The Not-So-Ugly Quilt

Do you remember the quilt that I was working on that my husband was less than thrilled with?  He is smart enough to not come out and say it's ugly, but I think that is what he thought!  I think his comment was..."it's kind of bright"!  I guess he is used to seeing all of my projects in dark fabrics, so maybe this was just a little shocking (trying to give him the benefit of the doubt!).  Anyway, the quilt is finally finished and ready to go to its new home.

Not ugly at all!  I kind of like it, even if it is brighter than my norm!

Have a great weekend!

A New Baby in the House!

Who would have thought that at my age I would have a new baby?  Haha - nobody would have thought that, that's who!  Some of you probably think that I broke down and got a new kitten.  But no...Callie and Ozzie are plenty to handle right now.  So just who/what is the new baby?  She's a beauty, that's for sure!

A new Viking! And it's RED!!  My favorite color...how could I resist?  I love my old Viking machine - it's a Quilt Designer, and I would never give it up.  But...I gave into temptation and bought another one!  I looked at this machine a few months ago.  It is a Tribute 140C - and is a 140th Anniversary model.  The anniversary was last year, which means that I got a good deal on this machine. I really had no intention of buying another sewing machine, because there is nothing wrong with mine, and I really do love it.  In my opinion, Viking machines have some amazing features that just aren't available with other brands.  The sensor system is one of them and it sure makes my life easier when I'm piecing tiny jewelry.  No presser foot to be constantly putting manually up and down.  It is all automatic, you just push on the gas pedal and go!  Another thing that I like about the newer Vikings is that all of the stitches are built in.  My other machine uses stitch cards, which I recently found out do not last forever.  The card with the 1/4" stitch no longer works, which is why I was visiting the sewing machine store in the first place.  I can still stitch with 1/4", it's just not as convenient as it was when that card was in working order.  By the way, I bought this machine in Burlington, IA, from Alice at the Sew N' Sew Shop.  She has taken really good care of me and my machine over the years.

I couldn't wait to get home and play with my new toy.  It is really very similar to my old machine, but there are a few buttons in different places, which takes a little time to get used to.  Now I want to make something to use some of my fancy stitches, but not sure what that will be yet.

In the mean time, I'm working on the same things as always - more jewelry.  When I introduced this different size (1" x 1 1/2") a month or so ago, I sold out of them pretty quickly, which is always a good sign and reason to make more!  Here are just a few (with some other pieces mixed in)...

The pieces below are made from Glory Gatherings fabrics by Primitive Gatherings.  I've had a bundle of these fabrics for awhile, but just hated to break into them - they were such a pretty stack!  Does anyone else do that?  Geesh - I buy them to use, not to look at!  I do really like how these turned out.  I love a good stripe!

 And a scissor fob with Glory Gatherings (I dirtied up that tan stripe with Instant Antique!)...

That's all for now.  I have some quilts to show you, but will save that for another day!

Have a great week!