yarn, kids, dogs, and a few wierdos

Victory by Sewing

2012-01-30T18:53:00.000-08:00

This is a WWII era poster. While the extreme propaganda of the War posters is reather surprising to my modern eye, it was an extreme time. I think about this a lot, lately, as more and more of my friends and relatives lose jobs because the company they work for has moved operations overseas.

I wonder what it will take for us, as a country, or rather for the very rich men who actually run the country, to strt making things here again?

I was at three diferent thrift stores today, scouting for machines. I didn't find any I wanted, although one store had a nice selection of fairly modern machines that would be good for any beginner. I did notice, as I always do, how busy thrift stores are these days. I don't remember them being so busy in the past. Perhaps my own fears and worries are magnifiying the situation. In any case, I didn't find any machines to play with, but I did find two shirts that I will be turning into fabric as soon as they come out of the dryer!

I could have cleaned house, but instead I did this....

2012-01-23T16:17:00.000-08:00

I've been out of town for a week, meaning the menfolk have been on their own. They did a good job keeping it all together, but there was ample housework to be done. So, of course I did a furniture project, instead! Above is a nice little sewing bench that my friend Chris brought me from a thrifting adventure. It might also have been a vanity bench. Sadly, it has lost it's drawer somewhere.

At first I thought I would paint the shelf where the drawer goes, and then look for a tray or basket that fit the space, but inspiration struck in the form of an Amazon box.

A little tape, white glue, and cutting later, I had a drawer. I doubled every side of the box, and used white glue on the theory that it would work into the fibers of the cardboard and make it sturdier. I did 4 layers on the drawer front.

Then I wiped it down with Howards furniture polish, stapled new fabric and some batting on the top, and covered the front of the drawer with fabric and a single layer of batting. The ribbon loop is how one would open the drawer.

While a cardboard drawer won't be as strong as a wood one, I think that because it sits on a flat shelf it will be strong enough to be useful for small, light things. I'm going to look for a basket for the bottom, and keep things in there. Or maybe the cone thread should go there?

I have to say I'm thrilled with how it came out!

String Blocks!

2012-01-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

Foundations made of phone book pages

I usually press after each strip set- one per side, then press. But, I am working with very wrinkled strips. If the strips were not so wrinkly, then I could probably just fold them over and press them open with my hand.

One about to be trimmed, one after trimming. These are turning out 8 inches. I was hoping for 8.5, but the pages were too small. Oh well!

A nice stack of work. The strips I'm using were sorted into mostly green or mostly purple. I just grabbed a handful of each. The center strip is from the mostly red pile. Sometimes, it seems, that means pink!

sewn into 4 bloc X's. I'm getting them to the 4 block stage, and letting them pile up. I think aroung 96 small blocks will make a good quilt.

Of course, If I wanted to set them as a zig zag, or barn raising ( any of the sets used for log cabin quilts work for string blocks) Then I would not put them into this arrangement. Great thanks to Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.com for teaching me this method, through her lovely blog and website! I feel like Bonnie is my own personal quilt godess, even thought we've never met. Go check out her website for tons of free patterns and tutorials!

Not Much here...

2011-12-31T00:09:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Hannukah. My kids are the best. Mr Wooly bought me 50 rotary cutter blades, which I need for quilting. it is a lovely gift. Otherwise, just the same old stuff. Better post later....but isn't Muggs the cutest ever? he is a sweet dog.

In case you thought I had given up sewing...

2011-12-20T22:03:00.000-08:00

Here's an orphan block quilt made out of a bunch of blocks and mini tops given to me by another quilter. I just put them together.

And quilted them. This leafy vine is very relaxing. Just back and forth, back and forth. This one went to the shelter for women with mental illness.

This cat and mouse block was shown on Deb Rowden's blog. I used light colored plus red as my design rule. The design floor is it's usual chaotic self. I guess that's a big advantage to a design wall, no one stacks things on it!

Here is what I am doing as my string piecing. I am cutting whatever block i feel like making so that one dimension is 10 inches. Then i sew it onto the roll. At some point i will make a strippy quilt. I add each block to the end as soon as I finish it.

See why I decided on 10 inches? becaus it is rolled on a paper towel roll! It started to give in from the weight of the fabric, so i stuffed it ( with paper towels, of course) to keep it from collapsing.

Here is part of the sewing area. The Davis VF is hostin a Singer 239 in a tiffany blue base. The Morse is the blue and tan, made in the Toyota company factory in the 1960's. All old machines are heavy, but this one is HEAVY. It weighs about twice what a Singer of it's size would- maybe 45 pounds? I can barely lift it. Behind it is a Singer 403 that I just finished with that I will likely sell, after I sew on it for a little while to make sure it really is a happy camper. It is really pretty.

Here is my quilt inspector, Muggles. To his right is the 401 with a few, ok, a lot of cosmetic issues. Not sure what I will do about it. I may repaint it, I may strip it of parts. Don't know yet. Isn't running yet, so it will depend on how difficult it is, likely.

Here's another shot of the 239. The friend who gave it to me said it looked like a machine that Audry hepburn would sew on, so when I made the base, I painted it tiffany blue. I plan on doing some more to the base in silver paint, but not sure what, yet. it was made in France, a straight stitch only, and very cute!

Bunnies!

2011-12-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

These are the bunnies I made for a good friend's neighbor's kids. The neighbor was picking my friend up from the airport, and I always have fun giving presents to kids, so i thought my friend might like it, too. The kids- all between 1 and 4 years, like them! Yay!

The hand crank machine behind them is really nice for sewing little fussy things like this. If I go on another doll making spree, it will be with a hand crank machine. Every stitch can be put down just so, in exactly the spot I want. Perfect for all those little curves.

Willcox and Gibbs Chain stitcher

2011-11-20T20:38:00.000-08:00

Wow. Blogger went and changed. I suppose it is a free site, so they can do what they want, but so far I am not a fan I'm getting old. The music is getting too loud, I find I am deeply offended by phone calls after 9PM, and those teenage girls at the high school need to go hame and put some more clothes on before they come outside again. And I don't like blogger changing. hmph.

The machine pictured above is a chain stitcher, which means no bobbin, so no bobbin winding. BUT it means that if the seam is cut, or breaks, the whole thing can come raveling out, just like the stitching on the dog food, or bird seed, bag. On the other hand, chain stitches are more flexible. I use this machine for making muslins, or first drafts, of garments. If I need to change a seam, ZIP it is out. It also makes a pretty faux embroidery. This machine was a splurge for me, I think I paid $100. It is missing it's case. It came in an old suitcase that did mot fit it, and smelled really musty. Since the case is basically a wooden box, I might make one someday. I have all of the attachments, and i feel very lucky to have it!

Breaking up is hard to do...

2011-11-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

This is The Elna Supermatic. For it's time, it was an absolute revolution. It used cams to make fancy stitches. The folded up silver bit is the knee lever, instead of a foot pedal.

This was the Transforma. The short of cash woman would buy this straight stitch model, and then save her pennies. When she was ready, she took her machine in and they added the cam mechanism. At that point, it became a Supermatic.

These were the first vintage machines I bought. They have a friction drive mechanism that can go bad, and the repair is simple. Actually, I have repaired both of them. But, like an idiot, I forgot to use them in the last few years, and so the drive wheel has gone flat again. I'm taking it as a sign. I have (gasp) too many machines. These are for sale, along with another Supermatic, as a herd. I miss them already! So green, so cute! So Swiss made. I have to not think about it too much, or I'll buy them from myself! ( I wonder if I would give myself a good deal?)

Singer 66 before and After

2011-11-13T22:06:00.000-08:00

Remember this?

It is now this. I am quite pleased with myself. The box was painted with red acrylic paint that I thinned with water. The details were done with paint markers. I have to paint stuff I built, because my carpentry skills...well, lets just say they are still under development. You know the saying: A little putty and a little paint, makes a carpenter what she ain't. Instead of the more usual storage area to the right, under the crank, I chose to make a bed extension to the left. I think I will add some brass handles on the sides, to make it easier to carry.

Even through there are wobbles and goofs, the overall effect is pretty. Reminds me of a painted caravan from one of Kaffe Fassets books. Below is a detail of the machine's decals that served as the inspiration for the design. (NB:I would not do this type of decoration on an original base or box. It that case, I think it is more timeless to restore it to it's intended appearance. But if I build it, I get to play however I want. The people at my future estate sale can talk about me all they want!)

Hand Crank Expert

2011-11-06T19:01:00.000-08:00

My ten year old son. My 127 year old sewing machine.

Selected from mom's precut square drawer. The final arrangement. It made a very nice pillow.

last minute Halloween craft

2011-10-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

Since I am nothing if not a last minute gal, here is something I made this week. I had hoped to lure the kids into making one, too, having this fantasy of making a big collection of them. However, they thought it was cool, but cool for me to have done, not for them. Perhaps your children are less feral?

This was the genesis of the idea- a nightlight cord set all wired up and ready to go at the craft store. It was about three bucks.

Here is the how to section- find a box, cut it to look like this, sort of, unless you have better ideas, which you surely might! As you can see by the cat below, no level of ineptitude is too great. After this I spray painted it black and then glued in yellow copy paper to cover the windows and doors. Then I hacked a hole in the back the size of the night light bulb, ad there you have it! Happy Halloween!

Poor, rescued orphan machine

2011-10-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

UPDATE! This machine has found a home! This is a treadle machine that came from a house that looked like an episode of hoarders. The lady's family was doing a not entirely congenial clearing out of her house, as it had become a bit of a fire code violation

Anyway, it was on the pickup truck ready for the dump when she called me. I think that I had bought a sewing machine from her last year, so it was kind of random. I live one exit from the dump, so her dad pulled up, said, "want it or not? I have to get three more loads in today" I took it. She cried. I also offered to find homes for any other sewing things, but NOT for fabric. I didn't take before pictures, but I should have. The irons were rusted and frozen, and the veneer was splintered and peeling.

