IT'S HERE!!!!!

 Finally, after all that waiting, my new quilting machine is here!!  I was so excited when we pulled up a pattern and it actually quilted like a champ.  SO many buttons and adjustments!!!

I asked him to stay and help me a bit, but his exact words were ... "Oh I don't quilt, I just repair the machines", meaning he knew about as much as I did when it came to the computer part.  Anyone remember when you got that first computer plunked in front of you with no training at all?  Yeah, it's like that!!

I was able to get a pattern loaded and hit the start button.  While that was working, he tried out my bobbin winder ... the one with terrible instructions.  He didn't have much better luck than I did!!  I'll be ordering those pre-wound ones for sure.

We did one pattern, then moved the quilt up to try a couple more.  It all seemed to be working just fine, although I was still confused about how to quilt part of it, then move the quilt up in the machine before quilting again.  I never could quite get the AGAIN part.

And then he left (there's nothing more boring than watching a machine quilt) and wished me good luck as he walked out the door.  In less then five minutes I was on the phone looking for help with the "real" quilt I wanted to make.  

The first thing she said was to watch the videos and read the book.  Yes ma'am I did that.  Nothing tells you how to make that pattern fit your quilt.  Truly, I was absolutely thrilled that I got the basting part down.  

Three phone calls later, it was finally quilting this beautiful pattern.  That's when the thread broke.  It took me forever to figure out how to get back to that point to start quilting again.  Then it ran out of thread, but just kept stitching.  A new bobbin, which happened to have different thread on it, made a huge mess of things, causing an hour of ripping out stitches.  Luckily I found a bobbin with different thread that seemed to work just fine.

Next problem ... it should stop, let me cut the threads, then continue on after I move the fabric up.  Nothing ... it wouldn't do anything but sit there.  Try as I might, I couldn't get it to see where it was.  

Rather than spend another hour on the phone, I set it up to do one single row at a time.  Yes that made the pattern a little wonky since it didn't really like the new dimensions, but it's getting done.  Maybe this will be a Cooper blanket.  Most likely no one would even notice, but I would.

Everything came to a halt however when I got a text from the Chance house who was heading to Red Lobster.  I'M IN!!!  I remembered Patty ordering the coconut shrimp some time ago, so that's what I ordered.  I should have gotten the appetizer with 6 shrimp.  Good grief there are a DOZEN on that plate.

Add to that their new bacon Mac 'n Cheese (yum yum), Cole slaw and those oh-so-yummy cheddar biscuits, of which we ate a dozen ... and we were stuffed to the brim.  In fact, I brought eight of those shrimp home!!  I can't wait for lunch.

Maybe I'll even sneak a couple in for breakfast!!  In the meantime, I'll be at the quilt machine, trying to learn how to launch a spacecraft.