Sewing Machine Bonding

 Many people bond with their pets,

bond with their families,

bond  their friends.

I am bonding with my sewing machine.

It was recently updated and partially serviced, 

and we sewed happily together for one whole afternoon.

A needle broke and that was it.

The screen showed a big red X and 

a needle bearing down on on the presser foot!

I collected both portions of the needle and decided to call it

the end of the sewing day.

Then off to retreat,

accompanied by my little featherweight,

for a delightful trio stitching days.

This project UFO  was gifted to me and I finished it up. 

There's even enough scrappy goodness left 

to make another top or two baby quilts.

Influenza and I became good friends the day after retreat,

and although I asked the Bernina community for help,

I didn't check messages until well after a week.

Following their sage wisdom, 

I was able to get Big B back up and running.

It did take me awhile to find the proper keys and settings though.

Sometimes instruction manuals and 

videos are not made for the true beginner.

I am very new to Bernina machines and 

had no idea where to find the settings I needed.

Surprisingly the symbol is a yield sign with a big red "! ".

Then the process was easy and the machine sewed smoothly!  

More in touch with my machine and a bit more confident, 

my next sewing session should be productive. 

Look at all these tops just waiting for a date with Big B!

Stay Safe and Sew On!

Linking up with :

Sew & Tell

Monday Musing

Design Wall Monday

SrSPS

Handmade Monday

To Do Tuesday

Wait Loss Wednesday

Getting Tidy

 Lots of work in the sewing room 

makes for lots of mess . 

It would be nice to have it all cleaned up.

The work table is really quite a tip.

I've become quite enamored with spray basting,

but it does require washing after completion.

The adhesive is a bit fragrant and nobody wants that.

All the cutting backing and batting really loaded 

up the work table.

Some binding was made though so

deifinitely a win there. 

Big Bernina is giving me trouble 

so I think I will watch some Bernina Jeff and

 see if I can figure out why I am getting an impact error.

Then current projects will be organized and

 maybe I'll even finish up one more little I spy.

The first brick I Spy could use the

 column sashing and 

then it would be ready for layering. 

Good tidy complete.

Not a scrap in sight! 

Just a nice cup of hot vitamin C , 

still in recovery mode!

I did complete the double rows of color blocks

for my next RSC top.

They definitely look promising!

Stay Safe and Sew On!

Linking up with :

Sew & Tell

Monday Musing

Design Wall Monday

SrSPS

Handmade Monday 

To Do Tuesday

I Quilted This

Put Your Foot Down

Off the Wall Friday

Oh Scrap!

On a Roll

It's taken me a long time but 

I finally have some finishes!

This is a big basket of finished quilts

with a gratuitous chicken thrown in!

The first top up,  is the  Sea Glass quilt.

My big machine went out for a service and 

an upgrade so this is the first time

I've set up the BSR, (a stitch regulator), after the service.

Ready to jump into quilting, I had my pattern chosen, 

machine threaded and the stitch regulator wouldn't work!

I tried all the troubleshooting steps provided in the manual,

took it off and put it on a number of times,

and finally resorted to texting my service guru,

to see if the upgrades would cause the BSR to cease working.

Online rumors indicate that the BSR and 

this model Bernina are not always compatible.

It did work before the service however.

As a last resort I took it off,

 looked at it for a while,

and my practical brain finally kicked in.

Two things are essential for free motion quilting.

Dropping the feed dogs, to let the fabric move freely

and probably not having an even feed foot down!

I finally saw clearly, moved it up and

have been quilting on happily.

The pattern for this top is a water ripple,

appropriate for a water themed quilt.

After some practice on a sample,

I moved on to the top itself.

It took me awhile to get the feel of moving 

the large quilt sandwich under the needle.

 As always happens for me,

by the time the top is done I'm an expert!

The learning for this endeavor:

~choose a pattern  that can be broken 

into sections a little bit easier

~relax.

The green binding sets off the 

watery colours quite nicely.

Piecing the back with green and brown,

not only match the front perfectly 

but also used up a bit of yardage!

This one qualifies as an "Aqua" for the RSC 2025.

Next up will be the Thousand pyramids top, Stay tuned!

Linking up with:

Monday Musings

Wednesday Wait Loss

Design Wall Monday

Needle & Thread Thursday

Handmade Monday

Free Motion Mavericks

SrSPS

Put Your Foot Down

To Do Tuesday

Finished or Not Friday

Sew & Tell

Home Matters

Off the Wall Friday

TGIFF

Patchwork & Quilts

RSC 2025

Life in Pieces

Oh Scrap!

Sunday Stash Report

Moving the Stash Numbers.

 Well, my stash numbers are finally moving!

This past month has been busy!

Family activities, fall cleanup, meetings and travel.

I am familiarizing myself with the BSR on my big Bernina,

and I may come to like it!

So far it's helped me finish these quilts.

These numbers are set to change soon, 

I am off to a fabric sale tomorrow!

47.5  YTD Purchased

8.5m Jan- Nov

Used:

 5 m donated, 

9 m (1+ 1 +1 baby quilts)

30 m (2 +3 twin) 

3.5 total meterage added YTD

My big machine is humming right along. 

I still use my Elna for binding though.

 We have a good process. 

I'm hesitant to change something that works

Stay safe and Sew on !

Linking up with:

Sunday Stash Report

Donation Sewing

 The end of the meeting year 

caught one of the groups I attend,

with quite few quilts unfinished. 

Ever the optimist,

I asked for a bag and received,

seven quilts to tie or stitch up.

This group ties all their quilts.

So to prepare for tying, the quilts are

layered right sides together with batting,

stitched leaving an opening,

then turn right side, and a faux 

binding stitched around the outer edge.

I don't like to tie so I quilt some of these quilts.

Puckering usually isn't a problem.

If it feels or looks like it may pucker or shift, 

some pinning seems to stabilize it enough 

to get a smooth look without bunching. 

Here's a look at the ones I finished up so far.

Please note, I did not make these beautiful quilts,

 I am just doing the final step so they can be labeled and donated.

 

They were great fun to do 

and I certainly need practice to 

get used to my new sewing room buddy, 

a Bernina 820. 

Happy Stitching!