MACHINE QUILTING

Because I have not spent the time to develop free-motion quilting skills, I hate the results when I try.  So...I was determined to put in some practice time.

Well....that did NOT go well....  I'll blame it on my machine....but only partly...I truly need to get it in for service but that requires a trip to TN.....about 90 mins. each way and then repeat that to pick it up.  So, I stall, and stall.

My needle threader is broken, the light bulb needs to be replaced, the foot petal sticks, and the thread tension is gone haywire when I drop the feed dogs.  Fortunately, it seems to work pretty well otherwise.

 I dug in anyway and after 5 passes doing little free-motion swirls, the results were a mess....bunchy, terrible uneven stitches....really!  So, I spent twice the amount of time ripping it out as I did sewing.


And yet again, I reverted to the tried and true built-in even feed foot on my machine. 

 Really, my excuses are just that....even with a finicky machine....I have ample room for the quilt to lay out flat while sewing.....I just need to sit down and practice.


With that said, I will complain further......my back is KILLING ME....  Our new rescue dog has gone from this quiet, obedient newcomer to a run away bride.  She is truly an escape artist and now can not go out w/o a leash....nor can we have our door open for a second if she's in the same room until she learns that this 'forever' house may not be 'forever' if she gets lost or hit by a car!  


I totally screwed up my back chasing her and then hauling this elephant back home by the collar.  She is STRONG....and once I got her back in the house I couldn't straighten up.  I've had years and years of back problems, followed by numerous surgeries and have not been in this kinda pain for 20 years.

Therefore, straight stitching the quilting lines while catching up with the antics of (fill in the blank) Housewives of ________ has been about all I can do for the moment.  And frankly, that's not such a bad way to pass time!