Disaster Strikes

I had a restless day yesterday. I started early to get to work on Caro's quilt, and then my baby - my Elna 7200 sewing machine - started making loud noises and the lights started flickering on the machine, and it slowed down, speeded up, slowed down as if it was going to stop entirely. I phoned Step by Step to check I could take the machine in. I got there quickly, and Anne performed exploratory surgery on the machine, but could find nothing. I've had to leave the machine there and it's going to be examined by sewing machine technicians. This is serious stuff, as the sewing machine has a larger 'arm' - making it ideal for quilting, and has a start / stop button so you don't have to use the foot pedal and try to keep an even speed. I have my other Elna - 6005 - which I can also quilt on, but it doesn't have a start / stop button, so I'll have to practise first to get used to using the foot pedal to set the speed. I also had to go mountaineering in the house to get my other sewing machine extension table, which was put away in the far corner of the living room (the store area at the moment) - that was really hard work trying to get to it without injuring myself or having boxes fall down on me.
On a different matter, the course I went on on Saturday was called Strip and Flip bags - it was great! I really enjoyed the day and will have to spend some time finishing the panel - once I've finished the panel I shall put a photo of it on this blog, and when I've made the bag I'll put a picture of that on here as well. I'll put more details of the workshop on the post with the photos. I really need to get on and do some school work - marking books and writing reports.
Do have a go on the survey - just for a bit of fun, and check the links I've added - I particularly like the Charity Focus and Daily Good sites, which have some lovely stories and quotations.