A Couple of New Toys and Some UFO Action

In November I went to the Quilt & Craft Fair here in Adelaide and one of the goodies I bought was a little light with a flexible neck to light up my quilting space.  I haven't done any quilting since then so haven't used it but as this month my UFO is to finally try quilting feathers I dug it out and gave it a go.

It uses one AAA battery which gives you up to 9 hours apparently. It was nice to have light where I need it without having to put my portable Ottlite in between me and the machine (as you can see in this photo).

 I can't count the number of times I've nearly knocked it over on to the floor!   Its not too bad and doesn't get in the way like my other light. It comes with two bases so you can use it on more than one machine too which is handy (if you have two machines which I don't!). Here is the packaging of the new light in case you're interested.

My other new toy is not related to quilting but is already one of my favourites! Now I'm not a great one for housework and tend to do the minimum I can get away with but when I do it I like it done properly. I've had a vacuum that has been driving me mad at its poor design and lack of real suction or ability to suck up golden retriever hair. To put the icing on the cake its wheels fell apart as well and it was a real pain to empty, putting dust all over me. After a bit of research and saving up I bought this little baby:

Never would I have said I enjoyed vacuuming before but now I do! The joy of using an efficient, well designed product and the horror of how much dirt is coming out of my carpets! Its the first time since we've had our dog that I can look at the lounge carpet and not see a dog hair anywhere except on the dog! I've always had problems with stooping over with my other cleaners but this one is the perfect height for me so my back loves it as well.

Anyway, back to quilting!  As I said above, my UFO project this month (No. 2 over at Marti's 52 Quilts) is to practice quilting feathers. I did a feathers class with Judi Madsen in October at the Australia Machine Quilting Festival here in Adelaide and have yet to put what I learned into use.  So I dug out my notes, my sketchpad, made some sandwiches (of the quilty type!), put some contrasting thread in the machine and had a crack at it.  I'll share my full practice photos at the end of the month but so far I'm pretty happy with my progress.  Here's a couple of shots so far:

Today I'm trying feathers in squares which is not going quite as well but with practice I'm sure it will improve. Still I think if I was stitching in white thread on white it would look much better than bright green on pale pink so I'm pretty happy. Might be ready to do some on a real quilt soon, although I don't think any of the tops I have ready to quilt are quite right for feathers.

Thanks for visiting today!