It's been a productive week again! I tidied up after my SIL left Monday morning and I settled in with the aqua Viridian's Chain quilt under the needle on my Babylock Jazz.
I had a brief detour as the machine became sluggish and the motor was straining. I've experienced this twice before and both times I gave a small drop of oil in a few key spots. It didn't seem to help this time. Hmmmm....
I moved to my piecing machine - the Babylock Lyric - and quilted a few lines. It was working out just fine, but I kept thinking of my Jazz. That's when I decided I needed to get the case opened up.
It is not the first time that I have done this... but I didn't really want to... But since Dave and I have done this together a few times, I was confident about where the issue was. Also, since the Jazz is a fully mechanical machine with no computer to be concerned about, I reasoned that it was no different than working on my mechanical Kenmore that I had for 20+ years.
I found the issue, cleaned up some ugliness from excess lubrication from a previous cleaning/oiling session, and carefully/sparingly oiled the problem area. I put her back together and we were back in business with her humming quietly as I quilted and the motor was not straining.
Woohoo! By the end of the day I not only had the quilting complete, but the binding as well!
This quilt, sans the orange "confetti" that I had auditioned, is calming and reminds me of an ocean breeze. Follow the link to learn about the orange.
I was on my way out the door to do some much needed grocery shopping on Wednesday, when I noticed that I had morning glories in bloom. I ran back in the house to grab the quilt and snap a few pictures while the morning sun was "glowing" on the flower bed. Sadly, that glow was caused by the heavy amount of smoke in the air. :( The smoke is from wildfires burning in the western portion of Colorado and some in New Mexico
It was well worth the pause in the start to my day, even if I did happen to get three mosquito bites as I accomplished the task that took less than 5 minutes! I was quickly off to my morning errands.
After shopping I returned to the morning glories to snap a few more shots, specifically, the pieced backing.
Back in April, I was confused about the "color of the month" and had started with teal. Mid-month, I switched to Red and this is what I made... Since it has aqua in the Hawaiian fabric, I'll count it for August as well. ;)
I finished the hand-quilting as I enjoyed a slow-moving morning... sipping and savoring my tea as I stitched down the scrappy binding.
You can see the smokey haze in the air. For those of us with allergies the smoke is aggravating! I don't have asthma, but I feel for those that are struggling with the air quality.
One last close up of my hand quilting...
I got three more mosquito bites while taking photos again! I'm ready for a heavy freeze to take care of those buggers. You may think I am making a big deal about the mosquito bites... well, I am. I have always suffered from the mosquito bites with severe itching and swelling and they bother me for weeks. Yes! WEEKS! They weep and itch and make me weep.
Earlier this summer, Dave was working with and listening to a friend about how his wife suffers from mosquito bites but found a laser light that zaps them and she no longer suffers for weeks.
Dave didn't immediately tell the guy that I experience the same thing, but did eventually get the info on the light "thingy." We ordered one and it has been a game changer for me. If you suffer like me... get this thing! You will not regret it.
That's all I have for now...
Keep Piecing,
Melva
Linking with:
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That shot of Viridian's Chain quilt on the morning glories is so pretty. I love that red and teal quilt, especially against the mountains!
ReplyDeleteI suffer from chigger bites like you do mosquito bites. I never was troubled by chiggers until we moved into this house, and I cannot step foot in our yard without spraying my feet and lower legs liberally. And if I forget and get a bite it lasts forever!
Funny (but not really) story - I've always sat on the ground to weed or plant seeds, so that is what I did the first spring after we moved here. By the next day my stomach and "underside" had big red welts that I had scratched at during the night. It took me awhile to figure out it was chiggers. ;)
Your laser light for bug bites sounds interesting, never heard of it! Congrats on two great finishes, glad you were able to fix your sewing machine and got it running good again.
ReplyDeleteTwo beautiful finishes, Melva! I love the cool calm of your aqua quilt and the bright energy of the red one. What size are these? We're getting that fire smoke glow, too - usually in the late afternoon. I'm sad for our dry state that we have to deal with this every year. Thanks for the info about the bug thing-y. I, too, am miserable when I get mosquito bites, so I will check into it.
ReplyDeleteWish there had been a laser light for mosquito bites back when I was a child and young adult. We lived in mosquito infested homes back then. Although my bites don't take weeks to calm down, they do take days. So glad you found a solution for yours.
ReplyDeleteLovely hand quilting of red quilt with the Hawaiian fabric.
Oh, cute finish! I like the color choices too - isn't it nice to "quilt by committee" sometimes! People see things that we're just too close to see. Love the Irish Chain vibe this quilt has. And way to perservere getting your machine all tuned up and humming again. Thanks for linking up with TGIFF - love both of these fun finishes!
ReplyDeleteSuper cute finish! That laser light sounds like a great invention. I hope it works as well for you!--TerryK@OnGoingProjects
ReplyDeleteLove love the red quilt. and good for you for hand quilting which is becoming a dying art.
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