Our Gammill Statler Stitcher longarm quilting machine, lovingly know around here as the QuiltMonster, was 6 years old last month. We had talked about replacing its 10' table with a 12' table so I could handle king size quilts. With the 10' length it could barely do queen size. Here it is with the 10' table:
So, last month, when there was a down day at the Orange County/Costa Mesa Classic Jazz Festival, we decided to pop up to Yorba Linda and visit QuiltMonster's birthplace, Cranberry Quiltworks. We picked up some quilting thread while we were there, and Don ordered the 12" table. Whopppeeee ... it was delivered last week.
The sewing machine is the same. It's a Gammill Classic, with (I think) a 22" throat. The cord behind it (connection to the computer) used to be encased in hard plastic and drag along in metal trays. It was modernized a little, is now flexible and drags on the floor. The light bar was retro-fitted with a 2' piece added to the center. And now, we can quilt tops up to 115". This is how it looks now -- I had to stand in the kitchen to get everything in!
Isn't she beautiful? That's a lap-size quilt that it's working on, only about 60" wide. It's an amazing machine, and I'm so happy to have it! Let's just hope we never have to move it!
In other news, I have finished all three projects for The Loopy Ewe's virtual summer camp, Camp Loopy. First was something to keep you warm around the campfire. I chose a Stephen West pattern, the Chadwick Scarf/Shawl.
Second was something you would need for a hike ... socks, mittens, or gloves. I chose socks and a Wendy Johnson pattern, Lace and Cable socks.
The third and final project was your choice, but had to use a minimum of 800 yards of yarn. Earlier in the summer I had participated in a fund raiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation by donating some hand knit dish cloths for a give-away. Knitwear designer and KnitGirlll podcaster, Laura Linneman, offered a pattern for a shawl called "My Wish" with each donation of $5 or more and, of course I got one. It's a large shawl knit on small needles and fingering weight yarn, so it took 850 yards of Handmaiden Sea Silk and almost a month to knit. It's done, and the photo has been posted to The Loopy Ewe, which makes me eligible for a bunch of prizes. Here's the shawl ... light as a feather and really, really warm! And with the fund-raiser, Lynn Zimmerman of Denver raised enough money to grant wishes to 2 terminally ill people.
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