Longarm Quilting– Pay it Forward

HI Everybody,

I have been going back and forth on a plan of action on how I could accomplish this. I wanted to be anonymous. I just want to bless someone like I have been blessed.  But I am not sure that is possible.

Let’s go back ….

In 2010 I was going to school full-time. I had 6 kids at home and a BIG DREAM!  I had the opportunity to start a longarm business by quilting for my local quilt shop to pay make the payments. The first month I realized that I might not get enough local work so I put it out on the internet that I would be doing commission quilting. Within 2 weeks I had 50+ quilts on my door step from all over the country and a business was started.  I was also given an unexpected inheritance from a relative to be free of my school loans. Within 8 months I bought my second machine. I quit school ( with one semester left ) and started my business. NO regrets. kind of.

Longarm quilting is hard on our bodies especially for the amount of quilting that I was doing on my own. In 2017 I bought a computerized machine to free my body from some of that load and I changed the focus of my business. That was a huge investment for me and I had to finance that machine. That was one of the most difficult choices I made because I never wanted my business to be a burden to our family finances. But I knew I would be able to make my payments unless something drastic happened. I paid more for that machine than anything else in my life besides our house. I have never (even to this day) spent that much on a car.

For 7 years I sewed on 2 machines that had no bells or whistles. There was nothing except me and a whole lot of determination, energy, a little bit of talent and hard work. That third machine has all of the bells and whistles but I still free motion on the simple older machines and I have had no problems, learning, getting awards and doing my best with the limited machines. I actually prefer the simple machines in all honestly.

I was blessed by God to be able to be free of those school loans and work off those machines. In so many ways.

Now I am in a new phase of my career/business and I am being blessed in entirely different ways and I want to “Pay it Forward”

I have an older used Gammill (really old..but not used much)  on a 12 foot frame that has no bells and whistles. “as-is”

This is sitting in my storage. I was contemplating on using it for spare parts on the Gammill in my studio or keeping it for a future retreat center I am hoping to build. But I have decided that is pointless and it would be better as a way to pay it forward and hopefully help someone else use their gifts and talents to make their dreams a reality.

I want to gift this to someone who maybe has a dream (like I did). A little bit of talent, a little bit of business sense, hard worker…and wants to try to make a go of it.  I have had to work for everything in my life and I would have felt like heaven and earth were moved if someone just gave me that opportunity. I feel like there is probably someone out there like me.

I am putting this out there….and I think the only way that I can do this is to accept letters. I am gathering a committee to help me decide if I should happen to get a huge amount of applicants.

-I think this probably has to be limited to my area if we need to do set up and delivery. But willing to consider people further if they want to pick and transport themselves.

Here are the requirements:

1.you must be 18 years old or older

2. you must submit a letter along with some examples of your quilts. I won’t be looking at the quilting so much because I know that takes time to develop. I want to know why you would like this machine and how it might impact your life. The deadline will be December 31, 2024. My committee will choose someone by the end of January 2025.  You will also need to let me know if you can pick up and transport. or if you need us to set up and deliver.

3. This is an “AS-IS ” Machine. It worked fine when it went in storage. I don’t foresee any issues but this is a disclaimer. I cannot accept any responsibility for repairs etc.

Send your letters to

Charismah@msn(dot)com