Long arm sewing machines have been around since the 1800s. Granted, those were nothing like the machines of today. Those were wooden with some bars and a hand crank would move the machine along.

Long arm quilting machines have come a long way! And goodness, is it an intimidating world!

What is a long arm?

For those that visit here that aren’t quilters, or new to quilting, you are probably wondering what in the world it is that I’m talking about. A long arm quilting machine is a big metal frame with a carriage that travels the machine over the frame. There are 4 big poles that the quilt is rolled onto, leaving a flat quilting space in the middle. The quilt stays stationary as the machine is quilting over it, unlike quilting on a normal sewing machine where you have to move the quilt under the needle.

*image of frame curtesy of http://www.handiquilter.com

While yes, it is COMPLETELY possible to quilt your own quilt on your domestic sewing machine and have gorgeous results (I’ve been doing it that way for 13 years!), having a long arm quilting machine offers a lot of benefits, especially when quilting for others. There is better stitch regulation, more freedom in design and if you purchase a computer for it the sky is the limit on what the quilting can look like on your quilt!

I have wanted a long arm machine solidly for the past decade, what quilter wouldn’t dream of one?! But this is a huge investment, and I wasn’t ready to make that investment in myself and my quilting. It took a lot of time, research and saving to hit the point where I felt I could take the research seriously and fully consider the path my quilting was going to take.

Over the next few posts I’m going to share with you my adventure, the process I took and how I ended up where I am today.

And spoiler alert: a picture can say 1,000 words……