Juki Review and a Customer Quilt

  So last time I blogged I wrote that I was fortunate enough to have a baby Juki 2010 TL sewing machine follow me home from the quilt show. :0) I have now had ample time to play with it and give a little review. 

   First of all, I bought this machine specifically for piecing, so that is the only sewing I have done on it so far. I have been playing with the speed since this machine is fast. And I mean FAST! See? Tortoise and the hare? I keep it pretty much on the hare, but the foot pedal is extremely sensitive so I can actually sew one stitch at a time if I need to even on full blast. 

Another great feature of the foot pedal is the auto cut. A rock back with the heel and the threads will be auto cut. Not only that, you can keep sewing and get no bird's nest whatsoever. That is amazing. My other machine will auto cut but then you need to pull threads again and anchor them or you can have a major problem. 

 There is also a button for the auto cut but I tend not to use that as the pedal is so handy. A word of caution, if you rest your heel on the pedal you can accidentally cut the threads and it WILL scare the crap out of you. 

 The feet are metal and very well built. There is no rocking with these feet. My Janome feet are famous for rocking a little. There is play in them, but not with the Juki feet. They are heavy, sturdy and well made. 

 One of the reviews I read, and I am sorry, I cannot remember who it was, but if I find it I will credit them, talked about the feed dogs. One of the amazing things about this machine is where the feed dogs actually hit the foot. If you are quilting with a 1/4 inch seam, and most of us do, both sides of the feed dog will be in that allowance. This makes for a very straight feed. Notice my Janome on the bottom and where the feed dog is in relation to my tape for the seam. It will actually not touch the right side and this makes the fabric swing out a little and is very annoying. The Juki is perfectly placed for piecing.

 All in all, I don't think there is anything I don't like about this machine. It hums along and I love the sound of it. It does need a lot of oiling, but even that is not a bother. I just do it at the start of sewing and we are off to the races. 

I know there are many people quilting on this machine and I will try it at some point, but truly I am a longarmer at heart and don't need the smaller machine for quilting unless it is something so small I don't wish to load it…maybe a sham..or something. Anyhow, if you are in the market, please go try one out. I couldn't believe what a dream machine this one is. It is the machine I have been trying to find all along……..

Now for a little show and tell. This is Deborah's Pepper Dish that I finished over Easter weekend for her. It was pure joy to quilt it as she gave me free rein and just a deadline. It was a little rough since I had several music playing jobs around the holiday so I was crazy busy. There was more than one morning where I was up at 5am and quilting until 8am when I had to leave. But it is a serene time when I have the house to myself and can just quilt and think. I do love it…but I am NOT a morning person by choice. This is for certain. ha!!!

 Everything on this quilt is SID. Everything. That is probably what took the most time besides the microfill. The cobalt is also feathered but I could not get a good shot of it. Her colors are superb! 

I also entered one more quilt show with Orange You Glad. It was the East Texas Quilter's Guild Show in Tyler. I have strong ties to this city so I was just thrilled that it placed first in it's division. I think it will retire to my wall soon and I can keep it home where it is safe from the travel perils of the road. ;0) 

 

Happy Quilting and have a great weekend!!