Out of Steam....but a Ta-Da!

 We left early Saturday morning-it was so pretty and warm already!  We were heading south 3 hours to visit my cousin and buy her longarm machine (APQS brand) because she had bought a new one!

 Everyone loaded the frame on the trailer right off so we could get to the business of visiting!  They had a big lunch and we did it justice!   It was a fantastic time!

 On the way home, I kept a lookout on the new equipment and...

 kept my eye on the trailer!

 They did a good job of wrapping it up in case the predicted rain came earlier than they thought!

 Matthew, met us at the door to unload because sprinkles were starting!

 The new frame is 14' long and very wide so they had to remove some of the bars to get it through the door!  It was a bit frantic for a while but I was so glad I had the space already for it!

 They got it in just in time!

 Boy, is it BIG!

 Since it was pouring in minutes, the guys all went in for a swim!  Will didn't like the water touching his eyes but was very happy when they put his hat on!  Too cute.

We had a wonderful day on Sunday then called it a day.

 First thing this morning I got to work to make the sewing room both efficient and aesthetically pleasing to me!

 Nyki thought I was a bit crazy moving things around and huffing and puffing!

 I removed the center craft table I have been using because it just took up too much room.  I moved all the equipment into the shelves on the new table.  I also moved all the bins back under the frame so the piles were organized again.  Things began to shape up.  Time for lunch!

 I put a sample quilt on the frame and began my introduction class!   It's a good thing I knew what was supposed to be happening because there was certainly a learning curve!  This machine sews over an 18" area-that is twice what I was used to!  There is a lot more muscle needed to manipulate the machine;  I was getting used to the differences by the end of this project!   I will not be entering it in any competition, I will tell you but I did it!

I will try to do a pantograph tomorrow!  (After we do our taxes....yippee!)

 The shelf is too low now-this frame requires access to both sides.   I had to remove all the pretties and then remove the shelf!  (Hitting your head twice in a matter of minutes moved this job up on the schedule!)

 I didn't like the way it looked now anyway.

See what I mean-doesn't it look better in there now!?  I moved my design wall over and now I have room to make a really big design area which will be a project for another month.  I also moved my serger thread back to the wall so little hands would stop throwing them!  That is quite enough for one day-it was an 11 hour marathon!  And worth it to have this!