You can see that I just took the top layer of veneer off the center section- too far gone and too much missing. I stained it to match the remaining veneer. It's important to finish cleaning up the remaining veneer before you chose a stain color. This didn't lighten up as much as I wanted, but it did lighten considerably. If I had stained before cleaning, it would not match.
Below you see the machine itself. I had what is called "pin rash" from someone wrapping a rag around the machine to use as a pin cushion. I put a rust treatment on it that turns the metal black, and than waxed the machine with caranuba wax. There is a resin cleaner called, I think TR3 that can be used on old machines. However, my experience with it has been mixed. It seem to me if the machine is in really rough shape and the lacquer is gone, the poly resin removes the decals. This machine was pretty far gone, a lot of rust, and visibly peeling lacquer, and so I used oil to clean with, then rust treatment to darken the bare metal, and then wax.

It is sitting in our pantry/coat closet and I DO NOT have room for it. I just bought a belt for it from Cindy at her ebay store, Stitches in Time. I'm certain it will sew well, as it has loosened up nicely. Then I have to find a home for it. I already have a nice Singer 66 with these decals (called red eye informally), and I have enough treadles! So, if any one in Northern CA would like it for the cost of the parts I've used, and you want it let me know! I think it would be a fun machine for a home schooling family or a kid or a first treadle, or someone who just wanted a people powered machine!

Tips for winding a VS bobbin

2011-10-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

VS stands for vibrating shuttle. This is the type of sewing machine that has a long bobbin. An essential part of the mechanism is the silver, bullet shapped shuttle. It hold the bobbin, and tensions the bobbin thread. In the past, shuttles were sold anywhere that sewing supplies were. When a machine started behaving baddly, skipping stitches or such, a new shuttle was bought for a nominal sum and the machine ran like new again.

The old Singers were designed to be maintained by the household that owned them. All the oiling points were clearly marked in the instructions, the shuttle was replaceable, and the machines could run forever. I wonder if the move for women's rights was not in some small part helped along by the widespread use of the sewing machine.

The machine came with screwdrivers and an oil can- things I think most women didn't normally use. The directions in the manuals, when a hand is shown holding a part, that hand is clearly a woman's. It was, I think the first machine that was run by and maintained by women. It must have been very empowering.

ANyway, back to sewing. Many people struggle with winding the long narrow bobbins used in a VS machine. The top photo shows a bit of blue painters tape. That tape is holding the end of the thread. I do this because it is hard to start the bobbin winding. Painters tape leaves no sticky behind. You will note that the thread guide is in the center of the bobbin. That's where I like to start it, so I treadle the machine until the thread guide is in that position.

After the thread has wound around a few times, I stop treadling grasp the bobbin overhand, like the picture, and ease the tape out of place it was sandwiched. I just tip it slightly to the right, letting the edge of the bobbin keep the spring for closing all the way. The end of the thread generally stays attache to the tape. As soon as I have the tape thread end out, I lower the bobbin back into the winder. I cut the end as close to the bobbin as I can, and continue winding. This winder does not stop when it is full- you have to keep an eye on it. I have less trouble with the sewing if the bobbin is not completely full.

I don't know if this is anything like the correct way, but it works for me and thought it might be helpful to someone else.

Before and After

2011-10-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a Singer 66, made in 1915, before I cleaned it with Goop hand cleaner (pumice free version), Maas metal polish, and sewing machine oil. Sewing machine oil does not damage decals, so the Goop was the first wave, then finishing up with oil. I use little scraps of cotton quilt batting to clean with.

Here it is, after. This of course, is the opposite side, but I assure you the filth was spread uniformly. There was also a wee fossilized mouse in the pillar of the machine.

Here is my Little Plastic Bricks quilt, before.

Here it is after. It really needed a fourth column of blocks, but I had just re- folded everything and was loathe to start cutting again. Strips were 2.5 inches, chopped into bricks, sewn back together and then that long strip sewn to itself. I used the mechanical randomizer, AKA the clothes dryer, to mix the bricks after they were cut. Thanks to John G. for that term!

Below is a close up with the little prairie points I added because it seemed dull over there. Have to wait a while to quilt it- I'm broke and I need batting, so that slows things down. Maybe next month.

Sick again

2011-10-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

One of the bummers about having a chronic disease like rheumatoid arthritis, is that getting sick is a bigger deal. To start with, the drug I takes knock my immune system down a little, so that while it is not attacking me, it is also a bit slack about attacking germs. So, I get sicker sooner and stay sicker longer than the rest of the house. I also have less strength and reserve than someone without RA, and while a large part of that is my long standing dislike of exercise, it is also part of the disease.

So I've been moping around with a bronchitis/pneumonia type thing, missing work. My boss is a troll, and has already been borderline harassing me and making my co workers very uncomfortable. Because of the little ray of sunshine that he is (not), I know all the rules about sick time, have contacted my union, etc. But what a waste of effort. My previous boss said things like "don't worry about us" and "take care of yourself, honey". He chooses to be a different kind of manager. I believe the type that Jenny, The Blogess, calls a douche canoe. (Don't go to the blogess if you are at work or don't like swearing. She is very, very funny, I think, but she does have potty mouth.)

So, yeah, lots to whine about.

I have been up as much as possible, and have been sewing on my LEGO quilt. I was inspired by this one. Shockingly, I did not follow the tutorial directions. I am using 2.5 inch strips mostly solid, that I cut. After I cut them, I chopped them into semi random bricks and bits, and sewed them all back together into a very long strip. Then I proceeded as though it were a jelly roll racer quilt, sewing the strip to itself until it was more that 12 " wide. It turned out to be slightly more that 15" wide, so I am cutting blocks from it 14.5 inches wide, and sewing them together.I needed this project to be really, really simple because I am laying down a lot in between sewing. I'll take some picture later. It seems like too much effort right now, so that's my cue to lay down again.

Sew, What did I Buy?

2011-10-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

I saw this treadle table on crag's list a few weeks ago. They wanted some real money for it. In the back ground were several other tables, that I was more interested in. So I called the guy, and it turned out that the others had been sold (sniff) but he wanted this one gone. I said something along the lines of "well, if you'll take $20 and deliver it to the town I live in, I'll buy it" I figured that would end it. He did it, and so I bought it. Question is, what is it?

I actually had to hose it off, it was so filthy. Then I wiped it down with mineral spirits, wire brushed the metal, wiped that with mineral spirits, and hit the whole thing up with some wax. I use a shoe polish brush for buffing the iron work after waxing. On first glance, I thought the top was warped. But when I looked closer, there had been a piece glued on that was ripped off. Looks like hide glue, so I should be able to get it off by wetting the glue ( hide glue is water soluble, which is why it is used in making musical instruments. Things can be taken apart non destructively for repair.) The holes for the treadle belt are there, I'm guessing the two grooves perpendicular to the front edge secured the dust cover/ coffin top of the machine. The cut out is really small, though.

Nice little detail on the iron work. Here's the after shot. You can see how tiny the flywheel is, and that the original wooden pit man rod is still there. Little drawer in front, too. Notice how the treadle is off center to the left. This assured that the machine operator sat directly in front of the needle, and was early ergonomics, preventing a twist in the back while working.

I'm not sure where it will even fit in the house. O suppose I could sit the hand crank on top of it, but something will have to go to make room for it. I'd rather find a home for it with someone who has an orphan machine head that it goes with.

Bread that will eat you!

2011-09-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

If you are not careful. These are from the Mexican Bakery near where my husband works. Aren't they cool? It makes me want to make some, because they are not really inexpensive, and we ate them right up. Like mos Mexican sweets, they are not very sweet. Just lightly sweet.

I've been quilting on the new White Rotary machine. It is a stiff learning curve. I am having that humbling feeling of being a beginner- AGAIN. I am doing pretty well on free motion quilting on the electric machines. Not great or show worthy. but very respectable and getting better all the time. On the treadle, it is a whole different rythym. Definetly slower, but I think that if I want to do really nice quilting this is going to be the way I do it. It sews at the same speed I think- where as the electric sews much faster!

White Rotary

2011-09-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

This is a really lovely machine. It is almost noiseless. I bought it from the grandson of the original owner. My husband was lovely about it, too. We had to drive quite a ways, and he was very placido about the whole thing. I did get rid of two cabinets, and now I need to off load three other machines to keep all my promises to him about the collection size.

It had spent time- maybe forty years- in a dry but hot garage. I played it safe and cleaned only with sewing machine oil. This is before cleaning. As you can see from the first picture, it cleaned up fairly well.

Here is the mission oak cabinet with the machine up. The bottom of the legs open. The fronts are doors. Each drawer and door has it's own little lock. I will be looking for a key!

Here it is, closed. I wire brushed the treadle, but haven't done anything else to it. hidden from view at the bottom of the legs are little recesses castors. The only damage is that one drawer.

Here's the name on the front- all still there! So lucky! The next picture shows the machine, looking down on it as I am lowering it into the cabinet. Singer machines lower from the hinges on the back side, away from the operator. This one lowers from the front side. Although, there are still hinges in the back, to tilt the machine up and oil underneath and clear thread snarls at the bobbin. See the inlaid ruler, on the front?

I have put a treadle belt on it, and it runs really smooth and quiet. It took a few (hundred) tries to get the treadle belt on. First I made a mistake punching the hole- it went off center and tore the edge of the leather belt. Then, I unwittingly (witlessly) threaded the belt in the incorrect path, so it looked as though it were many inches too short. i was puzzled by this, because I measured against the old, broken belt, but I thought maybe a piece was missing. I dorked around for a while, trying to figure out how I was going to lengthen the belt I had already cut. I settled for using silk thread to sew the cut belt back together. Silk has a pretty high tensile strength, so I hoped it would last until i could order a new belt and have it arrive.After putting the staple in, again, to connect the ends of the belt, i found that the belt was getting caught in the flywheel. I lay on the floor, turning the flywheel by hand, until I realized that the belt was going through the wrong path. I threaded it correctly and discovered...that the belt had been cut to the right length, and so I needed to cut off my silk thread repair. Then it worked just fine. At the length I had originally cut it, a full hour before.I'll try sewing on it tomorrow. Tonight, it might make my head explode.

Hey, Sailor!

2011-09-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a little cutie I got on ebay.

His uniform is perfect- right down to insignia. Lost his hat, but I suppose that can happen in 60 years of seafaring.

I thought at first he was a folk art piece. But, after undressing him, I thought that he had to have been made by someone who was accustomed to making dolls. The body and face, for example have a lot of shaping that is not intuitive. The workmanship is excellent- fine stitches, no visible knots, divided floss.

