So… I have Loretta up and going….
After thinking about Betsey or Elizabeth as names for my new long arm, somehow neither seemed to fit. I spent the better part of one day shifting the room around her (again) for easier use and then spend the rest of the weekend timidly trying her out. My partner in crime, Shelle, came over and walked me through the paces the better part of a Sunday afternoon. The machine worked well, aside from some quirks–she doesn’t like cheap thread, her bobbin case needs to have the tension looser than it was programmed at the manufacturer, and the stitch regulator does not play well when you’re working on pantographs. The whole situation reminded me that every Loretta I had ever known was fine and sweet, but the littlest thing could make them go haywire.
Thus the name Loretta.
I’m over the “scare” factor with her now. She won’t break. She’s just a big, ol’, straight-stitch only sewing machine. And maybe it’s because I did some much quilting on a domestic machine, but I find I like free-hand work much better than pantographs. I haven’t tried ruler work, but I did splurge and order some rulers for stitch-in-the-ditch work, applique outlining, and a setting triangle ruler. This afternoon I also got six more yards of muslin and another bat. Shelle told me to set up the machine and turn it on every time I’m in my quilt studio. “Sit and piece for a while, then get up and do a pass down the machine,” she advised.
My FitBit is going to love me. All those extra steps!
Hopefully I will have some pictures up for you folks in a few days.
Meanwhile, I’m still hard at work on The Farmer’s Wife….
And I purchased this nifty, new cutting mat from Martelli.
A good friend of mine had one at retreat. It spins on a base, so it makes squaring up a breeze or cutting out small, complicated blocks really easy.
Have a great weekend…
Love and Stitches,
Sherri And Sam