Jumping through hoops

I'm curious about novelists - when they write their rough drafts - how rough are they? When I write a rough draft for my blog posts (not this one), they are ROUGH. The spelling mistakes, the grammar, the wild thoughts -- well, I dare not share that with anyone as it looks like a grade school student wrote it! I am very intrigued by the book-writing process - but I'm not there yet. And I wonder if I have the knowledge to write something longer than 2,500 words. 

I have another writing project that I really want to do. It's a personal one, and as soon as I complete the blog posts, I'll start on that. By the way - the blog posts are all about the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3. So you'll learn all the AMAZING features of that sewing and embroidery machine. 

Maybe one day, I'll look into some more serious writing, but in the meantime, I have loads to keep me busy in the writing world.  

There is so much going on at the moment that there's no time to ponder anything. Just make decisions and go forward. Case in point - our central vacuum crapped out a while ago. I don't want to hazard how long ago that was, as it's been "several" weeks. Do we buy a new one, get it replaced, or what do we do? After the cleaning person left yesterday, I decided I had to do something, as a broom is not the same.

I asked my sewing friends, and WHOA -- I'm living in the dark ages. Many of them have stick vacuums by Dyson! After a wee bit of research, I realized the stick vacuum would NOT work for me, so I ordered an upright with a cord. It should be here tomorrow. I might even give it a whirl!

I'm so behind in sharing pictures, as so much is happening! The other day, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and get a few things tidied up in Studio B. Have you noticed how any flat surface becomes a dumping ground? This small portable table was sitting in the corner, and a few things were on it that should have been put away. 

The items are now in their proper place, and I've folded the table and put it in the storage room. I have one machine that fits this table, and you never know when I may need it, so I'm keeping this one. In its place, I've put my ironing board. I'm not sure I'm OK with the location as I have to move it slightly to open the door to the storage room. I don't go in often, so it's an experiment. 

Sewing table got stowed in storage

All the loose spools of thread were rounded up and sorted into their appropriate boxes, and the boxes were put back on the shelf. 

Thread boxes back in place

I need to find a solution to this. Those long boards support the foot of the sit-down quilting machine to keep it level. I need to find something MUCH smaller so those boards can be put away. Maybe I can find something at the hardware store. I'll have to measure the height and be on the lookout. It's not in the way, but it looks messy. 

These boards need to be replaced with something smaller

Then, I decided that I needed to investigate my embroidery hoops. The issue is that the new Designer Epic 3 uses a new hoop attachment. So, how many hoops do I have that will still work with it? 

I found this hoop from YEARS ago. It was for the Husqvarna Viking Designer 1. If anyone remembers this - it was a three-part hoop. You did one section, then moved the hoop clip to do the second and, finally, the third. It's so old, and it was confirmed by a local dealer that it is USELESS. 

The Mega Hoop

It was suggested that I remove the screw and spring, as those can be reused should something go missing off another hoop. So those are safely stored in a bag. 

The spring and screw were salvaged 

And the hoop and the plastic template are history. 

The mega hoop is history

Some stuff was still in the box, so I perused that and found a bag of hoop clips, which I put with the others I own. The template is gone, and all the documentation is gone!

Stuff in the Mega Hoop box

Good grief -- what is this? It was a sample stitch out of something. It took me a few minutes to remember this was the lettering I used on a quilt I made for M's SENIOR KINDERGARTEN teacher. Oh boy --- that was a LONG, LONG time ago. I kept the lettering as it's an excellent example of a fill pattern on lettering. Believe it or not, I did that in the embroidery software! That would have been 5D or 6D - I'm not sure. 

A stitch out of a fill pattern in machine embroidery

I pulled ALL the embroidery hoops I own, and after some investigation, these are all the hoops I can use with the NEW hoop adapter for the embroidery arm on the Designer EPIC 3. Plus, all the metal hoops and the two endless hoops. Those six hoops are NOT included in this picture. 

These legacy hoops work on the Designer Epic 3

So what won't work? There were five. Only four made this picture. Hmm --- it's not such a big deal. The Texture Hoop has been discontinued, and I rarely use it. There is the 100 by 100, but we have 80 by 80 and 120 by 120, so not a huge deal. I will hang onto these five for now because should I WANT to use them, they still fit on the PFAFF - but don't tell anybody that the hoop clips are the same! 

These hoops will NOT work on the Designer Epic 3

So that was a good job done. I found a pile of hoop templates and was advised to keep them, so I'll be moving things around later today to put them in a safe place. 

Hoop templates

And these hoop aids can be a good thing as well. Mine were relegated to the back of a shelf and forgotten. But now I'll put them together, and they will have a home with the templates. 

Hoop aides

Along with cleaning up some stuff on the floor, some of the stuff on the table tops was put away. It's all a slow process, but it's all progress, and that's important. As the saying goes, Rome was NOT built in a day, and the mess won't go away in a day. It's really a constant evolution, and I suspect that I'll still be sorting and rearranging until the day we move. And if I have my way - that won't be for many years. 

