Monday, May 6, 2013

I was reading one of my quilting blogs this morning and they referred to an article about “must-have” gadgets. Naturally I clicked through on the link. Before I’d read very far I noticed an 80% off sale by Janome (Ruby’s makers). The ad referred to the same store as I bought Ruby from so naturally I continued clicking forward. Before I knew it I had found myself a nice little machine that I could use for classes and my Tuesday bees.

This wasn’t a totally sudden decision. I said to Pat on Sunday when he drove me to the Community Quilts bee that I would soon need to replace Pearl (my old machine). It doesn’t wind bobbins properly, and it misses stitches every now and again. The zigzag is very basic and I do a lot of appliqué at classes and the bees and I want a nice stitch.

When the shop opened I gave them a call. The machine I had picked out wasn’t in stock but the salesperson convinced me to purchase another of their machines. She said it is top of the line for its weight. It usually sells for close to $1000 but I paid much much less, although it was $100 more than I planned to spend. It is light, has its own carrying case and has many of the same features as Ruby. There are fewer fancy stitches but I’m okay with that because Ruby will remain my quilting machine.

It is so warm today I can’t imagine summer being any hotter. I’ve got a Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp in the oven for dinner – locally grown strawberries and rhubarb from the garden!