Kathy A wrote:

IMHO, the ones on ebay aren't especially great deals, and I would never
consider buying one without test driving it first. Especially a used one.
There are some lemons out there, and some machines have been abused (not
always intentionally.) Most sewing machine repair places don't know how to
work on them, so it's not like you can just bring it anywhere for service.

I'm not big on ebay buying in general, but I like using it to see
what's out there. I'd never buy something that expensive without
testing it, either. I hadn't thought about repairs... that's definitely
something to consider. Especially if you have to dismantle and ship
it... yikes, the shipping costs! I don't think I'm quite ready for
that kind of commitment to my sewing machine yet.

What's your opinion on the quilt frames for regular sewing machines? (I
don't know exactly what these are called, but I mean it's got a rolling
platform for a domestic machine to sit on. I have no idea how the foot
pedal is controlled on something like that, or how the power cord stays
untangled?) Anyway, these seem to be in the $1000 range, which is a
much less scary leap than $7k-$25K machines I saw on
thequiltedrose.com.


Here's a few book and video recommendations, all NAYY, with my personal
comments. (And these are MY opinions, and I know everyone else will have a
different opinion. *grin*)

Of the books at http://columbiariverquilting.com/books.html , I use the Judy
Irish book "Dazzling Doodle Designs" all the time for inspiration, and also
Diana Phillips' "Line Dancing" book. I have one of Nichole Webb's previous
books ("Garden Branching"), which is really good, so her new one "Fantasy
Freehand" is on my list -- I'll probably pick it up at MQS this year. I also
highly recommend Pam Clarke's books -- I have a couple of her stencils and
have been in a couple of lectures she's given, and her methods are lots of
fun.

Oooooooh! DH better hide my wallet right now! "Dazzling Doodle Designs"
looks neat... actually, they all do! On the Pam Clarke books...
"Borderlines, Book 3" looks interesting, but do I need to own books 1
and 2 to understand it?


On the down side, Karen McTavish's book "Quilting for Show" was very highly
touted, and I thought it was a huge waste of money.

http://www.thequiltedrose.com is one of many places to get my favorite
videos (click on the "videos" link. Linda Taylor's "Artistic Freeform" was
the video that really set me free, and would translate very well to a home
machine. I haven't seen "Fancy Feather Frenzy" or "Advanced Artistic
Freeform 2", but I took both those classes last year, and I'm sure they will
also translate well to a home machine.

I got to the home page ok, but most of the links won't load for me.
I'll try again later, though... the video titles are intriguing!


snip lots of good stuff... I don't really have a comment for it, other
than you gave me some food for thought.
Some people are cut out to run their own business and some aren't. Nothing
wrong with either way, but the key to happiness is to know which kind of
person you are. (Well, that and a big hunk of chocolate! LOL)

Starting my own business is still a long way off. A loooooooooong way
off. And what I want isn't just quilting. What I'd like to do is own a
sort of restaurant/hotel/craft school/store. Just picture it: a
beautiful Alaskan setting, where locals can gather for a good meal and
crafting classes (especially in winter, when tourism $$$ are bupkus).
There's a good-sized kitchen attached, where meals for the restaurant
are prepared, as well as cooking classes are taught. (OK, so the
kitchens would be separated somehow.) I'd convince fabulous instructors
to come teach at my place, and would have hotel space for 'em to stay,
along with Outsiders who come to take classes. I'd have theme months...
let's say Thai one month, with classes in traditional basket weaving,
loom weaving, clothing, art, pottery, cooking. Then next month, it's PA
Dutch, with hex sign painting, quilting, stained glass,
scherenschnitte, cooking. After that, Polynesian, or Russian, or
whatever. There'd be a craft/fabric store as well. And I could take all
the classes I want!

DH would be in charge of the more "outdoorsy" stuff... hikes/camping
with llamas, 4-wheeling, dogsledding, hunting/fishing, projects with
powertools. This would help keep the menfolk occupied, and might make
for more couples booking rooms. He'd also make sure there were zippy
computers hooked up on every available surface.

OK, so realistically? I know that most of that is dreaming. I know that
I sure don't have the money to *start* a business with all of that
going on. I know that to run an operation that complex would require
quite a *number* of employees. But I'm still working toward it slowly.
I've got restaurant and retail experience, and once we move I'll be
looking for work in a LQS and a farm/greenhouse so I can pick up more
of the specifics. I've been doing research on various equipment like
looms (and building our own looks like the way to go here), kilns
(maybe build), walk-in refrigerators, etc... DH is doing the same on
his end. I'm overlooking important stuff like liability insurance, I
know, but I'm not ready for that yet. And when we finally are ready
to take the plunge, it'll be small. Like a sandwich shop with extra
room in the back for small craft classes. And then, as we get wildly
popular, we'll expand! See, I got it all figured out!

Gah, didn't mean to go on so long about that! It's just that DH and I
were comparing URLs for real estate sites, and whenever we do that, I
go and get all dreamy! We start talking about the nifty chickens we'll
have and the big garden and how to protect the compost pile from bears,
and watching the northern lights from our fabulous hot tub and I'm a
goner. =)



Cina