Hi yall! I am back with some big news.
I have bit the bullet and invested in a top-of-the-line sewing machine that should really help me to grow as a quilter. It is a Juki Kokochi DX-4000QVP. It has a very wide (almost 13-inch) sewing space. It has a built-in walking foot. It has a dual pedal that has a reverse function. I love that I can backstitch by just shifting my foot. I might actually backstitch more like I should. It has a thread cutting mechanism so fewer threads all over my house, shirt, pets, etc. It has a big tablet screen with the instruction manual and videos built in for help. You can even watch youtube videos on it. It has so many more fun features I can’t possibly list them all. It’s like going from driving a Chevy Cavalier to a Cadillac Deville.
Not to hate on my Brother SQ2785. I love that machine and still have it. It’s great for piecing and small projects but I nearly broke “Bubba” making my quilted coat. He just wasn’t made for that kind of work. I still plan on using Bubba for going to quilt classes since Judy the Juki weighs almost 50 lbs and doesn’t fit in a standard case. My daughter has claimed Bubba because he has speed control and a needle threader that her machine does not.
Judy the Juki is going to help me learn to machine quilt so I can send fewer quilts out to be long-armed. I also want to learn to do some machine quilting so I can really customize some of my projects. With the larger throat space, I will be able to get a larger quilt under the needle with ease.
I have been single parenting most of the month due to my husband having to attend work training so my quilting time has been almost nonexistent during the week. I am committed to binding while watching tv in the morning and waiting for the buses to arrive. I also try to come in on my fifteen-minute breaks from work and get some piecing or pressing of blocks done. I also try to get at least 15 minutes of sewing in on the night that we are not at the soccer field or boy scouts.
I have finished binding the Chicken Quilt. I took some photos but it has been cloudy and nasty here the past week so photographing outdoors has been postponed. Plus its the “pollening” here in Georgia so I am hesitant to take my quilts outdoors and get them full of the yellow stuff as my allergies are already raging.
I also completed a wall hanging. Its the first project I completed on my new machine. It’s a log cabin cross. I also quilted it on my machine but I will have to post pictures later as I am still tearing the quilting paper off of it. I used the quilt paper so I could try out a quilt design with a pencil and erase if needed. I also used it because having worked with grunge fabric in the past my disappearing fabric markers do not disappear quite so easily on them.
I also got caught up on Pat Sloan’s Sweet Dreams sew-along. I was two weeks behind. I am loving this retro Halloween vibe of this quilt.
I do have my quilted coat done and am working on that post as well. I am also working on some recipe posts if I can ever remember to actually photograph the food before I eat it. I guarantee its coming. We have a great day yall and stay tuned!
Mandy Cooks and Quilts 