See the waist shaping? The green lines? It was a printed or transfer pattern. So, home made but designed by a professional. That means there are more of them! Anyone seen them? Anyone know anything? He is only my second male doll, but he seems perfectly happy sitting in with the ladies.

Meet Winnie

2011-09-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

Despite my high hopes, it looked like our relationship was doomed from the start. Thankfully, only the box was damaged.

Written on the inside was a clue to her past. Despite searching, though, I haven't found out anything other than what is written here. I do know she came from Maine, but I don't know if the real Winnie is from there.

Doll bodies always look preposterous. Something about the little detached bodies and arms makes me both giggle and cringe. But, all dolls go through this stage.

I would never be able to find or afford the right hands and feet, so I painted them. Wouldn't you want a pair of these red boots? I would!

Little hands, in a spoon shape, also painted.

Forgot to show you the painted garters, also copied from feet of the period.

And, here she is. Meet Winnie. The clothes are more practice garments than anything else. I am awaiting some books to make the next clothes, and the underwear. But I hate the site of a naked doll. They look forgotten. Gingham is nice for practice garments, because the checks serve as a built in measuring tape.

I think she looks pleased with her latest person.

second painted doll

2011-09-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

Here is my second attempt at an inspired by antique dolls painted doll. I put a bead between the stuffing of her head and the fabric of her head, in nose position, to give a tiny little shape to the nose area.

The apron is a part of a thrifted pillow case with really nice cross stitch. I made the apron with a lining of the same fabric, so that I didn't have to hem all those curves. Just put the right sides together, sewed around, turned, and then top stitched closed.

Here she is with doll the first. I like doll the second better- she has a sweet face

And here's a little sailor guy that blew in from ebay. More about him, later

blue strings

2011-09-03T22:04:00.000-07:00

Here's the string top I've been working on lately. I used paper towels as a foundation, so I will have to wash it before I give it away, to make sure it doesn't lumpify.

Here's Foxie, in black and white to see the contrast of the different strings. I'm trying to look at quilts in both color and black and white, to get a better handle on contrast.

I was planning to give this quilt to my teenage nephew, who wants a quilt. But, this block had my teen son a little worried- see Peter Rabbit in the lower left block? My thought is that it does not matter, but I thought I'd ask the blogosphere what it thinks? I have time to consider, while I quilt it.

End of Summer

2011-08-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

Bah. I hate the end of summer. I have to give my kids back to the schools, and not hang out with them every day. I like being alone, but I like them more. Here they are, leaving the pool. So old! So grown! How is it happening?

Singer 28

2011-08-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

This lovely little handcrank spent the last 20 years on display in a lovely home, filled with antiques.

Here is the hardware that held the dust cover on one side,

and the other. The colors of the top and the base are different- I wonder if perhaps this cover was switched out? But no matter, I'm happy to have it.

Here is the front view. I'm having trouble deciding which set of decals this is. There is no color other than gold.

But, everything is loose, needed a few drops of oil here and there and it sews a wonderful seam.

Here is the back. The access cover is molded to fit the pillar of the machine, and has decals as well.

And here is the serial number 11236415, which if I am reading the Singer dating charts correctly, makes this a machine made in the 1890's. Well, display time is over for this old girl- she is going to be headed back to work!

If you hear a crash, followed

2011-08-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

by a thump, it is just me, throwing my Singer Spartan out of the window. The Spartan is a little Singer, made mid last century, and is an underrated little machine. Except this one. This one is over-rated. I bought it a few years ago, at the start of my vintage sewing machine addiction. I bought it from a sailor, who while not drunk perhaps, was definitely holding an open beer, but as we were on the dock at his berth, who am I to judge? He was living on his boat, looking to get rid of any little thing he didn't need, and figured a sewing machine was one of those things. I gave him a $20 and we both went away happy.

When I got it home, I found that a night light had been hardwired into the motor, and them electrical taped around the arm of the machine, to serve as a light for sewing. The electrical tape had morphed into a new and interesting substance, both more and less than it once was. It took a long time to get it all off, and there is still some tape residue that i had given up on disgust.(Spartans didn't come with a light.) When i disconnected the night lite from the motor, I realized that the wiring to the motor and the pedal really needed replacing, so I researched and did that.

I turned to the cleaning and de linting, and while taking apart the tension, lost a small essential part called the check spring. The machine sits for about a year in here, with a note under the presser foot: lost check spring. Finally I remember to buy a check spring, reassemble the tension, oil again, and rev her up. Still some incipient thread breaking issues, but it seems like a burr in the slide plate, where the needle goes through, and that is simple enough to fix, once I find the abrasive string made for that purpose. I notice that the motor seems to be running heavy, and power through a bunch of string blocks. i figure a life at sea has left this machine with some stiffness and it would work itself through.

Then the lights went out. Not the light on the machine- remember, the Spartan didn't have a light, and I removed the clever but stupid solution. The lights in the room. It was hard to think about the lights though, because my hand felt like it was on fire and my hair was standing on end. This faded after a moment, and I sat quietly in the dark for a moment, gathering myself. The hall light was on, and so it wasn't the whole house, it was just the things plugged into the power strip.

Remember when i said that the motor was running heavy, but I powered through? That was because the cord was wrapped around the flywheel, merrily removing the insulation from the new cord with every turn. The burning feeling was the shock I got, and the dark was from the power strip going out.

Calmly, I unplug the machine. I see that in the excitement, the thread has tangled around the check spring, pulling it out of shape. Numbly, I take the tension apart, untangle the check spring, and promptly drop the spring. It rolls away. I concede defeat, and back slowly out of the room.

Painted Doll

2011-08-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

I had a bunch of time in hospital waiting rooms lately ( everyone is fine now) and so found the forum Maida today. Maida is a site run by a doll artist that makes dolls inspired by antiques, particularly antique dolls that were made of cloth and then pained. There were many of these made- the Alabama Indestructible Baby, the Izanna Walker dolls, the Maggie Bessie dolls. The point of these painted cloth dolls was to make a doll that children could play with and not break. There are also folk dolls of this type- the reg doll, Charlotte, in Little House in the Big Woods was cloth with a drawn on face. After a disaster in Little House on the Prairie, Ma makes a new face for Charlotte.

Here is the back, where I tried to paint curls. You have to look closely.

Here's a back view, with her little painted garters and stays. People felt that children needed to wear stays, a simple type of corset, to strengthen their backs, up untill the early part of the 1900's. Here they are shown laced in the back, over a shift and under a petticoat.

The rows of stitching that look a little like braid are the reverse side of the stitch from my antique Willcox and Gibbs sewing machine.

Here's dolly with the machine that I made her dress on. Chain stitching will ravel easily, particularly if you cut it, and so I can't use it for the way I piece quilts. If the seam is not cut into then the stitch will not unravel. The W & G was most often seen as a treadle machine. Here is mine, an early electric machine that was bought in Los Angeles in the 1920's. Chain stitch machines are still used industrially, but rarely at home. The lockstich machine won out on that. The nicest thing is that there's no bobbin- only a top thread.

Here's dolly's little hand. The thumb is applied. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this doll, especially considering I drew the pattern myself. I might change the shape of the head a little, and take more care with the hand shape if I make another. I will also use a lighter weight fabric for the dress and under things, as muslin worked up too stiff. I haven't made a doll in a few years, and I had forgotten how fun they are!

string madness!

2011-08-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

This is the pile of strings given to me by a fellow knitter. She collected these over a 2 year period of working at a quilt shop. They are the cuts from evening up the bolts when they come in.
Sorted by color family, they tightly fill 8 gallon zip lock bags!

As Heard on the Jon Stewart Show

2011-08-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

"We fight as hard as we can, because although there may be disappointment, but there will not be shame." a soldier in Afghanistan.

Veneer, after- ish

2011-07-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

In the last post, I showed the gluing of the loose veneer. Here, I am making a pattern to patch the places that have missing veneer.

While it would be easier to cut the patches of veneer if I squared out the missing parts, it does not look as well. Following the splits in the wood seems to normalize the difference in the veneer. The pattern process is like making a rubbing of a grave stone. I just use a pencil.

Here, I am checking the fit of the pattern, and will adjust by trimming the paper as needed. Above the pattern you see the piece of veneer that I plan to use as a donor. I save loose veneer from other cabinets, in cases where the top is so far gone that it is better to just take it all off. If heated with a hairdryer and carefully removed with a thin metal spatula, useful pieces can be harvested. Veneer can also be bought in sheets. Avoid the peel and stick- it is too thin to fill in with.

I cut the patch using an exacto knife. If the pattern is intricate, I secure it with a swipe of a glue stick. When cutting, look at the grain and decide which way you think it will split if things go wrong. Work in such a way that the split, if it happens, will not go into your patch. Here is the patch, glued in. I don't worry about the edges- they can be easily sanded later. I use Titebond hide glue here, as well, wipe off the over flow with a damp rag, put down a sheet of wax paper 9 I use wax paper because if it does stick, it is easy to sand off), a flat surface and heavy weight.

After the patches have dried, I use finishing putty, sold with the wood putty in the hardware store, to fill in the inevitable gaps. Finish putty comes already colored, and can be mixed. Apply stain before finish putty, and linseed oil or shellac or what have you after. Sand it gently when dry. This top just needs a final sanding and then oil.

Anyhow, that's just how I do it.

Just, Before, no After yet

2011-07-29T16:59:00.000-07:00

This kind of veneer peeling happens to sewing machine cabinets quite often. It is not difficult to fix. I like the pictured glue

There are many folks out there with a lot more experience and knowledge that I, this is just how I do it.

I first check, by pressing gently, that the veneer will push down into the proper place without further cracking. If not, I put a damp rag on it while my mini iron heats up, then cautiously iron it flat. I put a dry paper towel on top ot the ironed veneer, a flat board, and a heavy weight and let it cool under flattening forces.

Then I work some of the glue under the veneer with a nail file. Carefully. The I cover the area with waxed paper, ably the weight, and go away again.

the last picture is of a hinge that sadly broke Hopefully, I'll find a replacement..

Before and after 28 Singer

2011-07-27T22:46:00.000-07:00

At the suggestion of my husband, a before and after shot.

the 28 has reached the end of the road, for now

2011-07-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Here's the final decal and paint work. I don't have a shuttle that's working just now, but when I do, I will try to get it actually sewing.

