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Getting to know her.....






during the past couple of months when i all but disappeared from the blog world a lot of things have happened in our household, most pretty boring but some exciting 

one of them was the introduction of a new member to the family


her lines are sleek and smooth



she is shiny and oh so clever



she has some lovely curves as well





she is solid and reliable



and because she is oh so ultra modern and so very solid, stable and (i hope) reliable i have chosen a very old fashioned name for her
( you guys all remember that i have a weird thing about naming almost everything don't you......???
it makes it so much easier to curse something that has a name.....lol)

Victoria

Victoria is a Bernina 550 quilters edition, she is actually, according to the manual a sewing computer and well yes she is computerised but i think Matilda (my mac laptop) might be a little offended with that comment 

anyway
so far we are getting along pretty well

although. . . . . . . . .

i recently attended a workshop and thought
here we go a good way to get to know my new machine

ummmm not a good idea
BEFORE you go to the workshop . . . . get to know . . . .  your machine. . . . .  a least a little bit . . . . lol

okay well the workshop was with Pam Furniss and the goal was to make a little quilt using a variety of techniques and in the process get to know your machine and what it can do 
so we started with a quilt as you go technique (which i wish i could show you but i was a very bad blogger and didn't take a photo)


then we used our decorative stitches to stitch over the seams using a similar coloured thread
i loved this it was like. . . . . . ahhhh. . . . i'll pick this one and then . . . . . ohhhh i want to do that stitch
heaps of fun

you really should try this you see the quilt was all together all three layers so the decorative stitches was the quilting
Pam showed us lot's of examples of how the decorative stitches make even the most mundane quilting look brilliant



then we  stitched some curved lines and then needed to do some satin stitch fancy stitches over them
now this is where Victoria and i hit some difficulty

you see you have to make sure your tension is perfect . . . . 
 you know, no back thread at the front, no front thread at the back  
and since i had black on the back, silver on the front it was very noticeable
and well Victoria wasn't behaving according to expectation 
also to me a satin stitch has the thread laying side by side as above, and Victoria's default setting had the satin stitch looking like a very close zig zag 
( easily fixed, but it really annoyed me on the day)
and when i received the comment 
ohhh it might need a service i almost went through the roof she was only two months old



anyway

when i got home i threw the quilt on the sewing cabinet, left Victoria there still in her travel bag and ignored both of them for a couple of days , then it got the better of me . . .  .

i set Victoria up with a sample fabric and started playing , re read her manual and we did it, we got the tension right




you see Victoria is a Bernina and Bernina's have bobbin cases the bobbin case has a little arm and when you do satin stitch the thread should be threaded through the eye on the end of the arm



this done i adjusted the tension appropriately and she sewed like a dream and we have got past our first argument

we also had to blanket stitch lot's and lot's of little circles and flowers onto the quilt with a blanket stitch appliqué  and whilst i had done this before i had never done it to this extent and by the last few circles i got pretty good



well i  think so anyway . . . . . LOL

so all in all this workshop taught me heaps about needles, thread tension, using your walking foot and all the lovely decorative stitches your machine has.


i am a firm believer that you never ever stop learning and i know that there is a lot i have yet to learn in  life and about my craft 



Ohhh and  i just had to show you this 
my very very best friend made this for me, it's a little ladybug pincushion as you can see by the size of the needle it is pretty small, and is perfect to sit on top of the machine
(apparently she used a coca cola lid as the base)



and i also just wanted to show you the detail, she is a wonderful embroiderer and never resists the temptation of stitching on the smallest pieces of fabric

anyway i think i have talked your head off enough for one day,


 i am starting to get writers cramp . . .  .LOL


i hope your hands are working on a project that you love

Ciao



Comments

She is lovely Trish...I can see the pair of you spending lots of time together...
Lyn said…
Have a lot of fun getting to know all the things that Victoria can do...funny how things can seem to go badly wrong with a machine when you take it to a workshop..
Allie said…
Oooooh Victoria is GORGEOUS - so glad you two are working out the kinks in your relationship! I have yet to try all of my stitches, after TEN YEARS of owning my machine, lol...a little quilt sounds perfect. Love that little ladybug your friend made!
quilterliz said…
G'day. Great to read a post from you again.Your machine looks lovely. I too, have a Bernina and even though she has no name, she is reliable and trustworthy and never lets me down.Take care and happy sewing. Liz...
Cardygirl said…
Vicki is beautiful & fun! She will be your BFF...love that pincushion!
Whats with Cardy calling her Vicki......Victoria sounds much nicer........have fun together girls.....

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