Needlework Tuesday - On Playing with my new Sewing Machine

 I met with the ladies from my quilt bee last week, and Sharon taught us how to hand piece this 3D bow tie block.  It's quite easy to do as long as you get the placement right.  I didn't want to hand piece as I had other plans.  I have purchased a new sewing machine and planned to start a new project on it.  This is a small one that will test out a variety of stitches and techniques.The machine comes with a free lesson(s) and Sonja, the sales lady, recommended I go home and sew a bit before scheduling a lesson. Good plan.

There was lots of page flipping and a bit of cursing, but I finally found the correct stitch for the 1/4 inch foot and I whipped through these blocks.

 I want to make a small wall hanging for hubby's office, and this is the design I thought I wanted.  Its just not appealing though.  He loves orange, but this combination and the layout don't work for me.  Sharon showed use some alternative designs, so I thought one of them might work.    The bow tie blocks are 6 inches finished, and I didn't want to make any more or the finished item would be too big.

This layout, x's and o's layout, is much nicer, though that darker orange for the border is not going to work.

With the additional of narrow, darker border and a print for the outer border, I have something i can love.  Once it's layered up with batting and backing, I'll be back to the manual to finger out stitching in the ditch and then free motion quilting.

You're probably wanted to ask what machine I went with. A Janome Horizon.  It has the largest opening for machine quilting.  My mom has three Janomes so it made sense to go with the same brand.  She'll be my go to for all operational questions.Yeah mom.

I am planning to get this done quickly, so I can move back to the other orange quilt with all the half square triangles.  yes, they are the same orange fabrics.  The pieces were still sitting on my cutting table when Sharon told me which supplies I needed for her class.  Why press more fabrics when I had ones at hand.  I still have the orange fabrics out, so I expect at least one my small orange project before putting them away or using them up.

I finished the first pair of purple and green fittens. (shown in the upper left). Great stripping.  At my bee, I showed these to the other ladies and some of them are quite interested in stitching their own pairs.  They were asking about the pooling of the colours.  There is a good article on colour pooling on the Red Heart site including a list of their yarns that might/should work with the technique.

The second pair of slippers that I started are one size larger than the first, that is eight more stitches.  The colour change happens about every 9 stitches resulting in a very slow shift of colours in the second pair. Quite a different look.

I would be interested in seeing any of your colour pooling projects/attempts.  Add the link to Mister Linky (new or old posts are welcome).

Nothing like a new project or an exciting turn of stripes to add excitement and to revitalize a stalled stitching mojo.  A new sewing machine is extra invigorating.  That should keep me going for ages, now just imagine when I take my new serger out of it's box....

Needlework Tuesday is a regular weekly post where I share the progress of my various needlework projects over the past week. I enjoy the encouragement that I receive from my readers and in return visit their blogs and cheer them on with theirs. You are welcome to grab the cute little mouse and create your own Needlework Tuesday post. Leave a comment with a link and I'll be sure to visit with you.

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