I finished the top and sandwiched the wall-hanging, eager to get it under the needle so I could really see how much easier it would be to machine quilt on Jewel as opposed to Pfaffie.

I was 100% correct in my assumption that the extra 3-1/2″ in the harp would make a difference.  It definitely does.

The tie-off and scissors features were much handier than I’d ever imagined.

What I did not anticipate was the slight bounce when the dual feed is engaged.  That took some getting used to.  I was merely ditch quilting seams and around the insides of the t-shirt blocks.  I used the stitch-in-the-ditch AF foot.  I obtained the best results by moving the needle position two clicks left or right of the default setting, depending on which side of the seam I was working on.  I also had to go a little slower than usual to keep the stitches from “crossing the ditch”.   I “unsewed” a fair portion of what I stitched until I got the hang of it.  The ditch foot works well for straight lines.  However, when you want to go around circles or star points, it’s difficult to see with any of the AF feet, except the open toe foot.  That is the one foot I did not buy and wish I’d gone on ahead and purchased it.  Oh well, live and learn.

Once Jewel is paced on a piece of shelf gripper and surrounded by her insert, I anticipate the bounce will lessen.

My attempt at free motion quilting will come later in the week.

A co-worker asked if I could make a t-shirt wall hanging from her daughter’s track shirts.  We decided on the wonky squares design with alternating zebra and turquoise blue background fabrics.

A couple of the t-shirt graphics were too large to fit the original schematic, so I resized the block in EQ7 and printed out the foundation pattern to use as a guide.  I transferred the markings to template plastic just to be sure sure everything was centered properly.

Someone called my attention to a book titled Twist & Turn by Sharyn Craig that is all about adding wonky borders to oddball size blocks, making them a uniform size.  The book wasn’t available locally or via interlibrary loan, so I searched on the web and found some instructions for Twisted Happy Blocks.  They were a big help, but my block was much bigger than the one in her tutorial.  Apparently, the math is already done for you in the book, so I had to wing it.  After some trial and error, I figured out that two- 5″x17″ rectangles were large enough to add borders for a 15″ finished block (center block/fabric/t-shirt is approximately 12″ square).  If you cut the rectangles on the diagonal in half from upper left corner to bottom right corner, your focal item (t-shirt part) will tilt to the left.  If you cut from lower left corner to upper right corner, your focal item will tilt to the right.  Or I guess I should say, that is if you attach the borders in the order outlined in her tutorial.

Once I had the math figured out correctly AND the 15-1/2″ foundation pattern markings transferred to template plastic, everything fell into place.  Now, I have to go back to Joann’s and buy some more zebra fabric to make the 2 remaining zebra blocks.

After this much work, these templates are going into my pattern stash.  Some of you reading this may be thinking, “Duh!” at the moment.   For me, this is a huge step.  I didn’t use a commercial pattern.  I had an idea, used my EQ7 software and figured it out for myself.

Can’t wait to get this thing finished tomorrow so I can quilt it on Jewel.

  I traded in Pfaffie today and bought a Janome 6600 Professional.  I debated for several weeks over buying the new machine, but in the end my desire to enjoy sewing  won out.  Although Pfaffie had a lot of features, the vertical bobbin and her notoriously finicky behavior finally did me in.  I actually avoided going to my sewing room.  Finally, it dawned on me it was because I didn’t want to sew with this machine.  I swapped Pfaffie out for the old Elna Carina and began sewing again.  The Carina is now my backup freearm machine.

As you can see from the picture, the machine is already in her new home. I was smiling all the way home from Ashby’s.  I’d made up my mind a couple of months ago that this would be my next machine and yes, I prefer it to the Horizon, which surprised Marc Briley, owner of Ashby Sewing Machines.  We worked out a trade and price that was fair to both parties.  It took about an hour to familiarize myself with the machine.  I had hubby adjust the lift on the cabinet and attach the fold-up stitch guide.

I am glad I took the plunge and bought this machine.  I tried making do with my other machines, but now that I’ve spent a little time stitching, I see why several of my quilter friends adore their 6500/6600 machines and why they are so productive.  I will spend some time getting to know Jewel in the coming weeks, but I am already piecing away.  She’s bound to have her quirks, but thus far, her straight stitches have been gorgeous with whatever thread I use.  She’s quiet and just feels right.

I guess I’m a top load bobbin girl after all. 🙂