questions

[Shelia]

I have been browsing this forum for a while now and although I am not currently a longarmer, I am hoping to be one in the near future. I have been doing research on everything from machines to space I would need to how much money I could possibly make in this new venture. I have some questions and would welcome any input from anyone available. I currently do machine quilting on my Bernina 440 w/stitch regulator and am satisfied that I could do it on a longarm. I realize it is not the same but hope it will be even better.

I guess my first question is, (my husband has me thinking on this one) do you have very many customers that are not happy with your work even though it is a good job and maybe they just don\'t like the look of the quilting?

And second, I am going into this as a business and plan to start out with a charge of .15 per sq in. for large to medium meandering or panto work go from there. Can anyone give me a ballpark figure what you could do $$$$ wise in a day\'s time say 6 to 8 hours? I am so ready to do this but it is nerve wracking because I am going to have to borrow the money to start off. FYI, I am an experienced quilter and have sewn clothing and crafts and home decor items since I was small. Not a professional by any means but it is not like I am just starting out. I do not work outside the home so I will not be replacing a current income. Any advice would be appreciated

[lindasewsit]

Hi Shelia!! I have had my millie for about 41/2 months. I have done 3 customer quilts. I practiced for a couple of months before I took any quilts that were being paid for! I also have a bernina 440. I went to the quilt show in Houston about 4 years ago and got the bug for a long arm. But I went with my bernina then. But after using it for a couple of years made me realize how much I love quilting and I wanted to go to the next level!! I am loving it!! So far, I of course am not making big bucks, but having the time of my life!! I also did LOTS of sewing and crafts since I\'ve been in high school! (That\'s a LONG time ago!) You will find this chat site is so very helpful!! Actually, it is part of the reason I figured I could do this!! LOTS of info and help! YOU WILL LOVE it if you decide to make the leap!! Welcome to the chat!! linda

[April W]

I hope you actually mean a penny and a half per square inch and not fifteen cents. How much you can make in a day will vary depending on the quilt top, your mood, your machine\'s mood and tension problems wtih thread. I can load and meander 103" X 103" in about 3 1/2 hours if I don\'t have any interruptions.

[Stagecl]

Your questions are not that easy to answer. So much depends on where you are, how many LA\'ers in the area, how many quilters making tops, how many LQS in the area and how many own LA\'s for themselves not for business.

It takes time to establish a client base (you already have started), so don\'t expect a ton of business the first year unless you are fortunate.

There will always be someone who may not be happy with your quilting...how many? Depends on how good a quilter you are, how well you can meet the needs of your customers and still be profitable.

How much you get done in a day depends on how organized you are, not ripping and the complexity of your quilting designs.

Baby and lap quilts go faster than full or queen size...one to 3 quilts a day...3 if they are baby quilts and simple pantos. A custom queen size quilt could take a week.

Vague answers...hope it helps...

Cheryl

[Bonnie]

I\'m stuck on the .15 per square inch as well....I as April said hope you aren\'t planning to get 15 cents per inch right out of the gate. As even those that have been quilting for years don\'t get that....I have been quilting for over 11 years and still don\'t ask that for meandering. Maybe customer work, but not meandering/stippling.

As far as to the question your hubby asked....how many customers have not been happy with my work....out of the many many quilts, there have only been 2 that had a problem. One was a customer who didn\'t understand that hand quilting and machine quilting could not be duplicated...close in look but not in style, so she had another quilter take it out and re-quilt it...turned out she didn\'t like at that quilters either. The other was a person who shopped every quilter in a three state area (NV, CA, OR) and NONE of us could make her happy so it wasn\'t something that I did, it was her.

[Shelia]

Sorry for the misprint. It definitely should be .015.

[Mary Beth]

Sheila,

There are a lot of factors to consider. Intruptions in a day are one of them. Seems like something comes up for me and just blows me way off schedule. This is not like a 9 to 5 job...I guess it could be if you were very disciplined, but there are guild meetings to attend, to help drum up business. LQS to visit. Customer calls. And like the others mentioned tension/machine/ripping out....yada, yada.

As far as what to charge, check with others in your area. Find out supply/demand. Do you have an abundance of machine quilters in your area....or are there just a few? Do people want to pay for machine quilting in your area, or are they happy using thier domestic machine as you have been? Do you have a relationship with your LQS? That is huge.

