I decided after 4 years and many, many quilts done by LAs that I had actually brought a LA twice! I now have one (Jewel-BabyLock) and am happy with my purchase (although I have not used it). I feel kinda scared to use it. I have it setup and ready to go & I just dust it off every week. I went with Jewel BabyLock because of the service I could get in the area where I am living and the area where I will be retiring. That was a factor. I don't want to send it off to be maintained or repair. In both areas, I have at least 2.3 service places. Kay sold it to me at the Houston Show and she is offers classes in St Louis at least 5/6 times this year. Another +!!! This September I will be going there for classes. Don't get me wrong I have taken numerous classes but still do not feel comfortable. Classes and repair/maintenance schedules were very important to me!

Thank you everyone for all the information. I would love to have a Long Arm. The final sinch being the "greenfairy" Dear Jane quilt. Have you see that? I have never seen anything so beautiful. I showed it to my DH and he said, you should have a long arm. (Of course he has no idea what he is saying $$$$$) But I do think I will start the research process using the tips from this thread.

Thanks, for the info, I'm looking for one but just don't know.

I had been quilting for about 6 years, and I would either hand quilt (which I love, but it takes FOREVER) or wrestle the quilt in my DSM, which I absolutely HATED. I really wanted a LA but couldn't justify the cost for my hobby. Sadly, my mom passed away and I inherited some money. I decided to purchase a LA and did my research online and test drove several machines at a quilt show. Within about 3 months I purchased my APQS Lenni at a quilt show, which was offering a great deal. I love my Lenni, and I am glad I went for an 18" machine right away. That was 2 years ago, I am quilting up a storm (everyone got a quilt for Christmas). I can do Pantographs and ruler work, some stencils, but freehand is not happening for me. I am going to the MQX show in RI and taking some classes to help me learn more. I only quilt my own quilts so far, except for some charity quilts. Good luck!

I decided I NEEDED a longarm when no matter how hard I tried I couldn't keep the puckers out of the back of the quilt when quilting on my DSM. (Never sent one to a longarm to get it finished.) That was about 5 years after I started quilting. Then it took me over a year to figure out how I could afford one and to convince my husband that it was OK to put it in the formal living room. I wish I'd done it sooner - I love it!! I'm ready to upgrade to a larger machine and will probably do that at the end of this year.

Great information - thanks ladies

When you go hunting for a longarm, check out Renae Haddadin's article on Shopping for a Longarm at http://www.quiltsonthecorner.com/inc/sdetail/1349

You "buy" it (it is free) and it will give you answers to questions you never knew to ask - at least I didn't! It is not slanted to any particular brand name, but gives you things to ask about every machine out there.

I love my Innova and wouldn't switch brands for anything, but that doesn't mean it would be just as perfect for you. Drive every longarm you can get your hands on...and drive it for a while, not just a couple of minutes. I have found many other longarm machines really stress my shoulders or drive like a truck, but others have no problem with them. Find what is right for you and make sure you have 24/7/365 tech service - nice to be able to call at 3 am when you are having a problem!

How do I "buy" it? I click on the link you provided and read a small article.

Try going to www.quiltsonthecorner.com and put Shopping for a Longarm Article in the little search box on the top right. It will bring up a page that has a "buy" button, cost is $0.00. Sorry for the confusion!

WHEN did you decide to buy a LA?

I made the decision to invest in a mid-arm early last year after I did my 1st couple free motion projects on my little White Jeans Machine which I have been using for all my sewing needs for many many years. Before that I spent the Winter doing a lot of internet reading, watching you-tube videos, information boards, and looking at used prices compared to new & definitely bought used as it seemed like a lot of $$ to spend on my hobby. But my hand quilting days are coming to an end w/arthritis setting in enough to make it not so much fun to hand quilt anymore without lots of pain and I refuse to pay someone else to do quilting for me so I know machine quilting is something I need to teach myself to do. But I do bed quilts, not a lot of wall hangings & little quilts. I ended up w/a Juki w/a 9"throat to drop into my sewing table for my piecing machine and any future attempts at free motion quilting at my sewing table... ; and a Brother 1500 9"throat on a New Joy Gold Frame. After getting comfortable w/the Brother on the frame doing lots of charity quilts for our guild, I kept my eyes open for any bargains on a 15"-20" LA as it seemed to be in my future - but I still balked at the spending that kind of money. About two months ago I found an excellent deal on a Tin Lizzie Eighteen w/a solid 12' frame & I am now a happy camper for quite a long time I think. At 18" it still seems quite large to me, & I haven't quite gotten to the point of feeling comfortable doing much free motion, but I love working w/pantographs.

Like HOW LONG were you involved in making quilts before you decided you NEEDED a LA?

I have been working away at making quilts since I was a pre-teen - self taught - so I'm one of those going on well over 40 years. No one in my family did it, I just got myself into sewing, knitting & crocheting doll clothes, my own clothes, then making quilts. Long before all the tools available these days, which took me a long time to even start using. I used cardboard templates, scissors and hand cut individual pieces -(tho rotary cutters & the 24" mats have been around for many years for strip cutting :); hand pieced & appliqued a lot of my quilts tho simple patchwork was done on my current domestic machine; and always hand quilted them myself either in a lap hoop in front of the fireplace & TV or rolled onto a floor frame my Dad found at an estate sale about 10 yrs ago. SO it's not like I've turned out hundreds of quilts, but lots of them have been in local & state shows & are all still around.


Did you get tired of paying to have someone else quilt your quilts?
Did you want to start up a business to make money at it?
How long did it actually take to make the purchase? months? years?

Personally I have a problem paying someone else to do my quilting, to me that is just part of the process & I do enjoy each part of the process. Of course quilting has never been something I spent major $$ on either. My stash began as leftovers from clothing projects, etc...& I don't tend to pay quilt shop prices for any of my fabrics. I don't intend to start up a business, but I've had quite a few of our guild ladies ask me to let them know when I'm ready to do some quilting for them, they'll gladly pay me the going rate to take care of their closets full of quilt tops as they don't like the quilting part of the process themselves and we are pretty far removed from a lot of LA'ers. So I think I will be taking in some outside quilts to do as I don't turn out that many quilts myself and it will give me something to always be working on on the frame, but will keep the numbers severely limited so that I continue to enjoy the process - not get bogged into rushes & timelines, etc....If I want I cay justify the expense that way also, it wouldn't take that long to basically cover the cost of my investment - and at this point it isn't necessary anyway. This is something I enjoy doing, I have the room, I'm making the time these days, I've raised my kids, it's my turn to spend my time doing what I enjoy doing while I still can!