Catching up.

I've got a few things to post on, it's time to catch up.

First, I got a little present this week! (Well, a present to myself. :P) My local Janome dealer, where I bought my 6600 last year, called this week to say they were having a big sale on the new Horizon 7700QCP. It was a really good deal. So much so that I went there that very day and got one! Because it was on sale, I wasn't eligible for the trade in deal they offer (for one year after purchasing a machine, you can trade in and get 100% of what you paid in trade). But it was such a good deal I didn't care, and decided I'd just keep the 6600 as a backup.

Here she is, all set up in my sewing room.



Isn't she gorgeous? So far she's been great. I am noticing a few things that I've heard about this machine (some issues going over thick seams, etc) but I'm hopeful that Janome will figure out a way to address them. I've loved all my Janomes, and I can't afford the equivalent machine from Bernina, so I'm sticking with Janome for now, and I am sure this will be a great machine. It's been quite pleasant to sew on so far!

In other news, I finished a quilt recently! I never posted about this one while working on it, I have no idea why not! I followed the Scruffily Quilt tutorial from the Moda Bake Shop.











I used Verna by Kate Spain for Moda. I deviated a bit from the tutorial and made my quilt 6x7 blocks, instead of 6x6. I also used a layer cake and two charm packs instead of a layer cake, charm pack, and jelly roll, to save money. The jelly roll called for in the tutorial is only used to make the 2 1/2" center squares for the blocks, so instead I purchased another charm pack (saving almost $30!) and cut the 2 1/2" squares from those. I used the Panache print in Budding Pink for the back, and one of the striped prints from the line for the binding, cut on the bias.

While basting this quilt in my kitchen, my 2 year old daughter was 'helping' me. She told me, "This is the most beautiful blanket, Mommy!" Aww, so cute! Sold! So this quilt now lives on her bed and she loves it. Today, while putting her down for her nap, I asked her if I could take the quilt while she napped so I could take pictures of it. She shook her head and got a worried look on her face, and said, "No! You take my blanket, I cry!" Well, of course I couldn't take it then! I had to wait until after the nap to snap the photos. :)

I am also working on another quilt. In July, during my modern quilt guild's sew-in, I started working on some wonky 9 patch blocks from this Oh Fransson! tutorial.  Today, I finally finished them all up.  I used a layer cake from the Hunky Dory line.  I love this line, and am so happy to finally be using some of my fabric!  I plan on pairing it with Essex linen/cotton blend in Putty, and making the Oh Fransson! Nine-Patch Lattice Quilt.



So that's what I've been up to.  I'm hoping I'll be posting more often and completing more projects soon...my husband started a new job last week and will have rotating shifts...meaning he will be working some nights and some weekends.  This means alone time for me at home, which I will hopefully fill with blogging and sewing!