My new quilting adventure

I have spent a few hours today getting to know my new Juki sewing machine –this is the machine I plan to use on the quilting frame bought two weeks ago and hopefully arriving here at Enmatte this week.
.
Its a solid machine, made with free motion quilting on a frame in mind –a wide and deep throat, no fancy stitches, and a good tension system. So far I’ve practiced with fabric scraps, and there’s plenty of those in my stash, and I’m slowly getting used to the speed –its fast! and remembering to use the thread cutter which is very useful.
I’ve got some pieced tops and fleece backs to practice quilting with  … good enough to care about but not so good that it’ll matter much if it all goes pear-shaped.
More on the frame and my first tries at quilting soon, meanwhile I’m getting on with a new knitted cushion cover using up some hemp yarn that was a real bad buy. Its not that nice to knit with and the garment I started felt far too rough to wear. So I’m trying Jacqui Harding’s Windermere pattern from The Knitter Issue 43 using a woven second yarn in rows with stocking stitch for the front and my favourite stitch –linen stitch- for the back.  Its knitting to watch tv and films with  … ideal for the Christmas holidays with family except I have to watch out for Macaroon who can be away with the yarn in a flash.