I have to say, it is a little un nerving, looking at a bright blue machine.Seems improper for it to not be black! I would never repaint a machine unless it, like this one, had nothing to lose. Otherwise, I think they earn their worn spots. ( just spelled worn "warn". I spell with a Midwestern accent.)

This machine, however, had a history that was not so good, and so i thought I'd try having a little fun with it. The paint is no where near as durable as the original finish, called japaning, and made similar to enamel, with a backing/firing process. I may learn more about it and paint it over again someday, but for now, this is as far as it goes. I can't spend on a shuttle ( about $30), a bobbin winder (ditto) when there are Singer 128's to be had for less than that, and I'm not willing to strip a functioning machine for parts, so this is where it stops, I guess. A bit of a bittersweet finish, really, because I got in over my head. However, I will just wait and see. I don't need to do anything with it right now, and if I get to go to a TOGA (gathering of treadle machine enthusiasts) I will drag it along and seek wise counsel.

shuttles old and new

2011-07-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

Before sewing machines had round bobbins, they had a long, skinny bobbin that was housed in a shuttle, such as these. The one on the top is from a Singer 128, the abused one I've been fussing with. It will never sew again, likely. Interestingly, the shuttles were something that was periodically replaced by the machine owner. The new, never used one pictured closest to the ruler is one of these. Sold in the same shops that sold needles, the housewife would pick up a new shuttle when she noticed skipped stitches or other problems. It's as though we could pick up a new bobbin race and assembly at the fabric store. I think it is one of the reasons that these machines can last for 100 years and still be used.

So, why do I have a shuttle without knowing what machine it belongs to? Well, because it was inexpensive, and seemed worth a shot that it might fit one of my machines, or a machine I will someday get, and because its shiny!

Liberated round robin

2011-07-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

I sort of hate it. The next round is piano keys. We are doing this as a do it yourself round robin, so I am wholly liable for the results. Dang.

Sewing machine decals

2011-07-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest on the 28 re-do. The singer decals are purchased. The birds and flowers are home made decals, made with the packing tape decal method (here). However, I used stickers, and despite what the ladies on the link say, I have used inkjet, newsprint, all kinds of things. Before I made the decals, I painted highlights on the stickers with gold paint. The packing tape decals are easier to work with, as they are thick. Downside, of course, is that more layers of clearcoat will be needed to blend in the edges.

Have more to do, but it is tedious work, and I can't do it when I'm tired or distracted, which lately seems to be a lot of the time!

So, uhm, everyone gets it, right? Singer sewing machine? bluebirds? Singers? I crack myself up.

Why I Like to Make Quilts

2011-07-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

The kids try out a new quilt with great enthusiasm.

Here's my husband the quilt rack. I love a quilt with feet! The center is made from crumb pieced blocks that I trim to 12.5 inches. The narrow border is a Japanese linen that I love love love. I used every purple I had as the solid.

Here is the back, of striped fabric. Back to front for binding. I'm continuing on my quest of quilting tops. Quite a few to go, but oh well. They can't stay tops forever!

Lamp becomes sewing machine, again.

2011-07-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

Remember the frankenmachine? This is what it looked like when it arrived.Much worse than I had thought. Looking it over, I think it was a kid's shop project. There was a tag on the bottom with someone's initials on it. The case is also not like others I have seen. There's no place for a cover to attach, and the cut outs for the hinges are a little rough. The lamp bit is made on a lathe and then shaped to fit, with the wiring being pulled through the pillar. The spool pin hole was enlarged to secure the lamp harp. I'm guessing the machine was dragged in from the barn, the dump, or the yard to be used for this lamp project. Poor machine.

This is with it somewhat disassembled. I started out by cleaning it with liquid wrench, which I understand to be made mostly of kerosene, but I quickly went through a little bottle, I went back to the hardware ( who am I kidding- I love going to the hardware store, and go every chance I get) and found that they sell kerosene by the pint, in the paint section. I put the machine in a foil baking pan and poured kerosene over it, through it, and let the working bits in the bottom of the machine soak. I also scrubbed with a toothbrush. Sorry, dear. (Kidding!)

Here it is after it's bath. I wiped it down with denatured alcohol before painting, to get it clean. Then, taped, primed three coats with sanding in between each coat, and then three coats of paint, sanded and steel wooled in between.

Not perfect but much, much better. It's moving fairly free, but the shuttle carrier bumps at the end of the arc. (Shown in the last picture.) The gold medallion was just painted. The serial number is completely unreadable, except for the first letter, a "G". I'll oil it gain after I put the decals and the clear coat on. Right now, I don't want to get it greasy.

The plating was completely gone, so after I soaked the crud off the decorative cover plates I cleaned them with the dremel tool and the polishing bit. I then used a technique I learned from a jewelry class. I painted India ink over the plates, allowed it to dry, and then buffed the high points. This gave it a little more contrast, since there was no shine. It needs to be either waxed or clear coated, as the ink is water soluble. This shot also shows the missing tension assembly. I need to remove the paint from the presser foot lever, too. Taking a picture is a great way to see detail I might miss in person, even if I'm not going to blog it. Below is the point where the shuttle carrier bumps. I'm hoping that this improves, and that it doesn't turn out to be a fatal flaw.

Necchi After

2011-07-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

I would characterize this as greatly improved. It is not, by any means, a big success. The front panel had been deeply gouged in many places prior to being painted. It had been filled in with white putty. You can also see the ghosts of the warts that were tacked on.

I did sand it all the way down, but it is only veneer, and at some point I was going to sand through the veneer. The handle, a T shaped one, is of course long gone, and so I substituted two modern square ones. I will be on the look out for a 2 inch on center handle, but those are not commonly found here, and I'm not drilling anymore holes in this thing.

I spent maybe a week of spare time with this, and, it is much less ugly. I'm sad that I can't bring it all the way back. If it were going anywhere but my sewing room aka the TV room aka the guest room, then I would probably paint it Chinese red. I may, anyway, but I will leave well enough alone for now. Sometimes when I am disappointed, I make rash decisions, and so I'll see if it becomes less disappointing over time. I'll take another photo to show you the clever little chair after I reupholster the seat.

Necchi Table Before

2011-07-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

passed this table over on craigslist for a few days before it dawned on me what it was. A Necchi coronet table. The front pulls out to reveal itself as the back of the chair. I figured what the heck- I could paint it red. While I was fooling with it, I discovered that the faux carved warts had merely been tacked on, rather that glued, and I decided to refinish it.

Now, because I am an idiot, the after is in the next post.

Feedsack Quilt as Chemical Weapon

2011-06-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

So, last week I bought an unfinished top with what looked like perhaps feedsack fabric in it. It was 94 inches by 36 inches, and been pieced on newspaper, and was cheap. Ten bucks, including shipping. The seller felt it was a "cutter" and so promised no great condition.

I have a long, narrow space where I needed some art, so I bought this with an eye toward that, thinking I'd just back it, pillow case method, to preserve the newspaper it was pieced on and allow it's patina to just be. The primitive condition of the quilt would add a certain je ne sais qua.

My first clue that it had just a little too much patina was my dogs ecstatically sniffing, and trying to roll on, the unopened envelope it came in. Opening the envelope unleashed a holy terror of patina, olfactory version. The kind of smell that makes your eyes water and your nose drip. I took it out to the porch, optimistically thinking that a little time in the open air would take care of things. After a few days, it seemed better, so I brought it into the house and gingerly pinned it to the place on the wall I was thinking of hanging it.

All seemed well until I left the room, and when I came back, well, it smelled B.A.D. in there, and so back out to the porch it went. Closer examination showed that, while this poor top was folded, Mrs Mouse had chewed straight through. And then raised a family in it. Maybe more than one family. The newspaper back had been so carefully removed that not one complete word remained, so there went my lofty idea of dating it from the back. I carefully repaired Mrs Mouse's remodeling efforts.

It seemed too fragile to wash. But the fabrics were compelling, and the slapdash arrangement of the blocks was interesting. I decided to quilt it, and then wash the hell out of it. But a long narrow quilt? So narrow as to be unusable? Couldn't do it. I dug around in a bag of fabric I had just bought from a gal who had decided she didn't like quilting. As I dug, I discovered what her problem might have been. Every single four patch block that you see above in the completed quilt had a slip of paper pinned to it, with a letter and number for where it should be sewn. Every block had evidence of having been sewn to a neighbor and then unpicked. It made me discouraged just looking at it. So, I ripped off all the little notes, sewed them together any old way, and added them to the sides of the top. The four patches are all repros, and sort of fade into the background. I think that is a good outcome. The only fabric choice I made in this quilt was the little bit of white and black polka dot in the upper left hand corner of the first picture.

I had to pin it outside, on the grass, and quilt with the window WIDE open. I used a walking foot to make big, all over fans. It was a race against the obnoxious smell the whole way. I got it done in two days, and I think that is some kind of a record for me. With a bit of fear, I washed the whole darn thing in a bunch of Oxyclean and Orvus paste today, wondering if I would open the washer to find a lumpy batt, the backing, and shreds of former fabric. However, my, and the old quilt tops's luck held. It smells just fine now, and I think it is happy. I know I am!

If anyone has any educated guesses on the age of the fabrics, I'd be happy to hear. None of the plaids are yarn dyed- they are all printed. All of it is cotton, except one piece that might be linen.

Franken Machine

2011-06-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

This is just...so...wrong. Including the 'lets photograph it in the back of the truck, cause it's the cleanest place we have' ebay posting.

I found myself oddly fascinated, repelled, and drawn. It haunted me. I finally emailed the seller and asked if the shuttle was still there, certain that if it was missing, it was too much of a project, and I would be off the hook.. The shuttle was there, and apparently moves when the crank is turned.

Oh, damn. It was like driving home from work in the grotty neighbor hood the hospital is in, and seeing a stray dog. I don't go after dogs. I'm afraid of being bitten. But I do stop and call them. If they come, and they rarely do, they earn a free ride home ( if the have tags) or to the shelter (if they do not). Last year a big boxer pit mix was sitting on the median of a busy street, looking perplexed and shaking. Scary dog, and scared, and a scared dog is dangerous. But I called. He turned his great, meaty muzzle towards me, trotted across the street, and through the open drivers door, jumped in and sat in the passenger seat. He licked my ear when I got in, and what could I do? I drove the giant scary dog to the shelter. The animal control officers approached the car with a snare pole, I swear he was a big dog. No ears, like he had been used to fight. He jumped out sat, gave his paw, rolled on his back and then wriggled, waiting for his belly rub. Two big, tough animal control officers knelt down to rub that belly.

