That's It, I Quilt !

That was work.

Now on to figure out what to put in the black semi-circles… maybe just some straight lines in a different color?

Stay tuned…

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Yup. Bought one. Love it!

Looking for a straight-stitcher, and I decided on this nice machine.

I’d heard that quilters love their HD9s, but on YouTube I often saw guys sewing through the obligatory stacks of denim and leather, using it as the power tool it’s often marketed as.

I couldn’t quite put myself there, but knew I wanted something like this heavy, beasty and mostly analog machine.

Runner up was Juki TL18, but I’ve been pretty happy with Janome for 10+ years.

With this new version of the HD9, you can easily drop the feed dogs. My only issues have come about when I went sew something normal and had forgotten that I had done that. (After all, there are NO computerized reminders!)

Of course, after making the decision to buy it, it keeps asking me to make follow-up decisions. Like…

“Should I buy every foot I can find for this thing?” (Maybe. Please. Yes.)

And “Is this the right tension for this project? ” (Learning curve, not too steep…,)

And “Do I have way too many machines now?” (Yes.)

I’m happy so far, and continuing on with the purple paisley filler.

Still using that Superior Magnifico thread…

It has 9 inches of throat space, but what I like about this machine, as opposed to my old-but-beloved Janome 8900QCP is the *visibility* I’ve got around the needle.

I’ll post more as I get to know this girl.

Happy Quilting Everyone!

I think it’s actually called “Paisley something-or-other”, but its been slow going. I’ve been switching back and forth between the Tiara and my domestic machine to see which is really easier. It surprises me, but, once I got the weight of the quilt supported correctly, free motion on the Janome was pretty good.

Who knew?

Certainly not the cookies that track my long-arm shopping 🙂

What’s taking the time? Getting to it, and then giving it only a few inches as I can.

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Muscle memory does get trained up fast, and I’m about half done with the purple paisley filler.

I think I am filling in about 2 square feet a day.

In all the time that I have been learning about free motion quilting, the idea a stitch regulator goes in and out of my head. So several years thinking it’s something I need.

Mostly right now it’s out of my head, as it seems that the more you do this, the more your brain BECOMES the stitch regulator you thought you should have bought.

Happy Quilting Everyone!

I didn’t think I could use black thread to quilt black fabric. Anyone else agree??

Here’s what I found… for quilting that dark negative space, I chose a dark but SHINY thread, Superior Threads Magifico, A 40 wt shiny  polyester, in a lovely Violet color.

I can see it while I’m quilting, but it doesn’t take over.

You can see how breaking up the negative space is going, it was easiest to start with the corners.

Happy Quilting Everyone!

The big blue circle which is the behind the other star circles got my attempts at matchstick, as I did not know what else to do with it.

Not bad for a first try.

I think this whole quilt is turning into a practice piece, but I’m not unhappy….

My thought is that you have to quilt many miles before you build the skills we see demonstrated by longarm quilters on YouTube.

Imagine if we knew… like say you had a 6,000 meter cone of thread, and you said. “By the time this cone is used up, I will be an accomplished free-motion quilter!”

Maybe better not to know, as many of us would never start.

I’ll just keep quilting one yard at a time, and see where that gets me. 🙂

Happy Quilting Everyone!

I’ve heard all my life that if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.

I don’t *think* it applies here, and I’m now wondering if I *had* planned the quilting, would I had been too stressed to even attempt these half-feathers?

I now think, for this garden, I’m just going to let it grow the way it wants.

Happy Quilting Everyone!

Well that is what I’ve been telling myself.

There’s so much negative space here I have been at a loss as to what to do.

But here is where I’m at, though I keep wanting to ask… “Has anyone seen my invisible  thread?”

I had been looking at lot at sewing cabinets, put them momentarily into various online carts, removed them (dreading to spend the money, and of making a mistake) and I finally decided to NOT.

Here’s the backstory… I moved my primary sewing area to the living room. I don’t have a sewing room, though the Tiara is still tucked into a corner of a room I primarily use for an office.

So now, what I lost in a privacy I did not really need, I’ve gained in actual sewing time, as I no longer have to leave family life to “go sew”.

If anyone comes over – yeah, I sew things. Just squeeze by this and find the couch.

What I originally had for my Janome is a Gidget II (Arrow 611) table. (No link, nothing to sell here, folks, but you will find them online.)

I bought mine from Chatanooga Sewing Machines on Amazon, and was very happy with how it was packed and shipped.

These tables are great, economical and they fold down to slide away under the bed when you don’t need them. I had somehow wound up with 2 of them.

So for another $260.00 or so, I decided I would be able to use the Janome for ditching these quilts if I purchased just.one.more.

So here’s the set-up, one table the Janome recessed in for normal use.

The second one to support the quilt to the BACK.

The third table to support the quilt to the LEFT.

It’s working well!

Didn’t spend a few thousand.

Also didn’t call a realtor!

Happy Quilting Everyone!