Borders.....and to Solve an Irritation......

I just finished the main body of my quilt....all 23 rows of 19 blocks each.

Only have the 3 borders to work on, one set of which I have put together and the other two borders comprising only 1 1/2" wide strips of fabric I have yet to pick. 

Time to think about the next thing to do....

My Singer 503 has behaved beautifully..... still quiet and sturdy....

Except...

The original spindle size is too small for the spools of thread these days.  They are long enough so the spools won't bounce off, but they do bounce....and make noise...

Also, the holes in the spools are too wide for the spindles, and they shimmy and shake.  Sometimes I feel like I am making music for wild jitterbug dancers....

Understand, I can live with this....when the spools are full, they don't move around too much....but I do like to hear the sweet hum of the machine as I sew, and that "ain't gonna happen" as it stands now...

Other than bypassing the spindles altogether and using an off-the-machine holder for my thread, does anyone have a suggestion of something I might be able to use as a spacer? 

Anyone?  Anyone? 

(ie: Ferris Bueller)

Repeat and Repeat and Repeat - Over and Over and Over - That's What Makes a Quilt

I came to the conclusion a long time ago.....Making a quilt is a mixture of mindless repetition and stimulating activity.....

It makes your mind work and also gives it a time to rest. You can be lulled into automation and then awakened........

Well, you get the idea....

I am now to the point of  "Will I EVER get finished with this thing!?"

No, I don't mean....well, maybe I do mean... the packing laid out for that sewing machine for my sister in the background..... (sigh)

I'm not finished,,,,,,yet,,,,,,,but I only have 4 more rows to do....No, not those 4 bundles,,,,those will be one of the 3 borders around the quilt.  

BTW , aren't those clips cute!  Got several packages of 4 each from Harbor Freight...they are hard plastic, hold well, easy on the fabric and big enough to hold bunches...and they are easy to see in amongst a pile of stuff!

I am pinning together the last of my blocks from these...

There are slight variations in the piles....I have gotten to the point that all the 4 square blocks kinda blend in together anyway....

 This project is also ongoing....

  I am still not sure how I will sew the 9 patches so I am stalling by starting on the bunnies....sewing around them several times.... what's that called,,,,,,echoing, shadowing, ?????

See ya.....

Wash Day Stars - Ongoing

I finally have gotten back to my sewing after a great while...

I'm using my bed to lay out the finished/unfinished rows.  Rows 1-15 are together; rows 16-19 are being laid out here; rows 20-23 yet to do, then 3 borders.

Since I have been back, my sewing as suffered, as I mentioned...just other things to do.

...My DH had cataract surgery and he is up and running now; I had to drive him everywhere!

 my house needed TLC when I got back....actually DH kept it nice and neat...just needed a lot of tweaking; 

...A lot of visiting;

...A lot of resting after trip;

...Yard work

One of the loads we took to the back pasture...trimmed trees, cleaned and clipped brush from fence, and vines from this... it still runs, FYI.

BEFORE

AFTER

And guess when we did the yard work?   The week it was  HOT HOT HOT

It hit 104 & 105.......We were in and out during the several days we worked and did most of  it was after 8:00pm when it cooled down to about 85 or 90....

Stranger in Town.....

I feel as if I am a Stranger here....haven't blogged in such a long time...

That being said, here are some pictures....

This is my grandmother's Singer 500.  It has built in stitches.. the large knob has letters on one side and numbers on the other.  The manual matches the decorative stitch with the correct number/letter.  It works like a charm.  This can still use the different cams as well, the space for them is under the lid. 

Behind the machine is the cover...These are hard to find...This one actually still works...it can latch down to it's partner on the machine and can turn this into a "portable" machine...Of course, the machine weighs about 20-25 pounds, but it is portable...

I am sending this to my sister in NH.  I waited until summer when the polyfoam ice chests arrived.  If I angle the machine toward the corners, it will fit in there comfortably with enough space for the manual, foot pedal, various original tools, and extra attachments for it. Oh, and the handle comes off the cover, so that will be there also. 

The lips were in the baggie with the tools...  who knows....

Of course, after I pad and push and pack the ice chest, it will go into another box and I will be putting spacers, padding etc in that also.  Hopefully, it will get to her okay.  Won't be because of not trying...

The machine works like a charm, BTW.  

Also, I still have and am working with my mother's Singer 503 slant machine...so I am not sacrificing at all....

The Housekeeping Part of Quilting

Since I didn't use my Go Baby while on the trip, I am using it now, before I get too involved with my ongoing projects...

I have already outgrown the small temporary container for my 2 1/2" strips and 3 1/2" tumblers.  I plan to make some rectangles and squares also.  I have a lot of ziplock bags stuffed with "possibles" and am trying to go through them..

