As I try to remember when I first saw a Bernina Q24 Longarm machine, I realise that everything “pre-Covid” is so far away I had to Google the reference point.

It was the Auckland Quilting Guild Symposium of 2019. I had become reacquainted and re-infatuated with patchwork and quilting after a twenty-year hiatus. My daughter-in-law Melissa and I spent what felt like hours trying to find a parking space near the venue. Eventually we just walked an unreasonable distance and claimed it as the day’s exercise. 

We spotted the Bernina Q24 being presented by a Bernina rep and she invited us to give it a go. I had the strangest reaction to trying the machine - as if I had just met the love of my life feeling. The rep encouraged me to use it for a longer session but I had become all coy and stepped away from the machine. I wanted one badly. Love at first sight. Upon hearing the price, I knew I’d never have one. Ever. It cost three or four times the price of my car. Which says as much about the car as it does about the quilting machine.

Since that fateful day I have been a bit of a patchwork nutcase. A bit obsessed, to be frank.

I traded up to an old (new to me) model of Janome which had a wider working area to try and force myself to free motion quilt in the hope that my levels of "finishing" would increase. I’ve always been really dissatisfied with the results of domestic sewing machine quilting though. They’re not terrible, but they’re not great either. Well my results, anyway. Plus, I just don’t really enjoy it at all and find it physically taxing. It's awkward and frustrating, and no I don't have patience and no I don't like sewing pleats and tucks into my pieced top and no I don't aways pull my bobbin thread up so yes I have far too many thread nests on the undersides so circle back to the beginning of this sentence.

So I’ve sent two of my finished tops to long arm quilters and paid them to do it for me. They’re very reasonably priced all things considered, and I’ve been really happy with their work.

I decided in my heart that instead of paying for my own Longarm machine, I’d just get others way more expert than me, do it for me.

Now that's what I say - but actions speak louder than words. I follow hashtags and save searches on TradeMe for Longarm quilting machines. They didn’t come up for sale in New Zealand very often, but they do appear in my feed from time to time. Gammils, Notlings, APQSs - but truly, I had no idea if they were ‘good buys’ or not. I couldn’t imagine where I would set them up as often they were super huge framed or hundreds of kilometres away. Plus, they weren't Bernina Q24s my one and only true love.

Then about six months ago a Bernina Q24 showed up in my Trade Me feed and my desire for it was ignited once again. It was a pre-loved machine, and only four years old. While it was considerably lower in price than a new one, it was still more than I thought I could reasonably spend on my hobby. Of course I talked about how to make quilting work financially - become a long area quilter myself; have a number of long arm machines and hire them out; teach; design; but I know that I’m just a million miles away from the drive needed to do any of these things.

The auction lapsed; the machine dropped from my feed; my assumption was some other smart quilter brought it.

But then it appeared again; and again. And each time it failed to sell, it would be resisted with less and less energy.

After a particularly disparaging day at work I phoned the dealership (and honestly, I never phone anyone about anything)  that was trying to sell the machine. I asked about the machine, it’s history, the chance of finance terms, really getting the good goss on this baby (and I'm terrible at this sort of thing). Making it that much harder to not buy it. 

The next morning, I phoned them again and purchased the machine. 

It sort of felt about as impulsive and unexpected as the previous sentence but by crikey I am so happy that they came and installed into my sewing room and provided lessons on how to use it.

My plan is not to make money from it - so far so good! But admitting that to myself up front has made it a lot easier than trying to form a business around the Q24 to justify the purchase. I am giving myself two years to learn to use the quilting machine to an advanced level. After that, I will consider if and how I could start earning money with that skill. Maybe after that I’ll purchase the Q-matic computer module and do E2E quilting for people; maybe I’ll do 1:1 training for other people who need help with their machines; maybe I’ll buy another three and set up a studio. Maybe I'll sell it.

I bet I’ll just use it to complete my own quilts, and live happily every after.