Another Dollar Store Find

If you are like me you do some shopping at the giant warehouse stores.  The one we "belong to" is Costco.  They have all kinds of great quality items that come in large quantities.  The best way to open these is with the Dollar Store scissors.  Yes, they only cost a 1.00 and work very well opening the over bundled, wasteful packaging that is done by said warehouse stores.  If you make the Snappy Totes they work equally well cutting the carpenter's tape that is used for the snapping closure of the totes.

My latest project is going to be taught in our class tomorrow, it's a coaster and then there will be a hot pad.  Quick and easy!

Machine quilting with my new Horizon, a learning opportunity

Well, I can't say it's all been a piece of cake, learning this machine.  It's certainly been easy sewing regular fabric.  I put the borders on my quilt top and then started to machine quilt.  My main purpose for purchasing this machine has been to use it to machine quilt.  The wide bed was my main draw to purchase, and that has generally worked out well while using on my Hinterberg table.  It gives me more bed space and less hassle having to stop and roll the bars.

The new challenge is finding a correct tension for my free motion machine quilting stitches.  This is always a challenge for the perfect stitch while machine quilting.  I should say if I use a regular stitch to machine quilt, instead of dropping my feed dogs and doing free motion machine quilting the stitches are just fine, so if you are doing cross hatching, it's probably a perfect machine.

At Moore's Sewing Center this Saturday, I have my first class to learn the ins and outs of the machine.  So, I'm sure, there must be a quick fix for my stitches that I've not figured out yet.  It seems to be "hit and miss" on perfect tension stitches.  This might also have to do with the speed at which I'm trying to machine quilt.

My husband and I are going to the YUM! Center concert, My Morning Jacket with Wax Fang and the Louisville Youth Orchestra on Friday night, so I hope I'm awake enough to absorb all the things I'll learn in my class.

Oh yes, and the endorphin express goes on and on.  Bob and I rode a total of 30 miles this last weekend.  I rode 12 miles around my neighborhood, Briar Hill, which is like riding 15 miles in any other neighborhood as ours has many many hills.  Again, sitting at the machine needs to be offset with the same amount of exercise, in my opinion.

These pictures are of me in my dining room, what a great place I have to quilt!  Plus roses my hubby bought me and last but not least, a little bag called the Lantern Bag I just finished.

Life is simply quilty right now...smile.

A full day of machine quilting and biking

That's the plan anyway, best laid plans...

We were almost blown away yesterday around here.  I had another problem with my machine, yes, while I was machine quilting-it's perfect on regular sewing.  But, don't give us this giant bed (12 inches) and tell us it doesn't machine quilt well.  So I called the dealership from which I bought the machine to ask some questions.  While I was talking the woman on the other side of town had to go abruptly, there was a tornado nearby and they have glass all around their building sides so she left to take cover.

When she returned there was no damage at Moore's Sewing Center, so on we trudged on trying to figure out what was wrong with my free motion quilting on the Horizon.  What I learned and has worked out is NEVER USE COATS AND CLARK THREAD ON THIS MACHINE.  I had it in the bobbin and switched to Aurifil thread which the machine liked and also, the suggestion was made to change the pressure on the presser foot and I did that too. It looks as if the problem is solved.

I'm using a Quilt Pounce to mark a template for suggestions of the quilting pattern, not following it exactly-my resentment of authority goes to great lengths...smile.

Even a fabulous machine can have a flat

Well, the call of the wild and wonderful Horizon was temporarily the sound of a cough.  Give it an easy border or two to sew-no problem.  Give it a bunch of pieces to sew together to make a block and the stitch tension was impeccable.  BUT ASK IT TO FREE MOTION MACHINE QUILT and look out!  How many times did I start and stop abruptly to the error message E7-Not the dreaded E7!!! you say, yes, it was E7!  Return to the dealer the circuits are incorrect, or something to that effect.  In other words I really messed it up.  And did the only sane thing to be done in this event, I turned it off and turned it on and began again.

Well, not be dumped on by any sewing machine, let alone the Horizon, I soldered on began playing with the tension button, and changing the 3 feet that are given for the free motion machine quilting.  And there was the answer, CHANGE THE FOOT! and play a little with the tension and slow down the machine a little and there it is a pretty darn good stitch.

