New foot

I have a new machine foot, a free motion couching foot for the Bernina 440 and can't wait to have a practice run with it.

Machine clean

How often do you give your machine a clean? With all the stitching I do, it doesn't take long before my QE440 Bernina sends me a little message, when it is ready for me to clean and oil the bobbin race. It's a simple take apart, clean, oil, reassemble and the machine is soon purring away again.

New bag

I had this great fabric, printed with skulls, leftover from the 'Fiesta de los Muertos' quilt, so decided to make a new tote bag for all the bits & pieces needed at meetings. The Bernina machine programmed embroidery stitches, in bright rayon & multi-coloured cotton threads, have had a workout.

The handles are black fabric with a thin strip of wadding for softness & lots of the programmed stitches.

Indian Summer

Yesterday I finished a small quilt 50cmW x 35cmL titled 'Indian Summer' & posted it to Bernina for the Textile Tattoo Challenge, which Bernina friends were invited to enter. Selected entries will be photographed & transferred to the front of a Bernina sewing machine, making an individual statement as a tattoo does. Above, the first stage- dye painted cotton fabric.

My collection of Indian wooden, printing blocks added another layer, after they were rubbed with Shiva oil paint sticks.

Detail, below is from the finished piece. I have used some of the programmed machine stitches, free motion quilting & some hand painting of textured areas. I'll post the full quilt once results are announced. Blog is late today due to server problems this morning.

Studio reveal

The extra design walls that I have been waiting for were put up over the weekend & I'm happy to show you the improved version of my studio. Also it will probably never look quite as uncluttered as now!

I have 2 quilts made by Mexette friends on the small right hand side wall near the door as you enter.

We will do a scan around the room in the next couple of posts.

This is a nifty kitchen hanging rail for tea towels from Ikea, re purposed to hold my most used, daily items- quilting gloves, scissors, notebook, pens, tape measure- now they won't be lost under quilts on the table.

When I moved my sewing table away from the wall, I freed up an area for a design wall. It is canite, a soft particle board which I've covered with white flannelette, just pinned on. The book case holds threads, yarns, buttons, Bernina accessories & books etc. The fan & reverse cycle air conditioner unit make my studio usable all year round.

Bernina Galleria book

This beautiful publication arrived in my mail box the other day. Galleria of Machine Artistry and Quilting, published by Jenny Haskins, features the work of Bernina friends who were asked to create a piece of work in their style for the launch of the Bernina 8 series machines. Kim Bradley was the winner but all the Australian entries are featured in the book with a pattern for the quilt on the cover.
These are my pages with my quilt 'Captiv8ing'

Bernina 8 series

Deborah Louie is the Bernina demonstrator that you will meet at the Craft & Quilt Fairs this year. Check out her wonderful quilting if you have the chance. 'Antique Floral Keyline Number 2' was her quilt at the Sydney Quilt Show which won a fourth in the Mixed Techniques- Anything Goes category.

I was lucky enough to have a play sew on the new 8 series Bernina which has many more features designed especially for quilters. But they still don't make you a coffee!