Thursday, March 22, 2007

Coming in out of the cold


I'm not really a squealer. Rarely does a squeak or and shriek exit my lips. I'm not even much of a gasper unless, of course, I discover a taxi bearing down on me suddenly. Or maybe if Tsia is en route to overturning a plateful of, say, syrup all over the carpet. (Not that these things ever happen, mind you.)

And really, that's one of the joys of having a toddler: every little thing gives cause for shouts of glee. Discovering yesterday's toys awaiting you in the living room first thing in the morning is reason enough for joyful exclamation. Snow. Dogs, no matter how many you've already seen that day, are always a perfect excuse. And ice cream? Forget it. Simple exclamations aren't nearly sufficient; you need a Happy Dance as well.

But last night I became a squealer. Just as I had given up hope of package deliveries for the day, the doorbell rang. My new sewing machine had arrived! How quickly can we get dinner made, the kitchen cleaned up, and Tsia to bed? Not fast enough.


Once our jobs were completed, Todd sat down in the living room to read the manual for his own toy, err, business tool as I opened the carton and began my rolling discourse of exclamations: "Whoa: it cuts your thread for you at the end of a seam! In fact, it back stitches the ends of the seams for you as well! Oh my gosh: the food pedal has a retractable power cord! Did you see what this button does? This is amazing!"

Needless to say, I had no idea what I've been missing in the sewing machine universe. And so far I've only tried the straight stitch!

(Oh, and this doll quilt was not made with the new machine. In fact, it was hand sewn and hand quilted. It's the first quilt for Tsia's wall. Great fabric, huh? As I was searching for a link to the fabric--I couldn't find it, sorry--I discovered these fabrics as well. Oh my.)

20 comments:

  1. Oh, have fun! What a fun package - definitely squeal-worthy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The quilt is lovely. Oh, you are going to have so much fun with your new machine. Lucky you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. adorable quilt. i just saw that fabric today at reprodepot.com...
    loves!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I really, really, really, really, really like this quilt. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11:22 PM

    this quilts is stunning...i love it! and hand quilted? i am bowing at your feet while i am typing this. you rock in a major way.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love the quilt - so pretty and what a great fabric you chose.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous3:19 AM

    beautiful. beautiful. beautiful. beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous5:29 AM

    such a beautiful quilt! simple but perfect :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. lovely quilt, and you make me want a new machine!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous9:13 AM

    hurray for new toys! that quilt is really cute. and i didn't even know sewing machines could do such things - but then again, my sewing skills really only warrant an easy-bake-oven level machine, so i'll take one step at a time.

    ReplyDelete
  11. hurrah for your new sewing machine! i would be squealing too... but then again, i am a squealer :)
    and that doll quilt is so lovely. beautiful fabric and quilting!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous9:38 AM

    Oh I just love the quilt. I just made a big fabric purchase but I've been longing to buy the fabric you used. I think I may have to get some of that fabric too. Love the quilt!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous10:54 AM

    Beautiful doll quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your quilt is beautiful! I have the same machine as you do. It's wonderful although it did take some time to get used to the speed!

    ReplyDelete
  15. i LOVE this quilt! wow. congrats on the machine..im still learning how to use my first one..

    ReplyDelete
  16. I bought some of this fabric too - Isn't it fabulous? DO you know who makes it? I should have asked when I bought it...I wish I had bought more now! And I love your colour, mine is different...http://www.flickr.com/photos/soozs/431898870/

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous3:33 PM

    love that little quilt!! too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sooz, the fabric is printed and distributed by Kokka, but I'm not sure who the artist is.

    And Lynn, do you know that you can change the speed of the machine? The lever at the front can be adjusted to go any speed you want. Nifty, hmmm?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous8:49 AM

    Will you do a review of the machine? I've been thinking of upgrading my machine. Hearing about yours makes it so tempting....

    ReplyDelete
  20. I'm still finding new and exciting things about my machine, but the speed control was definitely one of the first things I found! Although you wouldn't think that if you heard me sewing... "Oops! oh well.. OH NO! oh whoops... " Lets just say quilting in the ditch is not one of my favorite things to do. It seems so deceptively easy... but in order to do it well i have to concentrate...

    ReplyDelete