Spending time with an old friend

The other day I was getting all set up to quilt, and my dear lovely wonderful Bridget started acting up a little. She is due for a tune up (I can't believe I've had her for almost a year already!!) so I went ahead and took her in. The peeps at the Bernina shop here said it would be about 2 weeks.

Sadface.

So I pulled out my old girl out of retirement. 

Marsha Sue and I have been hanging out the last few days, and I can't say it enough how much I love this old girl.

At first I was like "how did I ever sew on this!" after being ridiculously spoiled by Bridget. (And I do have to say, there are some bells and whistles I've decided I can't live without - hello knee lift! and thread cutter!)

BUT. Marsha Sue makes some awfully pretty stitches. And she is a beast. Seriously - cast iron.

I also got taken back to that place where I first learned to sew, and I remember sitting in my apartment in California on the phone with my mom in Virginia piecing my first quilt on this machine - a queen sized block of the month kit I got from Joann's. I hated some of the fabrics, so I ended up replacing some of them, and trying to figure out how to use a rotary cutter, and how to get that 1/4 inch seam, and laying the blocks out on the floor, because I didn't know there were such things as design walls.

I'm rambling now.

Anyway, I pulled some pretties and chopped them up, and I *might* even have a finish for Friday, if I'm ambitious. And ignore schoolwork... I'll let you know how that goes. ;-)