I need a name !

I have finished my first quilt since winning the new Melody BabyLock sewing machine that I won during the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

As I posted before, I pieced the top while waiting for the new machine to arrive.

Then I did part of the quilting with the walking foot (which doesn't have as big a viewing area as the Brother walking foot that I purchased for my old machine)......

and, I free-motion-quilted the background area.  

It took me a while to adjust to this machine..........mainly, getting used to it wanting to make a snarl of threads underneath at the beginning of all stitching.   I learned to try to always remember to hold the threads when I start a new line of stitching.

I used the serpentine stitch between straight lines of quilting in the border.....I was really pleased with the way that looked.

I was disappointed when I wanted to use the alphabet to monogram my name and the year's date on the hanging sleeve.

My fault, there.......I don't keep stabilizer, so I couldn't get it to look right on a single layer of regular quilt-weight cotton.

After trying to finish this quilt exclusively on this machine, I now understand why my girlfriend, JoAnn, who always used new Berninas, had trouble with her  piecing.  Just trying to stitch pieces of binding together, it is difficult to start triangles under the foot.

Let's face it......I've been spoiled.   For me, there's NOTHING on these new machines to compare to the skinny-footed, straight-stitch,

single-hole-throatplate-Singer that I've used for 36 years !

I'm a simple gal, and I love my simple machine.  I'll enjoy playing with the Melody, but my heart belongs to Ernestine !

But, all that said, here she is ......... the finished product....WITHOUT A NAME !

  This is my own original design.  The quilt finished with measurements of approximately 43 inches by 63 inches.

Looking back at this post, it looks like a lot of complaining done by a very ungrateful, small person.   That was not my intention at all.   I only wanted to give a realistic, true-to-self review of this machine, because I went searching for one before I received it and could find very little of value.  I am still VERY thankful to have won such a wonderful prize !