I found Gammill!

So here I was in America, staying with friends in Janesville, Wisconsin, under half an hour away from a dealer in Beloit.  I walked into the Gammill showroom and spent about 4 hours with them, being shown all aspects of the machine.

I was over the moon when they showed me the Statler, which was the computerised version of the quilting machine.  This was the one for me.  I needed to go away & absorb all the information for a few days, then I went back to them another morning, in snowy conditions,  to pester them more ask more questions.

They were as excited as I was, as they wanted an excuse to travel to Australia on a "working" holiday.  They rang Gammill head office while I was there about ordering & shipping the machine , while I stood there mentally working out how much was I going to increase my housing loan with adding the machine to it.  Some time later they returned with down cast faces...Gammill would not let them sell the machine to me... I had to buy it from a dealer in Australia.  They gave me my closet dealer's info and thanked me for my interest.

So after I left there, I felt elated but deflated at the same time.. elated, that I had now made the correct decision to buy a Gammill Statler, but deflated, because I couldn't buy it from them.

So what does a girl do when she feels like this?    
.....she shops!

Julie

Ready to Quilt

It has taken me many, many years to get to this point, ie: a quilt being sewn on a Gammill Statler Quilting Machine in my home. 

Many people have dreamed of owning a quilting machine, and some have also dreamed of owning a Gammill, which in my opinion, is the Rolls Royce of all quilting machines.. well, I was one of them.

This post and the following posts will show you that dreams do come true... it may take many years, many heartaches and many triumphs to obtain that goal, but I am proof of dreams do come true.

Let me begin....................

I began quilting about 25 years ago.  I tried hand quilting.... a cot quilt.... my first and last attempt....

  Well that was a disaster!  I have no concept of how quilters find it relaxing, therapeutic and enjoyable.. for me it was frustrating, tedious and damn slow!   I found the alternative of sending my quilts off to a quilter much more relaxing, faster, but a whole lot more expensive....then I had a brainwave....

"Why don't I buy a quilting machine costing thousands of dollars, so I can stop spending hundreds of dollars?"

... makes sense to me!

Negatives:

1) Haven't got the money

2) Have no idea of how to use one

3) Need at least a 16 foot space to house it

4) I don't have a 16 foot room in my home

Positives:

1) I could earn money by quilting other people's quilts

2) I wouldn't have to pay for my quilts to be quilted

3) I really want it!  (what other reason do I need?)

How do I start?... what the heck!...go to Gammill in America (I live in Australia) and see what it is all about!

So I did!

Julie