UNVEILING OF MY NEW MACHINE

Juki HZL-F600 Full Sized Computer Sewing and Quilting Machine

I did not even start out wanting a Juki.  I have heard nothing but good things about juki's and when we left the Janome Shop in Texarkana, I just went on line and searched out what I was looking for.  

The below picture is the reason I purchased this Juki besides the price tag.

See the number six?  Just a tap of the button.  My Pfaff you enter in two numbers and truly it was no big deal to do this.  The Janome I was looking at you had to punch in, well...let's say I stopped counting when he hit the button more than four times.  I just want to go from one to the other.

Here is a practice pillow top, using my Island Batik Fabrics, of course.

I chose one of my patterns that would use every feature I would need.  The quilting on this is fabulous, the stitches look great.  The thread did not break, that was a great big plus.

My pfaff the presser foot just goes down automatically, that is a nice feature.  This one you have the lever in the back.  Still no big deal, I just put the knee lift on and well...there you have it.

I do not need or want the decorative stitches, nor did I want a machine that does straight stitch only.  I just need the straight stitch, blanket stitch, and quilting abilities.  There you have it.

I love the lighting on this machine, the table that comes with it.  I folded a piece of fabric eight times and it just hummed over it. 

Simple.

With every machine there is a learning curve and once that is over we will sing songs of love.

Still love my pfaff but will be selling her.

What machines do I have left?

Juki

Pfaff embroidery machine

Pfaff (lifestyle)

Nicce

White serger.

My daughter in law asked me how many machines do I need.  One day I will answer that question without rolling my eyes.

So what do you have and what is your favorite.

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This is the last week of "The Great Outdoor" blog hop, still time to win amazing fabrics, thread, patterns, tutorials, etc.

WEEK 1

Monday, August 6 – All A Flutter
Yellow Cat Quilts, Creative Blonde

Tuesday, August 7 – Birds N’ Bees
Ark Angel Creations, Patterns by Jen

Wednesday, August 8 – Canterbury Manor
Sally Manke, Powered by Quilting

Thursday, August 9 – Eclectic Garden
Desert Bloom Quilting, Sew Karen-ly Created

Friday, August 10 – Vintage Morris
MooseStash Quilting, Devoted Quilter

WEEK 2

Monday, August 13 – Safari
Sew Incredibly Crazy, SweetGrass Designs

Tuesday, August 14 – Spring Blossoms
Mary Mack Made Mine, If These Threads Could Talk

Wednesday, August 15 – Victoria and Albert
Bejeweled Quilts, Clever Chameleon

Thursday, August 16 – Wild Things
Freemotion by the River, Kauffman Designs

Friday, August 17 – Petting Zoo
Den Syende Himmel, Sarah Goer Quilts

WEEK 3

Monday, August 20 – Ocean Odyssey
Toby Lischko, Karen Overton

Tuesday, August 21 – British Rose
Busy Hands Quilts, Mania for Quilts

Wednesday, August 22 – Dear William
The Inquiring Quilter, MMM Quilts, Living Water Quilter

Thursday, August 23 – Dragonfly Dreams
Inchworm Fabrics, BeaQuilter

Friday, August 24 – Fur-ocious Friends
Quilting Affection Designs, Dizzy Quilter

WEEK 4

Monday, August 27 – Globetrotter
Pamela Quilts, Curliecue Creations

Tuesday, August 28 – Jungle Cruise
Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting, Little Bunny Quilts

Wednesday, August 29 – Lavendula
Carole Lyles Shaw, Masterpiece Quilting

Thursday, August 30 – London Calling
Quilt in a Not-Shell, Lizard Creek Quilting

Friday, August 31 – Spirit Rhythm
Steph Jacobson, Whispers of Yore

WEEK 5

Monday, September 3 – Sweet Tweets
Kathleen McMusing, Adventurous Appliqué and Quilting

Tuesday, September 4 – Whatnot
heARTS Creations, Slice of Pi Quilts

MY TAKE ON FMQ USING A LONGARM OR A DOMESTIC SEWING MACHINE

Here is my pfaff.  Those who have been part of my blog from the beginning know that I have gone from a Bernina, Janome, pfaff, Janome, and back to a Pfaff.

I started out doing meandering on my Bernina even doing a king size quilt.

I had a Pfaff midarm in San Antonio, and now I have this Bailey Home Quilter.

