Long Arm Hunting

After a full day of walking around looking at bikes, Aunt Gertie and Cousin Martha were ready for another quilt shop. Today they were headed for Bunnell and the Gammill dealership. Aunt Gertie had been lusting after a long arm machine for about 6 months.

It was all Aunt Myrtle’s fault. Aunt Myrtle was a Psychology professor at the local university. She had been quilting for a year or two when she decided Aunt Gertie needed to buy a long arm machine. Aunt Myrtle had made a several quilts for auction at the day care center and a t-shirt quilt or two. She understood the challenges of quilting a larger quilt on her home sewing machine and the expense of having someone else quilt it. One of the reasons Aunt Myrtle enjoyed quilting so much was that it didn’t have to be expensive. You could walk out of a quilt shop having only spent $5.00 or $10.00. Of course, she rarely did that, but it was possible. Aunt Myrtle had planned her strategy very carefully. She had casually mentioned to Aunt Gertie how great it would be to have a long arm machine. Of course, Aunt Myrtle did not make very many quilts so it made more sense for Gertie to buy the machine and then Aunt Myrtle could use it. Wouldn’t that be much better than paying to have the quilting done? “The long arm machine would also help save your shoulders Aunt Gertie!” added Cousin Martha. Aunt Gertie was not committing to anything yet. Buying long arm sewing machine was as much money as buying a new motorcycle. Yesterday they had spent the day looking at bikes, today they would investigate the world of the long arm sewing machine.

Aunt Gertie and Cousin Martha were much more careful this day. They made sure they had the shop address and the GPS with them as they left the hotel. They drove right to the shop without a hitch. Aunt Gertie even had her tape measure and a list of questions.

Aunt Gertie and Uncle Hap did not have a large house. They did not have a room large enough to hold the long arm. There was no chance of an addition for a long arm machine. It was logistically impossible to add a room of that size on their lot. Aunt Gertie’s only hope was that they could put it in the basement. She needed dimensions for the machine and how it came apart for shipping to  determine if they could even get the machine into the house. Aunt Gertie had heard stories of machines going in through the basement window and the not being able to get the machine out again. 

So...with tape measure in hand and a notebook with questions, Aunt Gertie and Martha started investigating long arm sewing machines.