Don't go thinking my sewing room is finished now.... when I write "Quarters" I mean this is a quarter... one corner... there are 3 more corners... or rather quarters... but they .....
look like this!!!! he he he, but it is progress.... Baby Steps!!See the wardrobe in the top picture, with the fabulous baskets for fabric storage... it is from Ikea, I built it all by my very self... woooo hoooo.... tonight I shall fill it with my smaller pieces of fabric, that will take ages because I will be seeing some of them for the first time since June... we will need to bond again, you know... make plans for the future, he he heWe are having an extra class in Uttoxeter today, the ladies were wanting to finish their table runners so that we can move on to the Log Cabin project. The new Bernina Aurora babies, with their new little nephew (Bernina 230 SE) are in the car ready to go...
Does anyone out there know how to control the reproduction of coat hangers???
I swear that the ones in this house are multiplying when I am not looking!!!
Do they do it when the door is shut?
Is it when it is dark outside?
For sure they are having some kind of party because when I need one they are all tangled up... like they have been dancing!!
I culled them recently by sending 40 to my mum... but they have continued to reproduce!!! he he he
We went to the Knitting & Stitching exhibition yesterday. We left home in terrible weather, dark, misty and raining, but we were in high spirits... so it didn't matter. It took well over 2 hours to get there and approximately 30 minutes to find somewhere to park!!!... this is not good for the mood... anyway, we got there....
In the first of the 5 halls, we found a lace making stand.... of course we stayed a while, they were very helpful ladies, these are the hands of one with a hand from my mum (top right)..., they were trying to figure out how to make the design and agreeing that there was no real need to have used the 'gimp'... don't ask me, I have no clue what it is other than a thread that is a bit thicker than the rest.... My mum really liked this design because it wasn't finished with shells.... again.... don't ask me!
This was on the WI stand, they had lots of cool stuff to look at. This is weaving with strips of carrier bags.... good for making carpets and rugs or shopping bags... what a neat idea... I took the picture so that my Dad can see what we need him to make so that we can have a go. we want it a bit longer Dad , please??
and the highlight of my day..... was finding another coiled 'bucket' pot.... just like the one I made by accident! I bought another bag of the cording so I can make another.... fun, fun, fun....
We enjoyed the day, I am happy that we went to the exhibition, but I have no plans to go there again, it wasn't as wonderful as we had hoped it would be.
We've been decorating this house since July when we arrived. This week saw the end of another bedroom, thank goodness! A very important bedroom really, the one we will use for any visitors.... like my kids! Now I can finally, hopefully, unpack the last of our boxes. I feel like we have been playing 'solitaire' with them for months now. There's shelving in the wardrobe of my slightly bigger sewing room now so I can start moving my stash AGAIN..., I must be on my way to having the most moved fabric stash ever!
I have managed to continue with my crocheting though... it is soooo portable I have taken to carrying it in my bag so I can do a bit whenever time allows me to. I know it probably shouldn't be as wavy as it looks in this picture, but, as I'm learning, my tension has been bit uneven, I think I have it sorted now though... for this picture I draped it over a pan, I was trying to make it look like the start of a bag... can you see it will be a bag? I do forgive you if your answer is 'no'.. I'm off to Harrogate with my Mum tomorrow.
Today Maxine came over to my house to play with sewing machines. (did I mention that I have lots of machines to play with???) She had really already decided on the Janome 6600 and after playing on it for a couple of hours.... the decission was final... it was keeper! We did laugh when Maxine used the thread cutter... she said it sounded like a cup dropping from a vending machine... so I made her a cuppa tea for the full effect, ha ha ha.
This is Maxine testing the Janome for its free motion quilting capabilities, I can't
remember how many times she said "oh, yes, I like this... Ooooh yesssss, I like this" he he he.... I think she liked it!... She actually loved it and ordered one, now she is so excited I bet she won't sleep!
All the ladies were quilting today. Gillian was stitching in the ditch following the squares of each block. She did a great job, with the help of an Aurora baby, she tied off most of the ends as she went.... Gillian is the group giggler!! I tried to get her using the knee lift... I asked her to 'open her leg' (to lift the pressure foot) which caused all of us to giggle!!! he he he
Jenni has never 'ever' used an electric sewing machine before. Today she used one of the new Bernina Aurora babies... she found it quite strange using a foot pedal (remember she has used her hand crank in past lessons) ... but slowly, during the day, she got the hang of it, even the knee lift for the presser foot... she took the book home to read up on the machine because she wants one!!! talk about one extreme to the other??? he he he
(normal) Maureen resisted the Aurora temptation and quilted zig-zag lines with her new walking foot. We named this design the 'Auntie Jenni ' as Jenni invented it last week, quite by accident... we love it!
Dotty Maureen, yes we have the 2 Maureens, one normal and one a bit dotty... he he he
Anyway, Dotty Maureen spent the whole day free motion quilting her table runner using the Aurora BSR, she loved it and quilted leaves and vines all over the project......
... this is the back of Dotty Maureen's quilt, the leaves were quite round for the first hour or so and got more 'leafy' shaped as she got more practice.... by the time she did the border the leaves were longer and more elegant, he he he.. she also wants an Aurora baby of her own.... I knew it, this machine is just fabulous!So, the ladies had so much fun today that they can't wait 2 weeks for the next class so we have booked an extra day for next week, 24th November.
'Twas a funny thing at the meeting of the Alton Quilt Group yesterday... 3 out of 6 of us turned up with wool!! Clare had decided to learn crochet, Jenny was knitting something and I took my crochet! Quilt group???
I did take a pile of squares sewn diagonally to cut in half, and I did do that before I picked up my wool.... I had tried to show Clare how to crochet... but that was 'blind leading the blind', as you know I am only a beginner, so Maxine took over, lucky for Clare!
Maxine attended a workshop this last weekend and made this Christmassy table runner quilt, that's Maxine peeping over the top, she hadn't realised that her jumper and shawl were perfectly co-ordinated to her project until I pointed it out...he he he
the project used the applique method that Eleanor Burns uses a lot, sewing the shape to interfacing and then turning it right side out, there is a video clip that show you how to do it, if I find it I will post it later... anyway, this method is too fiddly for me and my clumsy fingers... he he heI need to get going, I am taking the Bernina Babies to my Uttoxeter class today... for their first outing...
I am trying to learn all the 'ins and outs' of this Janome 6600 sewing machine. There is a lady wanting to buy a new machine and she thinks this is the one she wants, so, I got one for her to try. I can only find 3 things that I like about it, comparing it to the Bernina Aurora 440 QE
1. The price. Duh... who wouldn't want a lower price?
2. The wire on the foot pedal is retractable... is that the right word? works like a vacuum cleaner... you know, it goes in to keep it neat and tidy... I am having a duh moment here... so I hope you get it... ha ha ha. I don't like the foot pedal at all, it's slippy and small, but I love that the cable is retractable (?) moving on....
3. The sewing foot can be lifted higher, great for maneuvering quilts under it. It lifts on the Bernina too but on the Janome it will stay up and on the Bernina we have to hold it up.That's it, 3 things... I know the 'hole' is bigger, but it isn't as big as I was expecting it to be... I've decided not to share the long list of things I don't like about the Janome 6600, just because I don't like them is no reason to post about them. I shall continue to look for things I do like though.... I remain a Bernina girl!!
Don't go thinking my sewing room is finished now.... when I write "Quarters" I mean this is a quarter... one corner... there are 3 more corners... or rather quarters... but they .....
look like this!!!! he he he, but it is progress.... Baby Steps!!
