My First Finish, Learning with Bernina

My mum bought a Bernina Activa 130 about 12 years ago. It's basic and deluxe at the same time, and really has all the features I could ever ask for in a machine. The tension is always dreamy, the motor is quiet, the feed dogs drop down at the press of a button (I just learned that) and it memorizes the first button-hole you sew and then makes them all the same size after that. It is super sweet of mum to let me borrow her Bernina for weeks on end, but I still mourn the days when I have to return it. My machine is a 1990s Singer that refuses to cooperate even with the simplest task. It balks at seams longer than five inches, creates a tangle when put in reverse, has sloppy tension no matter how carefully one checks and adjusts, and the thread breaks all the time. I do remember when it was working fine. I was in elementary school and then junior high, and I was allowed to mend horse blankets with it. Probably I killed it with that treatment. Horse blankets weigh about 100lbs (well, maybe 15lbs), use cordura nylon, wool, batting and thick webbing straps, and always smell even when they're clean. Poor Singer. No wonder you hate me now.

This is my first quilty finish ever. "Peachy"





I did a little strip of piecing on the back. I almost like it better than the front.



The binding was a labour of late nights, but worth the effort.

I'm hoping to get a free motion quilting foot for Bernina this week, when the parts man is back on deck at my local sewing machine store. With my first finish, the Peachy coin quilt, I didn't know how to lower the feed dogs and had the regular presser foot on. The end result is fine, but it was one of the most arduous sewing tasks ever, and of course there are little puckers that caused frustration. Hopefully quilting the Cats & Birds quilt I've pieced for my boyfriend's sister will go much more smoothly.



My arduous quilting adventure turned out OK, but I don't recommend right angled turns.



The top of the second quilt. I'm calling it "Cats and Birds" and I imagine that they're in a garden with a lattice fence.



The back is quite plain, but does have a 1/2 yard piece of super cute owl fabric. "Spotted Owls" by Alexander Henry.



Just some close-ups of 2 blocks.



Fabricland eked a good deal of money out of me this weekend as they had a 50% off everything sale. I have "Warm and Natural" batting for 3 queen size quilts, bamboo stuffing for the making of fun little creatures, fabric for two dress patterns I bought in the spring (some at $1/metre!) and some really fabulous solids and prints to round out the fancy fabrics I got online this summer when my quilting frenzy started. I'm even a proud quilter with real olfa tools now too, which were also 50% off! How cool is that. No more painful scissoring!



After getting all this pink, I need a girlie girl to sew for! The top fabric is an espresso brown, not black.


The ice blue didn't come out that well in the photo, but it's very pretty.