Edit: Drat... misspelled the title in my excitement. Please do forgive me as I facepalm.


Hello to everyone! My name's Jenn and I'm a twenty-something newbie quilter. I started my first quilt in October as a gift for a friend and it's slow going, though very satisfying.

My grandmother just gave me her blessing to bring home her old Bernina 530-2 today - I'm hugely excited! Also intimidated, as I've never worked with an older machine before. I've only ever used my Mom's newer Singer. Here's hoping that I can figure things out, oil it correctly, etc. The machine hasn't been touched in a little over ten years, ever since she went blind. It was a gift from her mother in 1958 from Switzerland (her native country) and she used it constantly from that time until the turn of the century. If anybody has advice, please feel free to speak up.

I would say that I'm a beginner at sewing, having only touched a machine for the first time early last year. I mostly make cage furniture for my small fuzzy pets and now have begun to quilt.

Here are a few of the fabrics from my first, ongoing quilting project! I maybe bit off a little more than I could chew for the first time, but it's more my procrastination than anything that delays the project.

Don't worry about getting used to the new machine. As long as you keep the same seem allowance all will be good. Just enjoy the journey. My 4 yr old granddaughter started and made her first quilt before she started to school I'm sure you will do fine. You will get plenty of help from this board.

Hi and welcome to the board from Southern California! It is so nice to have the younger set interested in quilting! We would love to see a pic of your new (old) machine! What pattern are you using those yummy fabrics on? If you need any help, advise, encouragement etc, you'll find it on this board!

Many kudos to your granddaughter! That is no mean feat and more than impressive. I'm delighted to have found a community of quilters to help encourage my newest endeavors.

Jill, thank you! My Mom and I both decided to get into it around the same time, so I paid for us to take a quilting class together at our local shop (Cottonseed Glory). Had a blast! Sadly, my digital camera broke last month and I'm waiting until my birthday for a replacement, but I'll try to get Mom to snap a picture with her phone to share. I'm working on a duck's foot pattern with the fabrics. I'll have to see if I can get a picture of all the half-square triangles involved, too! Something like 500 of the little suckers... at least they're all sewn and now I'm just assembling blocks.

Welcome from Kentucky! Beautiful fabrics!

Hello, and welcome from Michigan!

Welcome from Arkansas!

Welcome from Virginia

Hello, and welcome from Idaho!

Thank you, everyone! Just spent the last hour and a bit cleaning and oiling the lovely old thing. As soon as I turned it on and tested the pedal, my Mom sighed happily at the sound. This machine was in her nursery when she was little and it used to put her to sleep at night. Fond memories!