It's finally Fall! - What I've been working on

I had high hopes for the summer, but the weather was too nice to be in my basement sewing studio.

We had a very long, wet spring, but summer was glorious and the warm weather just ended this past week. Unfortunately the last month was smoke-filled due to numerous forest fires near us on both sides of the border. Fall is definitely here, but we may even have snow next week!! Work kept me busy, but now we are winding down a big project, so I'll have more free time.

I finally have felt some motivation to start putzing and getting things organized, and as I'm going along, I finishing a few things.

I pulled out a cutting project that stalled, and in small increments this week, I got it finished up.

It is all the pieces for Bonnie Hunter's Jingle Bell Square, even the sashings.(Pattern found in her book Addicted to Scraps - ps: the book is on sale, with a free pattern as well). I'm saving this to assemble during my Christmas break. I have done some test blocks, so I have 3 of 49 blocks done. See those red/green 1" strips? Instead of cutting out the strips separately, I sewed the strips together and cut the 4 matching pairs. This will save me a lot of time later on.

Strip sets ready for cutting!

A look at my messy work area. I do all my piecing on a 1947 Featherweight.

More projects behind the machine - each basket has parts for future scrappy quilts.

This project was a great way to use up some old Christmas fabrics - a lot came from my mom's collection and from fabric bags she made. She's been gone for 22 years now, so it is going to be a great memory quilt for one of my daughers.

Next up today - opening up my new-to-me 222 Featherweight!  I've dreamed of owning one of these for a long time. I can't wait to try it out.

Have a great day,

Terri

SCORE and Sunday Stash Report, Week 27

Yesterday I went garage-saleing for the first time in a few years, at not since I started my vintage sewing machine addiction.  At the first stop, I scored all of this!

 

(Ruffler, binding foot, pintucker and seam guide plus extras)

 

 Cost: FREE! The seller had sold an old machine that needed work, and these fell out of one of the drawers when they were loading it up.  The buyer didn't want them, so the seller had put them in the trash.  When I asked if she had any sewing machine accessories for sale,  she said she just thrown some out, I asked if I could see them. We literally dug through the trash!

And at the second stop, these!

 

Total cost: $6.00  Both the buttonhole attachment (it was complete) and the circular stitcher will work on my 1947 Singer Featherweight and my 201 (once it's up and running).  I'm going to play with these and post more about them another day.

 

On to my stash enhancements:

 

 

These colours are not accurate, but it is too hot to go out for good pictures, and besides the grass is all dead anyway, so it would make for a lousy background.  The pindot is a dark aqua and the large polka-dot has a black background.  I was introduced to a new-to-me store near my work that is like a wholesaler.  Prices were amazing at $6-12 a metre for quilt-shop quality (min. cut 1 metre), but even better they offer a 2 for 1 pricing, so you pay the same for 2 metres as you do for one metre.  My friend and I spilt the cost and ended up with a metre each!  Unfortunately, they don't sell online.

 

Added: 3 metres

 

Added Year to Date: 4 metres 

 

I also found out one of my friends recently started quilting, so I invited her over to pick through my stash for her next project (a wall hanging).  She chose these colours, so I gave her a fat quarter of each (that's all she wanted!)

 

 

 

Used/Given away: 2.0 metres

 Used/Given away Year to Date: 22 metres

 

Added for 2015: -18.0 metres

 

All the fabric I have given away this year has helped me stay in the negative.  Good thing, because I don't seem to be sewing much! It's been too bloody hot! I really miss my basement sewing room this year!

 

Here on the West Coast, we have been breaking 100+ year-old records.

 

 

It was over 40c (104F) in the shade on Canada Day! What a switch-around in the weather the last couple of years - usually it's us on the West Coast that is waiting for summer to start until mid-July. Instead, this year, it seems like it is everybody east of the Rockies.  The downside is the number of forest fires starting daily is crazy - the last week has averaged 30-35 a day. 

 

In the morning, my kids and grandkids, some of their friends and I went on a hike.

 

 

I am so proud of myself.  I climbed this mountain trail...

 

 

...up to this lake (Lindeman Lake, near Chilliwack, BC).  I haven't done it in over 30 years, and after having knee problems two years ago, I thought I would never get to do it again.  My knees never bothered me at all (although my butt cheeks were sore the next day ;o) and I plan on doing more hiking this summer.

 

After, we spent the afternoon in my daughter's pool, where some of us (1) got to cool off in the best way! (Although it looks sunny, my daughter has a UV shade drawn to protect her).  She is sitting on a quilt my mother-in-law made and gifted to me when the kids were babies - proof a quilt doesn't have to be made from quilt-shop fabrics to be enjoyed and loved.

