All we need is LOVE.

Pin It If you've been into the shop lately, you may have heard me cursing my longarm under my breath (or not-so-under-my-breath).  Don't get me wrong.  I love my Bertha but lately it has seemed like she's developed a mind of her own.  There has been no controlling her, she does what she wants.
Because of this my wrists have been sore at the end of every day from trying to hold onto my handles for dear life and make her follow my orders.  I knew there had to be something wrong.  I just didn't realize how awry things had really gone!
The other day I was cleaning my wheels on the machine and going veeeeeerrrrry slooooooow.  It was then that I noticed distinct grooves in three of my wheels and major corrosion on two more.  I have no idea how this happened and how I didn't even notice.  I clean my tracks and wheels about once a week so it's beyond me how they got this bad.  Of course...  I didn't even know just how bad they were until I took them off the machine.  I'm ashamed to show this picture, but at least you will understand my troubles I've had for the past few weeks and why I've been a little grumpy:

 

Now, it should be said that this is actually one of the BETTER wheels I took off the machine!  I replaced them with my new EdgeRider wheels and...  HOLY CRAPOLA I think I could seriously play on Bertha forever now.  I Pimped My Ride: 

YAY!!  It now stitches like a dream and I have complete control over it again.  I cannot tell you how wonderful it will be and I will be saving a lot of money on Motrin and Aleve!  (Of course... this combined with my upcoming surgery?  I may have no use for Motrin or Aleve ever again!  Wouldn't that be nice?)

So today when I went into the shop I fully intended to give these babies a run for their money and make them earn their keep.  I have a customer art quilt I wanted to work on but when I took it off the shelf it instantly gave me a "blah" kind of feeling.  I turned to my Amy Butler LOVE fabric, instead.  I've been dying to make something out of it (as you know) and today...  I did!  

I wanted to make a new bag that had "cheer" written all over it so of course, the LOVE fabric was my only (or best) option.  This is what I came up with:

Cute?  Ugly?  Tell me what you think.  It's the first time I've ever used handles, I usually make them myself but thought this one was deserving...  It also has three interior pockets and a magnetic center closure.  It makes me smile.  =]

I'm needing a reason to smile after the SuperBowl!  Booooooooooo!