Test blocks

I have some finishes despite being MIA for a bit. I was so intent on finishing my Superman tumbling blocks mini before working on anything else that it led me to avoid my sewing area for 2 weeks. I seem to have a mental block when it comes to the quilting aspect. I'm stitching in the ditch .. so it's not complicated, I think it's an issue with my wanting to be able to do much more than my skills allow and getting frustrated. I know Practice, Practice, Practice is the only way to get through this mental stumbling block.

Shopping at Walmart for extra bobbins last week some fat quarters of Flutterby caught my eye. I loved the bright summery colours and thought it would be great for making mug rugs to practice on. I came across this tutorial last week Easy-Peasy-Binding-Tutorial and figured working out the kinks of my binding and working on my control while quilting is technically going to benefit this quilt ... right!?! Once I had the rotary cutter in my hand, typical me - my plan changed. Instead of mug rugs I decided to make a sample block of the carpenters star (modified) for my oldest daughters quilt.

I had to scale it down to work with the jelly roll and 10' charm pack I will be using for her actual quilt so some math was needed to figure out the best way to go. I figured out all my measurements as I went, used chain piecing for the first (but definitely not the last) time and here we are. It's bright and fun - points aren't perfect but I like it (for the record that upper star point on the right has the same pink on the end - really I didn't mangle it that badly) It will finish to an 11.5' block. I've decided that instead of adding it to my orphan blocks it would make a really nice throw pillow. Added some of the green as trim to make it 16' finished, a bit of minky on the back, gave it a quick wash and tossed in some stuffing and she's good to go.

On a roll I made another block to turn into a throw pillow for my youngest. This months fabric of the month was Northcott's Stonehenge Kids - Undersea Adventure (see full line HERE). It came in over the weekend and it was at the top of the pile. I was originally just going to go with it but seeing she's 16 I thought it would be best to let her pick the fabric. The minute she saw it she had to have it. To make sure I wasn't influencing her or she was picking out the first thing she saw, I pointed out other fabric she has drooled over in the past but she stayed firm. This time I made the Crazy Quilt block from Quilter's Cache that I've been wanting to try for awhile. It's the first time I've ever done piecing and I have to say Wow I loved how quick this block went together. I didn't have any muslin so used plain white cotton and chalked the block pattern on and went to work. I added the border to make it bigger and used black minky on the back. It only took a few hours from starting it to going into the washer. Record time for me!! I ran out of fill half way stuffed so its not fully finished yet but I'm really happy with this.

Next up is a block from the pattern she originally chose for her quilt Buzzsaw block. This one is paper piecing. Originally I was going to fudge it and create templates but now .. I'm going to attempt using the method from the site. I'm hoping to get started on it tonight.

I also need to make a pillow for my son by Sunday. It isn't fair the girls get pillows especially when it's his 21st birthday this coming weekend.

I still haven't tried out those instructions on binding but will get to them eventually.

Picker's delight!

We've added another old singer to our collection and she is a beaut! Long story short - One of Chris co-workers was admiring the pictures of our latest acquisition and came up to Chris later in the day and said he spied a bentwood case at the curb for garbage pick up many years ago and was curious so he put it in the back of his truck. He was surprised to find what was under the cover.
He thought it was from the 1930's and he'd rather it go to someone who would use it/love it then for it to continue to sit in his basement so if we wanted it, we could have it. Chris was off shift yesterday he went to pick it up - it's a 15-30 1921 Tiffany and has the original foot pedal. Chris gave her a quick clean/oil and put her in one of the desks. She still needs some TLC but we couldn't resist giving her a run. She absolutely purrrs. Quietest machine so far (the treadle needs a new belt before we can test her out).

Last night Chris decided my sewing room space was too cramped with all these machines/desks. He felt I needed to claim more of the sitting area (which is only used by me & Chris). I didn't think to take before pictures but here is a panorama of my area re-arranged with all the machines displayed (with exception of Chris's Elna) that we've acquired in the past few months. We still have a small sitting area which isn't shown but it is cozy. The number of machines looks bad but honestly all of these combined including the tables we've still spent less than what we paid for my Brother last year - lots of garage sale/thrift shop finds and a few freebies. He loves working on these old machines and I enjoy testing them all out.

No progress on my Superman mini and we'll have a houseful of people tonight, hopefully I can get it done over the weekend.

A mini quilt & a Treadle

Superman Mini Tumbling blocks

My week vacation is a thing of the past. Busy week at work last week and if today was any indication it won't be letting up any time soon. I did get some sewing time in the last few days of my vacation. I made this mini tumbling blocks quilt for a rocking chair Chris had as a toddler that now sits in a corner in our living room. Top completed and basted in under 2 days and it's been waiting for me to quilt and bind since.  I made some mistakes and to go back I would made the medium value a solid but I do like it and even more importantly Chris really likes it. I finally got back to it this past Sunday afternoon. I stitched in the ditch (or in some places near the ditch...) I'm about half done - then I got sidetracked and so it sits some more. I really want to finish it up this week. (picture is cropped so you don't see the back and batting hanging over and the black is even all over)

We had a garage sale on Saturday and while chatting with the neighbours I pulled out my Puppy love and the half done mini quilt. My next door neighbour's son will be 3 at the end of July. He loved Puppy love and kept saying it was his. If it wasn't my very first quilt I would have given it to him. I will have to find something fun and bright for him and see if I can get it done in time for his birthday. Apparently I'm a glutten for over extending myself. I can't seem to resist taking on new projects when I already have a plateful waiting for me to start!

So what did we do with some of the cash from the garage sale? We bought a 1892 Singer 27 treadle we've been eyeing for a while. The pictures posted in the ad were a bit deceiving - it looked a bit dull but otherwise near mint. Since taking my own pictures for this blog - it really does photograph better than it looks especially if you play with the picture a bit (top is raw photo, lower is tweaked with an editor). What we bought is a bit worse for wear, had been passed down the generations in the same family and has been an ornamental piece for many years. All the working parts of the machine were free moving so I'm thinking of it as a diamond in the rough .. On our way home we discussed its shape and thought we'd do some light work to clean it up and keep it original. After further inspection in the bright lights of the sewing room which is a far cry from the soft lighting where we saw it and with all the time in the world to really look at everything (she was on her way out to meet friends), the top is a mess.

It's cracked/splintered  with lots of sharp bits and the rest has that ripple/bubble going on which indicates water damage, deep circle stains (I'm thinking it's from potted plants), the knobs on the doors are not original and the coffin cover is cracked and nailed on at the top. So in harsh light of reality, Chris is going to refinish the entire top so its smooth and catch free, try to find knobs more in line with what was there originally and clean & shine her up to look like a brand new penny. Not sure what he'll do with the coffin cover (top picture) if anything, I know he's disappointed how much work is required to make it usable but I have no worries that when he's done his magic this will be the star of my sewing room.

So the plan this week is to finish up Superman mini quilt and start working on Dick and Jane quilt. Oh and clean up my sewing room, finish organizing my stash, blog more often, ... LOL if I get one of those off my list I'll be happy.