Scary but necessary!

I can't even begin to tell you how much stuff came out of my sewing machine. It was totally necessary!

Sucess! I think, I haven't tried sewing anything just yet... :)

The Complete Christmas Twinkle Collection

Here it is, the Complete Collection.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. hehehe. It saw me free motion quilting for the first time, and it saw me outgrow my first ever sewing machine and learning how to work with the intimidating new one. It saw a whole lot of fabric and batting purchases. It saw a lot of stress and a lot of hapiness, a lot of frustration and breakthroughs. It saw Autumn and Winter. Four of them are already delivered, four of them to go till Christmas.
Neither of them are perfect by any means, neither of them is as I wished it was. But I know that I'll love them even more when I get there.

Next one will be even better.
Now, if I could only learn to quilt to mke the back look as good as the front... My newest New Year's Eve resolution I guess!

For those of you who've been reading what I have to say for some time, the first thing I have to say is THANK YOU! You motivate me daily to move forward and improve so I can show you better things.
You may also remember this little predicament I've been having.

Well, it's been a month now, so I decided to contact the company that sold me the sewing machine (which I'm absolutely in love with btw) and find out what solutions they have for me.
I got a reply today and for starters, turns out my sewing machine truly is one of a kind. They can't explain why the hole is on the wrong side, nor have they seen this before, nor can they find a matching table.
So the proposed solution would be to take my machine back and carve a hole on the proper side. My thoughts reading this were unmentionable in a decent blog. There is no way they are opening holes on my machine! And I most certainly will not part from it for such a long time, seeing as I bought the machine from a British site and I live in Lisbon, so imagine how long it would take to send it back, have it fixed and get it back. No way!!

So I think I'll just forget about the whole thing, the table was an offer and If they can open holes on my machine, I can break the pin on the table so it will fit the machine properly...

WIP: The Brick Christmas Quilt

Yesterday I continued with the Brick Quilt I previously showed you. The last of seven I've been making since September as a part of what I fancily called the Christmas Twinkle Collection.

I must say the first time I ever sat in front of a sewing machine was in June. The first time I sat in front of a proper sewing machine, that was actually capable of doing what I asked, was in November. So I'm very pleased with the results of this collection. It's far from perfect, but I'm still very proud. Yes I wish I could match the top straight lines with the back's wonky lines, but I love them all. And I love all the people who'll get one or who already have one, so they are perfectly matched! And I know they love me enough not to mind a couple of flaws. I have learned something new with each and every one of these quilts and I'm hoping I'll keep on learning for years to come!

So back to the quilt in question, I decided to make a small frame for the back fabric, because frankly it just didn't blend in as well as the previous fabric I've been using. Actually I doubt that fabric would blend as well, seeing as this quilt has a very different color palette than the previous ones, it's all about the blues and the reds, so a pinkish backing wouldn't work. Neither would an orange-yellow-pink-beige one. So I framed it with the blue from the top and I think it worked out great. The only photo I can show you are these, because Nico just wouldn't move. Even if I picked him up, he would just return. Faster than me of course, who would have thought cute chubby cats could be this fast?? His colors actually work well with the fabric ;)

So I'm hoping I'll get to show you more of this once it's finished. I am now at the binding stage. I decided to use the blue from the back frame and just sew it on top. I hope it will work, I'm still not convinced...

Finished Quilt: Christmas Twinkle number 5!

Here it is, the fifth completed quilt from the Christmas Twinkle Colection. It was the first one that I machined quilted with my amazing new sewing machine. Using my 1/4 foot meant the squares were a bit bigger than usual, which meant this is one of the larger quilts from the series.

Some hexie action in the back was necessary, as you know. This is the first quilt I've bound with a pattern fabric and I love it!

This is also the last quilt from the series with this fabric as the backing. Can't wait to try the new one.

So 5 down, 2 to go with less than a month until Christmas and a really hectic working schedule. I'll either make it or break it and I'll most probably be sleeping before midnight on the 24th once everything is done. Wish me luck and speed! ;)

I decided to just embrace it...

Yesterday was Free motion quilting day for me. I must admit I was stressed. Also, I broke two needles, still don't really know why, but i started experimenting with the tensions and apparently it all worked out.

I think the stress comes from wanting to do a good job, also quilting on the actual quilt is stressfull, I was so afraid to ruin it. At first there was a lot of frustration because what I was doing was not similar at all to some of the lovely work I see on all the blogs I visit daily. Also some arm ache.

But then I just decided to embrace the "free" aspect of it all, and decided to go with it.
The only thing I tried to do was keep it all round and even (not a complete sucess on either part). In the end, it was my very first free motion quilt, before that I had only tried doing this on scraps, it's completely diferent to manage a quilt, even if it is a lap quilt, it's still 40" by 60" or something similar to that.

