Thursday, February 7, 2019

New Fabric and New Glasses Have Arrived!

Kona Solids Arrived for Lars's Graduation Quilt!
Look what came in the mail yesterday!  I just noticed that I have the two lightest blue shades reversed in that photo, but that's pretty much how they will be laid out in the quilt.  The background fabric is definitely purple, even thought it looked nearly black in the computer-generated design rendering.  All of the colors look brighter in this photo because of sunlight streaming in though the kitchen window, but we are NOT complaining about sunlight in the Carolinas when so many of you are bundled up against snow and sub-zero temperatures!  Although, I can't resist gloating that it got above EIGHTY degrees in Charlotte today, and I ventured out in sandals for the first time this year.  I knew that the sun would come back if I got a pedicure!  It's like saying "I believe in fairies!"  and then Tinkerbell comes back to life!

Here's my EQ8 design for these fabrics, in case you missed it from an earlier post:


My EQ8 Design for Lars's Grad Quilt
It is really nice to know for certain what these fabrics will look like together before I start cutting or piecing anything.  I'm glad I decided to order different fabrics.

I took my Jingle quilt top to the guild meeting for Show and Tell last night, which was fun.  It felt good to show my work to other quilters who understood what went into the making of it.  I haven't gotten any more quilting done, though, but I did get caught up with some work I needed to do for my interior design clients and I'm continuing to acclimate to the new iMac computer.  Oh, and I got new glasses today -- not just readers, but progressive lenses that I can wear all the time that are supposed to help me with night driving and midrange computer and music reading.  I've never worn glasses full-time before and I feel kind of silly, like I'm wearing a costume, but I hadn't realized the slight deterioration in my distance vision until I popped these glasses on today and suddenly things in the distance were sharper and clearer again!  


New Glasses.  Do I Look Like Velma Now?
Even Without Glasses, I Was ALWAYS a Velma...

Tomorrow morning I've got to put some orders in and wrap up some paperwork for the client I met with today, and then I've got to take my Bernina 750QE in to get a board swapped out.  My dealer ordered the part for me and is having me bring the machine in to get it done while I wait so I won't have to go a single day without my Main Squeeze sewing machine -- how awesome is that?  And while I'm there, I'm going to check out THIS new machine that has been intriguing me on the Bernina web site:


New Bernina Model B475 QE
This might just be my next studio addition, and if it is, we're not going to call it "another new sewing machine."  We're going to call it a "Bernina Travel Accessory."  I need to leverage the power of Social Sewing if I'm going to get that graduation quilt done on time, and that means I need a sewing machine that is easier to schlep around to bee meetings and sit-and-sew without a fork lift.  Yes, I do have two little Singer Featherweights, but I miss some of the modern Bernina bells and whistles with those vintage beauties and I'd like to be able to swap back and forth between machines.  I really like the smaller size and weight of the B475, the 5.5 mm feed dogs, the jumbo bobbins (same hook system as the 7 Series Berninas so the BOBBINS are interchangeable!), and the fact that I can use so many feet with it that I already own.  There's the bright LED light, the piecing straight stitch that I love (although it has a different stitch number on this model), the FHS knee lift, and I could even use my BSR foot on this machine if I wanted to.  My walking foot would fit this machine, if I wanted to work on attaching binding somewhere besides my studio, and because it's not just a straight stitch, I could use it for machine appliqué as well...  Best of all, MSRP is below $2,500 for this machine.  I believe it's sized between the 3 Series and 5 Series models, kind of like a Goldilocks "just right" sized machine, and I have high hopes!  We'll see how it sews tomorrow.  No rush.  I have plenty of cutting to do before I start piecing that quilt. 

Have a lovely evening and happy sewing!

I'm linking up with Esther's WIPs on Wednesday linky party because I'm SO EXCITED that this Geese In Circles grad quilt is finally a WIP instead of just an idea in my mind!

12 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I hope you adjust to your glasses quickly! It always takes me a couple days to a week for some reason and I've been wearing glasses now for almost 50 years!! OMG 50 I can't believe that - I was 17 when I got my first pair and probably should have had them years before - I still remember that moment of coming out of the eye doctors office with my wire frame hexie shaped glasses and realizing all I had been missing!
I love your son's quilt it will be wonderful I'm sure and have fun looking at that sewing machine - I wonder if it will follow you home.

lvkwilt said...

I just took my first class on my new Bernina 570 and what an amazing machine it is! I love the dual feed function and I'm so excited about this machine. It's my third Bernina and I am extremely loyal. I gave away my oldest machine but I loved that machine even though it was about 30 years old. I used it more than my 730! I am so thankful to have a Bernina dealership about 5 miles from my new home and the employees are amazing! I'm not familiar with the 400-series, but I don't think you can go wrong with a Bernina! Love the glasses!

Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts said...

Happy Mail day! It's always so fun when squishy packages are delivered. :) I'm looking forward to seeing the progress on your quilt Making those curved flying geese is on my quilty bucket list. I'd love to try them sometime soon. You look great in your glasses, and I hope they help. It's amazing how much bigger and brighter the world looks through a new pair of lenses!

Rebecca said...

I just went from "readers" to progressive this last fall. Took some getting use to but sure made driving and a using a gps a lot easier! Great for hand work and on the computer also. Do not care for them for book reading because of the way I read so I still have my readers (on a chain) laying around the house.
Although all the vereviy photos and screens I just went thru leaves that a bit in doubt.

SJSM said...

Can’t wait to see how Lars "s quilt progresses. On glasses, you look good in them. I had the"hitting forty" eyes and went with the progressives. Instant love with no visual adjustment in my mind.

How much does the Bernina 4 series weigh? I’m looking at a Janome from the weight point but love my Bernie’s. It’s hard to give up the conveniences and start a different foot collection on another brand. In making items that have a lot of layers of heavy fabrics I’m also trying to figure out what machine can handle this kind of sewing. My Bernina 730 is struggling mightily. If you have suggestions let me know.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Wow your new quilt design is gorgeous! Nice that you are able to get your machine fixed without it having to spend time in the hospital.

Michele said...

You look great in glasses. Also, your new quilt will be spectacular. Nudges me to finally open the EQ8 box....

Kate said...

You've got a great project planned for those fabrics. Are you going to paper piece any of it? Congrats on the new glasses, they look great. Nothing wrong with being a Velma, she's the most normal one of that bunch!

Paula said...

I loved this quilt the first time you shared the design and can't wait to see it finished! Thanks for sharing your fabric choices.

Preeti said...

I was drooling over the gorgeous, bright and shiny fabric till I saw (re-saw) the pattern and started oohing and aahing again. But then I saw your perfect hair, beauty bones and sparkling teeth. Now I don't know where to look - too much beauty in one post. Could you please warn your readers next time??? PBBBTTTTT. I am going to google Velma now.

Louise said...

How fun to see Lars' quilt design again! And soon we'll be seeing it start to actually form in real fabric. Meanwhile, your glasses look great on your face! I always love getting new glasses and having the world sharpen up immediately :)

Glenda said...

I do love visiting, you make me laugh every visit all most, love the glasses that size should be easy to find? Your fabrics are fab and your design I’m glad you are making it and not me, it’s going to looking stunning in your colurs though, looking forward to seeing this beauty grow. Hugs from wet OZ where we have had two days with out rain ???!!! At the end of Jan one week we had over 1 metre of rain ? Began to think maybe we need to build a Ark???