Been Busy

In addition to a bit of travel, this week has been productive for me. We have been on vacation.  Will post more soon.

Weekend Project

I took this:

And made this:

I am planning to make a padded cover to go over the tubing part. Want to make it to match the cover.

Simple Sewing And A Switch

After making the cover for the Featherweight Case yesterday, I was still in the mood to sew. I finished putting the sashing between the rows of the first nursing home quilt.  I don't have enough of the sashing fabric to use for a border so I will pick something else out.

The 301 is still skipping stitches.  Giving it a rest for a bit. I put Grace in the table. She is a little shorter than Clarice but other than that, she fits just fine.

I love the way she sounds.

Saturday Project

I saw a video on YouTube on how to make a quilted, zippered, carrying case to go over a Featherweight Case.  I didn't have the exact same materials required, but I found similar items.  It called for a visible on both sides foam. Without driving an hour, or waiting days for mail order, I found a one sided feasible foam locally.

One issue I ran into was that it did not come in a wide enough width.  I just pieced things together to make it work.

My Featherweight Case does not have a handle strap. I have an idea on how to make one.

Gleaning Information

That word looks funny - gleaning.

But that's what I have been doing.  I have been gleaning information from various sources, trying to find a solution to the skipped stitch issue I'm having with the 301.  It's kind of become an obsession.

Raspberry Cheese Pie

I got into a cooking mood last night and made this raspberry cream cheese pie!  Yum!  The recipe was on Mennonite Girls Can Cook website.  It was easy and very tasty!

Dinner last night was tilapia in foil packets on the grill with zuccinni and red peppers and rice.  Good stuff.  Also made Ev a couple egg and cheese and ham sandwiches for work today.  He's not to thrilled about taking fish to work.

Didn't do any sewing yesterday.  After all the cooking, I was ready to relax for a while.

I Was Just Going To Cut Squares

I was just going to go upstairs, cut enough 10" squares for one nursing home quilt, and quit.  Well, the magic aura that is in my sewing room hypnotized me and I ended up not only cutting the squares, but cutting the sashing strips for in between the rows, and sewing the sashing and squares all into rows!

These are the finished rows before I pressed them.  It was too hot to stay upstairs any length of time without air conditioning, which is what I would have had to do if I wanted to press them last night.  This morning before work I went up and pressed them.  And sewed the sashing strips for in between the rows together.  I almost started sewing them to the rows, but I looked at the time and figured if I started I wouldn't want to stop and would be really late for work!

The fabrics are just out of my stash.  Not sure where the light blue floral came from, but the dark blue was a double wide backing remnant from a quilt I made a while back.  The pink sashing was also stash fabric of an unknown orgin.  It has little bees on it.

Not that the fabrics have to make sense, but I reasoned they could go together because the flowers attracted the bees and the blue was sky or water.

If I get upstairs tonight, and that's a big if since the temps outside are supposed to reach 100 degrees today - that window air conditioner can only help so much - I should be able to finish one top.  My goal is to have three tops finished by the end of July, so this will be a good start.  At this rate, I may have all five tops done by then!

I supposed I could bring the work downstairs and finish the quilt on Polly.  That may be what I do tonight.

Slow Day

Been a hot weather day and I feel like I'm moving through sludge.  Ugh.  Last night I did a little more tweaking on the 301 to see if I could fix the skipped stitches issue.  Not sure if I did any good or not because it was too hot up there to really test it out for very long.

I did pick out several fabrics to use on the nursing home quilts for this year.  Just planning to do 10 inch squares with maybe a 2 inch sashing.  I want something quick and easy.

Trains And Automobiles

On my way to work today I got caught by a freight train.  It just seemed to go on forever!  Sigh.  It really wasn't that long, but it seemed like it while I was waiting.  When I left my house, I could hear the engines gaining power and getting ready to start pulling the freight cars.  It must have been sitting on the siding not far from home.

Garage Sale Project

This wall hanging has been laying around my sewing room, half finished, for years!  The words across the top needed to be stitched, a backing applied, binding, and hanging sleeve.  Here it is up to the hanging sleeve.  I think it turned out pretty good, for just a quick finish.