I tried with gloves and without them (it's so much easier with them) I tried keeping my hands flat and I tried grabing the fabric and ended up with grabing on one end and straightening the quilt with the other so I can see where I was going, I find that if I grab on both sides I lose control.
I tried all speeds and even though a medium speed is more confortable for me, the top speed makes for a better result. Also I kept forgeting to push the presser foot down and so i had to redo the work loads of times. But I'm wiser for it. I hope ;)

The busy front

The back with the hexies

Originally I thought I would quilt around the hexies, but then I realised it would look weird on the front to have that inexplicable unquilted line. And this way, the hexies become much more a part of the quilt, not just apliqueed hexies. This was also an opportunity to enjoy the amazing abilities of my sewing machine. Even with all this fabric it didn't even slow down. Even when I got to the hexies, there were like 5 layers of fabric, because I decided not to trim the hexies because I like them to be bulky but in a good way.

Still, in my amazing ability to complicate the simple, I still thought I had ruined the machine on several ocasions. First, i've already mentioned the needles breaking, which is all very new to me.
Secondly, by the time I finished the quilting, I still had some energy in me to start on the binding, so I decided to sew the strips together. But when I did that the thread would get caught on the bobin holder., this hapened a couple of times. So decided to get "under the hood" also a very dangerous task for me. There was some lint, more than I thought there would be considering I've only had it for a week. Oh, and I also opened the top of the machine to clean the threads that had been left by the previous thread I tried quilting with, as I mentioned.
So anyway, after cleaning I was still geting the same results. So I tried taking the thread out and the fabric out and try a diferent thread on a diferent fabric and THEN I remembered the dog feet were down... And THEN I noticed my stich lenght was in zero... Also, since I changed everything I'm not sure what  exactly did that, but then it started working, and by the time I got back to the fabric and the thread I intended to use, everything was ok at last and so for today we have binding on the menu!

The purple worked so well on the last quilt, I'm going to use it again on this one. I just know she is going to love it :)

Baby steps...

So I've officially taken my first baby steps on free motion quilting. First attempt didn't go so well, wrong thread, had to change it, take out all the stipling I had already done (not easy!) and start all over. By that time I was a bit exasperated, also I had to come back to the shop, so I didn't do much of it. Here it is!


The free motion quilting only a true loved one could love ;)

Now I'm a bit worried, because I've noticed the first thread that kept breaking left some trails on my machine, up where the thread goes before arriving at the needle. I'm pretty sure that isn't ok, but although I can see it, I can't really reach it, so I have no idea how to get it of...And it's bumming me out!

AAAAHHH!!! Why can't anything be simple??

The extended table does not fit!! I feel miserable! Also I think I broke the lever that holds the foot. That little black plastic thing on the back of the presser foot holder. Does anybody with a Janome know if I can buy one of those??? :((

Bare with me...

I need to capture this moment properly, ok? I know I've never seen this much fuss over a sewing machine, but what can I say? I'm excited and have no way of trying it out for the next 5 hours or so...
I can't even open it, Because I'm afraid I wont be able to put it back properly and damage something while transporting it back home...

It's kind of heavy, about 10kg, but also huge, because it carries THIS inside (and the sewing machine, of course ;)):

Have I mentioned I have no idea what most of these parts are for? So the next hours will be for instruction manual reading. Oh yeah, and working, must not forget about the work....

And THEN I have all the bonus offers! Thanks you Sewing Machine Direct!

 

Look at all these colors! And they are much larger than I expected them to be. Also, they were so kind to include the plug adapter. I had one from when I bought my first sewing machine, but this is great, because this way my sister wont have to buy one. I have loads of bobins and needles, I've never seen so many sewing machine needles together. It was like an early Christmas, I an really giddy :)

My Silly Silly Sewing Machine :P

Arrived at last! But not before she decided to go get some coffee at Starbucks! Got a call from the Starbucks a couple of shops down the "road". The girl said she had a box with my name on it. I immediately knew what it was, but couldn't leave the shop to go get it. But fortunately, she called the carried guy back and he delivered it to me :D A huge box by the way :P

Tracking my precious...

So today I decided to use the tracking thingy they sent me when I placed my order for the new sewing machine. And out of all the places I expected it to be, resting confortably through the weekend, I did not expect it to be in Germany!!! Aschaffenburg to be more precise.

And now I'm curious. Why does my sewing machine needed to travel to Germany? It left Oswestry & Wrexham, UK,  on the 28th, the day I placed the order. And now it's gone to Germany? Oh, I wish I was a sewing machine... I hope she's taking pictures!

