Expo Purchases

I always plan to drop a bit of money at Expo each year (nothing beats the year of the Janome 11000 purchase, though!) Three major purchases this year:

Accuquilt Go - I've been drooling over these for sometime. While I like strip piecing I also like to to patchwork and have difficulty in keeping my ruler still and straight and also good old 'arthur' in the thumb gets inflamed when I'm doing a lot of cutting, hand stitching, etc. So, I bought a Go. One of the 'rules' of Expo is that the pricing can't be different in different booths for the same thing. However, if a vendor offers a coupon, that can be applied! So, I bought the beginner set (the Go and a bunch of the dies) for 30% off! WHEE! Now I need to clear off some counter space in my sewing room for it.

Oliso iron - I have been needing a new iron but am very frustrated by the 'safety' feature of turning off after 5-8 minutes of non-use so I was pleased to find the Olios TG1600 iron. Not available online except at Amazon and some other places. I am dismayed to find such terrible reviews for the Oliso irons - I hope my experience is better!

Upgrade for my Janome 11000 - I bit the bullet and bought the version 3 upgrade for my Janome - it isn't 'mandatory' but I have the habit of doing incremental computer software upgrades to keep current. It will give me a new hoop and some more designs and fill patterns. I don't actually have it yet. Apparently they are all stuck in a container shipment in some port!

Fabric purchases: Bought some of the Robert Kaufmann "Down on the Farm" and "Farmer's Market" pieces and RJR's Caterwauling along with some red/white and some r/w/b tea-toned fat quarters. I bought 9 different colors of the produce from the Farmer's Market collection - planning on making some small Sudoku quilts. I found this calculator online that helps you determine how much of each fabric you need to make Sudoku quilts of various sizes!

Other purchases: Debra Justice was admonishing us (gently!) about using old seam rippers that we got in junior high. GUILTY! However, I have always liked my old seam ripper because the handle was a nice size. I have gotten some small ones that just didn't fit well. So - I bought a new seam ripper with a light on it!

One of the interesting pieces of info gleaned at Expo was about those 'blue markers' - you know the ones - they are supposed to wash out and disappear? Well, it seems that those blue lines are reappearing years later! So, Janice Stewart suggested using graphite/soapstone marker. Here is the brand that she sells.

Also have on order a weighted hoop to use for free motion quilting at your sit-down machine. I can't find it online but it looks like a regular embroidery hoop but is only 1 piece and fairly heavy. You just put it on the top of your quilt as you are FM quilting and move it around as you are quilting. I will post more when I get it and use it.

Guess that's about it! Like most things, my blog is either feast or famine! Hopefully I have given you a bit to chew on for a few days.

Barb