Folklorique Finish!

So, I have been busy with finishing old quilt tops this year.  This is a top that I've had sitting around for several years now waiting to get quilted.  The fabric is Moda's Joanna Figueroa called Folklorique.  The pattern was inspired by a quilt from one of Kaffe Fassett's first quilting books.  Originally I really loved the earthy tones of this fabric paired with the bright blue and red, but with so many new designers and much more interesting fabrics available now these fabrics are way less interesting to me now.  It's nice to have this one finished.  I ended up free motion quilting this on my domestic machine with continuous chain circles.  My husband said he didn't like it, but oh well, I'm glad I tried something new and different at the time.

My most exciting news of the moment is that soon I will be doing much more quilting!  We have decided to go ahead purchase a long arm quilting machine to start my business since with the current Aussie dollar exchange rate with the U.S. dollar it is a good time to take the plunge.  I'm so excited!  I've had this idea on the brain for nearly four years now and it looks like I will be set to start the business by September.  I will be getting a Gammill Statler Stitcher which is computerized.  I want to concentrate on doing all over patterns at an extremely affordable rate with fast quality service.  It's what I personally have been looking for but have not been able to find here in Australia.  It is sooo expensive to get a quilt long arm quilted and it takes forever to get back once they are sent off.  Sometimes half a year or longer!  Of course, it is hard to determine how much business I am going to get, but I do want to concentrate on fast service with mainly helping people to be able to afford to turn their quilt tops into quilts!  My dear blog readers, if you have any experience as either a long arm quilter or someone who sends their quilts off to be quilted, I would be more than appreciative to hear your advice and comments!