Overdue Upgrades

 Although I am a great fan of new gadgets, sometimes I just seem to keep clinging onto older, less efficient ones. I have a fabulous lapis-blue fridge that I have had for almost 25 years but the seals aren’t great so I have to constantly wipe down condensation on the door. I will be heart-broken when I eventually have to give up on my fridge because I can no longer source any parts. 

Our central heating boiler broke down in March but we still have not done anything about it. An old, granite house really needs some heating all year round to combat damp. This week I ordered a new printer to replace the old one that still works, except that it prints with added streaks and lines. The new printer is much bigger so I needed to make space in a tight corner of my room. When I shifted the bookcase and small table that housed the old printer, I discovered that everything behind them was foosty with black mould so some deep cleaning was required.

It seems that I have finally found a buyer for my 15 year old Landrover - an enthusiastic who will lovingly restore it. Landy’s replacement is a luxurious, 10 year old Volvo estate. I was very specific in my search so it is gold, with cream leather seats and a sunroof. I love the Volvo’s auto gearbox and secretly will not miss the Landy’s leaks, rattles and grouchy gear changes.

I made a few blocks for Nella’s autumn quilt and used the Bernina 1008 for one of them. It does not have a ¼” foot and its standard foot either does what I would call a generous ¼” seam or a scant one. I opted for the scant one but after I did a few more blocks on the Bernina 710, I noticed that the block done with the scanty seams was almost half an inch bigger so the lesson there is to stick to using the same machine throughout a project;)

Although I had planned on making another “movie” on how to construct zippered leaders for the Q24, time got away with me while I was sorting out all of my overdue upgrades. At least I managed to quilt one customer’s hexagon quilt with all-over camelia flowers so I felt that I had spent some useful time out in my workshop.