Mystery Solved

I got some great advice for how to fix the problems with my Juki, so I changed the needle, gave it a good top to bottom cleaning, and checked all the contacts and connections.  Yesterday I loaded a small charity quilt to see if the cleaning made any kind of difference.  It quilted beautifully without a single skipped stitch, BUT as I was quilting the second to the last row a small metal piece dropped out of the machine onto the quilt!  I was focusing on the quilt, so I really didn't notice where the piece came from and I couldn't see any place inside the machine that seemed to be missing a piece, but it obviously came from the machine somewhere.  I sent a few pictures to my friend, Kathy, who has the same machine, asking if she had any idea where the piece may have come from.  She emailed me right back with the answer...it broke off of the hopping foot!  Apparently this piece makes the foot hop as the needle raises, so there's a good chance that  
this little bugger has been the culprit of my quilting problems.  Kathy even offered her hopping foot to me because she doesn't use hers!  Thank heaven for good friends in quilty places!

Binding!

Every Thursday during the summer months members of the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild meet on the Green in town to do handwork.  It's always a fun afternoon and a great way to get some hand stitching done!  Hopefully Thursdays will be nice this summer...my quilts that need bindings are stacking up!

Help!

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My Juki TL-98Q has always been a bit temperamental, but she was really having fits the other day while I was trying to quilt a charity quilt.  I have the machine mounted on a Grace frame with a stitch regulator and was quilting with the same brand cotton thread that I always use with a 100/16 needle.  The quilt was made with regular quilt shop cotton fabric and the same brand cotton batting that I have been using right along. For some reason the machine would act like it was "hung up" on something and make teeny tiny stitches and then it would "break loose" and make a couple of giant stitches before settling back into a normal stitch pattern.  This "hiccup" would also leave a thread snarl on the back side of the quilt.  I tried putting in a new needle, rethreading and changing the bobbin, all to no avail.  Cleaning and oiling didn't seem to help either.  By the time I got to the last few rows of the quilt I switched to a longer stitch length on the stitch regulator and the problem stopped.  I'm not convinced that this was the cause or fix for the problem though because a friend who also has a machine like mine said that she has experienced the same problem, but she does not have a stitch regulator.  Does anyone out there know what might be causing this problem?

Silent Sunday

Unfinished Stories with New Endings

I purchased the book, Unfinished Stories with New Endings, by Gyleen X. Fitzgerald last week when she visited our guild.  I knew when I first saw it that it was a nice book, but after spending a few evenings with it, I have about decided that it's my new favorite quilting book!  Vintage quilts, lovely stories, beautiful photographs, clear patterns for 10 different quilts, and lots of information...it's everything a quilting book should be! 

Table Toppers

It's been a long hard winter for my mother-in-law.  Several seizures and illnesses combined with Alzheimer's Disease has caused a remarkable decline in her health over the past few months.  She has now reached a the point where she no longer requires the locked Alz Unit at her nursing home, so the decision has been made to move her upstairs to a regular room. I thought it would be nice if she had some new things for her new room, so made a couple of quick and easy table toppers for her nightstand and dresser.  With all the different colors, they really help brighten up the new room!

Going In Circles

What a fantastic weekend it was here!  The Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's special guest speaker at Friday night's guild meeting was Gyleen Fitzgerald of Colourful Stitches fame!  Gyleen presented a wonderful lecture and trunk show on color followed by a workshop on Saturday which focused on color and placement.  The workshop may have been titled "Going In Circles", but by the end of the day the only thing going in circles were the quilts.  Gyleen's instructions were so perfectly clear that everyone had almost completed their top by the end of the day.  If you ever get the chance to hear one of Gyleen's lectures or take one of her classes, I highly recommend that you don't miss the opportunity!

Silent Sunday

Done!

Here's the second quilt top that I quilted for my friend, all finished.  This top was much smaller than the last one and the stripes run vertical instead of horizontal like the other top, so I put it on the frame sideways and quilted The Pajama Quilter's "fern ziggle" motif from top to bottom.    I think the design is a good fit for this quilt.  The best part?  Both quilts are now done! I just hope my friend is happy with how they turned out!