Construction: fabric style

I've got a new toy and it is very exciting! The lovely people at Pfaff have lent me a Creative 4 machine, which is a top of the range quilt and embroidery machine. It has huge possibilities, including designing my own stitches for sewing with. It also has an embroidery unit which can embroider patterns and quilting designs. What fun. Even better, VSM, who own Pfaff in the UK were able to send out one of their people, Jamie Warren, to show me how to use it. This was fantastic and Jamie was able to show me lots of tricks which will make life easier for me.

Given all these possibilities, so far I've used.... straight stitch and zig-zag! I had hoped to spend time over the Easter weekend trying lots of different stitching strategies, but I had a hideous migraine, which lasted until Sunday evening, so when I finally got down to stitching on Monday, it had to be my pieces for the Festival of Quilts, not play time.

So here is one of the three pieces which got stitched on Monday, ready to be painted. It will look totally different once it is finished. I enjoy using scraps and it is great to see the memories in lots of these pieces: there is some shibori bleached fabric, I patterned myself; the leftover lining from a dress made for my daughter; some off-cuts from the surprise quilt I made for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary and so on. I pieced it this way up, but I'm not sure which way it will be in the end: some of them have looked better at a different angle once finished! What do you think?

My only problem with the new machine is that I am left handed. I've always known that machines are right handed and this can be a bit awkward. However as they get more computerised, it gets even harder! But I will get used to it and it will improve my dexterity on my right side! And even if anyone made a left handed sewing machine now, I suspect that I am so used to right handed ones, I couldn't use it.