Facing My Fears

That title is quite dramatic, don't you think? Perhaps you think I have some riveting tabloid news-type material to share in today's post. Alas, the dramatic title is simply referring to my reluctance to make myself sew on the Tin Lizzie long-arm machine that's been with me now for 6 months.

Back in November, my dear friend Sharon O. gifted me her barely used Tin Lizzie. I wrote about her generosity here. With the help of our husbands, we brought the machine here in early December. DH and I then assembled it relatively easily. In the intervening months, I have spent some time fiddling with things like tension and attempting to get the hang of quilting. I became aggravated at threads breaking, stitches skipping and improperly formed stitches. It seemed I would never get it figured out. Of course, I needed to have more determination; instead, I'd just close the door and ignore it for another month. I gave up pretty easily, I am ashamed to admit.

Early this month, when all the Frankfort girls went on that shopping trip to eastern Ohio, I spoke at length with a shop owner who knows Tin Lizzies really well. He was extraordinarily helpful with pointing out some obvious tips and offering suggestions that I have been able to use with encouraging success.

The result of this is that I have put two pieces of fabric together with a batting, loaded it onto the long arm, and have quilted with satisfying results. I was just tooling along great until I ran out of bobbin thread. I hadn't thought to load a second bobbin, so I stopped. I should make myself get back to work on it because I was very happy that mostly everything was going along so well.

Tomorrow morning the Frankfort girls will be here for sewing. I need to do a fair amount of housekeeping - vacuum, dust, sweep, etc. Mostly, we have clutter, so a thorough straightening-up is in order. We always need a reason to tidy things up around her. *grin*

It's been awhile since I joined a linky party, so why don't you go take a peek at Kelly's Quilt Infatuation to see her gorgeous churn dash quilt!? I do love those churn dash quilts, and this one is quite striking. Check out the linky party participants, too!

Hope you are having a great day!
Happy Quilting, Friends!