block layouts

Again this week, I have few photos to share, but I promise I have been working hard!

First up, I needed to finish the last few blocks of the Tumbleweeds quilt...

...after last week, pairing them all up and sewing all the curves at once, these did go together faster, but none of them are any more perfect than any others.  They all have flaws.  Oh well, onward!

After running the vacuum over the design floor, I got busy with quilt layouts.

The current furbabies are not terribly interested in my shenanigans on the floors, or perhaps they have seen enough of me doing random odd things to really be bothered by this?  I therefore had little help and got these done quite quickly.

First up are the Tumbleweeds blocks:

Toby did decide to help at the end.  You know, when you're ready to pick things back up?

He's blurry because you gotta snap fast if you're gonna catch him in action.  I mean, this is inaction, but if you want to catch him before he moves on to another thing to do, you have to be fast.  He doesn't sit still long.  Unless he is sleeping, and even then he changes positions frequently.

With rows labelled and carefully picked up, it was on to Easy Addition!

It looks larger and it is, but Tumbleweeds gets sashing and a border, so they will get closer in size.  This one gets nothing more, just sewn together.  So, technically, it will get smaller!

After this photo, I did move a few more blocks around, trying to distribute colors and prints a bit more.  But as it goes with more scrappy, you solve one problem only to create another, so I eventually called it good, labeled rows and picked it up.

On to the sewing of blocks into rows and then the dreaded long seams.

This top is now complete, but we have had rain for weeks, so no photo yet.  (The sun is shining this morning, but I'm trying to get this blog post written quickly, as the next few days are full...maybe later?)

While I was sewing, something caught the attention of both Finn and Toby:

This is under my sewing table (in case the foot pedal didn't give it away) and I have no idea what they see.  They sat there for a while and I neither saw nor heard anything, so I still have no idea what they were after.

On Friday, the hubby drove me over an hour to buy a used sewing machine.  Remember this one?

Well, this is the inside of it.  It was a the machine I killed way back in 2018.  I had sewn on it for probably 10 years and it just quit moving.  We tore it apart because what have I got to lose?

Turns out the best machine I've ever owned.  I wish I had taken it somewhere to try to get it repaired.

I have attempted to replace it twice since.  Both machines have given me fits with skipping stitches and generally behaving like spoiled brats and has me wary of paying bigger bucks for any other machines.  I'm increasingly annoyed with my "heavy duty" machine that I bought just a few months ago.  It only takes a 90/14 needle, which makes ginormous holes and looks like it is trying to stab the fabric into the feed dogs.  And it is skipping a lot of stitches when it moves from a thick seam to a normal layer.  Unless I use longarm thread, which is annoying.  I have a lot of sewing thread, too.  I'd like to USE it!

So.

I went online.

I found another machine - this machine - used, of course, because they quit making them, the dodoheads, and drove over an hour to purchase a used, but serviced by a guy who actually does this for a living at a sewing center, new-to-me machine just like the old one.  (Minus the walking foot and table it was sold with, but guess what?  I saved the walking foot (it fits other machines) and never used the table, so who cares!)

I haven't set it up yet.

(It was Friday evening when we went and I worked yesterday and then I moved out my cutting dresser (table) and cleaned and vacuumed behind it (it was gross and needed it badly) and cleaned the windows it sits in front of because I could get to them.  Now I have to put everything back. UGH.)

But I will soon.

And it BETTER work as well as I remember the old one.  The repair guy liked the machine, which is a pretty good endorsement.

If this works as well as I hope, maybe I'll go find another used one to buy.  My guy might be willing to keep an eye out for me?!

I'll keep you posted.

Lunchtime!

Happy quilting,

Katie

Edit to add - just finished the cleaning and putting back and fired up the "new" machine. OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG! It is quieter and sews like a dream. I tested just a little, so more to come, but it handled problem fabrics using sewing thread like butter. If it continues, I might go find another one to keep as a backup!!!