Lady June Nose Art by Sharon Smith

Hi there! This may be more wordy than my normal posts but it is a lead in to another post on my other blog.

I have been very lucky to have had great friends in my time with the military. Every posting I have been blessed with very special friends. Sharon Smith and I came into each others lives when we needed one another the most. I would run across the street with quilt or bag projects and she would come over to my house with paintings. It was the first time in my life I have had a friend who was as involved in her craft as I was in mine. I miss her everyday.

For those of you who don't know...let me tell you the story of my long arm. I am sure that most long arm owners have stories about when they finally crossed the line and bought their machine. Well, I was quilting a really big quilt for Michelle of Cloud 9 Fabric for quilt market. She wanted it quilted very simply, but I was having a heck of a time feeding it through my domestic machine.

On one of my quilting breaks I decided to surf around of Craig's list and see if any long arms were available in the area. The only brand of machine I knew anything at all about was Gammill. So I did a Gammill Search. Low and behold there was a Gammill Supreme available right in my little town. San Angelo is a spec on the map. I called the number and asked to set up an appointment to see it.

I was met by a very sweet Texas lady. June was in fact my complete Texas lady image (silver blond hair perfectly done and flawless makeup in 110 degree weather)  She lit up when she saw me and we clicked very well. This machine was made back in 1991, so it is an older machine, but with the quality that the machine was made with all it needed was some oil and and a bit of cleaning I would be in business.

I brought my husband by to look at it. After all, this is a massive machine and takes up much more room than the machines I had been dragging home up to this point. June and I worked out a deal and we rented a flatbed trailer to bring it home. With the exception of a couple days during this last move, I have quilted with Lady June everyday. I love this machine and I thank June everyday for letting me buy her and expand my quilting practice.

Obviously I had to name the machine for June...and since she was a more massive machine than any of my others she needed a title. Lady June also needed art. Sharon wanted to just paint the nose art directly on the machine, but one thing led to another and the movers showed up. But never fear - Sharon, the best artist I know whipped up an image on vellum for me to have a bumper sticker made and put it wherever I wanted on the machine. I have been carrying around the painting for months....and finally took the time to put it on my machine. I love Lady June even more now. Thank you Sharon...I miss you and I wish we were still neighbors.

I bet some of you would like to have nose art for your machines...or for your car? Heck maybe your kitchenAid mixer needs a pin up girl draped over it? Sharon can do that for you. If you would like to visit her and inquire about a little painting, contact her through her FaceBook Page HERE.

OK, I have a quilt to finish and a sick kiddo to love on. Have a great day.