Needle vs. Safety Pin

Have you ever been backing up and heard a sickening crunch? The sound that makes you curse... out loud unless there are kids in the car. I heard it today while I was sewing! Immediately everything came to a screeching halt. I had been quilting with my BSR (Bernina stitch regulator foot) on, and was blithely meandering along when the crunch happened. The quilt in question had been basted with safety pins.

The needle was pulled out of the machine, and I could see that I had hit the safety pin. As I disentangled the thread and metal, I realized that the needle had won! It had gone cleanly and completely through the head of the safety pin!

Here's a peek at the quilt. It's lap size, and has been a lot of fun quilting in spite of the needle/safety pin battle. And now, I've run out of thread. This is the largest quilt I've made in the long time, and the largest one I've ever machine quilted, and I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turning out. I hope to have it in the shop by the end of the weekend.