I spilled out a couple on the floor for effect...

Honestly, this is the first time I have used my Baby to this degree since I got it, so I really haven't decided which dies to concentrate on...I am trying to make as many strips as I can.  I have some larger dies (HSTs), but want to concentrate on some of the smaller dimensions for now.

I chose the tumbler die because I haven't made a quilt using them before...hopefully I will have a variety of colors to choose from when I am ready....

Looking at the above picture......It Really is a Mess, isn't it!

Quick Update....Made it Back...& Made a Quilt....

I'm back from my trip to help with the grandchildren....

My plans regarding all the sewing etc....?  Tried, and they were interested, but too many things to do, new baby to get used to, etc....

I did do something however... on the first weekend there, my DDIL and I went to Walmart so I could pick up some odds and ends...embroidery needles, etc...

We picked out some fabric to go along with some FQs I brought, and while she was in the hospital, made a quickie, one piece w/border, no binding, flipped right side out and sewn edge, quilt. All with the children's help (some sewing, some watching little people, some holding strands of embroidery thread while I separated them, and the oldest cutting and tieing the quilt after I had anchored the thread.  We had it ready and in the porta-crib when Mercy Adele came home...

The Back....

An Unexpected Surprise and a Had To Stop and Tell Moment

Yes, I am still leaving (tomorrow)...car is almost packed, thanks to DH and everything is ready to go.

At the last minute, I decided to give my DS & DDIL some of Mother's Christmas ribbon and other things. I was going through it, taking out the breakable ornaments, and ran across a couple of items, one of which I thought was lost forever!

These are staying here,,,,,well, maybe one will go for a "show and tell"....

She loved wind-up toys.. I laid this one down for a better perspective...it still works..wind it up, turn the  switch (at the top, unseen) and the needle still goes up and down...Best ever!

The other thing is a puzzle my Grandfather showed me when I was real young, pre-teen...Yes, you can find the solution on the internet now, but it was back in the 40s when I saw this the first time....and what was so great was that he had crafted the pieces out of metal himself (he and my grandmother worked with metal and rivets at a local Naval Base during War II.)

Make a block out of these 4 pieces (sorry, they are still as they came out of the plastic bag, I need to clean them a little)

That was easy.

NOW,,,,,,

adding another piece, make a square out of these 5 pieces..

.

How cool is that!

Notice, I did not show you the solution. 

See you in a few weeks.....

No Picture Post - Traveling Again..

Just touching base with everyone....I am driving North to KY later this week to care for my GC.  Their sister will arrive soon and my son and wife need a little help during her first week there.  I am not sure when I will return, but know that it will be somewhere early mid month of May.  I'll be out of pocket, but hope to have some pictures when I get back.  I'm taking two sewing machines, my Featherweight and my Janome, along with scraps,  Go Baby/dies, a few fat quarters, and other items...hopefully, I can introduce sewing to the older children, 4 boys and 1 girl, ... Need to figure out how to keep the youngest 2 busy...

Now if I can just remember my camera....

Motel Sew-In - Part II

I started with the basics...laid out some of the blocks too see the beginnings of the design....I had finger pressed the seams which didn't seem to do much good.  I decided to use my little iron on all. That would help in the trimming.

The motel had an iron and ironing board, but it was big and cumbersome.  I used my little travel iron and the ironing pad I made from a wooden cheese board a while back.

One nice thing....I had a big king size bed to lay the rows out as I decided which ones go where and what blocks I needed.  That I don't have in my room at home.  It was lovely!  I even considered leaving them there at the foot of the bed and sleeping crossways above them, but decided that was a bit much....

This was the night I watched/listened to 3 good movies on TV as I stitched until 2 in the morning....

Of course, these circles kinda caught my eye.  They do fight for attention in the picture also...a band of circles on the end of the bed....

But I finished 3 rows of 38 squares  each.  A good start on a top. 

Finally, I saved the HSTs I cut off the corners in hopes I can use them later on something else..I will have a Million of them when I finish! 

Mission Accomplished - My Motel Sew-In - Part I

I'm back from a 5 day visit with relatives.  A lot of catching up and reminiscing..and sewing....


This was my first Quilt-Away-From-Home experience in a motel.  I was by myself and since there was a lot of down time between visits, I decided to take whatever I needed to set up a motel sewing room.  I not only took my desk lamp, but also my floor lamp...That gave me plenty of good light to work by.

 

Yes, I moved my coffee after taking this picture.... I moved the table away from the wall so I could watch the TV which was right next to it inside a walled cabinet...

I had two goals on this trip -First, to start putting together my large Wash Day Stars top. I have all the 4 square blocks done and will be sewing together the companion blocks as I needed them.

