Wednesday, June 25, 2008

IT'S OFFICIAL

It's Official! I purchased my new sewing machine...Bernina QE440. It was such a good bargain that I couldn't resist. The trouble is, I had to place a special order for it and it can take 2-3 weeks to receive it. Grrrrr! I am getting frustrated having no machine. I want to start my first quilt but can't seem to make it happen. :(

In the mean time, I will start cutting my fabric into 2 1/2 inch strips.

A big thank you to all who have made comments to my first post.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Beginners Luck!

Boxy Star Quilt Pattern Layout
Purchased Fabrics







Wow! I'm soooooo excited. This is my first blog. I decided to start it because I am going to start my first quilt. My sister-in-law, Rhonda, is going to help me with my first quilt (boxy stars). I purchased the material, washed and pressed it and now I'm ready to begin. She told me to divide my color of fabrics by color (lights, mediums and darks) and then she helped me by dividing the colors into green, red, and creams. I decided to do the majority of my quilt in green with accents of red and cream. The top picture is an example of what I hope my quilt will look like when completed. The yellow represents the cream color. (I only had hi-liters to use for the colors.)
I am now in the quilting mood and have that quilting bug that has been going around. My only problem is that my sewing machine is not working. Before I begin to sew, I must purchase a new machine. It's been years since I purchased a sewing machine and I haven't done much sewing either. Ten years ago, I purchased my machine for $500. I went to price machines two weeks ago and the average cost for a good machine that will handle quilting is priced at $2,000. Now this seems outragious but I have to admit that the new machines are computerized with lots of gizmos. It will take me ten years to figure out how to use it. When I say ten years, I am not exagerating. My niece bought me a new serger for Christmas last year and it's still in the box. I just took a serging class to learn how to thread it. I was so amazed at what this little machine can do. I just need to find a great project now to put the serger to work.
I'll keep you posted on the progress of my new quilt.
Tootles!
Susan