts as well. I\'ve been doing alot of reading, especially Carol Thelan\'s "Professional Machine Quilting," and am realizing that this isn\'t going to happen overnight. I live in a small county with limited population but we are located between some larger cities and we do have an inordinate number of quilters.

Some friends and I are also talking about opening a quilt shop here locally--the closest ones are in the adjoining towns 45 minutes away in one direction and an hour in the other. None of us wants to work 7 days a week, so we\'ve got some plans in the works for two-day weeks with coverage options for vacations, etc. That plan is just in its infancy though, so not even really something to consider at this point.

My husband is my strongest supporter as well. If he\'d had his way, I\'d own an HQ16 now and be looking to sell it to purchase a Millie. I didn\'t want to buy until doing research to determine what I needed and what my goals were. In fact, the smartest thing I did was attend Longarm University--that really opened my eyes to several things both business and machine wise.

Stay on that soapbox Barb...and thanks for the info.