From One Extreme to Another

For all the years that I've been posting on the WWQP BB I've been a faithful user of my vintage 201-2 Singer for my piecing and my free motion quilting. And for all those years I have bragged about how reliable my old machine (built in 1948) is, how she stitches a fine straight seam and how she free motions up a storm for me.

What are not reliable these days are my wrists and my left elbow. Too many birthdays have taken a toll on certain body parts and I find it harder to shove quilts under the needle of my beloved old machine when doing free motion work. What is an old quilter to do? Find something easier to shove, that's what. Now the quilt will hold still and the machine will move, thank you very much.

The new machine, a HandiQuilter Avante, has an 18 inch throat space and a computerized brain that supplies regulated stitching. Here I spent decades learning how to do free motion work with neat and tidy stitches and this thing does perfect stitches on its own (unless I put it in manual mode). It is awkward for me to start a machine by pressing button with my thumb instead of using a foot pedal because I've been using a sewing machine for almost sixty years and the old foot wants to stomp on something. LOL Truly old dog learning new tricks time.

Going from a vintage Singer (Cecil Faye) to a 21st century marvel (Lucy Aurora) is exciting ... but don't expect miracles from me for a long time. LOL