Pampering Pups

I was going to quilt another quilt today. I had the quilt ready to go and the Juki threaded with the thread I want to use. I ended up babysitting for a couple hours today, not long, but enough to throw me off of my planned schedule. When baby left, I decided I didn't really want to quilt, so I decided to get a project done that's been hanging over my head for about 6 weeks.

My dogs' beds have been falling apart for so long, it's just been a shame. For a while I was saving small fabric and batting scraps thinking I would stuff dog beds with them. I had a couple grocery sacks full, but I realized that was not nearly enough, and it would take me so long to save enough it just wasn't worth it. I threw out the two bags I had saved (these pieces were smaller than crumbs, really tiny) and decided I needed to go a different route.

Kate and Bianca were litter mates we got from the pound about 7 years ago. They are very close, and usually sleep together. They have one crate they share, but they also sleep in our bedroom. It was the bedroom dog beds that were beyond repair. I hate the stuffing getting all flat within a few months of buying new beds, and I thought about how often I yell at them to get off the couch, so I thought why not buy a foam cushion like the one on the couch. Surely it will last longer than poly stuffing. The foam was on sale at Joanns a few weeks ago, and I had one of those extra 10% off your entire purchase coupons, so I got the foam for about what I would have spent on new dog beds.

I had actually bought some duck cloth to use for the dog bed, but I bought just enough, and when I washed it, it shrunk so much I didn't have enough any more. I had a bolt of ultrasuede I bought for next to nothing a while back, so today I got it out and made the cover for the foam cushion. I put velcro all along the back so I can remove the cushion cover to wash it. It took me longer to decide how I was going to make the cover and to cut it than it did to sew it together. I have no idea why I put it off for so long, one afternoon was all it took to get it done, start to finish.

Kate and Bianca were pretty concerned when they saw their tattered beds go to the dumpster, but they look happy enough on their new bed, don't you think?

Number 6 Done!

Here is the Leftover Quilt, number 6 in my quilting spree. It is freshly washed and dried, ready to be dragged around by DD#2 after surgery on Friday.

This is the second quilt I've meandered on. Is it any better? I can see a couple spots just on this close up where my stitching lines meet, so maybe not better. Variegated thread is interesting to use, in that when the thread color and fabric color are similar, the stitching is hard to see, but that is constantly changing. The quilt is DONE, so I'm counting it as a success.

I have three more quilts basted and ready to quilt. I want to try a loop de loop pattern on at least one of those, but on paper that pattern is hard for me. I'll probably just go for it and use a thread that will hopefully blend in. I suppose if it comes out really terrible, I could rip it out, but it would have to be very bad for that :-) A loop de loop pattern sounds quick, and versatile because I can add other shapes in. I guess the only way to conquer it is to do it, so maybe the next quilt I post will have that, or my version of it anyway!

Quilt #5

Here is quilt #5 on my quilting spree. It's quilted and bound. I tried freehand fans, or Golden Arches as Patsy Thompson calls them. This one will probably go to the veteran's hospital.


You may be able to see the quilting better in this pic. You can click on it to make it bigger. For my first attempt it will do. I hope with practice I can get my arches smoother.

Today I managed to get the leftover quilt quilted with a meandering pattern. I have the binding pinned on, but don't plan on sewing it on until tomorrow night after babysitting. The quilt above I quilted with Signature thread, and I had some issues with it. The leftover quilt I quilted with C&C Star thread, and I had no problems. I know everyone has the threads they love and the threads they hate. I really think it just depends on which threads your machine likes. My machine evidently prefers Star over Signature. It could have just been a bad cone of Signature, I'm not sure, but I'm not impressed with this one.

This is a busy week for me, so I don't know how much sewing time I'll get. I have two more quilts pin basted, and I'm hoping to get one more ironed tonight, and layered, so I can pin baste it tomorrow during nap time. I have enough safety pins to pretty easily baste three lap sized quilts. Sometimes I can do four quilts, but three is a good number. I don't want to leave pins in the quilts too long.

Quilting Spree

DS the Younger helped me out, and held up the quilts I've gotten finished so far in my quilting spree. This first one is the one I tried meandering in the border.

This one is just straight line quilted because it has that odd orange backing, that just won't slide! I decided to put scrappy binding on it. The top is flannel.

Here is my ugly quilt. I meandered over the whole thing. It took about three days to quilt it, I'm not very fast yet.


Here is the back of the ugly quilt. Now you can see the ugly fabric that inspired such an odd color combination.


The Looney Toons quilt is also finished. It has that odd orange backing too, and I just folded it to the front to bind this one. DS the Younger really liked the feel of the orange fabric, so I'm glad I stuck it out and used it. All of the smaller quilts will go to Project Linus, and the ugly quilt will go to the Veterans Hospital.

This is one of my dogs, Bianca. She was too funny when we were trying to take the photos. She wanted to be in the pictures so badly, and kept getting in our way. Once I took her picture she happily trotted off! Kate must have been camera shy today, because she stayed away during the picture taking.

I have another quilt about halfway quilted. I'm free-motioning fans on it, or Golden Arches as Patsy Thompson calls them. Good thing I'm not one to enter a quilting contest, they are pretty wonky! As long as I get better, it's OK, right? I think once the quilt is washed and such it will probably be fine. I know they say to practice on quilt sandwiches, but I find it such a waste of time and fabric. I'll just practice on the real thing, and look forward to the day I'm better at free-motion quilting.

So now I have four quilts done, done, binding and all. One is half quilted, and two more are pin basted. I know I'm not going to get all the quilt tops I have quilted on this spree. I started so much later than I had planned, because I snuck in making that queen sized Hawaiian quilt. I have about one more week where I can concentrate on quilting, then DH is off for three weeks, and we have some plans to work around the house.

