Time to try these out

I bought these in my local gardening shop in May along with a heavy duty pair for the actual garden, these looked just right for quilting.  So it was about time I gave them a whirl... and do you know they are just right; they fit like a glove ...... sorry ha ha and they really do grip the fabric. I know you can buy pairs that are sold for quilting at much more than I paid for these which was about £2. I love the cute colour too.

I have finally managed to start on one of my quilt tops and I am using Mathilda's wadding which is great but fairly bulky to put through the machine, so I also taped some duck tape to the knobs on the Bernina 1260 because sometimes the quilts are so big they catch the knobs and turn them as I am manipulating the quilt. So I have improved that grey area too...hmmm.  I also taped some slidy plastic over the Horn cabinet plexiplastic once it was in position and I made a small hole for the needle to pass through, I had read up on a 'silicone slider' which was quite expensive and also I have no idea where you buy it in the UK, so I thought I would improvise.  It works too and the quilt slides through a lot smoother. This next photo shows the quilt stuffed into the machine. I work by a large window but it's raining today and very dark so I have one small light on the window sill behind the large one you can see which is also a magnifier. So I am buzzing along and it's going well. No, this is not a show quilt or anything like that, I am simply making a warmer one for the bed and wanted to try out the Mathilda's wool for that reason.

I am using the new thread I bought recently at the Quilt Museum in York.  I could not find Aurifil 50 but did find some Aurifil MAKO NE 40/2 and it seems fine. The lighter multi coloured pink one is for the bobbin and the orangey multi one is for the top of the quilt. I adjusted the tension for quite a long time as I did want the back of the quilt to look good. I am trying to make sure that each time I quilt I improve so I  tried each setting out before I started. Luckily because I use the Bernina 1260 for my machine embroidery I have two bobbin cases, a normal one and one for adjusting with the little screw. So I played with this one until I had the tension just so. Then I loosened off the top tension to 3.5 and that seems to be that. I am using a Schmetz quilting needle no 75/11 and it seems fine too. I did try a titanium coated Organ  no 11 at first but it was not as good. I will post some more when it progresses.