It will go into the rotation of wall hanging that I have in my front room.  Probably wait until Fall, because of the pumpkins in it.

Barnyard Scene Top Is Done

As much as I didn't like the fussy cutting I had to do for this top, I really do like the way it turned out!  Next will be the quilting.  The backing is a city scene of high rise buildings.  Not sure what I will use for the binding.

I have some chicken fabric that I might make a couple pillowcases from and send them along with the quilt.

Heat Or Cool

My house is old, so the wiring predates the window air conditioning unit.  I can't run the a.c. and the iron at the same time. Tonight I sewed several pieces then they needed to be pressed. I turned off the a.c., pressed them, and called it good.

I am still working on the 301's issues. I use a thread stand. It is infrequent so I may just have to live with it.

A Bit Warm

Our weather has been very warm and humid here.  Yuck.

I'm still having trouble with the 301 skipping the occasional stitch.  I've cleaned and changed needles and changed thread and sanded down parts.  Sigh.  Not giving up yet.  I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.

Last night I fussy cut pieces for my uncle in California's quilt.  It was a pain in the butt to fussy cut these pieces.  He's worth the trouble and then some, but if this were for anyone else, I might think twice about doing it!  haha

Internet has been down at work.  Makes for a long day!

Almost Ripe

My poor tomato plants just aren't getting the love they need, I guess.  This little cherry tomato is trying to get ripe.  I hope it tells all it's friends on the plant how to do it!  haha

Weather has been real hot and humid.  yuck.

Beginning A New Project

I know this doesn't look like much, but this is the beginning of a quilt for my uncle.  The farm scene is a panel that had to be fussy cut.  The red strips were added, then the whole thing had to be cut to a certain size for the next set of rows.

When I measured how long it needed to be, I figured out that the top and bottom needed to be cut a scant 1/2" to get it to the right size.  Well, I cut the top wrong.  It all worked out though, because the top is smaller than the bottom, which looks just fine.  I'm not going to worry about it.

Bloomington Square top is finished.  I sewed the last half of rows to each other on Clarice, my Singer 301 machine.  For some reason, it started skipping stitches on me.  I'm not happy about that at all.  I cleaned the bobbin area as best I could, and also changed the tension disks and spring on top.  Just not sure what's going on with it.  It will sew for about 10 inches and then skip 1, 2 or even 3 stitches in a row.  Tonight I am going to see if there is some rust or scratches on the bobbin race that could be causing it.  I really want that machine in good working order since I custom fit that table for her.

'During' Pictures

I took pics kind of going around in a circle. The doorway with the fan leads into the room where I have stored all the fabric.  I also put several of my machines in there along the wall.  The room can still, easily, be used as a bedroom.

The other door that is open is the stairs to the main section of the house.

This arrangement of furniture is pretty much the way it is going to be, with the possible exception of a small table or two being moved around.

The room just feels so much larger now!  And I have been using the airconditioning unit that is in the second room, with the fan, to make it tolerable.  Since there is no ductwork upstairs, the a/c from the main part of the house just doesn't make it up to the sewing room.  If I put the a/c window unit on and use that fan, it cools off pretty quickly.

I intend to clear off the clutter on the tables.  The cleaner I can get it, the more I will want to be in there!  haha.  Although I do work just fine in clutter, at least I won't feel like I should be cleaning rather than sewing.

There is a tote full of loose papers that needs to be sorted and organized.  Most of it is patterns.  It will get done eventually, but at least stuff is all together.

More Before Pictures

This is the 'other half' of my sewing room.  It still needs some love.

Behind the machine in the table is a big table that mostly just collects stuff.  I think I am going to just take that table down.  I would like to turn the machine around so my back is to the wall when sewing on that machine.

I had turned it sideways, just to see how I liked it.  It just doesn't flow well that way.  At least I have options!

Goodies In The Mail

Yesterday was a three package day!  Whoopee!

One package was medical.

Another package was new wicking for the 301.

And the third package was... wait for it...  FABRIC!  Whee!

