I've had a good day so far but a good time for a break. On Saturdays we pick up milk from the local dairy (about 5 miles by road) and is about time to do that.
I made a test block and am happy with the results. Cranky Bernie, the Bernina 820 had it's final part blow out and I'm not getting it fixed again. I bought a semi-industrial straight stitch Juki a couple of months ago and am still getting used to it. I'm really used to a "quilter's foot" (that is, not the walking foot but the 1/4" foot) and the Juki edge is a scant seam allowance. Between cutting slightly large and the seam allowance, I will have a bit to trim off but that's ok.
edit/ps: I have rules for each of my fabrics, and the test block is a fabric that breaks the rules but not by much -- it should have a white blackground with black print, but this is a predominantly white print with black background. I'll use it for this step but later I will replace a 50/50 black and white (needs to be washed).
Goal is to have the blocks done by my Tuesday sewing group, and to do the trimming there as a portable project. Some of my techniques I have developed over the years just so I do have something portable for my sewing groups... For me doing the cutting large and trimming down gives me actually faster sewing. While I used to consider trimming down an extra step, now it is just part of the process and over all time spent is about the same whether I am fast and furiously slicing and dicing, or whether I am being super-precise. But the cut large techniques often save me when I have been sloppy!
So here's a couple of pictures, one is my test block. It will look weird to you all, because I'm using my Neutral is black, my Pink is White on White, and my Ice is Black and white. I don't worry about the dog ears because it all gets trimmed down.
The other shot is a bigger shot of my sewing desk, it is huge! I got it from an estate sale for cheap, the height is adjustable and the sewing machine opening was big enough for Cranky Bernie (not all are!) I still need to make some adjustments to get the new machine in, so for now my table is a bit low and the machine is on top and not really where I want it. I really like being able to use the knee option but that doesn't fit so well quite yet. I think it was a custom job, probably a Boeing Surplus drafting desk with a sewing machine lift added in. It also has a really nice power bar wired in.