So, that's how this machine was. I bought it. I await it's arrival, to see how the godawful lamp bits were stuck to it, if it has been spray painted, if it is frozen, and what all else. When I get it, I will take photos of the process, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it is salvageable as a machine and that with a little oil if will flop[ onto it's back, waiting for a belly rub. If nothing else, I just paid $30 for a blog post or three.

Sashing Auditions

2011-06-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sewing machine Extension Table

2011-06-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here is my Necchi Nora in her new, red table. I didn't have room for another machine in a cabinet, and so I had to take her out of the one she came in. However, she looked a little nude, and so I justified the purchase of a new jigsaw. The worst part was making the pattern. These machines sometimes came in a kidney shaped table, and so i decided to make her a kidney shaped extension table. For those of you who don't sew, basically the more flat surface around a machine, the easier if is to sew.

This what I've been sewing lately. Very utilitarian, using up chinks of red and red containing scraps. I ve got two big scrap bins, and I'm a little sick of them. So, i thought it would be interesting to see how many squares came from a bin, No idea what Ill do with them!

How I store my thread

2011-06-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

at least some of it. I also have a box of thread on cones that someone who was moving gave me. I don't really fuss about what color I piece quilts with. I go with what ever, although if it is light colored fabric than I am a little more care ful. So the cone thread is slowly being used up that way.

I am fussy about what color I quilt with, though. However, I buy almost everything on sale. So, keeping the thread organized by color allows me to see what I should stock up on. Clearly, I don't need any more orange, just now, for example. This is the storage stool from the Singer sewing cabinet I have. I am a very visual person so this works for me!

Junk? Antiques? Junky Antiques?

2011-06-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

I was enjoying an hour of solitude so I decided to stop into a local antiques store. It has been in business for thousands of years, i think. It is a bit of a tease, because the prices are rather high, and whenever you offer anything lower, the owner, herself an antique, looks at you over her glasses and says " That is a really OLD (breadbox, sewing machine, doily) I can't let it go for less"

So, I go and look there when I do not have a small child with me and look, and rarely buy.

This sewing machine tempted me greatly. It is both a hand crank and an early electric. The motor is on a pivot. The wooden flywheel has a crank, but no gears for cranking. However, I noticed that the size of the hand wheel seemed to make it more than one stitch per crank. I think. Because first, it was on the floor, and hard to see. Second, as soon as I started showing interest, the store owner tottered over and started telling me how OLD it was, third, I couldn't see if it had it's shuttle/bobbin, and finally, it was marked at $250. I really suspect that she is happy to not sell anything, and while I was there two pickers came in with loads of stuff. She really ought to reinforce the foundations, because the whole thing could sink at any moment.

Another shot of the interior. This is a fairly clear walkway. There are other walkways not as clear. You could spend about a week in here, and still not really see it all!

I have another of my weird ideas...

2011-06-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

I want to buy a cotton candy machine. Yes I do. Like this one
I think it would be really fun to be a family with its own cotton candy machine. And I could have cotton candy whenever I want!
.

Treadle and Hand crank Singers

2011-05-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

I am a bit of a history nut. I particularly love the history of everyday life, what people wore and ate and how they made things. So, it's no surprise that I love treadle sewing machines. The above machine ( when you discuss a machine without a table it is called a head, by the way) came to me as I picked through a large trash pile at the side of the road. I am an unrepentant trash picker, freecycle user, thrift shopper, and so forth, and I think it builds my kid's character to have a mom who will jump unhesitatingly into a dumpster after a find.

So, this darling machine, born sometime in 1903 ( you can date Singer sewing machines at their website) was alone a filthy at the side of the road, and of course I took it home. It's model is, I believe, a 66, which means it has a round drop in bobbin, just like today's machines. If you have or find a machine, and would like to make it usable, the web site Treadleon.net is a wealth of information.I made the base from directions there, painted, because I am a lousy carpenter, and as they say, a little putty and a little paint makes a carpenter what she ain't. It is a marvelous feeling to have something mechanical that can be completely restored to working with a bottle of sewing machine oil,a screw driver some toothpicks, and a rag.

I had initially wanted to convert this machine into a hand crank. The hand crank mechanisms are still made, which is reasonable when you consider a lot of the world still has no or little electricity. The mechanism for hand cranking is meant to go on a casted in motor mount on the pillar of the machine. Here we see that I not only don't have a motor mount, I have a casting hole where I would want to drill in to attach a mechanism.

However, I have a hardware store nearby, and so I made a substitute. The main disadvantage is that there are no gears, so each crank makes one stitch or so. However, my 9 years old just sewed a part of a border for me, so I am more than satisfied.

Here is the Singer 28 in a parlour cabinet. When the machine is down, the doors hide the treadle. This machine is so pretty, and also a rescue from a junk store where they thought it was broken, because they didn't see the small button in the trim on the right that one pushes to push the machine back down. This one has a vibrating shuttle, which is a bullet shaped mechanism and a long skinny bobbin.

I haven't done anything to the cabinet yet but wiped it down with Howard's Finish Restorer. Like most treadles, it has a mark from a potted plant on the top from the obligatory fern of the 1970's.

I can't convert this one to a hand crank, either, as it has the same casting hole. But it treadles nicely. So i am happy with it, too.

Blog you must go see...

2011-05-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

http://blog.ninapaley.com/2011/05/16/shiva-natraj-quilt/
She is ( gasp) a new quilter, if I am reading the blog correctly. She is also a proponent of creative common (copy left! cracking up, as opposed to copy right) and I think creative commons is a powerful idea. I hope it catches on.

She calls her un-vented technique traplique, and if you read back in her blog, explains how she came up with it. I did that on my Houses at Night quilt, for the moon.

Now in Stage 1 again...

2011-05-21T23:19:00.000-07:00

repost from 2007. I guess five years is pretty good for a laptop....

Computer love- no, not that kind- seems to run in stages. I am firmly in stage three, right now, and feeling entitled to be in stage four. Ahem.

Stage 1: Heady Bliss. The keyboard is clean, clicky enough to let me know when the keystroke is done, but not so clicky as to annoy most others. Oh, the battery! Odes could be written to the day long battery. Unplug in the AM, trail around the house all day, checking the battery status and seeing, yes, Woolywoman, you have plenty of battery life left. The connections are swift and sure, and my packets just wiz along. I sometime send myself email, just for the thrill of how quickly new messages load. I browse graphics rich sites. I take the laptop everywhere I go, even if computer use is unlikely. I buy a new bag to carry the laptop in during our adventures together.

Stage 2: Dependable Comfort. The laptop is a noble, sturdy beast. It does everything I tell it to do, and I still occasionally take a spin through the control panel, update wallpaper and default browsers and such. Life is good, I have a nice machine to assist me, and that little scratch on the top only shows when it's closed.

Stage 3: Roiling Irritation. The laptop, while still indispensable, is annoying. It acts as though it has a virus, but sweeps find nothing. I find myself glancing at the clock while it loads emails, cursing the minutes I will never get back from my life. I have to ask Mr. Woolywoman for technical help, and it rankles. (Yes, I have an inhouse networking expert. Don't hate me.) I have odd glitches in page loading, and if I touch the cursor while the email is loading, it freezes. If it were a patient, we'd order a CT scan, but we'd find nothing. The thing still works, right. I'm writing this now, aren't I? So it's a little slower, and I just had to plug in after only one cordless hour. I rarely write or surf anywhere but at home, so get up and get the damn cord, already. Don't trip on the cord I have stretched across the living room, children. I eye my husband's laptop, which though sticky ,( he eats at the computer YUCK), is serviceable.

Stage 4: Crisis. Please look up at your keyboard, and note that the numeral four shares the key with a dollar sign. This is not coincidental. The laptop is totally unworkable. I buy a new battery and am appeased, until the browser fails to load at all. Mr Woolly de frags the hard drive, sweeps for intruders, considers adding a blank to the blank so that the blank will stop blanking. He'll do some research, toss some ideas around. I am cut off from my invisible friends. I stomp upstairs and down, book in one hand, knitting in the other, leaning over his shoulder. Did the blank work? I need it to work, ok? I may get just the tinniest bit shrill at this point. I go to the recycling bin, pull out the Comp USA flyer from last Sunday's paper, and rattle it menacingly. I...I...I realize that I do not know how to buy anything without a computer to research, compare, and contrast. I'll drive to the store. Lets see, for store locations, check our website. OH. I burst into tears. This stage only resolves with the purchase of a new machine. See Stage one.

Nasturtiums

2011-04-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

Are my favorite flower. The seeds are big- about the size of a pea-so I know Ive put them where I want them, and I don't worry that I will drop the seed packet and all the teeny tiny seeds are gone!

They are also obliging about re-seeding themselves.But, after a few generations, they all revert to orange with bright green leaves.

Here is a second generation cream colored one, sloooowly showing it's orange roots. Its daughter will be bright orange.

Like this one. But even in the unimproved variety, the cute round leaves, non aggressive vining habit, and spicy smell are lovely. The leaves are edible, too, (as log as the are not in an area of the yard where dogs can pee on them!)

They don't like to be transplanted, but the seeds are so easy to plant and start so fast there is no need to buy them already started. Even the snails leave them alone. Yup, a nice dependable, hardworking flower.

garden pictures

2011-04-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

making a bouquet out my own flowers always makes me happy.

a recently painted rabbit. He ws a grey olor- no he is lovely blue with stamped white flowers.

chicken one

and chicken two

and an iris

A Nice Way to use Stripes

2011-04-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

I think i will be a baby quilt. I just finished a quilt to send to Japan. Pictures of that one later. On the one hand, it seems Quixotic, sending a quilt to country where people have lost, and are losing, so much. On the other hand, it's all I got.

life is hard

2011-04-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

"It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings."

~Wendell Berry

No I'm fine. Food on the table, healthy kids. Just dealing with unpleasant realities.

wedding photo of great grandarents

2011-04-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

laughing so hard I hurt myself...

