My new sewing machine

After quilt retreat in August, I got home and reconnected my Bernina, and it wasn't sewing right.  It was making a funny noise, and skipping stitches.  It was fine at retreat but it must have gotten knocked out of whack on during transport.  I packed it up and took it to the service center in Marshalltown.  He warned me it would be a few weeks before he would be able to work on it.  No problem, I would just use my Viking as a backup. 

On the hour trip back home, the kids were hanging with grandpa that morning and he wanted to take them fishing.  So I had an extra couple hours before I had to pick them up to take them for their yearly before school physicals.

I found myself at the quilt shop test driving a new machine.   Our small group is split between Pfaff and Bernina loyalty.  The problem with Bernina in our area service dealer is not the best.  Note I drove an hour to get my machine serviced, although there is a dealer 8 minutes from my house.

I have been thinking about a new machine for a few years, and decided this was the day to finally make a deal.    I am still learning how to use the features, but there are some things that I really like about this machine.  The open area is a lot bigger, so much so, I had to slightly modify my sewing table so it fit better.  I like the dual feed and the quarter inch foot.  I think both features have really helped my accuracy.    I still need to learn how to free motion quilt.  I haven't figured out the correct settings yet.  The other thing I don't like is I wish I could reprogram the default settings on a stitch so when it turns on, it remembers my settings.  I can save stitches but it requires extra clicks every time I sit down to sew.   I want to keep using it for a few more projects before I go back to the store for my free class.

I got sleeves on all of the quilts that I entered in the the October quilt show.  I need to finish getting them labeled and dropped off this week.  Looking forward to the AQS show in Des Moines in October.  I will be taking two days off work to enjoy it!  I am on the lookout for a few things...Nancy Halvorsen's new Christmas line, black and white fabrics, and I need some more light shirting background reproduction fabrics.  I always do better shopping the vendor booths when I can focus on a few things I am looking for.  I should not have any trouble finding more than I need!