It’s the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I have no heat in my house, I have guests arriving, turkey and the usual accompaniments to prepare and all I can think about is the arrival of my new Gammill Vision 22. Monday is the big day and I’m as excited as a 10-year old on Christmas day!

I have spent countless hours on the internet filling my head with blogs and videos proffered by famous longarmers – Linda Taylor, Sharon Schamber – on and on until I am dreaming of nothing but quilting.

I have to admit amid all this excitement there is an underlying nervousness about this new “pet” that will occupy a good deal of my space – like a beast needing to be tamed. There are a thousand new quilting tricks that I want to teach this new “lion” but I suspect that the tables will be turned. Just like any new pet in the household, there is a period of adjustment,  or perhaps assimilation, until you both reach that comfortable fit. All the while, like the Borg, it is you who is being assimilated – joining the hive of longarm quilters scattered throughtout the sector. I suspect this newcomer may be somewhat unyeilding as we negotiate a balance between master and obedient pet.

In spite of my desire to tame it “right out of the box” and be the next longarm diva, I realize that we will need some time together before it realizes who is the master here. I will continue to chronicle the “training” period as we establish the rules of our new-found relationship. Welcome Vision 22, let the games begin. I need to get on to  my search for the next YouTube video of feathers and microstippling, quilting sirens, singing their magical songs to coax me away from my housekeeping and turkey-crafting. Caught in their allure I am left with one thought…

Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated! Perhaps I just need to accept my new role -slave to the Gammill beast.