So the sewing table tops are CLEAR, except for the sewing and embroidery machines! 

The three sewing tables are CLEAR

More half-square triangles got sewn and trimmed. 

Half-square triangles are trimmed

A small customer quilt was quilted. 

Customer quilt - DONE

And can you believe the bobbin ran out - just as I reached the edge. So I wound a new bobbin and did a pattern repair, and I was off. 

Bobbin ran out! 

The backing and the binding for the star flannel are done, and this quilt has been moved to the "to be quilted" pile. 

Star flannel quilt ready to be quilted

The backing and binding for the blue braid are also done, and that got moved to the "to be quilted" pile. My last tub is almost full, so I must get to work to make room! 

Blue braid quilt ready to be quilted

That tub where the blue braid resided has already been commandeered for the Tequila Lime quilt, as the fabrics and pattern bits were all over the place. Now they are in the labeled container, and all is good. 

The project box for Tequila Lime

I completed more work on the Barn Star Sampler and the Cabin in the Woods. All is good, and I can't wait until the writing is done and the travel is done, and then I'll have a couple of weeks before the end of the year when, who knows, what awaits! But I look forward to those weeks and have big plans for quilting and sewing! 

It will be another busy day - filled with errands and work, but I'm pretty much in chill mode - just do what has to be done and don't panic!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!

That's one BIG embroidery hoop

 Wow -- my head is exploding with all the new stuff! 

Let's say that the hotel was kind to me yesterday, as there were no issues. My key works; I have figured out (thanks to Claire) how to turn up the "volume" on the desk light - it's still very dim. And I've been sleeping with zero issues. I think a train could go through the room and I wouldn't hear it as we are so tired at the end of the day! 

I spent the day in a room full of Designer EPIC 3s. I was a helper in case the class of dealers ran into trouble. Despite the interface being so new,  they all did very well. Except for one or two who were a bit snippy as they didn't want to be reminded they were doing something incorrect. I was pretty polite! But everyone warmed up by the end of the day, and all was good. 

A room of Designer EPIC 3s

So many exciting things, and I don't even get to see it all. I'm in a different room today, and from what I heard yesterday, this will be a fun class! And it's all about sergers! Who knew that a couple of years ago, I knew very little about sergers and today, I'm a helper!

It was fun catching up with the Canadian dealers, many of whom I have met through previous conventions or meetings in Canada or running an event at their store. We had a great dinner with some of them last evening. 

There are so many exciting new features on the Designer EPIC 3 that it's hard to even know where to start. I'll be doing some blog posts on QUILTsocial, so watch for that. Let me say that when I first saw the specs many months ago, I was totally blown away by the new FREE ARM embroidery unit. The new machine comes with FOUR hoops. Plus, there are some specialty hoops - one of them being the MEGA turnable hoop with the largest stitchable area in the market. 

This thing is enormous, as you can see in the picture below. I CANNOT wait to get my hands on it and start creating textured fabric with embroidery stitches! Oh yes --- I love doing that, and it will be loads of fun. 

The MEGA turnable hoop

The current turnable hoop actually fits INSIDE that hoop. Even better news is that all hoops have been reinforced for more stability during embroidery. More stability, less shifting of fabric. Oh yes --- this is a good thing. 

I tell DH he's fortunate I work with the company because I'd buy one now. I will buy one, but a bit later on. 

I popped out for a walk very early (6 AM). I walked into the gated community beside the golf course. The sky is beautiful at that time of the day. And YES -- you can see the stars. I can't remember the last time I saw stars in the sky. How sad is that?

The predawn sky

I have to say that I took that picture around 6:30 AM. So the sky was dark, and I used my cell phone. Yep -- the cell phone cameras today are amazing!!!!!

There is a sidewalk that goes along the main road into this community, which seems to be HUGE. 

This is where I walk

I started at the Marriott (on the right) and took this picture when I was at the blue dot. Shoot -- I almost made it to the other side but ran out of time! 

I'm heading out this morning. Even though it's dark, there are just enough light posts to keep it lit to walk on the sidewalk without tripping over anything. I've not encountered any issues (knock on wood), and I'll be out there shortly. 

After our dinner, I needed to make up a couple of km for the day, so I headed back out to the gated community, and this was the moon. 

The night sky

The light in the picture is from the CAMERA, NOT the lighting in the area. It was DARK. 

On that note, I'm out of here. Not much exciting happened during the day as we were in the classroom all day (out for snacks and lunch). But the engineers are here, and I have a list that I want to share with them. Some of these suggestions have already been made. Yeah!!! I discovered a new stitch that I wanted, and I spoke to the "Stitch Witch" (she's the one who designs all the new stitches), and she showed me exactly what I was looking for!! How cool is that! I'll be sharing that one with you!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!