My longarm machine experienced a hiccup, one that threw off it’s timing. My poor baby started skipping stitches and making a funny ticking noise as the arm moved up and down. Deja vu, this happened last year as I tried to finish “Panning for Gold”. From that experience, I knew that getting her to the hospital sooner rather than later was the best move. I can feel the deadline for finishing this piece closing in on me, and I would have been in full panic mode, except that I was already scheduled to leave town for 4 days to attend the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) conference in Washington, DC. I hauled the big girl in for repairs before heading to the airport.
My repairman, Bob called me in DC with an update, and opened with the comment, “Do you know that you have over 16 million stitches on this machine?”
Wow! I was stunned. I don’t know how that compares to others, but it was sobering to me to think that I have put down over 16 m i l l i o n stitches in the last 5 years.
I’m happy to say that I’m home, the machine is home, and progress on the Bike Boys is moving ahead full steam. In an effort to make up for lost time, I am now getting up at 4:30 AM, (that is not a typo) so that I can work for 90 minutes before heading off to teach school. And, I’m trying to put in another 2 hours of stitching when I get home. After 16 million stitches, I’m still ready for 16 million more. I might even make them in the next 2 weeks.
PS: I’ve finished another 2 men on the bike and a third man in the background.
A quick look at my stich-meter and I’m nearly at 17 million stitches.
