It's On Now!!!!!!!!!

Yes, it is on and in the quilting zone! I got up this morning and went straight to my sewing machine. Wow! This feels great!!. Oh, almost forgot to mention that today is my Earth Day.
Happy Birthday to me.
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday dear Myraaaaaaaah,
Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!
So.... I feel even better that I am giving back for a good cause on my birthday

Alright, back to the business of quilting. I should give a little machine quilting 101. Okay, I use "The Bottom Line" thread on the bobbin. I love this thread on my bobbin because it is strong and thin and allows me to load three times the amount in relationship to other types of thread. The other great thing about "The Bottom Line" is that it comes in numerous colors. Some quilters don't like it because it is not a natural fiber. It is a polyester material. You know from the last post what thread I am starting the quilting with.

The Way I Free Motion Quilt
1. I drop the feed dog.
2. I set my stitch tension to a comfortable position. I think it is a mental thing :-) (Really, the stitch tension doesn't really make a difference since you will moving the fabric through the machine at will.)
3. I don't use gloves or fingers or any device to help keep the quilt from sliding through my finger. I just use my bare hands. Love the feel of the cloth.
4. Then........I just go for it. I get a comfortable speed so that everything is in sink; my hands with my mind and my foot and my gut. I almost get into a meditative state. It's like nothing else around me matters. It's just me the quilt and the my machine; which is and older version of the Bernina family called the Quilter's Edition. They don't make them anymore, but it is one of the most sturdy machines that Bernina has ever made. That's what the man who cleans my machine told me.
5. Oh yeah, almost forgot, even though the rythem when free motion quilting can feel great without dropping the feed dog can feel exceptionally well, ALWAYS drop it when machine quilting. I almost lost old faithful  because I got in the habit of machine quilting on it without dropping the feed dog. I ran well for a good while. Then it started making a loud noise. Finally, the machine just stopped. When I took it to the mechanic, he asked me if I had taken it apart and tried to put it back together myself because he had never seen any machine in such bad shape. I said ,"No" and after a number of questions we realized that I had injured the timing mechanism by pulling the quilt across the feed dog. The repair cost me over $ 200.00. I was able to save my baby; the Bernina that is LOL.

I'll report again on the process of the quilt once I get to Quilting Phase 2. I still have to upload the radio program shows, "Voices of Art". Maybe later on today I'll get to at least 1 of them. I'm going to spend some time with my Granddaughter. She's taking me to lunch for my B-Day!!!!!!