Category: Paper Piecing

Still MIA: what I am working on

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Because my little Viking is still in the *shop I have been keeping busy with a new task.  It is one I have wanted to try but never gave myself the time.

I love it!

This is my quilting table with my latest WIP creation all laid out.

First-Hexigons

They are hexagons.  Each little disk of cover stock was carefully cut out, hole punched and then pinned to a square of fabric.  The fabric was clipped with a generous 1/4 inch + edge for turning under and basting.  Each of the basted hexagons were then trialed into different arrangements until I decided on this one.

After I complete the right side of my layout I will be making half-hexies to allow me a smooth edge for binding.  Then I will be painstakingly sewing the little bits together to make a whole.

The finished item will be approximately 16 inches  wide by 48 inches long.

DiamondbackLooking from this angle I am suddenly reminded of the pattern on the Diamond Back Rattlesnake. This, of course, was unintentional.  Bees also use this shape for construction of their honeycomb!  I find the patterns in nature to be awesome.  Don’t you?

Diamondback snakeA Diamond in the rough…

~*~

*I’ve called three times regarding my little Viking and the repairman (I use the title loosely) says he’s still waiting for a bulb.  😦

And although I am holding out for the repair of my old machine I am facing facts, and have begun a search for a new Viking with these criterion:

  • It will be a fair price.
  • It will use my presser feet collection ($$$!!!)
  • It will be a newer model (from China, I know, but what other options do I have?)

I simply can’t abandon all the money I have invested in specialty presser feet.  So, if I must replace my old machine I will want one that is lightly used and substantially less than the sticker price of a new one!

They are out there.  I just need to keep my eyes open.

OPAL-670.aspxThis one would certainly be nice…  Click on her to see what she can do!

So you’re telling me…

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I was deep, deep, into this project

Pineapple-Paper-PiecedDepending on who you ask, this is either a Paper Pieced Pineapple block or a psychedelic TV test pattern.  😉

When my sewing machine started throwing me little hints…

“GIRL, you need to get me into the repair shop for my yearly dust and clean, and hey, while he’s in there see if the repairman can adjust my “feed dog”.  I’m having trouble moving your fabric under the needle!”

“OK”, I said,  “I can take a hint!”  So setting aside my current project I made an appointment to take her in.  The repair man calls me to let me know she’s ready and I pick her up, take her home, set her up and

no lights!

Not the little bulb that lights up the stitching area nor the computer’s panel light that gives me the ability to see the programs I’ve set.  Grrrrr…

I call back the repair shop and he says bring her back.  When I arrive he tells me that my lights didn’t work when I brought in my machine.  No sir, I said, they did in fact work as I was using the machine last night and early this morning.

He says:

“No, I checked my notes.  The machine has a short in the bulb receptacle and the panel light is burnt out.”

I’m thinking to myself, What a liar,  but told him, “So you’re telling me you found a short in the wiring and you didn’t fix it for my $145.00 that  I paid and  you didn’t tell me about it  before you let me take it home?”  I can see the gears turning inside his cranium as he back pedaled on his statement.

He says:

“Leave it here and I will work on it tomorrow ~ no extra charge.”

My Viking is about 15 years old.  It was made in Sweden, and because all the new machines are now made in China, they are no longer making replacement parts for it.  (but that’s a topic for another day)  So if the computer board goes out I am skunked!  I will have to buy a new machine.

PCB with testpads

PCB with testpads (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Working on computer circuit boards is a tricky thing because you don’t want to build up a static charge and *bork the whole system.  It was hard to leave my friend with the fiend who put out her lights and then lied to me about it.  However, as he is the only tech in town that works on Husqvarna Viking machines, well, what was I to do?

He called yesterday to let me know that he had fixed the short in the bulb socket, and that he had spoken to Viking Inc. about the light on the board.  They told him that since there are no other replacement parts, that they could send him the bulb to solder in and replace the one that had burnt out.

I await the return of my little friend and hope she is once again in good shape for quilting.

MIAMy little Viking – MIA   😦

~*~*~*~

*BORK:   That’s my husband’s Geek Speak for shorting out the works.

 

Photo Friday: I love AutoCAD

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Wanting to make a quilting design I saw today was frustrating when I realized that the pattern was not available.

So, I started a session in Virtual PC, running a seat of WindowsXP, (*edited see explanation below)  and then cranked up an ancient version of AutoCAD.  With a bit of tutoring from Bob (he works with this stuff all the time)  I had my new Foundation Paper Piecing block!

AutoCADI printed it onto freezer paper.

Now I need to choose my fabrics and get sewing!

~*~*~*~

*Note:  As the running of the background programs in a PC world is not my thing… Bob has advised me that I was not running DOS, I was running a virtual PC with a “seat of WinXP”.  Clear as mud; Yes?  I have corrected my error in nomenclature above.  😛