Surprises Come When Least Expected

Well, I got back to Charleston yesterday (in the midst of pouring rain) and checked my messages on the telephone. There was a message from Margiotta's Sewing Store saying that they had a surprise for me. I thought . . well, never mind what I thought. My husband said, "Maybe it's about the sewing machine you won in the $100,000 Quilt Challenge." Duh! So, I called them, and you know what? He was right! So, we went there this morning and brought home a shiny, new Baby Lock Quilter's Choice Sewing Machine. Pretty nice, huh? It sounds good and is pretty easy to use (at least the straight stitch and zigzag that I've tried so far . . .) This is a nice size and will be the one I take to classes. It even cuts threads (which I have become too accustomed to. How lazy can one get?)

Also waiting for me when I arrived home was my quilt that traveled in the Hoffman Challenge 2006 Show. What I want to show you is the Prize Ribbon. Whoever made them, made them from the Challenge Fabric. I thought that was really neat.

And finally today, a minor update on my swamp hibiscus quilt that I'm working on in the mountains. I haven't had a lot of time when I've been there because we've been pulling up carpet and refinishing floors, but I did choose the background I've been looking long and hard for and got the oval sewn in place. I then decided on the yellow frame roping (although technically it will be in the shape of hearts--not rope), fused it down and did the blanket stitch around all of it. When I left, I was working on anchoring down the flower itself. I pinned it on the design wall along with the corner sections I'll be working on next. This is still very much a work in progress, but I'm pretty optimistic . And when I go back in a week or so I'll have a fresh perspective. Who knows what I'll decide to do then!