back again:) the new Janome

Long time, no write.  And what a busy several months it has been with moving into a new home, getting engaged, and then my machine crashing.  But looks like things are starting to finally chill out.  Thank you!  I am ready for a relaxing summer.

My original sewing machine died when the timing device stopped working correctly.  I went to a local shop to have it repaired, but found out it was going to cost $100 to repair a machine that, frankly, has seen better days.  So I took the plunge and purchased a new fancy sewing machine.  I ended up with a Janome Horizon from a great little sewing store around the corner.  I have to say, I feel like I got the cadillac of all machines with this bad boy.  And after sewing on the machine for a week, I have to say I am quickly getting spoiled.

 After purchasing my awesome new little machine, I have managed to finish another one of my favorite rag quilts.  I used smaller squares of regular cotton the front and flannel on the back. I did this quilt for a friend of mine who had a little one last year.  I tried to gear it towards a boy and the parents love for Virginia Tech

  I will admit the squares did not get sewed together evenly. I was quite perplexed why nothing was lining up consistently.  Then it dawned on me.  The straight stitch option I used on my new machine was to offset slightly to the left of center.  DOH.

It was a great learning experience, and I still think the rag quilt is cute.
















The second quilt I started and finished on my new machine. I cannot believe how quickly it came together on this new machine! Granted this is a smaller quilt (again a baby/toddler quilt size), but I have never finished a quilt with such ease!  I chose to go with HST as a chevron pattern.  And look how cute it is!

I also learned how to free motion quilt with this quilt; and I have to say, I am in love with FMQ.  It is like a giant maze in which you try not to overlap any lines.

I am very pleased with how this one turned out. I cannot wait to finish another quilt I have started.

Workspace

Like most quilters who blog, I read a lot of quilting blogs. Every so often some one will post a picture of their sewing space (usually an actual sewing or craft room). It will be beautifully lit with natural sunshine, have darling refinished furniture & a bounteous stash organized by color & displayed in some cute shelving perhaps (or maybe trendy hat boxes, or tidy rubbermaids.)
I see those pictures & spend a few minutes drooling, & wishing for the day when I too will organize my fabric by designer & hue, (HA! who am I kidding? I'll be glad just to get it off my floor!) or have a cutting table you can walk all the way around (writers of quilting books seem to take it for granted that we can all find & house a tall table, long enough to accommodate & yards & yards of fabric.)
Then I remember I'm a cop's wife & a stay-at-home-mother of 4, & I'm lucky simply to be able to indulge my favorite hobby, even if that means sewing in our crowded, noisy kitchen while my children make capes & headbands out of my stash of quilting cottons.
This doesn't mean I don't still enjoy ogling other people's gorgeous workspaces, but I'm learning to be content with mine, in all its messy, inconvenient imperfection.
So here it is:
My machine sits on a battered old desk that used to live in my husband's parents' barn. You can see years & years of his father's & grandfather's signatures scratched into the wood. (Which might be cool if it were an antique, but it's a 1970ish piece of funk.) But it is sturdy & it serves. It lives in our kitchen now, where I can catch moments of stitching between all the crazy that goes on in our house. (That's my Star Wars quilt getting a binding put on. My dudes were so excited to finally have this one done!)

This is what my workpace usually looks like- kids, fabric & playdough everywhere! (We're on a serious play-dough kick here. They play this at least once a day, usually twice. In a week or so we'll have a new obsession, but for now I'm loving that they're loving something I love. Who doesn't dig play-dough, after all? & yes, I keep the rotary cutter far from little fingers!)
Anyways, that's a peek into my little "sewing room", aka our kitchen. Linking up to Plum & June's Let's Get Acquainted. Happy Monday!
Kate