 

 

Mya is eight months old and starting to move, but isn't crawling yet.  She'll sit like this for hours, but as soon as your back is turned she'll bum-scoot off the blankets.  My daughter says she's watched too much Doctor Who when she was pregnant, and Mya is like one of the Weeping Angels that only move when you turn your back!

 

Hope you all are enjoying your summer so far.  If it's hot where you are, stay cool and careful not to start any fires.  If it has been raining where you are, I hope you see a change soon.

 

For more stash reports and goings-on, check out Judy's Stash Report linky at http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/07/05/fabric-document-write-stash-report-week-27-2015/

 

 

Terri in BC

 

 

Sunday Stash Report #46

Nothing new in to report, but I'm starting to see progress in the almost-finished column - mostly Christmas presents which I can't share here yet.  I did finish one thing for me, a tote bag for my Featherweight sewing maching:

 

 

It is my own design and I used the contents of a Moda Scrap Bag purchased from Fabric Depot a couple of years ago.

 

I love these little scrap bags - they actually hold quite a bit of fabric (I estimated between 2 - 2 1/2 yds) and are all from one coordinating line.  The only downside is you don't get to specify.  Only once have I received a bag with fabric I wasn't crazy about (a civil war reproduction), but I just fed the strips into my scrap bins and some of them found their way into my Orca Bay quilt! I use Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User System, which has increased my productivity four-fold.

 

 

 

Each side has a pocket, which fit all my essential tools (the 6x12" ruler fits in the bag, I just tilted it to show it.)  The bag looks a little big right now, but I wanted to allow for shrinkage the first time it is washed.  I made it to protect the case and handle, as the bottom edges had a little fraying, and I've heard the handles can give over time, and I want to preserve my case as best I can, since it is in such good shape for a 65-year-old!

 

 

 

The strips on the pockets line up with the strips on the base.  The whole piece was made using the quilt-as-you-go method and I also incorporated the handles  into the base sections as well for additional strength.  There is no way those suckers can pull off!  I covered a button with coordinating fabric and made the tab from scraps. 

 

 

 

I made a matching mat to go under the machine when I'm sewing.  When I sew at my friend's house, we use her dining room table and I want to help protect it.  I just realized as I took these pictures, I forgot to do the double-lines of quilting beside each seam, so I'll go back and add those before I stitch down the binding (after I finish this post!).

 

 

I used a simple white muslin on the back of both the bag's quilted pieces and the mat, since you won't see them anyway.

 

 

The binding was pieced from the rest of the scraps.  I think I only had about 24" of 2"-3" wide strips left, which have now found their way into the scrap bins, to be used in a future Bonnie Hunter scrappy quilt.

 

So at the end of the day, my stash went down a little - with the backing I've estimated a conservative 2.5 metres.

 

Used since last report:  2.5 metres

Used year to Date: 88.25 metres

Added since last report: 0 metres

Added Year to Date: 93.5 metres

Net Used/Gained for 2012: 5.25 metres

 

 

 

 

 

This week should show a huge number used, as I have started quilting Zoey's quilt.  It has to be done by Christmas, but I want it done by Thursday so I can start living on Easy Street!

 

 

 

 

 

Joining UFO Sunday - hosted by Leah Day from The Free Motion Quilting Project

The last few weeks I've been beating myself up about the number of UFOs (UnFinished Objects) and WIPs (Works in Progress) I have on the go, but it hasn't stop me from starting more!  Let's face it - they are all UFOs in my house.  I'm pretty sure I suffer from QAD (Quilter's Attention Deficit). I'm putting a moratoriam on starting any more, unless they are a gift for a specific person for a specific date.  After all, I proved I can do that by making baby Brayden's quilt in just two sittings!  

Then last Sunday, I came across this post by Leah Day.  I think she was reading my mind. 

I love Leah's blog, The Free Motion Quilting Project.  I found her when I was searching how to free-motion quilt on my home machine (not that I've really tried much yet!).  She has terrific videos, goes into great detail and shares so much of how her mind works as she comes up with designs.  She also shares her personal history and how quilting has helped her, and as someone who also has had a difficult background, she has given me some great insight.

I've challenged myself to learn how to set up a new page (yay! done that) so I can list all my UFOs and I'm committed to UFO Sundays! And I've set up a separate page so I can list them all in one place, have links to their related posts, thereby tracking my progress and celebrate my finishes.

See my page here!

 Eventually, I want to have links on each name so I can go back and just see the posts related to that quilt.  I think might have to stop putting so much in to one post, and start posting more regularly with just one or two subjects.


 

This week's project - get my precious new-to-me Featherweight up and running! 

(Accomplished! and work done on an actual UFO - full story below if you want to read on!)

