Thursday, July 5, 2012

Quilt Quilted....New Toy for Cat....


Wondering where I have been? I finished some projects that had been laying around, mostly mending, and then I spent time for the last several weeks working on my quilt - and now I can tell you the first free motion quilt I have done, in fact the first quilt I have made at all, is finished except for binding. I will put the project of the binding on hold until after Summer much loved family visits and after a few weeks practice again.  There may be room to sew a skirt and maybe even a shirt in that time period.  In other news, the Vermont Quilt Festival came around again, and the two days were a whirl of fun, class and spending,oh dear, I mean judiciously choosing of necessities. I did purchase the Quilter's tool called the Fabulous Fabric Guide  and instead of buying thread at the Superior Threads booth, I bought the thread cards for Masterpiece and King Tut. Who knows what color thread I will want next project, so this lets me hold actual thread next to fabric - I love the cards.

As you may know I have been looking at sewing machines for some time now because the two things I wanted if I ever spent on another machine were more harp space and faster speed, and a knee lift. The knee lift is just so handy. 

I had been following the dropping price on the Brother 1500S at AMAZON, and it had dropped pretty low when I found a really good price on a Janome MC6300.  I am so glad I bought the MC6300 Professional from Janome. The accessories are plentiful, and the fact that it comes with a large acrylic extension table is frosting on the cake. I have it in a Gidget II Arrow table. I don't need more stitches than the 6300 has, and I don't need the other additions of the other machines in the line. My Viking more than has all the extras I need for any type of garment or utility sewing. The 6300 is going to take some time to totally test out and sewing several projects is for the next several months. After all that I'll review it on PatternReview. Meanwhile, here is an excellent review from another site! Janome MC6300P Review            


8 comments:

glorm said...

Congratulations on finishing the quilt (well, almost) and the new machine. It's exciting getting new toys.

Elaray said...

I've recently been bitten by the quilting bug. I've deathly afraid of free motion quilting. Your quilt has inspired me to put aside my fear and try it.

catspec said...

:) Thanks for the nice comments! @Elaray, don't be afraid - believe me if I can do it almost anyone can! I don't say I do it perfectly for heavens sake - nope. But I do it to practice and it is just such FUN. Put on some music or an audio book and lost yourself in the fun - take TIME to get your machine set so it does nice FM - I do believe any machine can! ;)

catspec said...

@glorm - I have a deadline to get it ALL done by the end of this year - next year is the quilt's 20th birthday. It's a quilt for my Mom - she's watching from heaven and believe me she can't believe her eyes! She never though she'd see me doing quilting! :)

glorm said...

Aw, that's sweet.

My mother is probably feeling the same about me and sewing.

HeathersSphere said...

Your quilt looks sensational, catspec. I am envying you right now admiring your new gadgets and your furry helper.

bruinbr said...

Hi, I found your blog while researching the gidget 2 table. I'm hoping you can answer a few questions I have. I was just wondering if there is a ledge inside the cutout so that an insert will lay totally flush with the table? Or will the insert create a lip while resting on the table? Thanks so much for your time and great quilt! :)

catspec said...

Hi Bruinbr! I answered your questions about the Gidgets over on your very nice blog! Yup - inserts can be gotten that sit flush with the tops of the Gidgets as well as other Arrow cabinets - I do love my Gidgets!