not much going on

Here was Pippi last night---probably wondering how she was going to get out of the room with all that stuff in blocking her way. I was taking a picture to her right off the bookcases so things normally would not be sitting in that spot. Since it was the row quilt, I can't share that. You get the cat picture instead, LOL.

On Sunday I got the pieced blocks that I planned to do completed for the Halloween row without any troubles. Yesterday I thought I best get going on the appliqued one. Things were not going well. Applique is not my thing but I thought I had sorta made peace with that. Fabric was fraying on the edges leaving little hairs and the fusible was not adhering (heat and bond---I forgot how much I don't like that stuff and tossed the whole danged roll). I must have used a totally different product for the Dazzling Dogs as those edges were sealed down. Worst though, I was having machine problems. Here I whipped off the dog blocks in record time despite my initial nervousness about machine finishing them and did a passable job. That's what I get for getting too "big for my britches".

I had used my trusty Viking on that project but now the timing is off so bad on that at the moment, that I can barely get the fabric through with the feed dogs. It was not doing such a hot job quilting lately either so it is time to take it in for cleaning and adjustment. SO here I was with my new Brother---I either can't adjust the stitch I want to use or don't know how yet. (I'm taking some lessons when I go back to IL as that is where we bought it). I had already decided that I was going to have to start all over again for my friend's row so I went ahead and stitched down the motifs for practice. Practice is not a bad thing but I wanted to be done with this---whine, whine, whine.

The one thing that is throwing me is that the Viking starts from center needle position while the Brother starts from extreme left. I can mirror the stitch with the Viking to make the same buttonhole stitch go either direction but it always ends up at center. The Brother, I don't know where the thread is going and it looks like the mirrored stitch is a different numbered stitch-- or is it? I think it takes another straight stitch--3 on one stitch and 4 on another which did not seem to work as well for the small pieces I was working around. When I try to fill or backstitch with a straight stitch, I cannot seem to get the needle position back to center for stitching. Then I have these thread wobbles on the line and have to get the seam ripper out. I'm not saying it cannot be done---just that I don't know enough to do it. I can thread the machine, make bobbins, straight stitch and use one of the zigzags for too short a seam allowance on one side ---isn't that all I need to know to piece? LOL.

I have plenty of fabric for this appliqued block and rough cut those sections this morning. The Steam-a-Seam I should have been using arrived this afternoon. Not wanting to hold up the person I send to, I mailed off the project box and emailed her about my problem along with a picture of what I had done with my section. Tomorrow morning, after I get my walking in, I'll take the machine up (50 some miles one way) Hopefully by the time I get back from my trip to IL, it will be ready for pick up. From past experience, 3 weeks is about the wait time. It is entirely possible that the one that Joy brings me this weekend will be done before the Halloween one is. I'm told what is coming is a patriotic themed row.

As far as any other production went today, I wound up a bunch of bobbins and sewed a few bowties together. By afternoon, I had such a headache that I laid down and napped for 3 hours. ( Boy, aren't I just a little ray of sunshine today--NOT! ) We had a $5 coupon for a large Papa John's 1 topping carry out pizza for lunch and leftovers from last night so no cooking--good thing I didn't have to do anything but re-heat when I was sleeping till suppertime. DJ is a good guy to have around the house but a cook, he is not.

And so it goes at my house-----