I have found that I do not like to quilt on my longarm.  I don't mind doing meandering, swirls etc but nothing intricate.  I feel I do not have enough control.  I need a stiffer arm.  I felt the same with my mid arm.  I do like the long arm when I want something done in a hurry.

In fact, I am not much of an intricate quilter.  I have too much nervous energy and want it done and want it done now.  I tend to get bored.....I think I have issues with my mind wandering and my self wandering from project to project.

That being said, I was asked how I did the FMQ on this piece for Wendy's hop next week.

                                      


I did this on my pfaff that you see above.  I did not use any gadgets or devices.

It is far from perfect but I am happy with it.

You will see below how I formed the circles.

I took freezer paper, took a small plate and drew around it.

Then I placed the shiny side down and ironed it onto the fabric. 

Next was just taking my foot and sewing next to the circle.  Then I just put my foot next to the sewn circle and went around the inside.

Then I found a smaller circle and did the same thing and an even smaller circle for the center.

After that was done I just filled in the spaces with what ever took my fancy. 

I have to say I had a fun time doing this, and come next Friday you will see that I did this six times.  I even said to myself that I was surprised I stuck with it for so long and if I could do this six times then I could do this on a quilt.  So maybe I am getting more patience?  

Who knows but I do enjoy the process and I do enjoy doing these things on my domestic machine.  Now the pfaff above has a longer neck but like I said, I have done king size quilts with just the regular neck.

So what do you prefer to do?  Use a longarm?  Or do you find the comfort of your domestic machine?

I always thought free motion quilting was just that, you guiding the machine to get a desired effect.  I don't know if you will call it free motion when you have the machine doing all the work, the program ones?  I don't know...any thought?

WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Every since I had watched "The Quilt Show" and hearing Ricky Tims (no, I am not in love with him) talk about the Bernina and how it stitches more times in the blanket stitch than other machines. Well...that stuck out with me.

So....I got my Bernina back from the shop. She has been ill since Samoa. Infact, I only got a good 3 years out of her. Not happy about that. They said she was dirty in the panel and yes....in the bobbin area (so I am embarrassed). That salt air did not agree with her and I believe she has to go back into convalescence.....she is still not well.


That being said....A friend was using my pfaff yesterday and so I was using the Bernina....thank heavens or I would not know she was not well.

I did see what Ricky Tims was talking about. Look below at this picture. As you can see, the first one is the stitches by Bernina (activa 230), the second is the Horizon (Janome), the third is the Pfaff ( 2058). Which one do you like best?

This picture blow is from the Pfaff...
this next one is from the Bernina...............don't you just love it?
I will say that using the Horizon to do blanket stitch is a chore, therefore, I use my Pfaff for all blanket stitching. I love the Pfaff because it is a breeze to do the blanket stitch, no forcing, juggling, it just does what I want.

Bernina on the other hand for me is a chore as well. I do know that I need to get use to her and her wild ways. It also takes longer to blanket stitch (that is obvious), I could have had what I am doing in the pictures (you will have to wait until December 17th to find out what I am doing)....well...I could have had this done and quilted in the time it has taken me just to do the little bit I have done.

But.....to be fair....Bernina decides when she is tired and she just stops sewing. So I turn her off...either go and do something else and come back or wait a few seconds and she will start up again. So...she needs more convalescence time. Really irritating when you want to get something done.

So....what do ya think? Any opinions out there?

Every since I met Judy from Sew Fun Quilts and her Sister, Fabricartist21, in San Antonio while still in Samoa, I have wanted a 300e and I have been searching ebay and hounding my dealer for good deals. Does anyone have a embroidery machine that they truly love, my mind can be changed!

My mother is visiting and she is doing this.....

All I can say is THANKYOU!!! BEVERLY!!!!! and if that sounds like a nice thankyou, it is not!!! You have spoiled our mother bad bad bad. She keeps saying "if Beverly were here, she would fix this for me," If Beverly were here......do you know how any times she has said that???????? Okay, so I am not you Beverly..... I keep telling her that I don't want to spoil her fun. (this all being said in fun)

Now that being said, I have ripped out and ironed for her but I am not taking over the project!! No more spoiling Beverly!!! Do you hear me????



While she is working on that with Mr. Pfaff....I made this with Mr. Big Guy....



and this....which is now hanging in my bathroom!



I have made headway with my powersuit challenge...I am excited about that....and started another embroidery project....someone should get strung up by their fingernails for getting me hoooked on this but the problem is I can string up the lot of ya!