Good news

I have some good news to share (as you already guessed from the title of this post).  I got an exciting email yesterday to tell me that I had a quilt accepted at QuiltCon.
Here's the overall shot- Thanks to my friend Cy Furlan for the great photos!

And here it is close up-

My sister also has some great news to share- she got tenure at her job!  This is the culmination of years of work for her (grad school, plus 6 years of research and teaching) and also the reason for our trip to Hawaii.

Here we are at the airport.

Aloha!

The day after Christmas, I flew to Hawaii with my mom and my sister.  We were lucky to fly early in the morning, and miss the 8 inches of snow in Pennsylvania!
Our first stop today, after breakfast, was a great quilt shop called Quilt Passions.

We enjoyed the nice selection of batiks and Asian prints, and beautiful samples, including several lovely Hawaiian quilts.  I bought a metallic thread, and a silk thread, because I'd like to try a wider variety of threads in my FMQ.  My sister bought a kit to do a shasiko leaf block, and my mom got some fabric. 

Here's a fun promotion at Quilt Passions:  Whichever bolt is cut first each day is designated "Bolt of the Day" and anyone buying some gets 25% off.  We got there bright and early, thanks to jet lag, so this great blue swirly print my mom chose is Bolt of the Day.

 

We also enjoyed some sightseeing and a walk by the beach.  Here's the beautiful sunset

 

Making progress

I finished piecing the top of what I hope will be the first in a series of tree quilts.

One of my favorite things about this project is the variety of fabrics I used. There's a few thrifted shirts, a skirt my sister had made from quilting fabric that no longer fits me, and some great finds from my friend Linda's de-stashing.

Here's a close-up of a branch.  Curved piecing is time-consuming, but I really enjoy the process.  I think it's neat to see how the pieces come together, almost like a puzzle. 

 

Now I have to plan the quilting.  I'm thinking about a variety of free-motion designs, on a pretty small scale, with black, blue, and metallic threads.  But first I need some more practice since I've mostly quilted crib-sized or smaller projects.

For my next quilt in the Tree series, I think I might use more solids and try to show areas of sun and shadow on the tree. 
I'm linking up to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.

All I want for Christmas is. . . a new sewing machine!

My mom came to visit over the weekend, and gave me the very special gift of picking out a new sewing machine.  It took some convincing to get me looking at new machines, because I have a strong sentimental attachment to Sally, the Singer 237 I learned to sew with.  But Sally has worked hard for years, and now her motor is on the way out. 

I also have Ethel, a lovely Singer 15-91 I bought from Craigslist last spring. I bought this machine because Internet research suggested it was the best vintage machine for freemotion quilting.  It is truly a sturdy workhorse with a very consistent stitch.  However, I have never been happy with FMQ on it.  Ethel has the old style foot pedal, or "button knob controller" to be precise, which I find uncomfortable and not responsive enough.  When I lift my foot, Ethel keeps going for 1 to 2 more stitches.  It doesn't show when I'm stippling, but in a pattern like Paisley, all those extra stitches look kinda messy.

So what I learned from buying Ethel is that reading reviews from other bloggers is only a first step, and there is no substitute for test driving a machine yourself.  I tested the Pfaff Ambition Essential, a few Janome models, and the Bernina 215.  I think that buying a machine is such a personal decision, because everybody has different preferences and does different types of sewing.  I know I will never make a buttonhole, I have no desire to do machine embroidery, and my ideal machine will do 3 stitches:  straight stitch, zigzag, and blind hem for invisible machine applique.  Sturdiness was the most important factor to me, and having grown accustomed to the all-metal innards of vintage machines, the plastic bobbin cases on the Pfaffs and Janomes just seemed like flimsy toys, at least for my needs.  So I decided that the slightly smaller harp size of the Bernina was easily outweighed by the metal bobbin case and sturdy vertical hook.  When I tried the floor model at the dealership, it made a beautiful stitch in free motion with no adjustment to the tension.  Yay!

So thanks again Mom!  I am very excited to roll up my sleeves and learn to use my new machine!

Mariner's Compass block- finished!

In one of my quilting guilds, I signed up for the Secret Sister exchange. It's a great way to get to know people in the guild.  You indicate a few preferences about gifts you like, and give a few little suprise packages throughout the year.  Then, in November, you get to meet and thank your Secret Sister. I knew that my secret pal likes Mariner's Compass blocks, and 30's fabrics, so I decided to challenge myself to paperpiece a little wall hanging. I got it done just in time- our holiday meeting is on Tuesday, so I'll get to meet up with my own Secret Sister!

 

Here's a close-up view of the quilting.  I used Feather Fans, one of my favorite designs from Leah Day's great site.