Preliminary Review of my Janome Memory Craft 7700 QCP, Magnolia

 

 I took Magnolia out the same day my company left last week.  I rearranged all my furniture so I could put my sewing studio back into the living room, and I put her in a nice spot right in front of the windows.  I love sewing in the living room, there is lots of light and lots of room.

   This is a preliminary review because I have only been piecing my disappearing hourglass blocks with her.  I haven't done any speciality sewing or used any of the various feet that came with her other than the 1/4" patchwork foot that I need for my piecing.  I haven't even used the knee lift yet, I keep forgetting to put it on.  I love the big acrylic table I bought for her.  It gives me lots of space to set my pieces up for sewing.

    I have to say I love the size of the machine and the sturdy feel when I'm sewing.  She's a big one.    The machine is super easy to thread.  I used the needle threader a couple of times, but I don't use it every time I have to thread the machine because I find them to be too time consuming.  Her straight stitch is perfect.  I did adjust the presser foot pressure because I found my fabric wasn't feeding through like the presser foot was too tight for my cotton seams.  I lowered it to 5 from 7.  The manual says 7 is normal.  It may be because the machine is new and I have to break it in,  Bobbin winding is easy.  The drop in bobbin is under a clear cover, but there is a glare on the cover and I'm using black  thread so it's hard for me to see how much thread is left on the bobbin before I run out unless I lift the cover up.   Other than that, I am enjoying the lighting on the machine, there are lights in the throat area and over the needle.

   I plan to quilt my current quilt project with this machine so I'll let you know how the dual feed foot works.    

Progress on the Black and White Disappearing Hourglass

      I managed to get some quilting done this past weekend while I had company staying with me.  They are late sleepers, so I had plenty of time in the morning to play with my fabric.  I now have all my half square triangles sewn and I'm in the process of ironing them and trimming dog ears for the next step, making the hourglass blocks.    I have six completed blocks and another 35 to finish.  I haven't decided how I am going to set these blocks or what fabric I'm using for the back.  I'm thinking about placing some sashing in between the blocks.  I do have the batting for this quilt, at least that is something I don't have to think about.

     My company leaves today and I have a few things to do to get settled back into my bedroom, and after that I'm planning on getting Magnolia fired up (my new Janome 7700) to see how she does piecing hourglass blocks.  I want to test it with the cotton quilting thread I bought at JoAnn's that I'm using on this project.  I hope she is not going to be fussy about what thread I use on her.  I'll let you know how that experiment goes.

A Couple of Blocks Done And Lots of Household Chores

   I've been busy doing household chores and getting things done in preparation for some of the family visiting the weekend of July 4th.  My two older brothers and their families are coming to town.  It seems that everything needed fixing or cleaning.  This month I had to replace the flushing mechanism in both toilets.  I finished the second one today.  It's nice to have those done.  

    My oldest brother and his wife will be staying here at the house and I'm giving them my master bedroom and bath.  I have to give those two rooms a really good cleaning, my brother is allergic to animals and the cats spend a lot of time in the bedroom.  I'm smart enough to keep the cats out of the bathroom, so I won't have to worry about too much cat fur in that room.

    I haven't done a  lot of sewing in the last few weeks.  I did get two disappearing hour glass blocks done and I figured out what my measuring problem was with the very first attempt.


 

    I bought myself a Janome Memory Craft 7700 to enhance my sewing room.  This machine has a 11" throat and it should be the only other machine I need for the rest of my life.  Her name is Magnolia (because she's pure white).  I covered her with my yard of Tula Pink's Elizabeth and it covers her nicely.

   I'm trying to get back in the sewing groove.  I figure once my family is gone I can get back on track and get the rest of these disappearing hour glass blocks done as well as learn how to use my new machine.