The New Bernina

 Can I tell you that I'm in love with my new sewing machine.

I could work on her all day - every day.

 It's amazing what a wider throat area and a bigger Plexiglas table 

makes when pushing thought all that fabric.  The automatic

thread cutter and the dual feed feature are also a big plus.

While Donna at Jordon Fabrics uses a dumb bell to

anchor her ruler prior to cutting my little weight

is far superior!  By adding the weight on the end of the

ruler it stops that 'wiggling' and guarantee's a straight cut.

 The finished lap quilt.  I'm very happy with this

and actually had it pieced together prior to Xmas

thinking I would send it as a present.  That didn't happen

and now will be mailed on Tuesday [with a set of pillowcases].

As they say ... better late than never!

The weather is windy and freezing which is

wonderful for staying in and spending my day sewing.

Derby goes for a dental cleaning on Tuesday and

I'm thinking he might need a few teeth extracted.

I'm going to pull out the luggage and start organizing

my clothes for the smooth jazz cruise.  We are leaving

on Thursday - 1/31 for Florida.

Laird & Laddie

 Yesterday I went over to help Lesley trim the fur around

Laddie's feet and between the paws.  He is still a

puppy and it really takes two people while he's on

the grooming table.

 Did someone say ... treat!

 We still need to do a little work on Laddie.   What I've come

to understand is with a puppy you work in small blocks of time.

 I trimmed the fur on his tail and tipped the ears on both

westies to get the weight off.

I have to say Laddie was a good boy on the table.  Even Laird

was excellent and so laid back I did a little work on

him as well.  Even though Laddie is relatively new to the

household both westies became a bonded pair quickly.

Ain't Life a Hoot by Henry Glass: Quilt #1

 I'm all done working with Ain't Life a Hoot fabric collection

by Henry Glass.  I made 3 small quilts [here is quilt #1] and

now I'm in the process of taking photo's to turn in.

 I added 4 small buttons [you can see 1 here] to each corner

block.  The buttons are from the guild's free table.

 Derby

Around the Backyard

Several mornings ago the backyard was beautifully

decorated in a thin coat of ice.

 The catbird nest is still in the Japanese Maple and I'm

wondering if they return to the same nest.

 I've been keeping the bird feeders filled and the heated

birdbath filled with fresh water.

 I've also been tossing out a few handfuls of

peanuts in shell for the blue jays.

Back in the house the westies love to bake in the

morning sun after breakfast.  

 Just finished ... this small quilt is for a newborn baby boy 

named Flex Joe.  I hope he and his parents like it.

 A close-up of the fabric.

The hearts of gold.

The back fabric is by Dear Stella and is

really soft ... perfect for baby.

..  .. .. ..

 Out of the fabric that was sent to me I made three tops

as well as backs for two of them.

 Next up is quilting and binding.

Would love to have these three done in the next

several days so I can move on to other projects.

Ain't Life A Hoot by Henry Glass Fabrics

 Much to my surprise I found a Fed-X package sitting by

my front door on Friday.  When I saw the return address

I knew exactly what was in the box ... F-A-B-R-I-C

 This collection was sent to me by Vanessa's new

assistant.  When Jennifer asked me what lines I would

like to work with I said surprise me.  Part of the

surprise was how quickly this collection arrived.

 Ain't Life A Hoot

by

Henry Glass Fabrics

 I'm in love with this particular piece because of

the various holiday owls.  In case you didn't know

I love owls.  Went I told Wilson what was in the box

he said ... you love owls!

 I already have one project almost done using a new

pattern I decided to try out.

Here is one column.  While this isn't going to be a big

quilt it will be a nice size for a baby or small child.

... On another note ...

I have to ask myself why I didn't buy a wood pressing

mat years ago.  Ironing on this pad does make a difference

in getting those seams as flat as possible.

Ordered via Amazon if anyone is interest.

Now back to watching our first snowfall on 2019

She's Finally Done & On The Way ...

 Julep ... waiting for me to start sewing.

 The Plexiglas extension table was worth every penny and

I'm glad it arrived in time for me to sew on the last

two border fabrics.

 This {I believe} is the largest extension table made

for this model of Bernina. 

 For some quilters working with a quilt this large isn't a big deal.

For someone [like me] who is use to making lap and baby

quilts ... it's a big deal.  Would I do it again ... maybe.

Connecting Threads 50wt spool thread purchased on sale.

 Pressed and is now ready to be folded and

placed in the box for mailing.

 I made the decision to use Missouri Star Quilting Co.

Estimated time for return is 4-6 weeks.  Now since this

is the first time I've made a quilt this size and the first

time I'm sending it off to have a professional

quilt it I feel the cost of $239 isn't bad.

 Included in this price ... a quilted fancy pattern over the

complete top, the batting, the back fabric [which I

would guess is about 7 yards] as well as the return postage.

 I'm excited to see this completed.  Once this comes back

from Missouri Star I will still need to add the binding.

If I'm 100% happy I'll enter it into the Guild's bi-annual

quilt show this spring.  This will be a first for me.