New Quilt, Renewed Machine

Bernina 730 that Neal Iund serviced

This machine came to me a couple years ago through a Craigslist posting.  At some point I will do a post on it's story and why I am so grateful to Neal Iund for the repair work he did on this fantastic machine. I have had this machine for a few months now since Neal sent it back in nearly new condition, but I was waiting for a good project to work on so that I could put her through her paces.  Currently, I'm working on a quilt for spring and this machine has been performing like a dream.

The quilt has come together without a clear idea of what the finished project will look like. I know where I want to hang the quilt though so I have a good estimate for finished size, and I know what colors I want to use so I've kept within that palette. The quilt started a few weeks ago with 10" pinwheel blocks and I have 16 of those completed. 

Pinwheel block #1

Pinwheel block #2

Pinwheel block #3

Then I decided I wanted to play around with the sashing. The width of the sashing is set at 3", but I'm going to make it piecemeal and work in several different types of blocks and settings. The fabrics will be the same as in the larger pinwheels so things may start to look too busy, but I can always add more white if need be. For now, I'm playing around with different combinations of 3" blocks with the goal of having enough sashing for the entire quilt. Here are some of the blocks  I've made so far:

Churn dash

Quarter of log cabin block

Arrowhead

Sailboats

Friendship Star

1" squares

Strips of varying widths

There are still quite a few stashing pieces to be made before I can lay out the quilt top and start looking at placement. For now, I am enjoying the freedom to choose any number of different block patterns and I make as many or as few of each as time/my interest allows. My 730 and I are having fun with the creative flow of this project. 

My sewing partner