Good stuff in small packages

  If you have a treasured Featherweight machine.....read on!
  My machine was a little sluggish when I sewed on her last week.  Then I read a post on Connie's blog, Freemotion by the River.  She shared a couple of items she ordered from the Singer Featherweight Shop.   So I made a visit.

Photo from Singer-Featherweight Shop

  Yes, I need one of those.....an accurate seam guide.


And a new bottle of oil, and some grease.....Sir Old Man will know exactly how to use these two:)

Photo from Singer-Featherweight Shop

Let's see, what else can I find.  An LED light bulb to help me see better for that accurate seam allowance.  Oh, an a replacement thumb screw for the presser foot.  Just little things to help get things running smoother.

  And get this everything comes tied with rick rack!  So cute, and a wonderful touch.

There's even a page called "Schoolhouse".......all information and tutorials and details a FW owner/lover will need.   Be sure to download and print out the page with the oiling details.
And lest I forget.....very quick service with free shipping.  A plus plus for me :)
   Stop by and check things out.
   Sorting, shifting, and moving is on schedule.  I even spent some time cutting and prepping for a future leader and ender project.  I won't be bored next week....just stressed as they lift the foundation of the sewing room.

Thanks for all the enabling for my buying more fabric.  Got to say Catpatches took the cake.  She said, "Life is short.  Buy the fabric."
Happy stitching.

Re-learning FMQ

  We stopped by the quilt shop where I had taught FMQ.  I wanted to apologize for leaving them in the lurch when I got sick.  They had been updated by Susan, or "Sarge" as sir Old Man calls her, and knew what was going on.  Marietta said, "2017......go home and practice".   So I took her at her word, and gave Hot Legs, my Tiara, my attention today.

  I had this table runner ready to stitch.  Just like I teach in my classes, start with the basics.  It got a medium meander stitch through the center.   Finding my rhythm and coordinated movement for the meander was not bad.....the first section looks a bit jerky, but is passable.  Then I just did some outline stitching around the plumes.  Not in total control in the beginning, but better as I stitched.
  While I would love to do feathers in the border, I will simply progress to the next motif in my classes----the meander with loops.  Again that one has a rhythm I need to practice.   The teacher did not think she would have to re-learn to do free motion quilting.




   I put together a modified machine cover and sewing mat for my featherweight.
 Sir Old Man's worn out/used up (he thought) denim shirt provided the  base fabric....recycled to live another day.  A few scraps, and a leftover 9 patch make up the attached pockets.   I did straight stitching on this for the quilting.  Putting on the binding was good therapy---and practice.

  Just finishing a quick project felt good, even if it took me most of the day yesterday.    I fight every day to learn/re-learn skills I had.
 I fight today to live to fight another day.  I am refusing to quit trying.....even in PT.   The current challenge is to be able to stand on one leg, with eyes open and eyes closed.   Thursday was rough.  After almost getting sick  standing on the left leg with eyes closed, the therapist said we would not do the right leg.  Oh, yes, we will......I stood up and said hang on to me.  It was not pretty but I managed 30 seconds.
   Happy stitching.

A find!

Unbelievable find at an Estate sale yesterday!   Total paid....$20 end of the day price.  It was the last 99K left.....we were told there were 14 Featherwieghts and 4 99Ks in the morning.   It is in such beautiful shape, I can't  imagine what we missed in the morning.
  DD has claimed it....of course!  I will get it oiled and checked out before we leave.

   This morning's hunt was a Barbie gold mine.  I did awesome picking for her.  Actually, the dolls were just lined up on the sofa and I filled my arms with them.


Almost time to go check out some vintage autos......photos to follow.  

Friday Finds #5

    Need info on cleaning or maintaining your Featherweight?  Looking for a part for it?  This is the place to visit........Nova's Featherweights  

   Bonnie hunter mentioned it recently.  A quick link and I was amazed at the amount of information to be found here.  Maintenance and trouble shooting help,  all the bits and parts, and accessories.....I will be returning to read more tips.  If you have one of these machines, check it out.

From Ivory Spring.wordpress

 I haven't done a lot of pinning this week, so I am sharing a couple of my favorite free motion quilting motifs.

   From Wendy at Ivory Spring, I learned to do free motion swirls.    This is one of here tutorials that she refers to as Thread Talk.   Wendy provides great drawings to demonstrate her techniques.

From Ivory Spring. wordpress

  Another from Wendy....this is Swirly Vines.
Once you get the swirly vine done, she expands the design into a flower by adding the bumpy petals....my description, not hers  :)

   This design took me a little while to get the hang of but persistence paid off.  I use this one a lot as it fills in the space quickly.  I find that this motif can be used as a wonderful all over motif and is especially good one to use on scrappy type quilts.  Just a little variety to  add to your FMQ diet!

