Wednesday I woke up and decided today I was going to tackle my Frolic quilt top. I had told you all I was going to do a blog post on all of the quilt tops I had yet to quilt. I thought my numbers might look a little better if I just tackle one of them first….So, being I already had Frolic loaded in the frame I thought I would quick machine quilt it.
Oh my.
There was no “quick” about it.
I started out not going to far when I realized I hadn’t checked the tension on the back side of the quilt…UGH. It was all wrong. So stop. Get the ripper and rip. It was really only the corner here…
But, I just hate ripping and it did take about 20 minutes to rip that little area out.
Well then I was plagued with thread breakage. I would go six inches and the thread would break…rethread. Go six inches, the thread would break…rethread. Go 10″ thinking is was all better, the thread would break. So, I changed thread. No luck. I changed the needle, no luck. I went back to the original spool of thread, no luck the thread broke again. Seriously, in the short distance I had gone, I have rethreaded the needle about 12 times. I was so frustrated.
In my next attempt to rethread the needle I noticed the machine was threaded wrong. Oh my word. I rethreaded the machine. Everything worked for about 15″. Crap. I thought this was working. Then I realized that I was out of bobbin thread.
I had taken over an hour to get this far. How frustrating. I’m glad that this does not happen most of the time when I use the quilting machine. The thread breakage and issues were what made me hate my old machine…this machine I really normally never have these problems. It really was all my fault as I didn’t have it threaded right. UGH.
I made a pass successfully with not problems and then crap. Where was Rosie? I looked, in the bathroom garbage. She had dumped out personal care products that were in the garbage. That was fun to clean up…NOT. I got her settled in her bed and then went on…I finished a bobbin’s worth of thread check on Rosie, she was gone again. That little sneaker. I called, ended up going downstairs to look for her and that dog had gotten the garage door open and was in the garage. Ever since she ate that dog food that was in the garage, she is like a magnet and will scratch at the door to try to get it open…apparently, she got it open because that’s where I found her.
I was frustrated now. No more of this. If you can’t behave, in the kennel you go. I put her in and then went by myself upstairs to finish the quilt.
I got it done…it was so peaceful to work on it knowing she was in the kennel. I thought I would bind it right away but my machine was covered in partially completed masks. I sat down and finished seven more…
Then it was lunch time so I went downstairs, let Rosie out and ate lunch. I planned on taking pictures of my quilt tops that needed to be quilted and do a parade of them for you and then I thought about all the time it would take to drag them out and then fold them back up. Instead I decided not to waste the time and just put another quilt on the frame.
Rosie was with me and I shut the door to the sewing room. That would cure her from sneaking away. She laid in her bed and watched outside. She was loving it. I loaded this quilt on the frame….and started quilting it. Things were going fabulously. No breaking thread…no problems at all.
I was contentedly stitching away making really good progress. 
Then I heard bells ringing. I have these bells hanging off the frame of my quilt machine. These bells used to hang on the kitchen door of my parents home. Mom loved the bells. If someone came in the house, she heard the bells and knew to come into the kitchen. I was going to hang them on my quilting room door but soon learned that they are loud bells and I was often working early in the morning or late at night. The bells would ring and I worried that they would wake others who were sleeping so I ended up hanging them off my quilting machine.
Well Rosie found them and rang them. I heard it but just kept right on quilting. I had a little smile on my face thinking of my mom and those bells. A bit later I ran out of bobbin thread so stopped the machine to reload thread. I looked down at the mat in front of my machine and realized that I had been walking back and forth in dog pee. Rosie had peed on the mat. I didn’t see it so for the last 5 minutes or so I had been walking through dog pee with my slippers and had drug the pee so it was all over the mat.
I WAS LIVID! I WAS SO LIVID. I swear, this dog is going to be the death of me!! Then I put two and two together and bust out laughing.
We have these bells on the back door for Rosie. When she needs to go outside, she rings the bell and we let her out.
Well Rosie must have assumed that she rang the bell (my mom’s bells that were hanging on the quilt machine frame) and I didn’t let her out so she was going to pee by the bells which happened to be the mat in front of the quilting frame. OH MY WORD.
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I was done trying to use the quilting machine for the day. I put my slippers in the wash, cleaned up the pee and pee and went down stairs….so what does Rosie do??
Cuddles up and falls to sleep. Seriously Rosie…seriously??!! You couldn’t have done that a half hour ago upstairs in the sewing room.
Let’s hope tomorrow goes better… I know a bunch of you are laughing and laughing right now. Seriously…this dog is going to be the death of me. She does keep in interesting though….and yes, I do love her.
What a smart pup with the bells. Sounds like you have Rosie trained better than she has you trained. LOL
Rosie – “Mama, you said I’m supposed to ring the bells and that’s what I did!” Puppy adventures!
Oh my goodness!! The bell story is so funny and you told it perfectly. Laughing in Virginia!