2011-04-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

Free Pieced Pineapples!

2011-03-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

I got inspired by Kristin LaFlamme's Aloha Pineapple project. I didn't seem to have any Aloha fabric, but I did have Aloha spirit!

Her class is using paper piecing. I wanted to try free piecing, because if you can take it off road, I am going to take it off road!!I squared up to 10.5 inches, because it is easy to see what size top you have then.

So, I just pineapple'd around and around

So maybe it's more like LOCA PINA ( crazy pineapples)!

Here are a bunch all sewn together. Next time I will make the corners out of the black and white fabric.

Quick Trip

2011-03-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

Tooka quicktrip to the Pacific Coast. It was, to put it midly, really pretty. We had lovely weather as well.

So Sleepy!

2011-03-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

can't make it up stairs....

organizing the book case....Brilliant!

2011-03-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

reblogged from Mason dixon knitting

A Day of both sewing and stitches!

2011-02-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

After lunch, I made this top, by way of clearing out a drawer of red strips. It's hanging from a curtain wire on the ceiling.

Before dinner, I did this. I then went and got 2 stitches.

The first project as much, much more fun.

New Sewing Space

2011-02-07T22:09:00.000-08:00

Here are two views of the new sewing space. The table is one of those horrible plastic tables that my son and I decoupaged. I kept finding sheets of hoarded mulberry paper as I cleaned through things, that I had bought just because it was pretty. I bit the bullet and we tore into it, gluing it down with spray adhesive and now three coats of modge podge. The top coat will be polyurethane, so that it will be water resistant.

This is the cutting table and book/fabric storage area. I like the fabric being on open shelves, but there is so much light I am afraid it will fade. I am considering what I can do about that. So this picture shows 3 o,clock position, the table is at 12o'clock position, and the sewing machine cabinet is at 9 o'clock position.(No picture yet) The door to the room is at 6 o'clock. It s a long, narrow room, and this is half of it. The rest of the room is devoted to the day bed, the TV and such. I'll post more photos as it starts to look more like a room and less like a storage unit!

It's a floor!

2011-01-23T21:17:00.000-08:00

Look it's maple! My favorite flavor! Now of course, I need a painter, and I am fretting about where the furniture should go. I had a painter, but things are so bad that he layed off his guys, and he's painting a house by himself right now. So, not available to work.. So I will look more, and he did give me an estimate so that I knew where the ballpark was. The new sump pump guy was supposed to drop off a quote tonight, but maybe he meant tomorrow? No, the homeowners insurance did not cover it. I am a wee bit stressed myself, but I will get a maple flavored room out of it.

It has been like an ant farm here, all day. The kids and I have been carrying things down 2 flights to the maple room, from the former bedroom, and then carrying things from the garage up two flights from the former-bedroom-future-TV-room. When DH got home from work he and my son carried the dressers down the stairs. Amazing, I have a son old enough to carry furniture.

Once I get over the dust bunny shame- every time we move a piece of furniture there is a whole herd of dust bunnies- and I get over the panic of figuring out where the new furniture goes- and I get over the exhaustion of all the carrying and climbing- well, then it will be real nice. I'm grateful that this is the dilemma, don't get me wrong, but it is a little nerve wracking!

Tomorrow I fold fabric and put it on shelves. That will be fun!

Floor progress, knitting

2011-01-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a quilt I just deliered to the shelter for mentally ill women. Magpie Sue has also made some quilts for them. It is a very nice shelter- they get a ton of services, the most unique of which is that anytime you want, you can come back for dinner. Just like a family. I love how the circles on the fabric make the sashing look. I did not predict that, but I will be looking for large scale circles on more fabric so I an do it again!

Alison asked if it was all fixed. Uhm, not yet. It is flatter, though. Tommorow the floor guys come and put down more floor, and then sand a fefinish the whole thing. That is the real reason I want this room for my bedroom- I want a beautiful maple floor all to myself . I don't want to flip out at the kids about it, but when I moved the furnitre ad saw exactly how much scratching, scuffing, scarring, and staining two little boys could do to a floor, I had to rethink leaving this as the playroom. So, mine, all mine. ( Well, and DH.)

Here's the beginning of an entrelack scarf/shawl. Al lmy hoarded Koigu. I will do one of squares in each color and then repeat until either long enough or no more yarn. The lastic bags have numbers on them, so I know what order I decided on. I know, so much planning for me. Well, that's the news from here!

There will be a slight interruption in the sewing...

2011-01-08T21:27:00.000-08:00

While the floor regains it's flatness. Funny, how you expect a floor to be flat, and when you cone downstairs and find it doing something other than being flat, you suddenly realize that flatness was all you really wanted.

So, for the next few days I will be hauling Large. Amounts.Of. Fabric. out of the downstairs, upstairs, and then men with big machines will come tear up the wet part of the floor, put down dry floor, and then sand it all and finish it. Meanwhile, we have decided to move the sewing/TV/video games to the upstairs bedroom and move our bedroom to the downstairs, and in the mean time my husband is getting up close and personal will all my yarn, unspun wool, fabric, sewing machines, and books.Not th kind of thing you really want your husband to think too much about, you know?

The man doesn't have the grace to have a hobby of his own. No, no fishing, no hunting, no boats, no collectible action figures, nothing. He reads. Preferably library books. Oh, and the internet. He reads maybe twenty newspapers a day, plus blogs and sundry and since we already have internet, no expense there.( If you ever want to know any nuanced fat about any political situation anywhere in the world, just shoot him an email.) When I met him, he was part owner of a single engine plane, and that is truly a hobby that could balance out my rather large fiber habit. But since I, for some reason, refused for him to strap our infant son into a single engine plane and go for sky rides, he eventually gave up the plane.

It's like coming home to a monk, with a pile of library books, a cup of coffee, and a high speed internet connection.

On the other hand, it leaves more room for all my stuff.

When I grow up...

2010-11-28T14:15:00.000-08:00

I will have all the pets I want: As many as I want and I will name them silly names and take good care of them. I will keep my house more for comfort that for show, and all, even those with muddy feet, will be made welcome.

I will put my children's needs before my own, remembering that I am the one who brought them here, and that sometimes being the grownup is no fun ,but worth it. I will protect them without smothering, and I will always do right by them.

I will do crafts all the time, whatever I want, whether I am good at it or not, and if no one in the family wants what I make I will cheerfully give it to friends and strangers. I will never say to anyone "you do that wrong". I will make things because I want to, and I will squash the little voice that says "why bother? You're not perfect".

I will keep a sense of humor and silliness, showing my kids that it is not necessary to be grim to be dutiful.

I will live somewhere beautiful, where I wake up every day and think "Pinch me! I live here!"

What promises did you make to your little self?

May I Introduce...the Bead Family

2010-11-26T23:59:00.000-08:00

So, uhm, yeah. A new craft! When Maggie from MI visited, it got me fired up about the beads again.

This one, I made a Byzantine chain, (scroll down, for some reason here is a blank space on that page), then wrapped the beads and added them. Pretty pleased with t. Makes a nice jangly sound.

This one is called an Egyptian chain, directions from Instructables.

Very fun. Best of all, the whole stash takes only one yarn tub, including tools. I am actually remembering to wear some jewelry now that I am making it. ( What little I have of good jewelry is in a safe deposit box, so I never really wear it, but I do visit it sometimes at the bank! )

Amazing Luck

2010-11-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

So, I'm minding my own business in the Middle School library, shelving books, when the librarian came staggering out of a closet with a big box. On top of the box is a dodgy plastic Christmas wreath, and I mentally composed my excuse for why I would not help put up Christmas ornaments. The other volunteers, not being allergic to the closet clearing out that appears to be brewing, go over to the box and start to pull out these Saris. They are getting rid of them. All of them Not only the Saris, but the little matching tops and silk scarves, and salwar kameez ( the tunic and pants ensembles) Many of them silk.

with hand done bead work.

Glorious metal woven accents

Batik and the little mirror embroidery

A stunning, overwhelming amount of color ans beauty.
That is going to the trash.
Uhm, no it's not.
It all came home with me. All of it.Strangely, no one else wanted any of it.
No, I don't know what I'm going to do with it. Some of it is damaged- it looks as though it was stapled to a wall somewhere, and some of it has some staining and small holes, but the great majority of it is just lovely The librarian recollects that it was donated by someone for the drama dept. This states schools being bankrupt, there hasn't been a middle school drama dept for maybe ten years? So, lots of dust and dirt, and staples, and some areas of reaction to the cardboard.

I have a lot of hand laundering to do, and for no it is airing on the porch. This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!

Look Who Flew In!

2010-11-13T15:03:00.000-08:00

From artist who sells on ebay. Wonderful paintings, too. The crow is hanging on the front porch (It's covered, and the kitty will join a pink dog painting.I have downstairs in the playroom.

I have not been sewing much. I have been beading a lot, but like everything, what the heck can I do with all the stuff I make? At least quilts can be given to charity. But charity beading? I will have to take some pictures.

Wonderful Book!

2010-10-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

I have just read the most wonderful book called Passing On the Comfort. It was in the quilt section of out local used book store, which was a good thing, because I avoid books about World War II. I am just too overwhelmed to read about all the people exterminated. It is so sad, to think of all the people gone.

This lovely book, though, tells the story of a young woman, a Mennonite, who was active in the Dutch resistance, and as part of her refugee relief work got quilts from the Mennonite Central Committee. The Mennonites shipped literally tons of these quilts to Europe for refugees. It is such a clear, lovely book, calmingly telling how she saved so many Jewish children, and adults, and others through her magnificent work as a resistance fighter. Some of that work was smuggling a Jewish baby to safety in a handbag, some of it was finding a way to empty chamber pots without being seen ( as too many chamber pot = too many people in house).

I like to think of the quilts all we quilters( and knitted and crocheted things we send, too!) send out in the world ans having these ripples, like this. If you get chance, it is a very nice book.

Halloween already?

2010-10-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Wow. I have a lot to do! I haven't been sewing, bu I have been knitting hats. I have 4 done. For some reason Picassa has crashed and I can't seem to even re-download it. That's where all my blog pictures came from.