From  Luannkessi.blogspot.com 

    For inspiration for a design motif, I love to visit LuAnn's blog.   She maintains a section on her blog she calls her sketchbook.  It is filled with design motifs, lessons,  and stitching instruction ----like this photo of a border motif.  She covers, leaves, vines, hearts, and feathers.  You might just get lost viewing all her design ideas.




  As always, please visit the links and pin any items from the original source rather than pinning from here.
  Thank you all for your notes and prayers this week.  They are greatly appreciated.  Life is returning to usual......and I got in some quilting yesterday.  I have a table topper/runner ready for binding.  The sounds of the machine, the steady rhythm of movement, seeing the stitches develop and create texture gave me a time of relaxation and reflection.  Which proves the adage.....fabric and thread feed my soul.  Happy stitching.

Remember the Trash Can Bag?

    I got the greatest email from Linda at Chirp .  She included photos of the Trash Bag---plus a real scrap trash bag ---that she made.  See tutorials page for my instructions.

Linda   from Chirp made a bag!

 This bag i s going to her sister who is a Girl Scout Leader.  And I love the outside pocket, which happened when she sewed the pieces together wrong.  Linda just turned it into "lemonade" and added another pocket inside.   Click over and see her other photos.....here.    I really like what she did with the extra strips for the bonus bag.  It is perfect to hold thread snips, fabric bits, or spools of thread even.
    This is probably the greatest compliment I can get.....someone is inspired by me and uses the idea to make it their own.  Great job, Linda.  Thanks, for sharing your project finishes  with me.

   I was making great headway last night stitching the rows on the colorwash while watching a movie.  And suddenly I was in the dark.  The light bulb on the Featherweight finally shone its last beam.
   I turned to Sir Old Man and said, "I can't watch TV because the light bulb is out on my Featherweight."   He calmly looked at me,  and replied, "Let me take my glasses off.  I can't hear you."   He got me that time....I laughed until I cried.  
   Laughter is good for the soul.  Happy stitching.  

My Featherweight Story

I nicknamed my featherweight "Stinkpot".  Three  reasons for the name.  First, my Dad, who always found a nickname for everyone, called my daughter "Stinkpot".  I think it was in reference to the diapers!  And second, it was Deana who bought the featherweight at a yard sale while she was in college in Philadelphia.  I think she paid $28 for it.   And third, when I opened the case, it smelled bad!  I have read that it is very typical of the old machine cases....lots of mold, etc.  A little vinegar cleaning and baking soda helped rid the smell.

Deana stayed in Philly after college and worked for several years.  The featherweight was given to me to keep for her until she had room for it.  Then in 2001, my machine died and I bought a replacement that I was not happy with as it spent a lot of time in the shop being repaired.  In frustration I pulled the featherweight out and  got it cleaned and oiled and it sewed like a dream.  Such beautiful even stitches on that tiny thing.  I pieced a king size top on it that summer.  

Then life interfered...family deaths, selling a house, moving to a new one, that kind of thing.  The featherweight was moved too and stored in the closet of the new sewing room.  When I got back to stitching again,  I bought a mechanical Janome for $200, rather than deal with the machine I did not like.  But at a workshop a year later, the Janome began to make horrible noise...like a jack hammer.    Could it be time for another machine?  Or did I just need a lighter weight machine to haul around to workshops and Bee night?

Light Bulb moment...... I had the perfect machine for classes and taking to Bee, the featherweight! 

That was probably 3 years ago and the featherweight is used on a regular basis now.  And several of the  girls at Bee have found their  own featherweights, too. 
Two years ago, Russ bought me a padded case to carry Stinkpot in, and she went with us to the mountain cabin for Christmas this year.   Oh, and I researched the history of this specific machine (see the links section for featherweight info).....she was made in Scotland in 1949.  I'm a little silly about such things....I was born in 1949 too, so I know she was meant for me. 

Winter Banner

Here is the winter banner in my series.  It is sewn together but not quilted yet.  I used the thread painted pinecones and branches as the accent.  The branch wasn't quite long enough, so I had to use an extra bit of fabric to extend it to the border.   It reminds me of the Wolf Pines at the back of the garden shed.  And Russ picked the border fabrics to use.  He is getting pretty good at that.

 And here's a detail shot of the thread painting.    I used a zig-zag stitch to attach the branches and pinecones, and then a lot of straight stitches to secure the needles. 

  A word to the wise....I used the Featherweight and the plastic 1/4 inch foot to sew the watercolor background.   The machine began to bind up and squeak about a third of the way through.  Cleaning and oiling did not help.  Finally it dawned on me to swictch  to the regular foot.  That was it.  The  finish on the interfacing was causing a build up on the plastic foot and making the machine drag.   Lesson learned. 

 It's time to make cookies.  And maybe stitch a little later.