Third Weekend in October - Done!

Third Weekend in October - pieced by C. Sharp

Ohhhh, this finish feels GOOD. This quilt was shipped to me from Kentucky and I got it in October - I quilted and quilted and quilted and quilted .... And my machine broke.

There were a lot of tears. And I played musical machines until I finally got a little Babylock that could help finish up this beautiful and HUGE quilt. The picture is taken with the quilt on my queen sized bed and there is a huge drop on either side. The measurements are 86x104 according to the pattern but it just felt endless when I was quilting it.

I feel like I'm repeating myself -- but the colours and fabrics in this quilt are absolutely amazing. You really notice it when you have your nose to the needle for hours! Now that I have added all that thread it has a lovely texture too.

I used Superior Bottom Line, Aurifil 50wt, and some Gutermann. I was counting the numbers of bobbins I went through but I lost count and lost the paper I was making the note on. I'm sure in yellow and red alone I used 7 bobbins each of Bottom Line - which is thin 60wt thread so a bobbin holds much more than normal weight cotton. 

Soon it will be in the mail back to Carol. I guess I'll just have to make my own ...

"Please don't send it back ... Mine?"

Wordless Weekend

Anything you can do ..

My friends in blog land changed their blog templates and backgrounds yesterday. Naturally I was a little jealous super excited -- Patti at Quilted Threads used a gorgeous painting her sister made and Bev at Quilton used a very bright and cheerful and happy swirly option from blogger's collection.

*Pout*

So while I drank my coffee this morning I skipped through some blogger options. Then I googled how to make a blog header from a personal photo. Then I played with some fonts and - Ta-Da! Now I don't feel so left out :)

Apples, Oranges, and Sewing Machines.

My beloved Babylock Decorator's Choice has been in the hands of the dealership since the 11th of October - So two weeks tomorrow. When I talked to the owner on Tuesday she cheerfully told me that "Oh it hasn't even been looked at yet! It will be a few more weeks, we will call you when it is done!"

NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

She stayed on the phone with me for a few more minutes and I explained that I had customer quilts that needed to be finished (not the least of which is Carol's gorgeous TWIO) and I was losing business. She backtracked a little and explained that their mechanic was tied up at the Creativ Festival for the weekend, but she said "either this coming Saturday or the next. I'll give you a call as soon as I know." Grrrr ... alright. I still didn't believe her.

 My MIL's Kenmore and Patti's Husqvarna 400

I have had a borrowed machine - a Husqvarna 400 to be exact from my friend Patti - for a week or so and I tried very hard to build a "working relationship" so that I could at least finish some simple things. At first I couldn't thread it properly. Then I couldn't thread the bobbin properly - then I was cranky because I didn't have 20 spare bobbins to use like I normally do. THEN I couldn't get a 1/4" seam to save my life, even with tape marking the proper place to align fabrics. I fumbled (every time) I went to lift the presser foot --- duh, the lever is on the back left and not on the right side of the throat at all. And I couldn't get this beloved trusty machine to go fast enough for FMQ. I sat in a stalemate for a few days until my Mother in Law brought over her machine .."a right piece of junk" she told me. It turned out to be a fairly unused Kenmore (that's the Sears brand, ladies) that actually worked fine and even ran fast enough for FMQ. But the darned thing kept coming un-threaded and it definitely had none of the modern conveniences I've gotten used to -- drop in bobbins for example, and horizontal spool pins. Or more than 5 stitches. It also sounded like a runaway train.

I was definitely beginning to dislike sewing and getting to the end of my rope when Bev mentioned a mutual friend had a portable Babylock that she was looking to sell. Oh happy day! It was love at first sight. I sewed one seam and {paid that nice lady!} brought it home and played for hours.

 

It is a Babylock Xscape - a lightweight (12lbs) machine that really isn't much different from my very first Brother sewing machine. That was what I was sewing with this time last year, making my Farmer's Wife Quilt. The presser foot lift is in the right place, the bobbins are the same and drop in, there is a needle up/down button, it goes fast enough for FMQ, and it has a horizontal spool pin. It SOUNDS right, it FEELS right, it works for me! 

I have learned a valuable lesson: Do NOT underestimate the attachment you form with a brand of sewing machine you have put thousands of hours into. Oh, you can change brands. But you might pull your hair out for a very long time before you are comfortable. I could have worked with a Husqvarna -- eventually -- but given the opportunity to get back into my comfort zone and get back to quilting?

I'll be bringing your machine back to you tonight Patti. Thanks for the loan!

Quilters Night Out

Look at them all!

That's right, 22 September blocks were brought in by members last night for the Oakville Quilter's Guild. Oh happy day! All of the printed copies for the October block were swooped up in short order and I had to stammer an apology and promise to bring more next time {and I certainly will.} I have to confess that during our program and even during the business portion of the meeting, I kept peeking at the board --- so nice to have cotton eye-candy to peep at! I still can't decide which is my favorite.

"Do you recognize this?"

Dawne is such a cheeky gal. Not only did she drop our jaws at the executive meeting by bringing this top in 3 days after the September instructions were distributed, she brought the finished quilt to hold up at Bring & Brag - bonus points!!

Another quilt made by Jackie Tidy was brought out and acclaimed to many shouts and gasps and whistles - I didn't get a picture of that one but I know my friend Patti did and I hope she will share. It was hand appliqued and hand quilted and absolutely stunning. I can't wait to see it hanging in the quilt show this May.

I also got to chat with Dorothy Baker, maker of the fabulous little applique quilt I McTavished. It was neat that we both confessed to it being a practice quilt - machine applique in her case, and McT in mine!

Susan brought me some scraps -- and man oh man, her idea of a 'scrap' is my idea of 'yardage'. I'm tickled to have them --- especially when I saw some of these cute little guys:

The fabric is from a collection called "Tree Huggers" by Studio E. It is all-around CUTE {In my head, that word has a definite Australian sound - not sure why!} but check out that little beaver - D'awwwwwwwwwwww!! I'm definitely considering ordering some yardage of my very own - and I can't wait to see what Susan made with the rest of her pieces that weren't "scraps".

All in all, it was a lovely Quilters Night Out!