Ever seem like life is just really a lot of work? I am i that phase right now: behind on house work, unmotivated with my job, unsure what to do about my sons and their issues, extended family is acting up and struggling, even the dog has pooped in the house! Trudge, trudge. One day at a time!

You are not a monster

2010-10-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

Sukkot Quilt

2010-09-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

That I didn't finish in time, as Sukkot ends Tuesday. I had made some pennant decorations, like these, out of the apple and pear fabric and made this out of the leftovers. The people are from an old photo taken at our synagogue nearly a hundred years ago- I thought the Sunday school class might enjoy being invited to a Sukkah Party! I have started hand quilting it, and when I finish I am considering making more of these for the different Jewish holidays, always with the Sunday school class. Dunno. Might get bored of it and just move onto something else.

Bad Day All Better!

2010-09-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

When you have had the kind of day I have, with manglement encounters, squirrely patients, short staff, coworker too sick to work but working anyway ( causing me to worry about said coworker), another squirrely patient, a really really mean doctor who bullies you into doing a whole lot of work for a discharge that is then changed completely; well when you have had that kind of day, it is right nice to come home to a box with these in it. Ahhhhh. Get yours here.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ECHWDG/ref=oss_product

Some one isn't pulling their weight around here...

2010-09-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

As evidenced by this petite little egg. To the right is the usual size. This dainty little egg, I notice is much darker, and very cute, too. Chickens are funny!

Owl Fabric Spiderwebs

2010-09-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

This was an experiment in using "modern" fabrics. Mostly blue and brown. I really like the pale blue background owl. As per usual they were all $2 a yard things from the local fabric store sale. I had thought to use the brown background owl fabric as a back, but what the hey. It definitely has the low contrast thing going on. I kind of like it, but not a lot.

We have had a quiet Yom Kippur. After the children's service, my husband brought the kids home. It's the first year my 12 year old has tried to fast. He has done pretty good. It's 5:30 and he has had 2 saltines and one cu of water. It's kind of cool to see him wanting to be an adult. Later on tonight is the evening service, when sundown comes, and then we all have a nice snack at the synagogue. When we get home I have a steak in the fridge and I will make that.

Glass Beach

2010-09-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

There is a beach about a hour from our house that is really just the place where the road meets the water. It is alongside a big bridge, and there is a fishing pier. The beach was filled with the kind of things that wash up from the ocean- driftwood, bottle caps, garbage, and lots and lots of sea glass.
Almost every other stone was sea glass or porceline that had been worn smooth. Some of it was red glass, obviously tails light, and that made me shiver hoping that the crash that nade the tail lihts shatter had bee a mnor one. The vast majority was white glass, with a littl blue, a little green, and slighty more beer bottle brown.

I can't figure where it all comes from. Was it duped? Does the bridge make a current? Can there be that many kids, sitting on the pier at night and tossing their beer bottles?

This reminds me of when my brother and I used to take our red wagon out to pick up all the beer bottles left by kids who were parking and drinking. We had a nickel deposit on bottles where I grew up, and we would make $5 each, some days. My poor mom- it never occured to us that we might not be sending the best impression, always turning up at the grocery store with forty or more beer bottles every Sunday!

The kids picked up at least five pounds of sea glass, I picked up a small bag of trash, and we had a nice day.

Chickens!

2010-09-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

The girls are the only ones who are happy with our hot weather. They scratch out dust wallows and loll around limply, wings extended to absorb maximum heat. I made fountain out of an ebay purchased metal junk sculpture. Originally, I wanted him to be above the pond, but the Little pump I have was not strong enough. It runs off a solar panel. I haven't seen any of the girls drink out of it yet, but they may figure it out soon.

These are the new chickens . They ar Buff Orpingtons, and have small combs. They are rally skittish, even though they were picked up every day for two months when they lived in the house. I Think they are pretty, but they haven't layed many eggs, spook easily, and had a hard time getting along with the other chickens. I won't get them again, unless egg production picks up considerably. We named them when they were chicks, but they have so little personality we just call them the babies.

This is Lucy, one of two red sex-linked chickens. She's a good layer, calm around humans and bossy to the other chickens. I think the big wattles and combs are funny, and since it doesn't freeze here, there's no problem with them. Her hatch mate Sally had a bout with pneumonia last winter, and against my better judgement, I treated her with injected antibiotics. Picture me, sneaking out to the coop after dark, a syringe in hand, to grab her and stick her in the breast meat with antibiotics! I kept her warm with a lightbulb, and she pulled through. She doesn't lay much, but she has a happy chicken life, eating her head off and so forth. I was too tender hearted to do her in, and we don't ( can't in city limits) slaughter them because they are pets. So, I have a happy creature that lays an egg maybe once every two weeks and eats her weight in feed. Oh, well, she kept Lucy company until the babies grew up.

Cookies as Big as Their Heads!

2010-09-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

That is all.

What I did this weekend

2010-09-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the front of the Liberated Sand Pails...back brought to front and machine sewed down for binding...

And here is the back. Took a while to get the back to match the front in size, but I tell myself that the scrappines only adds to it's charm. I like this giant quilt block- I will do this again, especially for a large print like this fishy one. There is no batting, so there will be no quilting, so it is done!

Slogged through the husband's T-shirt quilt with minimal in the ditch quilting. Binding is on, needs to be hand sewed down.

Also sandwiched another two sided summer spread (quilt with n batting inside) that I want to send to a friend, so I'll post it after they get it. I don't know if the recipient reads my blog or not, so mums the word for now. Altogether that's FIVE tops that were used up today. If it weren't so hard to match sizes, I would do more two sided quilts. Measuring is not my strong suit.

White Rotary Sewing Machine Rescue!

2010-09-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

Saved from the trash, a perfectly nice early 1930's White (brand) sewing machine. After removing what looked like an entire spool of thread that had wound around the drive shaft, it ran . After cleaning,oil and grease, it ran well and made a nice stitch. Not bad for an 80 year old machine.

Has an unusual foot pedal. Very comfortable to use, though. The krinkle finish on the machine's paint was supposed to be easier on the machine opperaors eyes than a shiny finish. It is a very respectable olive green/black color. I also got the machine's case, which needs a new handle and a thourough airing. It even has a clever place to put the foot controller in the lid of the case. The hinges that hold the machine to the wooden base are identicle to the ones in the White treadle cabinet. The bobbin is the same as the treadle, too, and the foot is of the old back clamp variety. This meands that I have a set of hemming feet that fit it.

What will I do with this, my 11 th machine? (eight electric, two treadles). I dunno. Maybe find someone who wants it, after hoarding it for a while? Not sure. It has a nice understated deco vibe to it. I think it's happpy to be rescued!

Beach Art

2010-08-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

My kids built this o the local beach. School starts tomorrow, and I am sad to see the summer go. I am deeply ambiguous about how our local "good" schools are education my kids. I'm not sure I have the chops to home school, and as I am the only one with a paying job at the moment, it is not really an option.

I also have my own school issues. Back when I was a child ( when dinosaurs roamed the earth) bullying was just a fact of life. The fact that both my brother and I considered suicide to escape from the constant teasing, bullying, and physical abuse we suffered at the hands of our classmates- well that was just more evidence that it was our problem. If we hadn't been so weird, then we wouldn't be bullied, right?

Despite being very, very bright kids, my brother and I both barely graduated from high school ( his an expensive private school, mine a public alternative school. I actually made the stupid but deliberate choice to move away from the parent who loved me to the parent who did not, just because I was so afraid of the school .) We both had mediocre college careers, and while I fell into being a nurse, and am very happy with my job, I could have done a lot more with these brains.My brother, who was really a brilliant child, has worked for a bank most of his adult life, never married, never really recovered from his school years. I try to keep my own past out of it, but it's like trying to run away from my own shadow.

So, I will put on a happy face as I send them off- we went through the supplies, packed the backpacks, and so forth today. They both got haircuts and picked out what they wanted to wear, and I will be happy and cheerful and reassuring until they get into their new classrooms, hopefully to have good school years with teachers who see the goodness and smartness in them.

And then, me and my shadow will walk home.

What I'm hand quilting

2010-08-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Funny, when I laid it out I thought it looked like a star. Now I don't see the start! I'm quilting this with heavy gold thread, like what is used to topstitch denim jeans. My usual giant stitches. Another experiment in using just a few colors. I had this laid out for a while, then had to pick it up and forgot about it, now I am back to it. The olive fabric is a shot cotton of lime green and purple that optically blend to an olive.

When life gives you clotheslines

2010-08-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

Make a groovy pin holder. I cut a scrap as wide as a plastic hanger and hemmed the short ends. Then I folded it, inside out, and traced the shape of the hanger, and sewed the "shoulders" and side seams. Maybe the next one, I'll put fake sleeves on, and make as a little Hawiaan shirt. Next time I'd make the opeing a littlw closer to the top. I like it, but not eough to not get the dryer fixed.

This is the top I'm currently working on. I actually hate it, right now. To the left is Muggles, the dog that is not Magic. He looks like he'd be perfectly willing to bury it in the yard for me, i that would help. I assure you, it is even brighter in person. An experiment in using a few fabrics rather than a few hundred. I might like it more, latter, or not. Can't tell yet.

Have I posted this one? The house in the middle is where the quilter lives! I had to take the sleeve off and try again, because it is giving me trouble hanging right.

A Good Way to Hide the Power Strip

2010-08-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

Although it looks like I ought to send Roomba on a mission. This is just a cardboard git box, with a slot cut down one side. The power strip and all the charger thingys go inside, and you don't have to look at them. I guess you could also make a slot on the opposite side, if your wires needed to run off in the other direction, but mine is just for the laptop and kindle charger. The laptops and kindles are stored on the end table, above this box in a wooden rack meant to hold cutting boards. There are three laptops and one Kindle in the family and one cutting board rack it the four of them. It doesn't seem to get hot inside the box. If I'd know how much I would like this, I would have made an effort to find a box that coordinated more. I guess I can paint this one when it gets too nicked up.

My Crown of Thorns is SO BIG....

2010-07-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Tonya's little bitty blocks, I made one out of 10.5 inch blocks. I made it to be the back of the sand bucket quilt,( a few posts ago) but then I added borders to that, so i would have to add borders to this, so I am in flux again. I think I will add borders. I have some large scale Hawwian print that has been loitering in the stash, and it would make a very cute binding on the sand bucket quilt.

