lindaschipper

I realize that this is a busy time of year for longarm quilters, but I have a question concerning turn around time. Sent a quilt off to a shop about 90 minutes from here 5 weeks ago, and where I know the quilt was received by them, I have heard nothing else. This was my large scrappy quilt and not a Christmas present. Outside of Christmas time when they are so busy, what is an average turn around time?

tallchick

I really think it depends on the business! Some are busier than others, and some work may be better than others, but do by all means communicate with them. Did their website or email communication did not specify turn around times? I think for most customers this is very important to them.

Macybaby

I knew someone that was in a lot of demand, and she said that she stopped taking quilts in early October to be done by Christmas. Anything sent in November wouldn't get even looked at until January or February. I'd also suggest calling after the 1st to see what turn around might be. I think her normal turn around time was 1-2 months. She just put in a lot more hours getting quilts done for Christmas.

cjsews

It all depends on the quilter. I use a newer LA that only does pantagrams. Her turnaround is about 2 weeks. Another that has been in the business quite a while and does custom quilting can take several months. I guess it is best to ask your quilter what is normal for her

petthefabric

Maybe this is a case in “don’t assume.” Everyone is different. It’s Christmas. An emergency may have occurred. Was there any discussion between you about expectations? It’s been my experience, if nothing was said about before Christmas, it won’t be before the middle of January.

A car trip through town that usually takes 10 minutes, took hour+. It’s Christmas.

dunster

I don't think there is a meaningful average turnaround time for longarmers. Some won't even accept a quilt if they have more than a given number in their queue. Others will take them in, but they may not get finished for several months. Some are busy, some are not; some (with robotics) can finish a couple of quilts a day, others may do custom quilting that takes a week or more. And then there's my longarmer friend who just broke her wrist and cracked 3 ribs. She won't be able to quilt for a while, but I'm sure she has notified her clients if their quilts are waiting to be done.

petthefabric

One LA kept a calendar and made appt’s. She didn’t want lots of quilts stacked in her space. She’d notify the person in advance to deliver the quilt and it’d be finished within 2 wks.

Peckish

Why don't you call them and ask? 😉 I'm sure that would be more productive then asking the internet, as I'm sure you can already surmise from the wide array of answers you've received here. What if they sent it back to you 2 weeks ago but it got mis-delivered. How much longer would you wait to ask?

cindi

Turn-around times vary as much as the weather, so it’s a moot point. The only person who can answer this is your LA quilter. Did you contact her to find out? Did she give you a timeline when you scheduled your quilt? If not, it’s a question you should always ask. It may have been sent back a long time ago and lost in the mail. Your quilter won’t mind the call, email or text.

lindaschipper

Sorry ladies, guess I wasn't clear. When I sent the quilt I knew it wouldn't be back before Christmas unless a miracle happened. The check for payment was sent with the top/backing and hasn't been cashed yet. She has quilted large quilts for me before, but not at Christmas time and so her turn around time was about a month. Was simply asking what the turn around time for other longarm quilters was. I'll get mine back sometime in January probably.