Yes Jo, this gave me a chuckle or two! So sorry! When’s your “I swear, she’s going to be the death of be me” book coming out?❤❤❤❤
I love Rosie!! So cute we did the bell thing with our Rottweiler. I miss hearing that bell ring. Hope your quilting day goes smother.
Oh my I’m laughing and feeling sorry for you. I think you need a pet door so she can go out on her own. (That’s if your backyard is fenced. You tell stories so well.
That is the first thing I thought of when she rang the bells – I thought “Oh no” At least she hit the mat :). Thanks for the laugh. The machine troubles were pretty frustrating – You have some good sticktoitiveness. Beautiful quilts by the way!!
Put the bells back on the kitchen door. She WAS trying to tell you she needed to go out. SMART pup!
Thank you for the morning laugh – it really brightened my morning. Just hope thee’s no repeat, as funny as this was. ;-) Hope you get the quilting done.
Love and prayers
My husband and I BOTH love Rosie. My dad used to always have Beagles, so she is a sweet memory, and she is such a pretty dog. She’s getting better, so patience…. ❤️.
Yup, just had to chuckle at Rosie.
And I totally relate to your quilting tension! Earlier this week I was quilting a baby quilt. Two rows done, fine. Two more rows and I rolled and the bottom was awful! Of course what takes 5 minutes to stitch takes 45 to pick out. Check and try a little. Change thread, check bobbin, try a little, looks good. Go on a bit-trouble. My thread was jumping out of the tension discs! That has never happened before. Finished that quilt and moved on. Works fine. I’m so happy! You’re right, when there’s trouble it’s bad. If it’s working, I can keep it up. I just have to be a big girl and stick to it!
I just love Rosie! What a fun companion! I wish we could all give her hugs and see her beautiful face. Thank you for sharing her with us, Jo!
Thanks for the morning humor and the ability to laugh it off yourself and then write about it.
” I know a bunch of you are laughing and laughing right now”. Sure am…..and almost knocked my cup of tea off the end table. Rylee and I are now heading out to continue moving a wood pile that needs stacking. I throw her Kong and get a few seconds to move 2-3 pieces of wood before she returns, dropping the Kong on the stacked wood or in the wheelbarrow. Not just anyplace, but exactly the spot I’m working. As a young pup she figured out how to entice me to toss it again. I’m so thankful to have her… she makes me laugh every day. Which is nice as hubby is still working tho I recently retired from nursing. So I love having her fun loving company.
Rosie is so cute and adorable. Kinda irresistible watching their expressions and antics.
Oh, what fun escapades you are having with Rosie. One day you will be able to look back and laugh at these memories. Things will be fine in time. Puppies are always a handful, but you’ve got this! All your quilts are absolutely beautiful and so sorry you had a rough go to start with the machine and the thread. But you handled that like a champ too!! You always do!
Wishing you great day and a wonderful weekend! Happy sewing!
Oh Jo I laughed so hard at your story. Thanks for keeping it real. Love you and your famly.
Oh Rosie! It’s a good thing you are cute!!!
What a day you were having but I must admit the bell story had me smiling. I really like the 2nd quilt you loaded, looks like a easy pattern.
Thanks for the chuckle! I’ll bet Rosie was really confused when you didn’t answer her ‘bell call’! hope you show us your Frolic quilt! Stay safe!
The thread – ugh. That had to be so frustrating. I’m glad you got it figured out and could enjoy some quilting time as well as getting something accomplished.
Oh my word, that little scamp. Yes, I guess she can’t be blamed for the bell part and you’ll know to react to it if it happens again. Life’s learning moments.
Oh my – that picture of Rosie curled up sleeping is too precious!! I am sorry she is giving you such a run for your money. Hang in there. Love the bell story – I think she is a very smart puppy.
How could you not love that sweet little thing? She is precious and it will get better, your quilts are beautiful!
My jaw hearts from laughing and throwing my head around. Rosie is a gem — doing what she should do. I probably would have done the same thing you did.
Beautiful quilts, I love the patterns and color. What type of thread do you like to use? Weight?
Oh, Jo, I can so relate to your puppy issues. Our Leo is a bit older and is still putting me through my paces. We had our own “ring the bell” issues. He was getting the hang of it when I went out of town to visit my niece–my first vacation in “forever”. I was gone for 48 hours, and I am guessing that in my absence, my partner wasn’t as attentive to the sound of the ringing bell, nor as quick to encourage him to ring the bell before taking him out. After I came home, Leo declined to ring the bell to go outside and hasn’t done it once since; he got the message that the bells were unnecessary and he abandoned them. Potty training has not gotten better since then, although he has done a pretty good job of training me to pay attention to his signals.
I had to laugh at Rosie and the bells! Sorry it’s at your expense. Train the owner so to speak…. I have NEVER ripped out as much as I have as on Frolic! I should call it Jacks quilt LOL barley got the top done yesterday. I need to do the borders now and get it quilted.
Oh what a day! I miss having a dog but don’t miss stuff like this but look at her sleeping, can almost see the wings growing!!