Useful chat!

Last week the owner of Sewmaster sewing machine shop in Reading (http://www.sewmaster.co.uk/) came to give a talk on 'looking after our sewing machines' at the Market Square Quilters and show us some of the sewing machines they sell.  Well, as everyone knows who comes up to the farm, I use a £100 Toyota I bought off Price Drop TV (- we'd just got a digi box and I'd never seen shopping channels before so, when a sewing machine came up.........) and, frankly, after 4 years it's driving me mad: jamming, stalling, snapping the thread etc.  So, I decided the £529 Pfaff was the machine for me.  I came home and told Jonathan I wanted it, adding that I have never asked him to buy me anything expensive before.  He answered that just last month he'd bought me a new washing machine and dishwasher.  Lucky girl, me.
Anyway, a few days later I went out to the workshop and thought about what Mr Sewmaster had said - clean your sewing machines abut once a month.  Alien concept but since I can't sew with either of my washing machines, I thought I'd give it a go.  What a surprise!  It would seem that 4 years of lint piling up under the feed dogs can make your machine jam, stall and snap!  My Toyota is running like a dream so the hope of a Pfaff has gone up in (a puff) of smoke!!!

Meanwhile, Delia from Craven Arms joined us at Pitch and Stitch this week and brought her lovely, personalised Hatched and Patched quilts to show us:

Rotten picture I've taken but here's a detail:

Delia made the valid point that since we all buy so much fabric now, it's lovely to be able to make personalised quilts by taking the inspiring patterns in the Anni Downs' Hatched and Patched books or the Art to Heart books, and substitute some (or all) of the stitcheries with more personal pictures.  The above quilt is for Delia's sister and the one below for her son's girlfriend:

 Meanwhile, for the 'Mini Masterpieces workshop on Wednesday, I made an applique hanging of a picture Victoria drew for me when she was about 8 of Jonathan driving through the 'contry':

Which turned out like this -

and if you're wondering where Jonathan is - she only had room for his hat!!