Why does it seem the tighter the deadline, the more complications arise? Maybe that's just me. I was FMQ on my Janome when all of a sudden, the presser foot pressure increased to the point I could hardly move the quilt. Confession time- I have woefully neglected this machine. I bought it in 2020 and never had it serviced, nor had I ever updated the software. I know the computerized machines should be serviced annually, but at $200 a pop, that's a lot. I do keep the machine very clean, so I'm not neglecting regular upkeep, just the servicing. The only thing I use the Janome for is the actual quilting and binding. I've never used it for piecing or any other sewing. In hours of sewing, this machine gets the least use of the three machines I always have set up.
To be honest, it's not the money that kept me from getting it serviced. I don't like the local dealer, the only one authorized to do the repairs. I love my Bernina shop, they are awesome! But they only service Berninas. I have two different vintage guys I use and they are both great! They don't service the newer computerized machines though. Unless I want to drive at least two hours each way for drop off, and then again for pickup, I'm stuck using the dealer I don't like. I'm hoping this time they work out better than the last time I used them for servicing. They have a new technician so I'm hopeful. They said it would take at least three weeks before I get it back, but it might take until mid-JULY!!!!!
I had planned on getting all my machines serviced this year, before DH retires. I was hoping to wait until I had my deadline quilts finished. Looks like that's not going to work out. I have four quilts with firm deadlines so far this year. One is the Lego quilt I finished and the party is Saturday. One is the baby quilt and the baby shower is the 25th, and the other two are due in July.
I just finished the baby quilt top. Now I've got to get it basted and I'll quilt it on the Bernina. I've got one of the July quilts ready to assemble, and I'll be starting to piece the other one next week. Depending on when I get the Janome back, I may have to quilt those quilts on the Bernina too. The July quilts are both twin sized, so although I'd appreciate the space the Janome gives me, I'm not worried about piecing them on the Bernina. I've quilted a king on the Bernina, so I know I can do twins, it's just a lot harder on my arm.
The other "deadline" quilts don't have hard deadlines, they are just quilts I'd like to get within the next year or two. The thing is, those are all queen or king sized quilts, so it's a lot. Those are all gift quilts, I don't make quilts that large for donation, and I'm making them for specific people. Most of those big quilts are actually ready to assemble, just waiting for their turn on the design wall. I think two of those still have piecing left to do before assembly.
A bit off-topic, but I'd like to talk about something that went very right. Most of you know, I have an Accuquilt Studio die cutter. I have a lot of dies for it, both Studio dies and Go dies, since you can use Go dies on the Studio cutter with an adapter plate. Every once in a while I consider selling off the Studio cutter and dies and switching to the Go electric, which wasn't out when I bought my Studio cutter. One of the things that has made me hold off on that, is that I can cut 10 layers of fabric at a time with a Studio die, but only six with a Go die. When I'm cutting hundreds or even thousands of pieces, that can make a big difference in time. Also, I've had to replace Go dies when they are used a lot, but I've never had to replace a Studio die, they are just a lot sturdier. The Studio cutter is MUCH easier to turn than a Go cutter is, but of course, the Go Electric would be easier still. This baby quilt was my first quilt where I really gave my Bullseye dies a workout. They don't make bullseye dies for the Go cutter, only for the Studio.
The Bullseye dies have really affirmed my decision to buy the Studio cutter over the Go. I know there are equilateral triangle dies for the Go, and even some hexagon dies, but to have the versatility of the Bullseye dies, nothing for the Go compares.
If you look at the baby quilt above, you can see I fussy cut the panel I used, to make the most of what was on the panel. I didn't take photos of that process, but I pulled out another panel to give you an idea of how that works.
To make that baby quilt, I used 3 different Bullseye dies. The hexagon with 6" sides, the equilateral triangle with 6" sides, and the equilateral triangle with 3" sides. Since the hexagons were the largest, I chose those sections first. The hexagoon blade die is laying on the above panel. If I were cutting this panel for the same style quilt, I would center the Koalas as shown, then I would trace around the blade die with a marker. After I had chosen any hexagons I wanted, I'd move to the larger triangles, center the area I wanted, then trace around that blade die. Finally, I'd trace around the smaller triangle to get as much use of the panel as I could. Once I've used as much of the panel as I could, I simply used a pair of scissors and cut on the marker lines. When you go to cut with the Bullseye dies, you have to use foam spacers to make the die a flat surface, but since the fabric is cut in the correct shape but a little larger, it's pretty easy to line it up on the die and get perfectly fussy cut pieces. In fact, I found it easy to cut all my hexagons at once, and all the top pointing triangles at once, then all the down pointing triangles at once, and so on... The equilateral triangles all have specially shaped points that allow you to exactly line up the pieces, whether you are sewing them to another triangle or a hexagon.
I think the trickiest thing about the Bullseye dies is storing them once they are unwrapped. You always want to store your dies vertically, like a book on a bookshelf, so the cutting blade doesn't get damaged. Since the bullseye dies fit inside each other, they don't always want to stay nice and neat when stored vertically. I solved that by using....pizza boxes!
All of my Bullseye dies with the exception of the hexagon dies, fit in a 12" pizza box. For the odd equilateral triangles, I could fit both the foam spacers and the blade dies in the same box, but for everything else I needed one box for the foam spacers and one for the blades. I bought the 12" pizza boxes on Amazon. I need 18" pizza boxes for the hexagon dies, but since I only need two boxes, I'm going to ask around at some local pizza places and see if I can find someplace that will sell me two boxes.
Now I'm really looking forward to making more quilt with my Bullseye dies. With the circle dies I can make rings for appliqueing onto a background, and that could really be fun! My brain is swimming with ideas, too bad I have so many other projects to finish up. If I ever won the lottery (which I never buy tickets for) I'd totally buy a computerized longarm so I could have it quilt my quilts while I make all the quilt tops! I enjoy FMQ, but not nearly as much as I enjoy piecing. Do they make a longarm that has automatic advancing? That's the dream right there, just load a quilt and have the machine quilt it until it's finished. It would need a bobbin that never ran out, and of course no tension issues ever...It's just a dream, but, man, would that be awesome!
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