Look What I Did!

😲 Look what I did!  When I went to the International Quilt Festival in Salt Lake City in July, on my birthday.... I succumbed to the temptation of a new sewing machine!  The Bernina dealer there said they were ordering in the new Kaffe 475 QE machines to be used in classrooms at the Garden of Quilts show in September, and if I ordered one at the show I would get it at the demo price, after it had been slightly used at the Garden of Quilts.  So .... I did!  My hubby even encouraged it!  Anyway, the machines didn't make it in in time for the Garden of Quilts show so I ended up, a couple of weeks ago, getting a bran new machine  at the demo price!  

There are so many things I love about this new machine.  It is very compatible with my Bernina 710 - same bobbin etc.  It's smaller and more portable though, plus it's so PRETTY!  I even bought it it's own little table and the other day, I used all three of my machines while working on one project.  I feel very spoiled.  A big thanks to my hubby for being so supportive of my LOVE of QUILTING!! ❤️

I am definitely a Bernina fan!! 😊

 

It's Here!

Well I did it.  I bought one of those Bernina Q20 machines that I've been drooling over!  Actually my husband SPOILED me and got me one for my birthday!  I told you he is the best quilter's spouse ever.
I can hardly wait to try it out!! (Maybe it will improve my machine quilting.... I'm counting on it! :)

A big thanks to Jeff from Hi Fashion (and my husband for helping him) for spending the morning here setting it all up and teaching me how to use it!







Pretty sweet!  Better go play!

Check This Out!

Yesterday while at Wool Gatherer's at Hi Fashion I happened to bump into the new Bernina Q20 sit down long arm machine! Wow!  It comes with this beautiful cabinet, which expands to almost twice the size.  It looks very user friendly (my kind of machine :) and I don't know if you can see it but the whole throat area is lit with LED lights.  Hmmmm..... I may have to go try out some stitching on this machine!

If you're curious, like me, check out this video!

After class I came home to a bouquet of gorgeous yellow roses from my husband!  It's not even my birthday yet!

Thank you Sweetie :)

All Tidied Up!

It took me two days but I finally finished tidying up my sewing room last night around 9:30 PM.  I literally went through everything.  In the past I've done a drawer here or a cupboard there but this book inspired me to plunge in and go through it all and I am really glad I did.

I should have taken before, during, AND after pictures but that might have been TOO embarrassing, so you're just getting to see the after pictures - all neat and tidy!

Here are some things I learned about myself during this process:
1)  I am a sucker for gadgets. If a vendor or a teacher hawks a certain ruler or gadget, I just have to try it.  Some have been real winners and I am glad I've purchased them, some I found unopened in my drawers.  I found three different tools for creating scalloped edges.
So - I am not going to impulse-buy gadgets anymore.  I am going to pause and think about whether I really need it, and make sure I don't already have it!

2) My tastes and style of quilting has changed over the years. I went through an entire file box of patterns, tips and techniques that I've cut out of magazines over the years with the intent on making them someday.  I got rid of probably 3/4 of them because they no longer appealed to me.  I am sure it has a lot to do with the fact that trends in the quilting industry change, so our tastes change with the trends.

 3) I tend to make a pattern only once, especially if it's a complicated one, so why not pass it along to someone else?  If I know I'm only going to make it once, there is no sense in having it take up room in my sewing room.

4) I had stuff spewing out of these cupboards, stacked on the floor and in every nook and cranny.  I like having it in the cupboards, off the floor, and everything grouped together with like things so I know where to find things.  I feel more ambitious and creative with things more tidy :)

5) I do not need to buy more fabric.  I need to use the fabric, books and patterns that I have and just have fun making some really awesome quilts.  See the bottom shelf of this cupboard on the right?  The whole left side, all the way to the pink container - is all unfinished projects.  Time to get busy!

Here is all of the stuff I am getting rid of.  My Dad is having a yard sale, so I'm going to contribute!  This is what is worthy of selling, there was also a large trash bag full of trash, and I filled up the recycle bin with old magazine articles and class notes etc.

Ahhh..... Feels good :)

I did finish my bird table mat this week too so I can check one more UFO off that list!

Irene's Mobile Sewing Service

In case you missed the video in my previous post, here is an easier way to get to it.  I love this lady's enthusiasm!!

A Power Tool

I read an article awhile back by a woman who wanted to teach her little cub scout group how to make a quilt but she was worried that they would think sewing was "for girls".  She decided to introduce the sewing machine to them as a "power tool" and they loved it!  It inspired me to do the same with my youngest son and he thought it was pretty cool.  He also loved to do my seam ripping for me, which I thought was very cool!

