So Excited!

While I focus my work for the shop on cross stitch and embroidery, I have a long list of crafts I enjoy. I tend to go through crafting phases. One month, I might focus completely on cross stitch. The next month, I might obsess over crochet or sewing projects. And, later, I might be in a crafting void or get interested in something new.

Recently, I've had the urge to quilt. A real, machine quilted quilt. I have only made one quilt before, maybe 12 years ago, as a gift for my boyfriend. It was a very simple quilt made up of squares, plain sashing, and a solid back piece. I had never machine quilted before (and still haven't), so I just tied the quilt. I was so excited just to have completed a quilt - I loved it - and I felt a little sad to give it away. Since that boyfriend is now my husband, I still have the quilt and get to use it!

I've been scouring the Internet (mostly through Pinterest), looking for cute/modern quilting patterns to try out and thinking about color combinations. I usually do lots and lots of "research" before starting a new project, but I know that one thing that has held me back from starting a quilt has been not having a machine I can use for the machine quilting. I don't want to send out my quilt to be quilted for me, but it can be challenging to machine quilt on a home sewing machine. My Brother machine is great, and has more room to roll up a quilt than many other home machines, but I'd like to make a quilt for our Cal King bed and I'm not sure it's big enough for that.

Then, this beauty showed up at my door: Brother PQ1500S High Speed Quilting and Sewing Machine. I am so excited to get to quilting! I feel like I can make masterpieces with this machine. Expect to see some quilted items from me soon.

I think I may love you Brother PQ1500S.