Pre-wound bobbins -- are you in or out?

You know when you wake up and it's one of "those days?" That's how today feels. Thank goodness, I don't have to talk to anyone today! I slept well, but I didn't. Poor little Bear has an ear infection, and he kept scratching it. He has an appointment at the vet today at 5:45. 

Then I seem to be in a rut with those dog quilts. I'll admit that I'm getting tired of them. WAIT --- I can't - I still have three more to quilt. The constant process of making the batting and then the backing is getting to me. And if the backing is tight or the batting is short, that slows the process down even more.  

However, I'm happy to say that number five is quilted. 

Dog quilt - number five! 

The first four are trimmed and waiting for the binding. Number six is loaded on the long arm. The backing for number 7 has only one seam, and it's ready to sew this afternoon. I still have to make the batting for it, but the pieces are on the ironing board. I haven't done anything for number 8 yet. 

I'm going to push through - I need to get them done ASAP. I should be able to complete them by Friday, and then I'll work on the binding, which is an easier task. 

I think that in the future, when I'm working on quilts that require backing and batting, I'll work in groups of four. That seems to be a good number, and I won't feel so much pressure. 

I also trimmed all the half-square triangles that were sewn. 

More half-square triangles are trimmed

And that's all I got done yesterday! Oh well -- that's OK. It was Monday sewing, and I don't always get as much done when I'm on a Zoom call. I know -- I should have been working on my Mom's quilt! I need to get that border done before I forget my little system. 

We were chatting about the use of prewound bobbins for long-arm quilting and machine embroidery. I'm a fan of prewound bobbins in the embroidery machine and have used them for years. They cost a bit more, but seriously? They last a whole lot longer before you need to change the bobbin -- it's worth the slightly extra cost. 

But would I use them in the long arm? I bought some prewound bobbins for the long arm when I initially purchased it. That was many years ago, and I remember giving some of those prewounds away because I had not used them in years. I kept the black ones and have been using them on the dog quilts. Well, I have changed my tune! The prewounds are AMAZING!!!! No need to adjust the tension on my machine. 

And as we were chatting, I was thinking about the bobbins in my bobbin drawer, and guess what? I have a ton of prewounds! 

"Found" prewound bobbins

OK -- not a ton, but a decent collection, and there is a package of colored ones as well (not in the picture), which I need to keep handy for machine embroidery. I'll use these ones on the long arm. Now, at some point in my life, I did a silly thing. The two packages at the bottom, which are green, are Class 15 bobbins, which I can't use in my machines. Seriously? Why would I have purchased these? I used some of the tan ones yesterday and had to rewind them onto the long arm bobbin. Not all of the thread fit because my winder doesn't wind as tight. That's a bit of a hassle, but thankfully, there are only those two packages. 

I can't use these bobbins on my PFAFF creative icon 2 or the Designer Epic 3, as those bobbins are slightly larger. However, these will all work on the long arm. I'm going to contact Wonderfil and set up an account to get them in bulk. This is going to help empty that bobbin drawer for me!

The point is - I have them, so I should be using them! 

Oh, this little guy thinks he's pretty funny! He has no teeth, but DH and now my SIL are teaching them bad habits. The dogs hang out in the kitchen because they get fed scraps (veggies). It drives me crazy. OK -- I've done it once or twice, but Miss Lexi and Bear don't hang around me while I prepare something. Murphy will always be there - just in case! 

Anyway, Bear doesn't have teeth, but that didn't prevent him from stealing a piece of pepper from Lexi's bowl and running off to his bed to eat it. He realized he couldn't, so of course, he left it there, and guess who ate it? There is NO fairness at our house unless you monitor it very well. 

Sneaking food into bed!

Are you familiar with Bernie Tobisch's book? It's a perfect reference tool, and if you're having trouble, there are numerous troubleshooting steps to try and resolve the issue with your machine. While he mainly uses Bernina, the information applies to any sewing machine. 

An excellent reference book for sewing machines

He also wrote this one, which is packed with information. I think this one came out before the previous one. 

Another excellent reference book for sewing machines

When I was at the Saskatoon Quilt Show, I spotted Bernie in one of the Saskatoon quilt shop booths, and he has a new book. I purchased a copy and got him to sign it! He's been a technician for many years. 

Bernie's latest book

What I find today is that people do NOT want to read books to learn anything. They want to watch a video. I get it - I've learned things from watching videos as well, but you can't beat an old-fashioned book with pictures and very explicit information to learn from. You're a visual learner? Well, guess what a reference book is - VISUAL!!!! And if you read it beside your sewing machine, you don't get much more visual than sitting right in front of something! Reference guides, user's guides, and manuals are NOT meant to be read for hours at a time. Read one page, examine the pictures, try out the information on your sewing machine, and then reread the information. Make notes if you don't understand anything. Now you can ask valid questions of your peeps. And I haven't seen a sewing machine guide that didn't have a ton of pictures!   

Anyway --- I'm still a bit grumpy, so I'm not going to go down that road. But it's amazing what the world of books can teach you! Videos are great, but there are other ways to learn as well. 

And here's some food for thought. Tanzania recently held an election. The politics in that country are highly volatile and have considerably worsened with the recent election. We messaged family and Erick (my tour guide), but didn't hear back for days. Why? The country shut the internet down!!! This is 100% true - we heard it directly from people we know and trust. Can you imagine? Let's pray that doesn't happen in North America, but it could! Can you imagine a world with no internet? 

I feel so much for the Tanzanian people -- they are wonderful and so giving, yet they live in such a corrupt country. 

Well, I'm going to try to make this a good day! It will be a good day, and if I need a nap between the appointments, then I'll take one. 

Oh - I forgot to mention that while standing in line at the bank to do a favor for DH, who doesn't like to stand in lines, and I needed something to do in the afternoon, I got a phone call from the groomer - it's only been two weeks. So now Murphy and Bear have appointments this week. And for once, the teller did not tell me that I could have done that type of transaction online! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

PS --- OMG --- Lexi just did something that turned my day around! No time to share -- but I took pictures! That's for tomorrow.