Here is the 48 star flag finished for my friend, Cindy....I learned a lot quilting this...took me a very long time. First, I did not know what to do...so loaded the flag anyway. Then decided to stitch the Pledge of Allegiance into the white stripes, had to unload. Found stencils online...cut them out, traced them onto the flag and then reloaded. Never having done this before...really did not know what to expect...except, I knew what I wanted....so off I stitch...

Well, as I am stitching around my stenciled lettering...my Gammill starts to shift. It takes on a mind of it's own!! Frustration sets in...as I rip out stitches and try again....quickly realizing something is not right...and it's not just me! I call Boersma's in McMinnville where my machine was purchased. Explaining the situation, I am told that my wheels are worn out and time to replace them. I just replaced them a year ago...have I really quilted that many quilts already?? Roger at Boersma's does not think so....I make the trip to McMinnville where I am handed a new package of 8 wheels...no cost (yet they cost $125) and told to go home, install them and see if that helps. Yes it did!! Roger is sending the old wheels back to Gammill. Again....can't say enough about customer service and friendly shopkeepers at Boersma's!!

Okay, the flag...not as happy as I would like to be with the results...but think I added more "primitive" to the primitive piece!!

Outlined the stars in a variegated denim blue thread and again in red. The Pledge of Allegiance is stitched in variegated denim.

Week Eight: February 22nd-28th

1. Headed to Puyallup, Wa. for the Sewing and Stitchery Expo

2. Thursday classes from Pam Clarke

3. Saturday 5 hour BOM class at The Primitive Thimble in Vancouver, Wa.

4. Goal: two more quilts!