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4 Responses to “Anyone have experience with professional quilting machines?”
There are still plenty of small ads in magazines like Quilters Newsletter. It’s difficult to know how things work over there – here in Britain there are a few professional quilters, but the investment would put me off. I’d certainly like to get my quilts done by someone else, but the cost is more than I could afford. Sorry it’s not much of a help.
Here in Southern California, it is a very profitable business. That is because in our area, quilters are usually working, raising kids and try to fit their quilting hobby around their busy lives. Most do the piecing work themselves and then take it to the shop for the final quilting. I received a table runner and a beautiful Asian themed quilt for Christmas both of which were machine quilted. The pattern was quite unusual, dragons which would have been extremely time consuming and tedious to do. But, having those intricate patterns is what makes certain shops more popular and thus they have more business.
The machines are very expensive. I have a used (1995) Nolting with a 12 foot table. It was $7,000 plus shipping, and was a bargain. New ones are much higher, and the computer driven ones cost far more than a nice new car. There is plenty of business out there, but it is hard work and certainly isn’t going to make you wealthy. On the other hand, if you want one for yourself and just need to pay for it with your profits, you could certainly do that, but it might take several years, depending on how much you pay for your machine.
I do love having a longarm of my own and enjoy doing my own quilting on it. It is very creative, and a lot of fun.
If you are really interested you should attend some Classes at the Machine Quilters Showcase in May. It is held in Overland Park Kansas May 14 – 17 and they have lots of Classes to help you decide. They have one called Do I Want to be a Longarm quilter that would be perfect for you. You can check it out on ther web site.
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:49 pm
addave
There are still plenty of small ads in magazines like Quilters Newsletter. It’s difficult to know how things work over there – here in Britain there are a few professional quilters, but the investment would put me off. I’d certainly like to get my quilts done by someone else, but the cost is more than I could afford. Sorry it’s not much of a help.
October 5th, 2008 at 9:21 am
melissa
Here in Southern California, it is a very profitable business. That is because in our area, quilters are usually working, raising kids and try to fit their quilting hobby around their busy lives. Most do the piecing work themselves and then take it to the shop for the final quilting. I received a table runner and a beautiful Asian themed quilt for Christmas both of which were machine quilted. The pattern was quite unusual, dragons which would have been extremely time consuming and tedious to do. But, having those intricate patterns is what makes certain shops more popular and thus they have more business.
October 7th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
melissa
The machines are very expensive. I have a used (1995) Nolting with a 12 foot table. It was $7,000 plus shipping, and was a bargain. New ones are much higher, and the computer driven ones cost far more than a nice new car. There is plenty of business out there, but it is hard work and certainly isn’t going to make you wealthy. On the other hand, if you want one for yourself and just need to pay for it with your profits, you could certainly do that, but it might take several years, depending on how much you pay for your machine.
I do love having a longarm of my own and enjoy doing my own quilting on it. It is very creative, and a lot of fun.
October 10th, 2008 at 4:19 am
adrrobb
If you are really interested you should attend some Classes at the Machine Quilters Showcase in May. It is held in Overland Park Kansas May 14 – 17 and they have lots of Classes to help you decide. They have one called Do I Want to be a Longarm quilter that would be perfect for you. You can check it out on ther web site.
Maybe I will see you there.