Twenty-five years of a wonderful relationship

The other day it occurred to me that the anniversary of the day that My Lovely New Bernina came to live with me could be approaching; I remembered that it was bought in August 1999, but not the date.....so I checked on the original receipt, and it was 5th August.  Last Monday was the day, and it has been a beautiful friendship.  Here it is, hard at work on a quilt which, like many others, was pieced and quilted on it.

Back in 19-umpty-um when I was 18 and first starting to sew, I bought a machine from a co-worker.  It didn't have a free arm, but I learned quite a lot on it and even made the dress I wore to my first wedding, allover lace with a long train, made from a Vogue pattern.  (Nothing like being ambitious, is there.)  Five years later it was time for a better machine, so off I trotted to the Singer shop where I bought a Singer 726.  It had more stitches, did better buttonholes - and wonder of wonders, it had a free arm.  I wouldn't like to add up how many seams were sewn on it, but there were a lot.....clothes for me, for our two boys, even for Kevin, and my first foray into patchwork.  Probably enough seams to stretch from here to the moon several times over.  As time went on the old Singer was beginning to chug a bit, and I thought perhaps its time had come....but no, it still sewed happily.  When I started out most home sewing was done on woven fabrics; stretch fabrics came along later, and it didn't like handling some of those fabrics.  That's all right, I thought to myself, I'll buy an overlocker (serger) to do what the Singer can't manage.  However, one day I had a talk with myself and a talk with Kevin and after 29 years with the Singer decided to go for a new - brand new! - machine; after some shopping around I settled on a Bernina Virtuosa 160.  

We still have fun together, and it is still called - and indeed will always be called - My Lovely New Bernina.

Some work was done on a side border for Autumn Rhapsody.  It is chugging along nicely.  My original plan was to make extra HSTs and make it square following the original rectangular design (if you can follow that), those extras would be added to both sides.  After thinking it over and realising it would have made a larger quilt than was wanted or needed that idea was shelved; it will be square, but not enormously so.  That now means there are 78 leftover HSTs.  Seventy-eight!  That's enough to start another quilt!!

On our 2018 autumn trip to Canada our DIL and I attended a quilt show - our third time seeing that show, it was always held when we visited, which was jolly nice of them - and this was one of the raffle quilts hanging in the foyer.

Love the twisted column design!  This pic was taken, and the idea filed away in the back of my brain for some time in the possible future.  It's even easier than I thought, here's a tutorial.  Wouldn't those HSTs make a good start......more would need to be made, but it's not as though I lack fabric to do so......it could be called Autumn Twist, couldn't it....wheels in my brain are turning......

How has everyone's week been?  We had some excitement during the week; last weekend's promised rain came, and came, and came some more....the main highway around town was flooded and closed for a while, thereby causing a certain amount of traffic chaos.  One foolish bloke drove onto a flooded road and had to be rescued by emergency services, getting his few minutes of fame and fortune on the news that night and being the subject of some derision on social media in the process.  That road, which runs beside and over a small creek, is fairly low and it floods whenever the rain gods so much as sneeze.  Locals know to keep off it during times of heavy rain and this bloke found out the hard way that driving onto a flooded road early in the morning, while it's still too dark to see how deep and how fast the water is flowing, is not a good idea. 

Words have been read.  Stitches have been sewn by hand, and by machine.  (On My Lovely New Bernina, of course.)  Songs were sung, and notes were plinked.  Our strumming 'friend' was there but was quiet, for which I was thankful.  On Tuesday Emma physio was pleased with my progress, and best of all - yesterday I used my rotary cutter!  Yay for me!  It was a bit difficult at first then I had a brainwave and put in a new blade, and it was like cutting through butter, even with a hand that isn't yet working to its full strength.

It's possible that my hand and wrist may never be the same as before the break.  I have to accept that.  Given my age - I'm no longer young - and the severity of the injury it may be something I have to face, so long as I can do what I want and/or need to do without too much difficulty or pain. 

"Conduct in an artist's studio.

If you have occasion to visit an artist's studio, by no means meddle with anything in the room.  Reverse no picture which stands or hangs with face to the wall; open no portfolio without permission, and do not alter by a single touch any lay-figure or its drapery, piece of furniture or article of vertu posed as a model.  You do not know with what care the artist may have arranged these things, nor what trouble the disarrangement may cost him."

Indeed.  I would have added, "or her", as not all artists are men, are they?  We are all artists, every time we set foot in our sewing room or studio.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer