My threader was malfunctioning so I got it fixed (under warranty.). Yesterday, I finally had a chance to use it again.  I had no problems threading, except for one spool of black embroidery thread.  I can’t understand why the threader worked with all the other colors, but not that one.

Has anyone else had a similar problem? Any ideas why this would happen?

I decided to try this for the first time today, after finding some images that weren’t so sickeningly Lacy.  There are all kinds of designs in many styles.  Ironically, I hate old-fashioned lace, but like the technique. 
I had some trouble with my first piece as the thread got tangled.  But after changing the needle, taking apart the bobbin case & cleaning out all the tangled thread, the second one went more smoothly.
Here they are;
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I decided to give this a try, with eventual hopes of using this method to make a much larger piece.  Of course, this test piece was a first attempt and rife with mistakes. (Please don’t bother with tact- it’s a mess.) I am calling it a successful failure.

Success

I like the colors I used.
I got up the guts to try it with only YouTube for guidance. (YouTube can be helpful, but it’s no substitute for a live person who is in the room with you.)
I have already learned a few things from my mistakes.

Failure
The blocks are rather poorly lined up.
My mitered corners aren’t great.
There were places where my edge-binding didn’t quite envelop the top fabric & batting, so I had to oversew it. 
I should have sewn some parts in a different sequence.

At least some of those mistakes would have been far les evident if I had used white thread.  This, however, was by design.  Knowing I was bound to make mistakes, I wanted to be able to get a good look at them.

I am not even close to ready to try a large blanket yet. That’s OK; learning is a process. So my near-term goal is to work with the small, expendable bits & pieces from my stash, to practice and refine my technique.
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I brought Orwell, (my big Brother) into the shop for a warranty repair. The machine won’t work with the pedal. While I was there. Since I was wearing a mask, I was permitted to wander about & shop. OMG, how long has it been since I just got to wander around a store?

In the course of my visit, I got to their “adoption room” and found a really nice Brother CP-6500. Not as many features are the big one, but enough to make it easy to use. Also a bit smaller, so I can take it to classes & club meetings.

Meet Joyce;
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Here is my little friend Comet, proudly wearing his new poncho.  I started with a fat quarter of flannel. (I bought it because I just loved the print and figured that I would come up with a project for it later.)

I cut the piece in half and folded each half (RST) and sewed them into squares.  After turning them right-side out, I top-stitched around with a zig-zag stitch.  Then, I just sewed the 2 pieces together with top & side seams, leaving gaps for his head & hooves. 

He finds it wam & cozy.
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I am relatively new to sewing and quilting.  Up until recently, I have only worked on smaller items, such as placemats and mug rugs.

My last project, the tale runner, was the first thing I hav made that is (in any dimension) bigger than I am.  I struggled to keep seams and topstitching straight. I will be starting the larger part of the quillow, which will be 4 x 6 feet.  I could use some suggestions for handling larger items.  Thanks.

Just about everything at our house gets a name...the vacuum cleaner ( a Hoover named Herbert) , the Jeep (Trevor-don’t ask why; my husband picked that one) and of course, the sewing machines.

Mine are;
1)The Janome- Naomi, after a cousin
2) The Singer- Beverly, after Beverly Sills, the opera singer (who was originally a Silverman, as am I)
3)The Brother- being an oversized machine, I named it Orwell.

What are your machines named and why?