I’ve had my eye on a long arm for about a year now. I actually like my Sweet Sixteen – a lot. But a long arm has several advantages, including not having to pin baste a quilt and also being able to more easily quilt larger patterns. I sat back and watched the prices of them and found out that the best time of the year to get a deal on a quilting machine is the month of October.
I’ve had great success with Handi Quilter so this was a no-brainer for me. When they had their demo sale – where they sell the floor models from dealers across the country – I jumped on it. 2 things happened. One, I wanted as 12′ frame and locally they had 10′ in stock. Second, they were swamped getting ready for the quilt festival and wanted to know if it would cause a lot of heartache if I waited until after the show for them to deliver and set it up.
I called this morning to see about setting a date and they said “how about later this afternoon?” Awesome! It took almost 4 hours to set it all up but it’s good to go now. As an added bonus – it’s not a demo at all. It’s brand new which was apparent when I saw the total stitch count on it! I’m guessing they sold more nationwide than they had demos, so waiting to have mine delivered served me really well.
And now…I’m going to get off the notebook and go load a quilt on it that I have ready to go!
Merry Christmas, indeed!! That is fabulous!! Congrats on having the patience to wait for the best deal!! And then getting a brand new one! Woohoo!! Happy New Year too!!
The brand new one was really a treat! I was expecting a demo, so that was a nice bonus.
sigh, Such a wonderful present for yourself!!
I think I’ll also volunteer to do quilting for the quilts our guild makes for charity to get some practice and to help step up with the program.
That is so wonderful! You’ll whip them out in no time!
I hope so! Christmas is just FIVE WEEKS AWAY! Can you believe it?
What???
Pretty scary when it’s written out like that!
This is awesome! I don’t think you can possibly get more productive…but I now think you will with this new toy!
The minute I paid for it, I put the pedal to the floor on my sewing machine so I’d have some quilt tops ready to go. I literally had a roll of batting, a top and back sitting in the chair waiting for him to finish. I had it loaded 5 minutes later – haha!
This looks really interesting. Looking forward to seeing how it goes.
Thanks! So far today it’s been working like a dream!
Wow congrats!
Thank you!
Yippee!! Merry merry Christmas for sure!!! I cant wait to see your creative stitching:)
I knew I would have a learning curve so I’ve been easy on myself for the short time I have used it so far today. I have 3 quilts queued up so I’m hoping my skills ramp up at least past extreme newbie by the time I’m done with those.
Oh you will be a pro in no time!
Can you see the green glow emanating from NY? Very jealous — I can’t wait to hear about your new toy!
I think I should organize a retreat at my house! Wouldn’t that be fun? We could set up stations to cut fabric, sew, and quilt. And…also eat, drink, and be merry!
She’s beautiful and I can’t wait to see all you accomplish! Go on you for getting what you wanted and a great deal 😉
I’m not always very patient but this time it really paid off! Okay….I’m rarely patient!
Congratulations! Enjoy your new tool.
Thank you!
WOW, jealous in Cleveland.
I would love one!
I have several friends who quilt and I’m campaigning for them to please take me seriously about using it for their own quilting. I would be thrilled to know others were able to make good use of it too.
👏have fun!! And I know the lovely projects will be posted here.😄 Yay
You bet they will!
Good for you! Can’t wait to see what you do and hear the stories behind your projects!
Thanks! I got several rows quilted this evening on one that I had queued up. It’s not perfect but it’s for a grade school boy who fortunately won’t notice or care.
Congratulations on your purchase. I’d love on if those but I just don’t have the space at home. I look forward to seeing your first project!
We talked about a couple of places to put it. It ended up in our game room where there’s extra space. I’ve seen some people who put them in their living room or dining room. It would make an interesting conversation piece there, but no way would my husband let me do that!
Wow! You must be on Cloud 9! Enjoy!!
I had a hard time working today, knowing it was just sitting there waiting for me.
Happy for you!
Thank you!