My order from Hancock's of Paducah came.  I ordered fabric to go with the farm scene panel I purchased in Paducah to make a quilt for my uncle.  I thought I would have fabric at home that would match, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to make the quilt like the one displayed at the show.  A pattern was available and I was able to order all of the coordinating fabrics.

After I'm done with Bloomington Square I think I will get started on it.  Fun, fun, fun!

Rust Remover

The rust remover product was purchased at a farm store in the automotive department.  I think the name had 'blaster' in it, but not sure.  Anyway, I put the old bobbin case in a paper cup and sprayed it with the product, enough to soak it.  It seems to have taken off some of the rust, but there are a few places that still need some work.

I wanted to use mineral spirits on the presser bar and needle bar to get the gunk off, however I could not get the lid off the can of mineral spirits!  I used a bit of the rust remover on a q-tip and it helped get some of it off, but I need that can of mineral spirits opened!

I left the can on the kitchen table with a small jar and lid.  I'm hoping when Ev gets up he will open it for me and pour some in the jar.

BBQ Chicken

Let me first say that paper plates rock!  haha.  It was such a beautiful evening yesterday I decided to make some chicken breasts on the grill.  I marinated them briefly in Italian Dressing, then put season salt on them.  Onto the grill they went, then when it was time, they were slathered with bbq sauce!

Yum.

Shells and cheese and cauliflower completed the meal.  Probably should have chosen broccoli to have some color, but it worked for me!

Sewing In My Clean Space

It's so nice to sew in my clean(er) sewing room!  I added four more rows to the Bloomington Square top last night.  There are seven rows left to add and it will be done.  Well, sort of done.  I'm not sure if I will applique' anything on top of it or not.

The needle bar on Clarice has some gunky stuff on it, that I am pretty sure is old oil and maybe residue from being in a home with a smoker.  Not sure what it is, but I bought some mineral spirits today and I'm going to try and clean it tonight.

I also bought some rust remover and I'm going to soak the old bobbin case in it.  Hopefully that will take some of the surface rust off and it will be usable again.

More Cleaning And New Bobbin Case

Having a good portion of the sewing room cleaned has inspired me to keep getting rid of clutter in there.  I have almost all the clutter off of the tables on the one side and all of the fabric that was piled up there put in it's proper bin.  This is a huge deal and I'm glad it's done.

While sewing on the wall hanging, I wanted to change the bobbin color.  The bobbin case in Clarice (301) is the same as in Olga (Featherweight).  While at the show in Paducah, I purchased a new bobbin case for $50 - yes, $50! - because the bobbins in both Clarice and Olga are functional, but rusty in spots.  I had been warned that the newer bobbin cases don't always work properly in the old machines, so I was a bit leery, however I purchased it anyway.

When I first put it in the machine it and tried to stitch, the thread just turned into a nest.  Ugh.  I kept at it, though, and finally got it seated correctly and sewing a pretty stitch!  I'm pleased with it.

A Little Of This And That

Sewing was done on the Rt. 138 wall hanging.  I put an aqua colored binding on it, and then sewed down the bottom edge of the hanging sleeve and edges of the label by hand.  All done!

You can see the quilting pretty good in this picture.  Sorry for the bump in the bottom, I think the cat might be under there...  I used variagated thread and it kept breaking.  I know better, because I have had problems with that thread before, but thought I would be okay because it was a small piece.  Guess I thought wrong...  haha.

The hanging sleeve is the yellow material across the back.  I sewed the one edge to the edge of the quilt where it would also be caught by the binding.  The other three edges were turned under and finished, then the long edge was sewn by hand.  Some busy work while I was watching the Cubs play ball last night.  We won, in case you were wondering...  :)

And lastly, my little bitty label.  I put my full name and the year, just in case anyone turns it over and wants to order something similar for themselves.  Locals know where to find me, and out of towners can leave their name and number and I will call them.  Hope springs eternal, right?  haha.

All in all, I'm pleased with the way it turned out.  There are some bumps and burbles on it, but I'm okay with them.  It was a piece that was not commission, I just did it because I wanted to, and no money being paid for it.  All materials were on hand, so nothing new was purchased for it.