I really used my lap desk to trim the blocks...it took me almost all of one evening to do that...and those were just the ones I took with me...this is just part of those...

 Those circles were on the bottom part of the bedspread in the room....more pictures later of those...


 My second goal was to go through my magazines (some 2 or 3 years old) for patterns I was still interested in and put them into a plastic sleeve for a notebook...the magazines will then go to anyone in  my quilting group who wants them...

 I did accomplish this and the magazines will be distributed at the next meeting....

I am signing off now so I can go visit with my hubby this evening....I'll show you the results on the next post....

Out of Pocket...On the Road...to the Water

Just to let you know that I will be on the road to see family for the next week....

Plan to take sewing & machine along...Would like to show you pictures of some advancement re: Wash Day Stars when I return....

Wash Day Stars - Phase II - Leader Ender Project

I am working on a leader/ender project: a queen size quilt top for myself called Wash Day Stars.

I have finished all  ~ 220  4-piece blocks necessary.  I used the multicolored fabric below...

Looking at the picture, I am reminded of the solid colors I picked way back when.  I had forgotten about the brownish gold fabric in the corner...I will have to search for that again...

 I have just gotten started cutting the necessary components for the companion blocks.

I haven't decided for certain, but may be shifting gears and putting these blocks on the fast track for the next month...I will be going on a couple of trips soon, one of which may have some down time where I can do some sewing.  These blocks are easily portable and can be a good project for on the move...so I am concentrating on cutting at least half of what I need...I might even take some of the 4 patches with me also.  It will be a nice diversion from hand quilting .

Maybe I'll have some resulting pictures to show ya'll in May....

Little Ole Wine (wall hanging) Maker....

Winery wall hanging top...

~~ 35" x 35"

My BIL & SIL have a winery.  They asked me to make something they could hang on the wall and also be on display at their booth when they go to an event.  Someone else will embroider their logo in the middle.  I like the contrast between the brown corks and the rest of the colors..Ordinarily, I would say the brown kinda overshadows the pastel colors/flowers, but since it is corks aka winery stuff, I figure that is okay.  Also, I don't know what color they plan to use for the logo and that might make a difference.
I hope to use light batting and quilt this when I get it back.  It really won't go to too many events outside, but it will need some heavy quilting to keep it in shape...I must remember, the heavier it is the more it will flutter in the breeze...

edit:  that's less, not more....

But as Scarlett would say, I think of that tomorrow...That's when we will be giving it to them...Until then, shhhhhh......

A Puzzle Coming Together....

The last couple of days I was able to squeeze in a little cutting and sewing and trimming.  Working on a wallhanging....

 These were sewn yesterday and trimmed today. 

I am starting to put them together now...It will be fun, cnosidering that I changed the colors all around.  That is such fun to do, but it can be very confusing...I created a substitution chart and have a feeling I will have to consult with that very often.

Knowing me, I will have a ripping good time before this is over....but I always have a positive viewpoint..Some day I will get things like this right the first time...maybe this is the day....

Beginnings of layout.....

(I Really Need to get me a good Wall!!)

Been Busy.....

I cannot dig holes any more...My DH knew this, and still he bought some slash pines to put in our yard.  He has  been wanting to do this for several years and he has decided that This is THE Year...

As you can see, we planted several others right after we moved here....4 or 5, I think..3 made it and really grew tall...the rest didn't, they became fodder for the neighbor's goats... So he bought 13 trees last week.

He is slowly (or not so slowly, depending on how you look at it) planting them...We have a method, he digs the hole and I hold the tree/support while he puts dirt, along with mulch and water, back into the hole.  We started this process last Friday, have planted 7 trees and have 6 more to go.  Pretty good for two 70+ yos.  We rested on Sunday...

Now to Sewing....

I made my first Jelly Roll quilt...I didn't race, went slow, and this is the result..

 I used a Jelly Roll that I received last year for participating in the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge last year.  I may join again this year, but circumstances and time constraints may cause a problem...I am working on that now...more later.

I  started the winery wall hanging...at least I have cut the squares for the HSTs I will be using.  I plan to sew on it during one of the trips I will be taking soon.

And talking about trips....
I   bought a roll around for my sewing machine/supplies...I find I am going on 2 automobile trips in April which will pop over also into the first part of May...

I will have an opportunity to see my grandchildren on one of these trips and will be there when the new one comes...I am taking my featherweight, as well as my Go! Baby!.  my GC will work with my scraps and Go Baby! dies...By the time they get through cranking that crank I will have less scraps and a lot of tumblers, rectangles/squares and apple cores and who knows what else.  They might even have a few pillowcases to show for it....

Have to do Something to keep 6 children busy....

See you in a few weeks, Kentucky!

 PS - Enjoy the blue type, if it shows on the blog as it does while writing and previewing this post....