In short, life moves fast. Faster than any of us care to admit.
My longarm business began in 2018, when my mother and I decided to shop for a longarm machine. She had been quilting a few years, and hated quilting on her domestic – at the time she was on an antique Singer 15-91, which while a powerhouse of a machine, not truly set up for they types of quilting we do today. I had been quilting for far longer, and loved using friend’s longarm machines when they let me, and dreamed of being able to turn my hobby into a career.
So we drove down to Des Moines, where a big show was happening and test drove EVERY single longarm brand that showed up. we learned a ton about what we wanted and needed in a machine, and asked SO MANY questions to all the vendors. It kind of was a whirlwind weekend, to be honest!
But we settled on the then brand new Handi-Quilter Amara. She had most of the features we needed, at a price point we could afford. We ordered it through a local to us dealer who was vending there, and were able to have it delivered!
Once we got it set up in my mother’s basement, (where it had to live, due to my at the time young children needing my basement for play space) we proceeded to play around and really learn how this new machine works. we both quickly cleared out our WIP piles learning the techniques!
And then, the business began. slowly, but surely we found clients. shortly after, starting we added ProStitcher to the machine, which allowed us to work quicker.
As time went on, I was spending more time driving to and from my mothers house, as she was becoming increasingly busy in her post-retirement job and unable to devote time to quilting. in 2023, we cleaned out the kids old basement playroom, and moved the longarm to my house.
mid 2024 we decided that the business arrangement we had no longer made sense, and that we would close The Circle Quilt Company. All assets were handed over to me, and I was free to do what I wanted.
I’ve changed the name to something that feels more like me, and reopend as Starlite Quilt Studio. I’ve got some amazing plans for the future, and I cant wait to get back to work!
