Meet Vinnie Gammill...

Friday was one of the rainiest days we've had in a long time!  I checked the radar between my dealer's shop in McMinnville, OR to here several times during the day -- I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything along the way that would delay his arrival!  Not only did he arrive safely, but a tad ahead of schedule!

Here is Jack's truck backed up to our garage.  See that plastic covered stuff on the upper right?  That is the frame for my table. Someone else's frame is on the left - he had 3 or 4 more stops after me!

When Jack opened the back of his truck, we expected large boxes, but he took care of those before leaving the shop, so all he would have to do is unload and get to business!  Because it was raining so hard, we really had to work fast unloading, otherwise I would have had more photos!

Here is Mr. Squash carrying one of the side pieces of the table downstairs.  Both of us pitched in to speed things up.

Just waiting for Vinnie to come down now!  I'm sure you're wondering where the name Vinnie came from.  Well, I had an anonymous comment the other day from Carrie that said Out with Lennie, In with Vinnie!  I immediately loved the name as does Mr. Squash, who says it makes him think of home in New Jersey!  Anyway, I later was thrilled to find out which Carrie made the comment - and immediately emailed to thank her!

Here is Jack setting up the table.  What a dedicated dealer - not only did he drive several hours in the rain to get here, but he waved off homemade goodies I had made for him until after he was done!

Oh.....we're getting close!  By the way - Jack is about 6'5" at least - that's why the table looks so small here!

Just a few more adjustments.....

And, Viola!  Ready to go!!  Jack loaded up Vinnie with "Gammill Food" consisting of thread, fabric and batting, spent a little time walking me through the machine and table and let me have at it!!

Here I am at the end of the day - swirling, feathering, stippling and getting to know Vinnie!  I absolutely love Vinnie!!  (Not to worry -- Mr. Squash understands he comes first no matter what.) I'm so glad things worked out the way they did because this is really the right machine for me!  You know where I'll be the next week or so. I'm keeping my practice sessions short but frequent so as not to strain muscles that aren't used to these motions.  I'm almost done with this quilt sandwich and will load a larger practice sandwich later today and give pantographs a try!  I really feel like I can get to some real quilting quite soon!