Duckie Hexagon Bib

Here's the little duckie hexagon bib I was working on last week during that heatwave! It turned out pretty cute, and I hope it fits around a one-year-old's neck. I have no clue about children's sizing... to me it's all small and I can't distinguish the degree of smallness.

Unfortunately, I'm quite stupid, so I didn't place the duckies properly and most of them got cut away. Oops. Hopefully the one in the centre will distract from my idiocy.

A closer look at the lone duckie left in its entirety. So silly. This time I stitched in the ditch to hold the layers together. 

You can see the stitching a bit better on the back, but uhhh...  don't look too closely because it's quite untidy.

It's on its way to Sydney, Australia and I hope little Ryan wears it at his duckie birthday party!

Meet Hedwig

Everyone, meet Hedwig.

Hedwig, meet everyone.

Isn't she pretty?

She's a heavy girl. Momma almost fell over bringing her into the house. Momma cussed a lot.

I'm totally in love with my Janome 7700. And intimidated. When I sat down to learn how to use this beast of a machine, all I could think was "I am never going to remember this crap."

So I came home to study the manual, and my supportive husband scoffs "Hah!! That's the manual? Hahahahaha!"

Thanks honey, you always know how to make me feel better.

But I figured her out. It's not that difficult... I was just afraid I'd do something stupid and someone would come into my studio and take it away from me. I had to bring it back to the shop to adjust the tension to suit my thread, but aside from that, it's been brilliant sewing with the 7700.

I tested out the machine by stippling a queen (the cat quilt) and it was a breeze. The only thing I was fighting was the weight of the quilt itself... the 7700 was a joy.

It was an expensive decision, but ultimately a really good one. Hedwig and I are going to be wonderful friends for a long, long time :)

Here she is with baby sister Gretel. The size difference is quite laughable. And don't worry, I still use Gretel for piecing... she's not being ignored :)

I Made A Decision... And I'm Nauseous

I went to the sewing machine shop today to plonk down money for the Janome 6600 like a sane, reasonable person would. It was the wise choice. So many people have it and love it.

Then somehow I walked away having put down a deposit for this.

What the hell happened?!?! Let me tell you it's a strange sensation when you want to do cartwheels and keel over at the same time.

My husband is of absolutely no help at keeping me in check. He's all "Get the Horizon honey", "You''ll be glad you did", "Just buy the big one". ENABLER. But, a very sweet enabler :)

So anyway, I have to wait a week to get my new baby. One week. One loooooooong week.

I've narrowed her name down to either Hilda or Hedwig. Their meanings pertain to war / battle. I think it's only fitting. My current machine's name is Gretel, which means pearl. My husband thinks I'm mad for naming my machines. I think he need to zip it.

So now... what does one do for a week when one is the most impatient person in the world ever?

Ahhhhh... Crap

So last week I'm all "Hah Janome's coming out with an 11" throat machine. Meh I don't need it. You don't fool me, Janome."

And then I saw it... The Janome 7700. Hah.

What are you doing to me Janome?! Did I do something to upset you? Why you gotta be like that?

The throat's got two extra inches on the 6600 which I'm not sure is a huge deal but any additional throat space is always welcome. It's got a free arm that the 6600 doesn't have (okay so I've used it a total of zero times on my current machine but what if I wanted to start sewing a million sleeves?). And probably a whole bunch of other stuff. And the red... so pretty. I love red, have I told you?

I don't need both kidneys, right?

*Edit: There have been a few queries on price... I'm told it's around the $3,000 mark. Doesn't that make you just want to run around screaming rude words at random people?

I Have A Question...

The Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 875 Quilt... Yes? No? Opinions?

I'm looking to upgrade to a better quilting machine with a bigger throat because when I bought my little Janome a year ago, all I wanted it for was to learn to sew and make little tiny things. I didn't think I'd use it much at all, let alone start quilting. It has served me brilliantly but I'm realising more and more that it just doesn't cut it. You can ask my husband how many times I start screaming about the small throat space when I'm quilting heehee!

I've heard both good and bad about the Husqvarna machines. Especially about the tension problems. But I hear the problems have been fixed, so... yeah.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or opinions, especially if you have any of the Sapphire machines. Thanks in advance :)