Dots and Stripes quilt and new sewing machine

Meet my new "playmate", JUKI F600 ! I have been thinking about a getting a new machine which can do more than just straight stitch like my 'beloved' JUKI TK98.

I collected her last Friday night just before the store closed. I used her over the weekend and am very happy with her features, quality and easy to operate not to mention the price.
The main purpose for buying her is to do more machine applique.  There are so many quilts I want to make that have bigger applique pieces which can be done by machine a lot quicker especially using wool.

I finished a top for a single bed last week. It will be going to Lucinda (my daughter).
I have a lot of strips and dot fabrics and as I like bright fabrics what better way to use them up; well there are still lots of fabric left...

 Close-up of some of the blocks...

 And a bit of fabric shopping at my favourite fabric shop Darn Cheap Fabrics...
I have 2 projects in mind for these; one I already started..

Modern Quilt Finished

 

I have been thinking about my quilting activity this year and it feels that I am not achieving very much.

 

I am still inspired with all the projects I see, I still love my fabrics and tools but somehow I don't seem to be completing very many of the UFO's...

 

I have a little more time to sew but don't always make the best of that time; I spend time on the internet, look at books and magazines, listen to podcasts or watch quilting shows or do other activities not related to quilting or gardening.

 

Perhaps I am not giving myself credit for what I complete as some of my projects are rather large or I waste too much time trying new blocks such as the one below.

 

I realise that using with my scraps can be time consuming as some involves a lot of cutting and sorting and cleaning up afterwards.

 

 

 

So this weekend I finished quilting this top I had done quite sometime ago... I have 'promised myself' that I must do the binding this coming week...

 

 

It's quite a large quilt and the quilting is rather simple... I went as the mood took me...

 



 

 

A quiet spot in the garden....