Quilt Report

I saw TS yesterday morning and got a report from the quilt auction. Overall attendance—which they determine by a count of the cars coming into the parking lot—was down at this year’s relief sale by about 30%. Total revenue was down by about the same amount, but still close to $100,000. The four quilts that I took brought in almost $1000, which is more than I had hoped for considering three of them were scrap quilts. I am pleased by that. The high-selling quilt was one that TS and Holly had purchased from Amish quilters here in Montana and donated to the sale (it was hand quilted).

TS suggested that Holly and I collaborate on a couple of quilts for next year’s auction; she’ll piece them and I’ll quilt them on the Q20. Debbie, the quilt sale coordinator, asked me if I longarmed for other people. Apparently, my machine quilting is better than I think it is. The answer to that question was a resounding, “No” as I don’t need any more work, but I appreciated that she asked. She also asked me if I got a longarm machine to replace Margaret, but I assured her that nothing could replace Margaret. We missed having her at the sale with us. She used to come along and cook sausage samples, and she and I did a couple of quilts together for the auction.

Our Mennonite Women group also sent over some supplies to be made into school kits, and I took the last of the tied comforters that we had done for MCC’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2020. Our comforter-tying party was all the way back in January 2020, just before the pandemic started. How long ago that seems now.

The lady who makes and sells wind chimes at the sale was there again this year, so I bought another one to add to my collection. I love being surrounded by music.

I chose this one because it was kind of quirky. I am running out of room, though. The husband may have to add some hooks to the porch rafters for me.

I spent yesterday catching up on paperwork and getting a blood test ahead of my visit with my naturopath next week. The only work I did in my sewing room was to iron all the fabric I bought—I prewash everything—and organize some supplies. I’ve also got the last of the tomatoes cooking down for sauce because I need to clean out the freezers. I decided to do sauce instead of more salsa in the interest of saving some time.

When I got home Saturday, a check from the co-op sale was waiting for me in the stack of mail. I did much better than I expected to given that it was my first sale. Accompanying the check was a spreadsheet report listing what sold and for how much, and that will be a big help in pricing items for next year.

I’ve been kicking around the idea of getting the new Janome 3000 coverstitch machine. I have the Janome 1000cpx coverstitch and I’ve complained about the fact that I had to do a lot of tinkering to get it to work properly. Janome rushed those early models to market. Mine does what I need it to do now that I have it adjusted, but it would be nice to have a machine that isn’t such a diva. I’ve looked at some other models, including the Bernina. However, the new Janome machine is getting rave reviews in the coverstitch groups I belong to. It appears that Janome took all the (overwhelmingly negative) feedback from their first three models and came up with the machine they should have released in the first place.

The proceeds from the co-op sale cover more than half the cost of the Janome 3000. The husband—who has never met a tool he didn’t like, couldn’t use, or didn’t want and thus is absolutely no help in reining me in—asked me if I had ordered one yet. My friend Robin and I are planning a trip to Missoula soon and I would like to visit the Janome dealer there, first, and try one out. (I won’t go to the Janome dealer here in Kalispell.) I’ll try the 3000 and see if it’s something I need or just nice to have.