Do your homework, and don\'t buy a machine just because you have always wanted one. Unless you are just quilting for yourself and the customers are the perk. Don\'t let your heart over ride your head!!

[Marion]

I don\'t do very well on the Millenium. I have decided instead of using that machine which cost me $18,000 I have a friend hand quilt the quilts i do not want to ruin. It is better for me to pay her than mess up anymore. Most of my quilts are donated but the hand quilted I will give to family members. If I knew she was willing to do the hand quilting I would not have bought the machine. I let some of my sewing friends use the machine, I am just not satisfied with the mess it makes. I have done some freehand yuck, and pantos not quite as yuck. SID is way off and pathetic. I see all the beautiful work everyone else does and I just give up. I even tried doing one upside down and using the back as the lines to follow and I could not even keep the machine on the lines and the front is really messed up. Goodwill gets that one.

[quiltmonkey]

Marion, I sent you a U2U

Shana

[maree]

Marion, Please don\'t be so hard on yourself. I tell the girls I teach, do your best and love what you do. Don\'t try and copy what others are doing. Find what you are happy with and practise, you will find soon start to feel comfortable with what you are achieving. Another good tip is to keep your first attempts at something new, when you feel you haven\'t acheived anything, compare it to the first attempts and you will see how far you have come. Keep smiling, and people will wonder what you have been up to.

[Marion]

Shana, I appreciaste your wanting to help but I think it is useless. I am 77 years old and although I sew a lot, 8 hours a day sometimes I cannot get the Millenium to do what I want it to. I have many machines and know how to use them all except that quilting machine. I have the Mega Quilter from Viking on the Inspira frame and have used that for several of my quilts but it only does about 5 inches before you have to roll. That was why we bought the APQS machine, It has more room before rolling. I also have the Acucut which cuts so accurately that the quilts look so good I don\'t want to mess them up anymore. I do not quilt for other people. I do let others use the machine to complete their quilts as best they can. Some look okay others not so good, but they are done. A friend is coming tomorrow to finish two baby quilts, She just does loopys and they look okay as she is not fussy. I don\'t know how to send a U2U so had to answer this way. Thanks anyway.

[quiltingtina]

Marion, sorry you are having troubles. Please keep trying!

Sheila, I just wanted to say that while it is important to know if your area can handle another longarmer, how many quilters there are local to you, etc., please remember that your client base does not have to be limited to locals. We live in an internet era, and there are tons of customers out there. I have customers in a few different states, and some local also.

Yes be realistic about what your local economy will do for you, but please don\'t be discouraged by it. There are several LAers in my area, and we all bring different skills and styles and I don\'t think we compete for the same customers.

And like I said, there are customers all over the world, you\'ve just got to make it easy for them to find you.

Good luck!

[lindasewsit]

Marion, HI!! I am so sorry that you are so frustrated!! How long have you had your millie? I do know that you have to give yourself some time to learn her!! YOu are amazing!! At 77 STILL sewing away!! and sounds like trying new things!!! I want to be like you when I get to be 77!! Keep working on it and you WILL see improvement!! Let us know how things are going!! linda

[Brenda]

Marion,

I\'m 57 and just starting to LA. I have a millie, 2 1/2 months. I have ripped out some rows, due to tension, but I just keep going. I too have sewn/crafted for yrs. and done small projects on my Bernina, but I am going to do this la for myself. I am quilting for myself and maybe someday be good enough to help others if they get overloaded and maybe want a little help. I have alot of tops of my own to do and you know, there are going to be mistakes in them, because I am learning. I will learn from it and move to the next one. I know these other ladies have done this for a long time and may have excelled, but I\'m sure they didn\'t get the hang of it in a couple of weeks or so. If they did, HELP ME. Maybe I need a different approach.

Sounds like you ought to rent time on your machine. Make some money off it somehow if you do decide not to use it yourself. I get discouraged also, because I want to do things NOW and it takes time. You didn\'t learn to sew a garment overnight or crafts, quilting on a LA is going to take some time also. Oh well, preaching is not my thing, but keep trying. At least one or two more times?