Black and White

Hi again

I'm quite sick at the moment with sinusitis.

So I'm just working on a black and white quilt for a customer, using the QBOT.

I got up this morning feeling yuck and thought it would be a good project as most of the work is done by the robot.

Hmmmmm .... Things conspired against me. I think it was because I'm unwell. First I pinned the backing on wrong side out on the frame and had to unpin it. Then I pinned it so that the shortest side was the bottom. When I looked at the quilt top I remembered it was directional and had to unpin it again. Luckily I was paying attention.

THEN when I started the robot I had a threading issue which I had to fix. Sigh. But oh well. It's running away happily in the background now and I'm able to blog.

I'm already feeling a bit better thanks to the antibiotics. A few more days and I'll be well enough to tackle the custom baby quilt which was supposed to be next on the list.

Thanks for reading
Jennidee

Michele Turner Visit

Hi everyone,
I've been so busy I forgot to update last week.
This week I had my first visit with Michele Turner who is a professional Quilter in my area who also tutors machine quilters who want to take advantage of her expertise. Michele's business is called Pinetree Cottage Quilting which she runs out of her home in Cranebrook NSW. She has been awarded the Master Quilting award and it clearly shows in her wealth of knowledge.

For me, the best thing about Michele's visit was her advice to me on running my business. I have been practicing long arm quilting for 2 years now so I'm not exactly a beginner and we only touched on technique yesterday. In my next visit on Monday, when I visit her studio we plan to do some more work on the practice pieces.

One of the reasons I really wanted to talk with Michele (other than her business advice) was to discuss the best way to approach custom quilting. She had some wonderful advice for me on a quilt that I have been stuck on for years.

This was the first quilt I put together with the help of a quilting show I was watching on Foxtel. I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the show as it was at least 10 years ago. And that's how long I've been stuck on this quilt. Part of the problem for me has been it's sentimental value. I really want to do a good job on it, even though the piecing was questionable, some of the seams are now pulling apart and the outside borders don't line up.

With all the different blocks and a pieced border I had no idea how to tackle it. Quilt in the ditch just didn't seem special enough for me on this quilt either. But with Michele's help I now have a plan. I won't reveal the approach here as I feel that is Michele's knowledge to share. But I will put up photos of the quilt as it progresses and when it's completed.

I'm really looking forward to my visit on Monday. I already have a few questions for her.

See you soon

Jennidee