My daughter sent me this photo the other day of her husband, who had a day off of work and decided to make curtains!  She was at work and he kept texting her pictures asking her which fabric he could use from her "fabric stash".  I'm not sure I would want my husband getting into my fabric, unless I was there to supervise :)  But I loved this picture and was so impressed that he decided to make curtains!  I can hardly wait to see them!

Bernina Foot Class

Yesterday I went to the Bernina Foot class at Hi Fashion.  This is the second one I've attended and I really like them because I am learning to use my machines more effectively and try new things!

In this class we learned to use the pin tuck foot.  There are actually different sizes of this foot, three grooves, makes the largest pin tucks, five grooves, seven grooves (which is the one I tried) and nine grooves, which makes teeny tiny pin tucks.

Above is Kari's sample and to the right is my finished page.  It was fun and I felt like I learned a lot!  For example, we had to use a double needle, which in all my years of sewing, I had never tried before!  Easy - why did I wait so long!  I did however break mine yesterday when I tried to do the decorative stitch....
Also when you look at the close up picture below and see my curvy lines on the right, I did that on purpose because Kari said we could make pin tucks curvy so I had to try it.  I really did do it on purpose :)  Really.
I used cording in some of my pin tucks too - just had to try it because we could.

I talked to my Mom yesterday and she said she took a Bernina Foot class years ago and she thinks she still has her book that she made!  Next time I visit we'll have to look for it because it would be fun to see what Bernina taught "way back then" versus what they're teaching today!  Someday my daughters will be comparing  their foot books to mine. And SEW it goes.  Have a great day!!

Still Winter on Our Side of the Street!

It is always fun to drive down our street this time of year, when the snow starts melting, because on our side of the street, it still looks like winter! We still have almost a foot of snow in our front yard, while across the street, it's already beginning to look like spring.  It's just funny to drive down a street with spring on one side and winter on the other :)  Spring will come to our side too eventually!

 I spent the afternoon today with friends in a "featured feet" class at Hi Fashion with Kari as the instructor.  It was FANTASTIC!  It was for Bernina sewing machines in particular, and I learned so much.  There will be three more classes this year and we are making a "Foot Book" which will showcase what we've learned while giving us practice as we make them.
Shown here is Kari's Foot Book.  I will post pictures of mine when I get it done.  We got pretty far today though - I just have one more page to do, then add the binding etc.

We made four pages total today.  We will add to this book with each class.  Thanks Kari for a fantastic class and learning experience!


Happy Sewing :)

Clean Your Machine!

 This photo is of an actual sewing machine that Dr. Bob at Superior Threads took apart when his friend asked if he could figure out why her machine wasn't working properly.  The machine looked fine from the outside, but this is what he found on the on the inside.  The parts were covered with lint.  Lint is an accumulation of fluffy fibers. A little bit of lint is to be expected, but this sort of accumulation needs to be prevented.  

Superior Threads says:

The lint which we find in our sewing machines is mostly from threads, fabric, and batting. Cotton produces more lint than spun polyester. Lint is a result of friction (or rubbing) against the thread. Think of how many contact points the top thread touches during the threading process. There are thread guides, tension discs, levers, and the needle. Each contact point causes friction which results in lint coming off the thread. A little lint is to be expected. However, excess lint can be bad for your machine because it can cause your stitches to be misaligned, feed dog operation malfunctions, fabric puckering, and thread breakage. Regular cleaning and maintenance is recommended for all sewing, serger, and longarm machines. Many machines come with a lint brush to remove lint from the bobbin case area, thread guides, and the needle area. Please refer to your machine manual for proper care procedures.

What is the key to reduce or eliminate lint? Don't use low quality or cheap fuzzy threads.  By stitching with high quality cotton threads, you will notice that there will be less lint buildup inside and outside your machine.

I have two machines, one, my Pfaff is set up mostly for piecing and the other, my Bernina, is set up mostly for quilting.  However I can and do use both for everything when I want to.  I also have a small Bernina (I call it my baby Bernina) that I use to take to classes because it's easier to carry.  I know - I'm pretty machine-spoiled.

With my five quilts pinned and ready to quilt, I decided to take my Pfaff to Hi Fashion to get cleaned and serviced since I would be quilting on the Bernina.  Brian serviced it and called and said it was full of lint, which sucks up the oil that the machine needs to run properly.  The picture above is NOT my machine - thank goodness!  But it could have been, if I let it go too long.  Brian suggested using these micro vacuum attachments, which I already had at home, to clean the lint out of the bobbin area every three bobbin changes - to prevent the spread of lint that happened to the machine above!  Trista said it's also great for cleaning the lint area of your dryer and cleaning in and around computer keyboards and such.  Since my machines are all clean and oiled and shiny now, I think I will use these vacuum attachments to clean my dryer - which could really use some help....