My New Toy!

Thursday morning there was a delivery at my house. It came on a day where I had next to no time to play with it. Isn't that how things go? But even in the few minutes I did stitch on it, I could tell I loved it!

This is my first real quilt to go under the needle. 

My two favorite features, okay, maybe three--1) the ring of LED lights that shine down over the needle area. I don't have to shine an Ott-Lite there, like I normally do when I sew; 2) the ability to preset my favorite speeds on the touch screen. Trying to FMQ on my regular machine was maddening. It either zoomed faster than I could control the quilt, or it was so slow I could barely move the quilt or the stitches would be toenail catchers! Finding the "sweet spot" on the presser foot was next to impossible and once I found it I hated to stop stitching or it would be lost forever! 3) LARGER bobbins! Yippee!! I love lots of other things about it, but those top the list. Now I have to come up with a name for her. Any suggestions?
I am so grateful that DH was not only supportive of me getting it, he pretty well talked me into it. I was really dragging my feet. It is pricey and it was giving me knots in my stomach thinking about it. But even so, I realize that when I am no longer quilting by check, this little girl will pay for herself before too long!
Today I finally got my Itty Bitty Primitive Pinwheels bound and in place. It is 10" square. What a fun little piece. I really like the look!

Finally--Randy, I'm ready for the second set of Farmer's Wife blocks! Here are the first three.

The first one (on the left)  isn't my favorite. I think my light fabric choice didn't work. But I'm hoping as more get added to the wall, it won't be so noticeable. If it still bothers me after a few more rounds I will have to remake it. : ) I just washed another batch of thrift store shirts today and I am excited about some color combinations that I can see for future blocks. I'm calling this one, "The Farmer's Missing Shirts". In case you aren't aware, this is a "Sow-Along" (that is not a misspelling), using The Farmer's Wife book. This fun event is being sponsored by Randy of Barrister's Block blog. She posts 3 blocks twice a month. It just started this month, so it isn't too late to join in.
That's it for now! Until next time,
Janet O.