Trut be told I don't really feel like I've ever gotten all the way well from my pneumonia bout. I had to go off my RA drugs, and they sometimes don't work as well when you go back on the. I tried to remain positive and hope, but actually I have been in a lot of pain. I even made the great sacrifice ( snort) of trying to slow down, but it did ot improve my pain levels, and quitting my walks made me even lower energy as well as made the dogs wild and nutty. So, back to the walking, back to pain meds, back to swollen hands and, oh crap. I know I need to remain positive and hopeful and grateful, but I'm loosing my grip on all that just now. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day. A least, my attitude has no where to go but up!

I think I tried too hard

2010-07-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

on this quilt. The quilt is... just OK. It doesn't give me any kind of zap, or zing, or anything. The hand quilting is just random big stitch quiting, The las shot is of the back, brought to the front to be the binding.The last picture has the best colors. I think the balck made the camera overexpose the colors.

As wild as this quilt is, I think it might have bee better if it hadn't been so planned.

Thank you, Mrs Pettiway

2010-07-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

and all the other ladies of Gee's Bend for the wonderful quilts you made. Here's a Gee's Bend tribute quilt, made for the neighbor lady who taught my learning disabled son to type. ( I should have made her a much, much, bigger quilt. )

For such a simple design, I took this to apart about six times, removing greys that were too dark or light and finally settling on the Japanese indigo borders. The palest grey fabrics is actually a light grey with dark grey words written on it- like "breathe" and "relax" and "Zen" Wish I had taken a close up photo.

Got called over to a neighbor's house today. The 90-some year old lady who lived there had come down suddenly with chills, fever, and such weakness she could not walk. She normally walks two miles to the shopping center every morning, and then takes the bus home with her bag.

Three generations of family were fluttering- wanting to call 911 but the grand matriarch said "No". So, I called, right after I counted her respirations, took her pulse and made her answer questions for me. Why do people hate to call 911? It would have been very unwise to carry her to the hospital in the family car, and this way, as i told her, she got to see the good looking fireman. This made her smile, and I hope she is OK. I want to be her, when I grow up. I will have to pick her some flowers and go see about her tomorrow.

Bargello Blues

2010-07-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

Another Bonnie Hunter pattern. I found it just a little too- not hard, exactly- fiddly. I don't think it looks good for me making the next six panels! I will probably use this as a border on something, or cut it down into nine patches or something.

I'm kind of blue right now anyway. My joints hurt, I have that annoying RA fever, and life has had a few bumps in it. I know I need to just plow through, and it ill be all right, but I'm in more of a wallowing mood that a plowing one! Oh well.

For the fourth we will be watching our little hometown parade- the kind of thing where the mayor rides by in a convertible, waving and throwing candy. It is fun. Hope those who celebrate have a nice time!

2010-06-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

First picture is my sand pail quilt, like the one in Gwen Marston's book Liberated Quilting. One shovel is appliqué, one is pieced. Don't you love the cute little feet my quilt rack has? Of course, these are both just tops right now.

The second one was made by cleaning the floor under and around my sewing machine and sewing it all together. I think I will make it bigger, ans then I can give it to the ladies at the homeless shelter. I heard a cute story from the social worker who is my contact at the shelter. The ladies there are there for a fairly long time, as it is the kind of place that gets you on your meds and helps you clean up and get a job. When my friend came with the first two quilts, she explained that the quilter was just one person and not an organization, and so that when I could, I would send a quilt, but it might take a really long time to make 22 ( number of beds) quilts. I had said that if the quilts caused jealousy or rocked the boat, that I would stop, because the last thing these ladies need is more boat rocking in their lives. So the ladies called a house meeting and proposed various ways of distributing the quilts.This was a main topic of discussion for about a week! Finally, they settled on drawing names from a hat, and that once you got a quilt you didn't put your name in again. I was quite pleased and proud that the quilts were such a commodity!

Scrappy Mountains

2010-06-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Here is my version on Bonnie Hunters pattern, which is a variation of delectable mountains. The pattern is found on her lovely website here. Really, you should go check out her site, even if you don't quilt just to see the wonderful pictures, and if you are at all curious to see the cool names that quilt patterns have. I'll wait!

The only difference is that I used 10.5 inch squares for my starting size, because ( as I also learned from Bonnie), this gives you the least amount of waste of fabric. I liked all these fabrics, but some of them were a little difficult to figure out what to do with. The other difference from Bonnie's pattern is that I did not measure the vertical cuts I made, I just eyeballed them, and I did not stop and make the squares more square shaped until I had four blocks sewn together.

At one point in the making of this quilt top, I was going to change the name from delectable mountains to dyslexic mountains, because I kept reversing the way the block should be. Those of us with dyslexia have an unfair advantage when it comes to making original, liberated quilts. We can get things backwards with no extra effort at all!

I'm so happy that I have found quilting. My stupid arthritis makes it so that I cannot knit for hours at a time any ore. ( Note to universe: I am really grateful that I can knit at all. I don not require an increase in arthritis symptoms at this point. Arthritis is the wookie. I know that. The wookie will win. I am happy that the wookie lets me play chess with him at all.) Quilting is a nice change in what part of my hands are used. Pus, you know, it makes quilts. Bonus!

I am Lazy, or a Genius

2010-06-14T22:32:00.001-07:00

Or both. May I present waffle toast. When it is the first day of summer vacation, and the kids are hoping for a special breakfast, but there is a slight energy issue, well, then, butter both sides of the bread, smash it down in the waffle iron, and serve with cinnamon sugar.

Spinning Wheel for Sale

2010-06-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ijust don't spin on it. I am, of course, fairly sad that I don't but not sad enough to spin on it! And, both son'c are taking music lessons, so the extra cash would be nice. I wish there was some fool proof way to figure if if a big purchase was going to work out before making the big purchase. Anyone got any ideas on that? ( Here's the link to the ad for it: http://kbbspin.org/node/7230

I am slowly getting over the pneumonia, went back to work for one day and a full week coming up next week. Need to find th camera and upload some quilt pics.

Still Here

2010-06-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

among the living. Really grateful for all the good care I got from my co workers while in the hospital. Saw my MD on Thursday and she laughed out loud when I said I wanted to go back to work this weekend. I am really not so good at judging these things. She wants me to be able to walk three blocks without stopping or getting short of breath. Today I did two.

I've been knitting 5 hour baby sweaters ( this version). They take less than one ball of Plymouth Encore and are pretty fast, if not five hours. Or I am still slow.) Having fun using up partial balls or Encore ans the buttons I have that are a bit young for anyone that currently lives here. I'll see how many I can make this summer for the Teen Mom program. I'm already having fun picturing taking a big box of cute sweaters over in the fall.

blah blah version 2.0

2010-05-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

This is your knitting nurse on oxygen. I have some weird pneumonia and had to come back in, due to , you know, not being able to breathe well. Just a cost of doing business having rheumatoid arthritis and taking drugs for it that sort of damp down my immune system. My feral, feral immune system. So, I have had a few zillion tests, and am trying to get the heck off o2 so I can get the heck out of here, but I've decided this time to just let the doctor people make the decisions, and try to not be in such a freaking hurry. Well, no photos. not sewing going on, and I have knitting but I haven't felt like it yet. See ya.

blah blah blah

2010-05-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

Look at the happy little group. Found on the library of congress web site.
I don't have flu- I have pneumonia. If you've never had it, it is sort of like bing hit by a truck, and then the truck stays on your chest, impedeing breathing. Of course, being a nurse, I had to wait for someone else to notice i was sick, ( thanks dear) and spent a night or so in the hospital, being grateful for IV antibiotics.

I'm still sick, though. I don't want chocolate or to sew. Hopefully, both of these will resolve.

I'm on ikeahacker!

2010-05-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

right here!

I feel all official and stuff.

In other news, I have the flu AGAIN. Not fair. I got my flu shots, I got the flu, and now I have it again.

But, today I feel good enough to sit up and type, at least. The last two days have been a sweaty, fevered blur.

Front Porch Finish

2010-05-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

Chief cushion tester Muggle on the job ( The other dog is named Magic, who came with his name and knew it. Muggle came without a name, so that's why I am yelling Harry Potter references at the dog park)

I cheaped out on getting the custom foam cut for cushions, and used IKEA cushions meant for lawn chairs. I like red and teal. So any one want to come by and knit on the porch?

Llama To You!

2010-05-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the many friends I saw at Maryland Sheep and Wool . It is my third year going ( out of four). My BFF and I meet in Baltimore and do our best to stimulate the local economy.

What I love about festivals like this is that everyone there is at least friendly to the idea of making things. One woman did ask me what the spindles were for, but she listened polietly as I told her more that she ever wanted to know. It's like a visit to the tribe, where everyone is up to something interesting and there is a lot to see and do.

I also managed to find a quilt store, Capitol Quilts, and I WISH they could be my local quilt store. Everyone was so nice! They had a huge selection of brights, a big black and white fabric section. It was lovely!

Front Porch Benches

2010-04-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I am pleased with this. I made these storage benches from IKEA shelf parts and lumber. I am visualizing cushions on top and baskets below. Currently, the storage part is a mish mash of bins found in the garage, and the ones that used to be in the amoire on the porch. This porch is screened in, and nicely shaded, so I am looking forward to having a place to sit and have a cold drink this summer.

Stringy Goodness

2010-04-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here's the finish of my leader and ender string quilt. Leaders and enders is just a way of sewing, where you always just feed the next thing through the machine. It's Bonnie Hunters idea, and she has a real nice book about it.

I am going to use a blanket as the batting, tie it, and give it to the homeless shelter. It is so cheerful! I love it so much, luckily I've already started another one.

Speaking of blankets, my dear mother came over one day last week while I was at work. She washed all the quilts in the washer ( which I do) and put them in the dryer, which I don't. I kept calm, but it was a near thing. I guess they will look crinkly like this forever, now. Her remark was "I washed all those home made blanket the kids sleep wit. It you want new ones that match their rugs, I'd be happy to take them to Target." I'm seriously thinking of changing my lock. It will cause an uproar, but I have really had it. I'm going to give myself a little time to cool off, and I see my best friend since forever at Maryland Sheep and Wool in two weeks, so I'm going to see what she thinks.