I kind of thought the backing material was appropriate for a cafe/grill - flames!

Peaceful Lunch

Since it is Monday, typically a day I do not want to be at work, but who does, I thought a mid day break that was special would help move the afternoon along.

I picked up Subway sandwiches, then picked up Johanna, and we went down to her lake lot and had a very nice and relaxing lunch.  We watched a flock of geese on the lake teach their babies to swim, and we saw a water snake just skimming the water.  There were a couple pleasure boats off in the distance that had some kids on an innertube.  It was just a nice relaxing lunch.

Summertime, Summertime

Summer to me is partially defined by the fact that we can grill burgers whenever we want, without wearing a winter coat!  This was our dinner on the grill Saturday night.  They turned out pretty yummy, if I do say so myself.

Waiting for my tomato plant to give me some red tomatoes.  Guess the weather hasn't been hot enough yet for them to turn.  I only have cherry tomato plants, but that's okay with me.

I did choose this orange flame fabric for the backing of the wall hanging.  It was not much wider than the front, so I added some muslin leaders to the edges and loaded it onto Gemma.  I used a variagated thread on top and an orange thread on the back for the quilting.  I went around each letter and number and in the rows made flowers and leaves.  In the border I did small loops.

Next will be the binding.  I was able to put the label and hanging sleeve on the back, but they will need to be hand sewn along the edges.  The binding I chose was a light green.

Sewing Room Clean Up

Above are two pics of one half of my sewing room before I began cleaning.  My goal was to get all the three drawer carts moved out of the sewing room and into the bedroom right next to it.  I managed to get all but two smaller carts moved.  Also cleared a lot of the clutter off the tables.  Still some to do, but I made a good dent in it.

After the carts were moved, I brought Clarice into the room.  Below is the 'after' picture of that half of the room.

When I have the entire room cleaned and arranged to my liking I'll post more pics, but for now, I am pleased with the workspace I have created.  The area under the slanted roof is a bit dark for cutting fabric, so I'm thinking that I may need to move another light over there.

Thrift Store Find

Five bucks.  Yes, I know I don't need another machine.  However (knew that was coming, right?) this machine seems pretty basic and I think it will be a nice addition to the herd, if only to be on stand by if someone needs a machine.  Like if someone wanted to learn to quilt or sew, or if theirs broke down.

You just can't have enough sewing machines...  hahaha

Ready For The Weekend

I know it was a short week because of the Memorial Day Holiday, but I sure am glad it's over!  I am ready for the weekend.

Hopefully I will get a lot of sewing time in.  Ev is planning to go on a motorcycle ride Sunday for most of the afternoon.  That would be prime time for me to get some quilting in.

Maybe tonight I can get the wall hanging loaded on Gemma.  I am thinking I will use a material that has different vegetables on it for the backing.

Casseroles and Sewing

This was dinner last night.  It's a casserole that I adapted a recipe from one of the blogs I read.  It was on Patchwork Times a few days ago.

The bottom layer is shredded hash browns, then sauteed onions and green peppers, with a few jalapeno's sprinkled in.  Then some browned sausage.  Lastly eggs, cheese and green onions.

It was pretty good eats!

Are you tired of this picture yet?  haha.  It really is different from the last pics.  Yesterday I did a zig zag stitch in black thread around the outsides of all the letters.  No, I did not stitch the insides.  IF this is ever washed and they come loose, the owner can call me and I will stitch them down.  They are fused on there pretty good, though.

I think I will just do a simple vine and flower for the quilting.

Alton Excursion

Recently my son needed to spend some time getting dental work done at the Alton Dental School.  Since it was going to take a few hours, I decided to take a little sight seeing trip.  On the same campus as the dental school is a statue of Robert Wadlow, the world's tallest man.

Having been a resident of Illinois for most of my life, I have heard of Mr. Wadlow, however, I didn't know there was a statue of him and I didn't know the history.

It was interesting to read about him on the plaques near the statue.  Wikipedia also has some good information, if you are interesteed in his story.

No sewing yesterday.  Still want to get the sewing room rearranged.  Trying to figure out how it would work best, now.