In the shop

I took my main machine into the shop yesterday. The second time for the same problem. It makes a loud clunk noise when the needle goes down. I had to demonstrate it to the tech guy, he said it was normal, I said no. We then tried to replicate the noise on one of the store models, it was strangely quiet. Okay then, he consented to trying to fix it. I have no idea as to how much it will cost, argh, but it’s not right, and it should sew like a top of the line machine. Of course while I was there I was given a sales pitch for the new 990, it’s a wonderful tool, but way too many features that I wouldn’t use.

I have a few things to keep me occupied while it is away. I got the rest of the border blocks for the Message in Bottle quilt prepped. There are thirty two, 16 with four leaves and 16 with a diamond and a small circle. While I was carefully tracing the shapes on to the backgrounds, (for back basted appliqué) I briefly entertained how easy it would be to iron on all of the parts with fusible. I persevered and now I have them ready to pick up and sew. I did get the first block of Merry Halloween ironed together. It’s cute, I need to do the edge stitching/embellishment, and I haven’t decided if I want to do that by hand or machine. The fusible looks kinda thick, so maybe hand sewn would be easier in the long run. The pieces are laser cut, very precise, and the glue reaches the edges, so hopefully no fraying.

The blue collection of fabrics for the second Awesome Ocean quilt are here. It would be a good time to get those pieces cut and sorted. The baggies I used for the first one made it very easy to keep track of. I need to check and see if I have enough Essex linen for the background. I think so, the pattern calls for 1 3/4 yards and I ordered four for the two of them. I ordered fabric for the mountains on the bottom section of the Starry Signs BOM. I thought I was going to use a bundle of ½ yard pieces of ombre that I already had, but there isn’t enough of the shades I would like to use. I printed out the paper foundations and carefully taped them all together – see top photo. These big pieces are sometimes harder to piece than the little ones, grainline needs to be considered. I still have to do the Sagittarius block and the side border stars. Lots to do to finish that one, I think this quilt is the biggest paper foundation quilt I have attempted – queen size. Well, not counting the Judy Niemeyer quilts, they are FPP, but in a different class.

Looks like a good weekend for long arming. My DH will be involved with the game, although he’s not a fan of either team. I made a backing for the last Thomas the Tank Engine quilt (frolic pattern). I remembered to pre-wash this fabric, as it is a bleeder. It came from an estate sale, a whole bolt, and I have used it before on a personal quilt and noted the bleeding from it. I also had to expand it with a center strip and add basted edges to it to make it work. Sewed together two batting scraps for an inexpensive finish to a scrappy quilt that the quilts before it have paid for. I don’t know whether to think of these types of quilts as loss leaders or easy money makers. They have the added appeal of actually paying for my labor, since all the components are “free”.

I have been steadily working on another sweater, this one I bought the yarn for back in November, thinking I would get it done before Christmas. I modified it a bit to include a purled heart in the front center. Now it’s not so utilitarian, it’ll be for next winter, hopefully the size will be okay then.