I have been doing some piecing to take breaks from quilting. I've been piecing border for a purple quilt, and finishing up some blocks for a green quilt. I have all the blocks for the green quilt done now. I haven't spent much time piecing, just little bits of time here and there. My house is happy for the quilting spree. I'm so anxious to take breaks, I even do housework just to stretch. Scrubbing the sink never felt so good! I'm being very careful to not quilt too long at a time, and my shoulders are doing better now. My neck and shoulders get so tired from long quilting sessions, shorter quilting times are working much better.

Thinking About My Dream Machine

I have three sewing machines set up, and I use all three of them. Of the machines I have, this is the one I've had the longest, a Brother CS6000i. I have recommended this machine to many people, and I'm not sorry I did. For the price, sub $200, it has everything a beginning quilter needs. It comes with a 1/4 inch foot, a walking foot, and the extension table. It has a lot of features I love; a needle threader, clearly marked seam allowances, needle up/down button, and the needle always stops DOWN! I love the needle stopping down! It has a quilting specific stitch, #37, and it tells me which presser foot to use. It beeps if I put the wrong one on and won't sew. It's great for troubleshooting because it has error messages. If I ever take a class, this is the one I'd take because it's lightweight.

It's a good little machine, so why did I get two other machines? Well, actually, this is my second one of these. I wore the first one out. The gears are nylon, and you cannot lubricate anything yourself. I am not a casual sewer, I sew about 40 hours per week on average. That's a lot of sewing for a machine like this. I was looking for something to be a bit more of a workhorse, though for garments, I still use this machine. (Except hemming jeans, this machine does not like hemming jeans) This machine has a nasty habit of having the thread jump out of the takeup bar, which makes me crazy!


Here is my Bernina 1080. I bought it used (probably made in the 80's), and it's a great machine. It is drastically different from the Brother, partly due to age, partly due to quality. It has all metal gears, and will sew through anything. I can lubricate the bobbin area, but still have to take it in to get the rest lubricated. It does not have a needle threader or a needle up/down button. I miss those. It can stop with the needle down, but I have to remember to press a button each time I turn it on to get it to do that. The tension is almost always perfect on this machine, with no fiddling, no matter which stitch I'm using, and no matter what kind of thread I use. The thread never jumps the thread path, and I am sold on Bernina having the best threading system. Overall, this is my favorite machine. I really like the way Bernina presser feet attach, it has a great machine bed attachment that helps keep my seams straight (I bought it separately), and it has a couple specialty stitches I especially like, like the serpentine stitch. I do not like the machine bed markings for seam allowances at all. It's very confusing.

Here is my Juki TL98QE. I bought it to go on a quilting frame, which was a disaster. Other people's Jukis love sewing on a frame, but not mine. My Juki sews like garbage on a frame. I took it off the frame, and had an 'aha' moment. It is a good machine off the frame, a very good machine. It only has a straight stitch, but it has a very nice one, and it's FAST. It is great for free motion quilting, and the nine inches of throat space is awesome for that. It is a completely mechanical machine, so I can do all the lubricating myself, and when I shut it off, then turn it back on, all the settings are as I left them. My other two machines are computerized, so if I'm using an odd stitch I have to reset everything every time I turn the machine on. Now that I have it in a cabinet, my Juki and I are friends, and becoming better friends all the time. This machine is really growing on me. I need to get a 1/4 inch foot for it, and then I'll probably use it for piecing too. It is really fast when strip piecing.

Even with three machines, I have still been wanting an upgrade. There are times I want embroidery options, other times I want more than the 9" of space the Juki has. I use the Bernina the most, but it has no needle threader, or an needle up/down button. I've been drooling over the Bernina 820 and 830 for a while now, but my budget can't handle either of those. I bid on a Bernina Aurora, on ebay the other day, but I didn't win it. I've been checking on Janomes but there isn't a dealer in town.

The thing is, none of these machines are exactly what I want. I want a sewing machine a la carte. Sewing machines are computerized these days, why can't someone say, OK, there are 30 buttons, what do you want them programmed to do? Wouldn't you just love a sewing machine company that charged by the feature, and you could skip the ones you'd never use? I don't need 200 stitches, or 12 button holes. I don't need a machine that speaks more languages than I do, or one that looks like you need a pilots license to operate. They can stretch existing sewing machines, so why can't they make them to order.

If an average sewing machine has a 6" throat, can I pay an extra $100-200 for every extra inch I want? Even at $300-400 an extra inch I'd come in cheaper than a lot of high end machines. What about stitch packages? If the cable company can separate out channels, why can't I pick and choose which stitches I want? Yes, I want the serpentine stitch, but I have no idea what those 20 are for, so not those. Can you see the beauty in a la carte sewing machines? I think it would be awesome! I want a 12" throat, a needle threader, a needle up/down button, the needle to stop down always, maybe 30 stitches, and you know what, while I'm ordering, make mine purple! or red?

On a more contented note, I got a great deal on some Aurifil thread! Aurifil is my guilty pleasure. It's my favorite thread, but because of the price, I don't buy it all the time. Tristan Threads, a Canadian company, is selling out all of their stock because they aren't going to carry it anymore. They had more Aurifil than I knew even existed! I knew they made polyester thread, but had no idea they had wool. I had never heard of wool thread before. At any rate, I got 48 spools of Aurifil cotton 50 wt. for $118 which was awesome! They are out of this particular set, but they still have some good deals going on. I had no color choice, but I'm happy with what I got.

I'm learning to be more adventurous in my thread color choices for quilting. I'm quilting on the ugly quilt right now, and I'm using my ugliest thread in honor of the project. It is the color of pea soup, and not a pretty green at all. You know, it's looking pretty good on the quilt! These will be fun to play with, and half of them are good colors for piecing, so I'll be set for a while.