I purchased it six months ago, but have been afraid to use it until I dealt with this:

I'm scared of anything electrical (my sister lost her home to an electrical fire), and this was the original wiring, and there were exposed wires where the tape ended.  Major confession here - I have not even plugged it the machine since I bought it. So last Sunday, after making my UFO list, I put in a new light bulb, bravely anxiously plugged it in and flipped the switch.  NOTHING HAPPENED! OMG, what have I done?  Thrown away over $200 on a doorstop? I started googling and found out the switch only turns on the light, so obviously power wasn't getting to the light.  (PS: The Ebay seller was upfront and said she had no idea if it worked as it was her grandmother's and she had no idea how to use it.)

I googled some more, and decided I could handle looking inside the plug, after all I couldn't make it any worse. It was a mess, so what harm could I do?

 I got all the wires cut back and rewired in the right places (photos are so helpful at this point).  Plugged it in, and lo and behold the light came on!

I gingerly stepped on the foot controller and....NADA!  Still nothing.  I figured I would have to hunt for a new foot controller so back to Google I went.  I couldn't believe my luck - there was a Featherweight maintenance and repair workshop being held just 45 minutes from my home, across the border in Lynden, WA just 5 days later.  It was being put on by Tangled Threads and the teacher was none other than Dave McCallum from Featherweight RX, the author of "The Featherweight and I" and "Those Fantastic Featherweights".  According to everything I read, this is the guy who knows everything about Featherweights.  The only condition of the class was you had to have a running Featherweight.  I emailed Dave, explained my problem and asked if it would still be worth coming to the class.  I was surprised when he personally phoned me, and after talking, he assured me that it would definitely be worth my while to take the class, and even if it was full, to come anyway and he would get me up and running. I registered, went to the class on Friday and Dave plugged a new foot controller into my machine and just like that, my machine is running as smoothly as a brand-new machine.

It turned out I didn't even need to replace the foot controller - I just had to replace the power cord at a cost of $13.50!  If you own a Featherweight, I encourage you to buy his bundle which includes the book and DVD set.  It has everything we learned in the class and more, and well worth every penny.  You would never have to send your machine for service again, and I even learned some tips for my newer machines.  (No affiliation or compensation - I was just so impressed with the class and with Dave and his wife).

I was so excited I went home, pulled out the first UFO I could get my hands on (dating back to 2008), went to my friend's home and started sewing.

This is the first Thangles project I signed up for.  My LSS does one every year, and for $2/month you get 2 strips and the instructions to make one or two blocks.  I finished the flimsy of one in July and have two more to do.  This one is pink and green, the other one is black and rose.  I didn't participate this past year, because I had 3 unfinished.  I've promised myself if I get them all done this year, I could join again next year if one appeals to me (or not!).

Thanks for reading! 

I'm a Winner - Twice!!

I can't believe it - I actually won something!  A big "shout-out" to Kristen of Sew, Mama, Sew who so generously had a give-away last month, and I was one of six winners of a yard of fabric of my choice.  Aneela Hooley's "A Walk in the Woods" was sold out, so I went with this:

It's Ant Maze from Backyard Baby! My grandson is going to love this!

It arrived yesterday and just after I opened the package, I went to check out an item I was following on ebay.  Here is my big win of the day!!!  Check this out:

(Sorry for the blurry pictures - I was so excited to get these posted)  My first time bidding on Ebay and I won this 1947 Featherweight for just $217.50 - and the best part - no shipping!  The seller was local and drives right by my house on her way home from work, so less than 24 hours after I won the bid, I had this baby in my hot little hands. 

It is in fantastic shape.  The decals are in perfect condition, front and back: 

There's barely a scratch on it - only a couple of minor pin scratches. 

The serial number dates it to about late 1947.

(Those brown spots appear to be dried oil - nothing a little cleaning won't get rid of.)

It was even made in Canada!

It appears to have all the parts that it would have come with the original purchase including all the feet, 6 bobbins, a screwdriver, a tube of motor lubricant and even the original manual, barely used.  The only thing missing is the can of machine oil that would have come with it when first purchased.

There are a few minor things that can be expected with a 65-year-old machine.  The case has some minor damage on the bottom corners.

The power cord needs to be repaired near the end that plugs into the machine.

And the light bulb was broken off - it looks like someone tried to take it out the wrong way, but a replacement bulb was in the box!

This machine is going to be a beautiful addition to my sewing room. In a funny coincidence I already own the table that was made for these machines.  I bought it at a garage sale for $5 when I was just 20 years old, and setting up my first apartment.  I bought what I thought was a card table to put my sewing machine on, and it wasn't until about 10 years later that I realized the cut-out was possibly for a sewing machine.  It was only less than 2 years ago when I started reading quilting blogs that I realized I had a Featherweight table.  Mine is folded away right now, but it is in much better shape than this picture I found on ebay - this one sold for $80!!  I'm so excited to have a set ;o)