Actually

Forget about my latest post, just a little why-can't-things-go-my-way rant. My baby is on it's way. She should arrive by next week,like Monday or Tuesday :)

AND a free thread pack (50 different colors) and Sewing Kit

AND a Walking foot

AND a 1/4" seam foot 

AND an Open toe craft foot 

AND a Free hand embroidery foot

AND an Extension table 9.5" x 18"

Guess I'll just have to learn what all of this stuff is for :)

[Blogtoberfest Day 28]

I can´t believe Blogtoberfest is almost over! It went by so fast!
So today was meant to be the day I would buy my new sewing machine. But as usual, nothing is that simple, so I really don't know how it will turnout. One of the many downsides of living in this country, if you want quality with a good price, you have to get it abroad!

Wish me luck!

Sewing Machine troubles

As I've told you before, discovering that my lovely first ever sewing machine didn't actualy do most of the things I needed was quite a blow. First because I bought it in June, so it's less than a year old and already I'm thinking about replacing it, feels kind of disloyal. Second because I really like it. It's cute, blue and really has a great personality. She taught me a lot. Unfortunately I can't really free motion quilt with these traits. Or quilt a larger item for example.
I wont list here all the faults I now, being more experienced (just barely), find in it. Sufice to say, I need to decide if I really want to advance on my learning or if I'm really just doing this for a bit of fun and am happy with what I already know. The truth is I'm not. Like every other passion, I want to excel, I want to be able to do things people think are really hard to do when in fact we know they aren't. I want to create. And for that I need a new sewing machine.
This conclusion, of course, led me to much more questions than answers. Like bugdet of course. And what do I need from a machine. What are important features to look for? And as I begin researching more questions arise. Mechanical, electronic or computerized, how many stiches do I really need? is a needle threader really important? Can a ex demonstrator machine be in as good shape as a brand new one? Is the discount worth it? Mind you my current sewing machine doesn't even have a light! I confess I was lost. I do believe mechanical last longer than computerized, I am very much afraid of depending on technology, don't really know why.
Also, one of my biggest problemas is the lack of models available to me here in Portugal. The ones that are are very expensive. I've never seen a Bernina for less than 2000€. My budget is 600€ tops, but I would like to make a good investment.

With the help of my best friend (as usual) I (well she) found an english site with a great offer for a Janome 6125Quilters Companion, that includes besides the machine, of course, a walking foot, a 1/4" seam foot, an open toe craft foot, a free hand emboidery foot and an extension table 9.5"x18" as well as a thread pack and a sewing kit. Oh and a hard cover, 5 years guarantee and 25 different stiches. Has loads of stuff I didn't even know I needed but I sure need them now! I realise it's an older model, but fits my budget so perfectly, it's less than I was intending on spending which means I could probably order it as soon as next week. Also they have free delivery in 5 days, which is pretty perfect.

I must confess I'm excited, bet you hadn't noticed before I mentioned it ;)

Here's the good news and the bad news...

The good news is I shall no longer waste precious time with making bias tape, because, that's right, I went to my favourite shop and bought THIS!!!!

Clover Bias Tape Makers

Aren't they lovely? I bought the 50mm and the 25mm, which I think are the two sizes I'll use more, smaller than that is just too small for my taste. Haven't really tried it yet and I think it will be challenging to learn how to do it properly but once it's mastered, it will be such a great addition to my quilting routines...

And now for the bad news. I have been meaning to learn how to quilt with a free motion foot, but unfortunately I was told today that I can't really do it with my little sewing machine. As you might remember, I have a John Lewis Mini JL Sewing Machine and apparenty the Bernette free motion foot the shop had is just to darn tall for my little machine. And I was meaning to use it on my Christmas Twinkle Collection, but now I guess I will have to think of another way of quilting the items in a cute and proper way. Also, I guess I will have to start thinking about buying a new adult-sized sewing machine, which is a bummer not only because they are expensive but also because I really love my mini sewing machine, it is so cute, I brought it to the shop to try on the free motion foot and everybody loved it, it was like a small pupy or a baby... My baby :(

You know I mean business...

...when I actually clean a space to create my very own crafts corner. I have a huge desk, that's usually covered in paper and other stuff I tend to have lying around. But not anymore!

My desk, in my living room. Usually I sew siting at the sofa.

My little sewing machine. It's a JL Mini I got at John Lewis

Regarding my sewing machine, I know it's really small and amateurish. However it is really cute and suits my immediate needs just fine. I suppose if I evolve this hobbie, the sewing machine will have to evolve with me. I don't keep it out, because I don't need it daily, specially now with the hexie project. Also, I don't trust my kitties to behave around it...

Speaking of my hexies, I have now reached 250 and so I decided it was time to start sewing a few together. I feel really insecure about how I'll join patterns. I guess we'll have to see...

My hexies. All 250 of them!