Surprise!
Normally, surprises aren’t my thing. I am easily thrown off balance if I am pushed out of my daily routine. However, there are some surprises I welcome. Shortly after I published last week’s post, Blaine’s Sewing Machine Center rang. They fixed my Bernina 990. Hurrah! We arrived the very next day just as the doors were open. Not that I was eager to get my Bernina back home. 🙂 I wasn’t the only happy camper. There must have been a handful of other customers just as eager to pick up their machines. It took just over two weeks to get my machine back. Originally, Blaine Sewing Machine Center told me it would take four to five weeks. No, I didn’t bribe them to jump the queue.
Butterfly Sanctuary
It will come as no surprise that I am back to sewing. First order of business was to finish my Butterfly Sanctuary block of the month. This one is named Flutter.
I’m fascinated by the odd shapes of the blocks. Ultimately, the blocks will be stitched together so that the butterflies head off in a variety of directions. I finished Flutter, June’s block, just in time to download the blocks for July.
Keeping It Reel
Now that I have my Bernina back I can set up for next week’s studio time. I printed out the directions and paper piecing templates for two butterflies and three cats. You can see what I plan on doing over the next week or so by viewing the reel on either Instagram or Facebook
Rainbow Scrap Challenge
The other project I focused on this week was my cat blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I had three partially completed cats, when the Bernina needed to be repaired. They are now done. The following is my favorite:
This coming week I will focus on the final 3 blocks for my Cats in the Attic quilt. They are very similar to the one above, but facing the other way with Siamese cat markings.
I’m ignoring the color of the month in order to create blocks I actually need.
Question of the Week
What surprise has thrilled you the most?
I’m linking up to the following posts:
Yikes, it took two weeks to get a dropped needle out of your machine even though you didn’t sew after dropping it and didn’t actually damage anything? I know the techs have to be fair and work on machines in the order they were brought in for service but that is still hard to swallow. You had a great attitude while your 990 was in the shop. I have a little lint brush tool, might have come with one of my sergers or might have been a purchase from the notions wall at JoAnn’s once upon a time. There is a hole through the handle end of the lint brush that is wider on one side and smaller on the other so you can use it to hold your needle when you’re inserting it into the machine. I always use it when replacing needles on my serger but I think I’m going to start using it with the regular sewing machine as well after hearing what happened to you!
One of the sales people showed me a very similar tool to the lint brush. I don’t trust myself to have hold the brush, push it upwards so that needle gets inserted and simultaneously tighten the needle into place. Instead, I am covering the hole in the stitch before removing the needle and then inserting it.
Despite living in a Boston suburb, the sewing centers carrying Berninas are fairly far apart. There is one an hour north of me. They had been my go to shop. However, when researching the machine it was the owner/tech person who helped me. They don’t really have someone who uses the machines. So, I went to the shop 90 minutes south of me. The person who helped me “got me” and my needs. Also, the shop includes a lifetime of one on one lessons, the first annual maintenance is free and they worked with for a combo cabinet/machine purchase. The wait is worth it for the service.
Hooray for the return of your machine! I get why you would wait for service as it is better to be able to work with those who “get you!” Your cat block is awesome and making the ones in the colors that you need is the only way to go! I don’t mind surprises. My family has surprised me several times which has all been great!
I wish I was more comfortable with surprises. Reminds me of when my SIL gave me a surprise baby shower. Not sure why, but the ruse was that my husband I were to take care of our niece, age two and nephew, age 11 months. I must have been 8.5 months pregnant at the time. I had no idea. Dressed for babysitting in maternity jeans my husband’s flannel. Arrive at the house and discover everyone else dressed for a party. Think I spent the 45 minutes on the way moaning about not feeling up to sitting for two VERY active children. Admittedly, the shower was lovely. I was appreciative, but very embarrassed about how I was dressed.
What I love is how flexible the RSC is, at least the way you and I approach it. The cat blocks are fun.
Your cat block is so cute. I just LOVE teals. I’ve been collecting the butterfly santuary blocks. They are so cool !
Thank you, Kathleen. Teal is one of my favorite colors. Just one reason why that particular block appeals. Yes, the Butterfly Sanctuary blocks are cool. So very unusual.
Hooray for the return of your Bernina, long before you expected it! I can just imagine the long list of blocks you want to work on – all of them right away! The butterfly blocks are always fascinating to see in progress, and I love your teal cat block, too. You can always work on any colors you need for your project without worrying about judgement from the rest of us RSCers!
To say I was thrilled to get my Bernina back in record time, is an understatement. Not only do I want to make my July blocks, clean up what I couldn’t do last month, but I am very eager to immerse myself in a some thread painting and/or embroidery. So, stay tuned.
One thing I love about the RSC participants is how everyone follows along in their own way.
I’m so glad you got your Bernina back already! You’ve been busy sewing! The Butterfly Sanctuary looks like a fun project. Love your cats.
Me too, Astrid. It is treat to have my machine back. I didn’t know what I was getting into with the Butterfly Sanctuary QAL. I simply can’t resist butterflies. There are actually two different quilts. One is paper pieced, that’s mine and the other is hand appliqué with embroidery on wool felt. There is a group where participants post. The appliqué is particularly stunning.
Hooray for the return of your machine. That butterfly is beautiful. I like seeing the different cat blocks also.
Thank you, Cathie. I’m having fun using my scraps with help from my stash, to make each cat block unique. If the blocks weren’t so intense in the Butterfly Sanctuary collection I might consider doing them again, but as a RSC. In other words, make the primary color of each of the 12 blocks one of the RSC colors and using a sky fabric for the background.
Oh, what a wonderful surprise! I love surprises like this, and all surprises, too 😉 Great to be able to sew, your butterfly and cat are lovely. Thank you for sharing the good news and pretty blocks and linking up.
Some surprises are the best, aren’t they? Thank you for being an inspiration to keep on putting down one stitch after the other.
Great that they got your Bernina done way quicker than projected! Is it purring along now? That butterfly! So stunning! So many pieces. Well worth it in the long run, I can imagine.
Butterfly Sanctuary, run by WonderFil, is quite the intriguing BOM project. Not for beginners. I was surprised by that. Glad I am up to it. Also, thrilled I can start work on July’s blocks soon, now that my trusty machine is back.