Some may think that name is not so nice for a quilting machine, but it suits my friend very well, and she seems to like it.
The Beast is so named partly for her imposing size and how she moved right in and took all the space she needed in my formerly formal living/dining room. During the holidays, she knows she has to move aside and serve double-duty as a banquet table, which she does very well, but the rest of the time she is in charge of this room.
The Beast is also aptly named because of the way she can tackle the biggest quilt or even more than one quilt at a time. No one else in this house can do that, except maybe our extra large capacity washing machine. LOL!
In January 2013, during dinner with a group of classmates following a Bonnie Hunter class in Prescott, Arizona, my (selectively) radar ears heard the words "used long arm quilting machine," "thrift store," and "good price." I perked right up and figured out the speaker was BJ Bevins at the far end of our long table of quilters. I pumped her for details, and was pleased to learn BJ lived in the Phoenix area, like me, and the thrift shop she was talking about was not too far from home.
Now I had not seriously thought about getting a LAQ up until then. I had spent less than half an hour all totaled with my hands on a machine the several times I had seen vendors demo-ing machines at one quilting event or another. So far LAQ machines were mysterious, a novelty to read about, and definitely not in the budget. But here I was sitting at a table with several people who not only actually used LAQ machines, but some who made their living with them. They answered so many of my questions and were so encouraging that the brand and price for that particular machine were good, and I could be confident in BJ's assessment that the machine was in decent condition. I think she knew both the shop manager as well as, possibly, the donor of the machine to the shop. I was advised with all that information in hand that I still should try it out, see how it felt to me, before buying, but that it would be hard to go wrong with this deal.
Now I was really interested in buying this LAQ machine. I was not employed at the time and should not have been spending, but my husband is generous and tolerant and encourages me to do things that make me happy, so he enabled me by going with me to look at the machine, knowing that if I bought it, he was going to be put to work helping me get it home and set up. Did I mention he is generous and tolerant?
As advised, I tried it out in the shop, but what do I know about LAQ machines? The motor turned when I plugged it in, it rolled in all directions when I pushed it, and it came with the original documents and dozens of full bobbins. Really, it was already mine before I got into the store, barring any huge, glaring fault. So I plunked down my money and arranged rental of a 14' long U-Haul truck the next Saturday.
She was christened the Beast while she was being manhandled into the moving truck and then into the house. She took over the front room and has been the main fixture there ever since. I have been slow in getting acquainted, as I got a full-time job a couple weeks after she arrived. I also procrastinated doing anything more than practice and play on her. Not sure why, possibly fear of failure, possibly fear of breaking her since I have not been around others with LAQ machines. I hear many people say that.
I finally got more serious and not long before Thanksgiving 2014, I mounted two quilt tops side by side, planning to use a pantograph on one, then freehand the other. I worked a short time several evenings before Thanksgiving, then realized what poor timing that was. I had a large table full of people coming for dinner! So Thanksgiving Eve, the half-finished quilts were removed, the machine, bars and side supports were removed from the table, and it was scooted over along one wall. A couple pretty table cloths, and I had a 12 foot banquet table next to the dining table. How did I ever get along without this? Then it stayed put away to allow room for our Christmas tree, too.
Well into 2015, I finally set the table up again and started practicing because I knew it was time for me to get real and become a partner with The Beast. And a very good partnership it is going to be. We are Beauty and The Beast dancing down that 12 foot table!