The 200.00 Brother or the 3,000.00 Horizon, both are a finely tuned machine and even the slightest thing out of balance can cause your stitches to look funny.  It's almost always a simple change of the needle, wind a new bobbin, or rethread your machine and you will find the answer to your bad tension.

Happiness is a great big bobbin!

Well, I was interrupted from my sewing bliss, temporarily by something most amazing.  Here in our lovely town of Louisville, we have NPR, National Public Radio.  Now, just about everywhere has an NPR, you probably have it in your own town, probably running a variety of NPR like programs on one station.  Louisville has 3 separate stations that are lumped together and thankfully fall under the same umbrella.  I say thankfully, because when it comes to asking for funds for our stations, it's hard to not give, because you like one of the 3.  We have a WFPL, a news station that also runs Prairie Home Companion on the weekends.  Next is WUOL, our classical music station.  And last but not least is my personal favorite, WFPK an amalgam of music.  This channel covers everything from jazz to bluegrass and everything in between.  I've been answering phones for the last few days, accepting maybe some of your generous pledges to keep our stations healthy.  Louisville has a reputation for being generous with it's charities.  Maybe that's why they finished the fund drive a full day earlier than planned.  It may have been even earlier if the computer hadn't gone down one of those days.

Thanks if you gave to NPR and if you have one of these stations in your area, please give to them.  It makes for a much stronger listening service you are getting.

Anyway, after a very nice 10 mile bike ride around Seneca park today, I'm home now and playing with my machine.  

It has a great big bobbin compared to my Pfaff.  And, check out the guide book, it has a cutter on the top for the bobbin thread.  It's only after you have been at this for a while that you notice the little things that make this machine so great.  I've owned a Singer, Kenmore, Brother, 2 Pfaffs and a Baby Lock serger and this machine appears to have most everything that is good combined in one, in my opinion.  This great big bobbing will come in handy when I use it as a quilting machine on my table.  

This machine has a push button sewing feature that I know the Viking has, but, I've never owned a Viking, so it new fun for me.  This will come in handy for my machine quilting.  The faster you go the easier it is to machine quilt.  But, you should only go as fast as you can control the evenness of the stitch length, so it has 3 speeds to sew with.  Hooyah!  

Well, I did it! I got the Horizon...

Yes, I took the plunge after reading all the latest blog reviews and will let you know if I totally agree with them or not.

So far, the only real draw back is the dual feed.  The Janome Horizon 7700, has one, but, it's a major hassle to attach.  Compared to my Pfaff which is simply pulled down into position.  This creates a pretty even feed stitch on my Pfaff.  I'll be able to tell soon, if it's necessary or not on my Janome.  FOR $3,000.00 IT SHOULD NOT BE.  But, there are so many other features that I think I'll enjoy, making it worth the money, I think.  In the next few days I'll detail them out for you.

My other "toy" is still set on ready, waiting for a spin.

Fabulous Weekend-Fly Fishing and Biking Around Louisville

It's so nice to be able to do things outside now.  It's been so blasted hot here, I think we hit record high heat on several days.  We seem to be franticly trying to cram in our summer's worth of outdoor activity in the few remaining days of fall.

I had my waders on in the water, and it was a lot cooler, but, I didn't mind.  Being in nature, early in the morning and trying to catch the fish that all said "Hah! You human fools"!  Ah well, there will come another day my fine little fishies...muoooahhahahhha!!

We went on our longest bike ride since we have had my new bike, 13 miles.  This time we started at Hogan's Fountain at the Cherokee Park and wove around town.  We've still got a lot to learn about winding around CP.  That area was built a long time ago and it doesn't have a lot of straight through connecting streets, so we were switching back and forth many blocks.  There are major arteries around there, but, they've got too much traffic and our book "Wheeling Around Louisville", takes us off those busy roads, which I like.

The highlight of this ride was the grave sites of the Clark family plots.  The Clark's raised 3 generals, George Rogers Clark, who lived at Locust Grove Home, another son that was half of the Lewis and Clark expedition and another son that was the General of a Virginia Militia.  What an accomplished family!  Kentucky does have a strong history of military support, but, I'd say this is pretty outstanding work from those parents.