OKPeri's Place: February 2009

Monday, February 23, 2009

It's Bernina Time!

I finally came to my senses and quit fooling around with other sewing machines and bought another Bernina!

JudyL had a discussion on her blog last week about sewing machines, and which one she liked to sew on, etc. Well, I have been thinking about that and have come to the conclusion that I was making better looking quilts with less trouble and all of my seams matched when I was sewing with a Bernina.

I had an Bernina 830 for years and when I started quilting I traded it in ( I know, don't fuss at me, lol) for a 150 Quilter's Edition. Never did like that one. For some reason it was never comfortable for me but I did sew some pretty quilts on it. I sold it last summer because it was just too heavy and I had sewed through my finger with it one day..scared the you know what out of me...and never was able to feel totally at ease with it after that. Besides, did I really need it with the Janome and the Pfaff I had, why no, of course not, lol.

Then I sold the Janome Gold that I had to a friend of mine for her daughter to use to learn to quilt on. I wasn't using it, seemed like the thing to do at the time, lol. Two weeks later I started going out to sew once a week and realized I had goofed.

I had heard so much about how great the Pfaff was with the IDF foot, so I bought a 2046 (I think that is the number) of those several years ago, it gave me a lot of trouble, and I finally traded it back to the store and got a 2056 when the came out. It sewed pretty well for maybe 3 months and ever since then I have had so many problems with it. I have had it looked at, etc, and finally, a lady told me what was probably wrong with it but I would have to take it to Enid to have it fixed. That is a lot of trouble. Plus, I don't think the quality is there.

I bought a Babylock Quilter Pro (only does straight stitching) to do machine quilting with 3 years ago. So far I have sewn on it twice and both times had problems with the tension. I don't have patience for stuff like that. One of these days when I make something small and have to quilt it, I will figure it out maybe. IF I can remember what I figure out...that is always a problem.

I bought a Janome Diamond (I think that is the name of it) last year, it is the small machine and just perfect for classes and a joy to sew on. You can't hurt it, BUT, I can't get a scant quarter inch and as a result have to rip a lot.

If I want to do a blanket stitch, that is a nightmare on either one of them. So I finally set down and thought about this problem and decided to bite the bullet and go back to what I know sews well and sews like I like.

I did not buy an expensive Bernina....I told the lady I wanted a good quarter inch, a good blanket stitch and a satin stitch I could make wider or more narrow as I stitched, and that is exactly what I got. Even with my eyes bothering me, my stitches are straighter and my seams are scant quarters, and even the blanket stitch looks good. I am a happy camper! And to top it all off, it is pretty lite as far as weight is concerned, so I can lug it around.

I still have my little Janome for a backup and the Pfaff for whatever. I never thought the day would come that I would own 4 sewing machines, but that isn't many from what I can tell for someone that quilts, lol. I do not intend to buy another one anytime soon. I just want to be able to sew a block without having to take out the stitching all the time.

I am as happy as a pig in sunshine, lol.......and just about as fat!

She Did It Again!

My poor grandaughter! Katy, the youngest grandchild has cystic fibrosis. One of the problems that these children can have is "brittle bones". Normally this is a condition that they have sometime in their lives, but not at 5 years old, which is how old Katy is.

Well, her mother just called me from the hospital. She has broken her left forearm in two places! They had to sedate her but have it set and this time did not have to put a pin in. For those who are new to my blog, this is the third time she has broken her arm in approximately 1 year. The other two times were on her upper arms and I believe she has a pin in both of them.

In case you are wondering, she broke the first one while she was playing with the neighbor children and a bee was buzzing around and she fell off of a picnic table. The next one happened when one of the neighbor girls and she were printing off something on the printer and she was standing up in an office chair and jumped out...oops!! This afternoon she was sliding down a slide at school with a friend and fell off I guess. Dana didn't give me all the details.

As I told Dana, Katy doesn't seem to have be afraid of anything. We are all ready to wrap her in bubble wrap or sedate her until she is 18, lol.

I know Dana and Mark (her parents) are in a state of shock....I am for sure. Tests were scheduled tomorrow for some other CF problems she is having. Those have been cancelled for now but I am sure the problem with the brittle bones will be one of the ones that get addressed fast. Hopefully there will be something that will help this condition.

The past two years during the fund raisers that happen in May and June for CF I have had a quilt available for chances. Two years ago I made one and last year Cindy made one. Dana and I had talked a couple of weeks ago and decided not to do it this year. Her job is just too busy right now and I don't have a quilt made for it. Anyway, what I am getting at is remember CF when you want to donate to a charity. These kids really need all of the help they can get. There is no cure for CF as of yet.

On a better note, Aud went for doctor's followup and she is doing much better. He is well pleased with her progress.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Star BOM

I am so excited! I am finally caught up with JudyL and the Star BOM she has been hosting for the last several months. I am very pleased with the way my blocks have turned out. Only one more block to go, and then we get to put it all together.

This is block 4; I was not happy with the first one I did, so I remade it this week and it goes much better with the other ones.

Update on Aud

Thanks so much for all the good wishes and helpful comments about my mother, (I call her Aud). We have managed to get through a few days of this and seem to be getting in a groove of sorts.

Aud is feeling much better, even though all of her bruises are itching and they are driving her batty, lol. I told her she didn't have far to go.

I know she is feeling better because she got on to me about throwing something in the recycle bin that shouldn't be in there, lol. Oh well, that means things are getting back to normal.

I am looking forward to a little quiet time today I hope. I have my blocks caught up for the Star BOM I am doing with JudyL so I get to work on something else for a change.

Here's hoping we all have a great week ahead of us!

Star Block 12

This is Star Block 12 I am doing with JudyL.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Another Lost Week or More

Well, I could not tell any of you what has happened to this month so far. It is almost over and I have nothing to show for it except some BOMS I am trying to catch up on. They are in individual posts below this one.

I had to put Audrey in the hospital last Thursday and everything has been a blur since. She had a blood clot in her groin and they finally let her come home yesterday. They also put her on cumiden which distresses me. That stuff is really bad. It thins your blood and you have to be very careful what you do and what you eat. The blood clot will hopefully dissolve soon.

She has some hideous bruises on her stomach and her arm where some idiot lab technician that didn't know what they were doing tried to give her a shot and tried to draw blood. I have filed a complaint about them, which I am sure will do no good. However, hopefully somewhere down the line it will show up in her records and they will be more careful.

She is on a low sodium and restrictive potassium diet which is rather stringent. We have decided the best thing to do is buy her some TV dinners that meet those requirements because she is eating like a bird, and doesn't really eat enough to make it worthwhile cooking for. Both of us eat cereal for breakfast and peanut butter and crackers for lunch, so that is only one meal, which won't be too bad.

I am still having trouble with bronchitis which doesn't help the situation either, lol.

So, here we are, puttering around the house, and trying to come to terms with the new diet and restrictions placed upon her. She is ticked off to say the least, her words are......this is not my body! It doesn't act this way!!

I think she will be fine, she just has some adjusting to do, as do I. Hope all is good in your world, and your week is going well.

Catching up with BOMS

This is Block 5 of the Simply Sophisticated BOM. I have to keep these caught up because Vicky and Fat Quarter Shop have this thing going where you can win a $25.oo Gift Certificate every month. That is a good incentive I think, lol. Thank you Vicky for hosting this, and thank you Kimberly for providing the gift certificate.