It's All New

Watt & Shand #3 is newly bound and almost finished--I still may add some beadwork. Binding is usually my least favorite part of the process, because my mind is racing ahead to the next project and I'm anxious to be done. But today it was made more exciting by sewing it on with this:

I've treated myself to a new Janome 6600. I've been working on a lot of large pieces lately, and I wanted a machine with more room in the harp. The harp is the area under the arm to the right of the needle, and this one is luxuriously large. Compare it to the harp space in this one:

That's my old workhorse, a Pfaff 2042. I've had it for 8 years and used it hard, and it's performed flawlessly. I'm going to get it serviced and keep it around for backup.

I've been working with sewing machines since I was a small child. I remember putting phone books on the chair so I could reach up high enough to operate an old cast iron White machine, which was run by a knee lever. And except for freshman year at college, when I was in a dorm, and a semester spent abroad, I've always had a sewing machine with me. Most of them were reliable but not ergonomically friendly, and I developed a lot of coping skills to manipulate the fabric the way I wanted to. The new Janome keeps surprising me by how thoughtful and considerate it is. I think it will save me some time and frustration. I'm proud of my level of craftsmanship, but I'm always looking to improve it.

And finally, the daffodils are newly opened, despite the continuing cold and windy weather. Here's one of my favorites, the cultivar "Albert Einstein". I planted big clumps of them just because of the name, and they have been very reliable, and beautiful, for over 20 years.

Another view of Albert:

Here's "Ice Follies":

This one was in a mix, so I don't know its name, but I'm ok with that:

And finally, I'm blogging from my new laptop. The old one crashed unexpectedly, and it's been a bit traumatic and time consuming getting everything up and running on the new one. I was backed up fairly well, but I could have done better, and some things are just gone.....If I owe you an email or a response, please remind me!