Playing

 

A few days ago I enjoyed  my first freemotion quilting session on my 820 and was just so excited at the strength and speed of the machine, a lot of power to tap into with a beautiful smooth sound and feel.
 I decided to call her Phebe since the name means Radiant One and is also a character from Shakespeare's As You Like It play .  And of course, my 820 is exactly as I like it!  The stitch quality is absolutely gorgeous with only the smallest tweak of the top tension. I used the needle that was supplied in the machine- think it is universal size 80, and some Aurifil 50 weight 2 ply Egyptian long staple cotton I use often for piecing. It was already in the machine, I had only a short amount of play time available and swooped in on moments of stitching bliss to stitch some patterns out.  No stitch regulation, just me and Phebe playing together.
 Front:

Back:
I love stitching tight curves and points as it is a good test of a machine and the settings.  Not a single eyelash or ugly stitch!!  I stitched these in a very dark room at the end of a day when I was tired so imagine when I am fresh with better lighting the machine will be even nicer to use!  I stitched until I emptied that very large bobbin!
The fabric is middle of the road homespun and the batting is a cotton poly blend, a remnant of one brand or another.  Possible Mathildas Own but I am not sure.
I thought you may be interested to see the beauty of the stitching on this machine.  Now I am extra excited (if that is even possible) about when I start to quilt my first proper quilt with the machine.  I am still in getting to know you, early dating phase with the machine and am working my way through different functions and playing.

I have been a bit under the weather with some sort of virusy thing for a few days and just not myself in the head- so slowed down and pottered finishing the Vogue  853 the day I started it to relax and some patchwork in small snippets of time.  I declare a wadder!  No, you don't get to see unflattering photos of a top that appears suspiciously like a maternity top, but with silly little sleeves and enough fabric to sail the Pacific with in the bodice!
The vogue 8534 top has several problems with the pattern with notches not matching where they should, and sleeve with a contoured shaped hem not having enough fabric allowed for turning back onto itself.   I ended up cutting the sleeve to the usual length  and disliked the way they suggested finishing the neckline, with all that fabric hanging off there the suggestion was a single line of straight stitching.  The weight of the fabric pulled on the stitches and stretched during handling so I reinforced the back neckline with some cotton twill tape, but think the front could do with it as well.    If you are still game to try this pattern be aware of that.  The sleeves are also incredibly small even when I graded up one whole size to allow for my quilting muscles and fluff in the upper arm.  The body is ridiculously big and resembles more a maternity top than a stylish pleated t-shirt.  As one of my PR buddies suggested, I have been charity sewing, as I don't plan on wearing the top at all, I dislike it so much!  Still the odd failure in a style or poorly drafted pattern is useful to make you appreciate the successes- which outweigh the failures in garments for me.

Yesterday I cut 700 two inch half inch triangles that finish to 1 1/2 inches when sewn to a previous step. Stacking piles of fabric strips and with Clear Grip on my Easy Angle ruler to prevent slippage, I was still wishing I owned the size die I needed from Accuquilt to die cut this many pieces.  I like the Easy Angle ruler but I dislike rotary cutting so many pieces- shoulder really feels it even after so long. 
 
I sewed some of these happily at the Guild's quilting day, whilst the children were happily occupied by a bag of books, toys and activities we packed and took with us.  Nice to get out of the house and socialise with local quilters.

We have a new friend in our garden.  I looked down when opening the back sliding door to see this little face peeping out. By at first it was just the head and no legs visible.
Raised on an island known for its population of oversized and venomous snakes with a good supply of other reptiles, I watched it carefully as it moved under the edge of the door frame, heading for my pot plants.  Relieved to see some  little legs, and grabbing my camera, snapped  a couple of nice photos through the door or window.  Blue Tongue Lizard.   Isn't its skin beautiful? He would be a good 12 inches long.  They can give you a nasty bite if you stress them out,  can hiss, and earn their name due to a deep blue tongue that they use to attempt to frighten predators with.  Some people pick them up and they aren't bothered by humans, you can walk up quite close and have a good look at them.
 
Two days later we found him again sunning himself, in a sunny corner of the garden, keeping an eye on the progress of our tomato plant, or possibly dozing after eating garden pests.  Goggling Blue Tongues I discovered we have 6 varieties in Australia with different markings, colours and sizes.
We are not that far from a small bush reserve so there is every chance that since we have Lizards we may also get snakes.   The children are quite excited to have their very own  Blue Tongue Lizard to watch.

Tomorrow I hope to feel a bit less muddle headed and finish fusing some bits to start the applique arrangement of a small project.  I can't wait to start stitching! There is another knit fabric calling to me as well so once the fabric is washed I'll make a start on it too.

Cheers,
Stephanie