loisf

My biggest challenge may have been the first quilted project I ever made. I saw this Christmas tree skirt in the first quilt shop I had ever been in. I thought that I might like to make it and maybe begin quilting as a hobby. I had sewn clothing and curtains forty years earlier, so I had an old machine. I bought the pattern, fabric, cutting mat, rotary cutter, thread - all the essentials - and I started. I cut some fabric and tried sewing half square triangles, but my old Kenmore kept eating the start of every seam. I soon got frustrated and put the whole mess away. Five years later, I visited an old friend in Alaska. She was a quilter with a beautiful new Bernina machine. I was inspired. The day after I returned home, I purchased my Janome 6600 and dragged out my fabric. I still didn't know anything about quilting, like trimming HSTs, but my Janome worked like a dream. I finished my tree skirt. I love it, and I use it every year. I try not to look at all the points that are missing. I've now completed 130 quilts in the past 14 years. I bought a used long arm three years ago, which was another challenge in itself. Now I run the LA with robotics, and I love doing it. This has been a great hobby for me.