Adding to a Second Quilt for Ruth

Ruth passed a second quilt on to me for additional quilting.

When I first began quilting quilts for other members of our Victory Prayer Quilt ministry, I thought it was fun to stretch my ideas and skills with quilt tops my mind or hands would never have created.  I now know it is just as much fun to quilt a quilt someone else has already started quilting. Admittedly, these are not going to be heirlooms, but we are repeatedly told how valued they are by the recipients.

Happy knitting and quilting.....

A Couple More Prayer Quilts

I said last week that I would try to post some quilts that Ruth had given me with the request that I add more quilting.

 Some of the circles on Ruth's quilt were double layered.  I know there is a story there, but I haven't yet learned it.

 This was so much fun to quilt.  I really wanted to add quilting to the yellow sashing, but the sudden announcement that the quilt blessing was only about 36 hours away made that impossible.

 I also wanted more elaborate quilting in the borders, but the need for speed prevented that too, so it just received a simple feather.

It is a very happy quilt, and I hope it brightens the days of someone's health challenge.

I kind of expected the last of the snow to have melted today, the third in a row with highs in the upper 50s, but a surprising amount is still around.

Happy quiltmaking and knitting,....

January 2015 Quilt Blessing

These are the Victory Prayer Quilts that were blessed this morning--although several did not get photographed.

Made by a handful of quilters over the last six months or so.  Now filled with prayers and destined to comfort friends and family of our church members who are facing serious health challenges.

An old high school friend remarked about how many talented quiltmakers we have in our church. While we would love to have more people active in our ministry, these quilts were made by just five of us over the course of the last few months, and we also like to make other things (including quilts) for our friends and families.

Happy quiltmaking and knitting,

Prayer Quilt Surprise

This is what I spent most of the day quilting.

 It's a prayer quilt pieced by Judy.  It makes wonderful use of a striped fabric.

 Although the fabric is very consistent, the quilting is almost a sampler.  It should be interesting to the recipient.

I like the quilt a whole lot better now that the quilting is done.  While I was working on it, I wasn't so sure.  Now that it's done, it's beautiful.
I received an e-mail from Judy last night saying we are having a quilt dedication in church tomorrow.  Although we have only around 20 quilts ready, we are almost out, so we'll dedicate what we have. Maybe the small number of quilts will help people realize how much time even these quilts think.  With a few rare exceptions, I think it usually takes about seven to ten hours per square foot, although some people may be able to make them faster.  Even at that rate, it's much faster than hand-quilting, which is what I used to do.  Even with machine quilting, I will never have time to make all the quilts I'd like to make---the ideas just come too fast.
If I had known we were doing the dedication this Sunday, I would have budgeted my quilting time differently this week.
I did finish quilting a couple more that Ruth had started and then decided were in need of more quilting.  I'll post those later.

Our MUMC Jugband had a lovely hour singing for the residents of a nearby Beehive Home.  But I can tell I haven't sung much for the last month!

If my dad were still with us, he would have turned 93 today.  I kept thinking of my paternal grandpa this week, and it took a while to connect those thoughts with Dad's birthday.

I'm tired from all those hours of quilting, so I'm about to change sheets, have a soak in the tub, and take a lovely pot of tea and some knitting into the bedroom.  Might do a little reading too.

Happy quiltmaking...and knitting,

Yes, I Treadle a ZigZag Sewing Machine

I was asked for photos of my zigzag machine in a treadle.  Here they are:

 The treadle cabinet and irons came with my first treadle sewing machine, a 1919 Singer 66.
This machine is a Necchi BU manufactured in Italy in 1951 or 52.  I did have to enlarge the mounting holes with a 9/32" drill bit--took less than a minute.  The footprint of the machine was exactly the same as most Singers, so I was able to use the belt plate to the right of the machine that came on the Singer.
(By the way, I don't use the threads shown on the machine.  I'm using the thread on the thread stand behind the machine, and the spools are just there to guide the thread. The spool pin doily under the left spool is actually a window shade pull from the mid 20th century.  And the beautiful little spoon handle is attached to a real spoon one of my dear friends gave me that has a commercial doily, polyester stuffing, and a beautiful piece of fabric creating a wonderful pin cushion.)

 Close up of the needle positioner, the stitch width control, and the stitch length control.
Yes, this machine has been well loved and well used throughout its decades of existence.

When I removed the motor, I put a magnet over its hole since I didn't have a cover.  (I guess I should get a bigger magnet.)  The purpose of the magnet was to prevent anything from falling inside and to help keep the oil from drying out so quickly, since I live in a desert (although, all the snow outside right now kind of belies that fact!)

This is my favorite machine.  No, wait, all my others are my favorites too.  How could I possible choose just one?!  It would be like limiting myself to a single musical note--not pretty at all and much more boring!

Happy quiltmaking....and knitting,

Frogged, Re-done, Snow & Ice

I had to unquilt a lot more than I expected.

I wound a couple bobbins with darker thread, got the tension right, and re-quilted the sashings.

This is a very bright quilt that will definitely brighten a dark time for someone.  The outer border is printed to look like crazy patch. Now that it's done, I'm asking myself why I found it so hard to discipline myself to work on it.  It could have been done months ago!

 Judy pieced this with leftovers of dozens of interesting prints she's used in other Victory Prayer Quilts.

I haven't decided if I'll try to photograph all the different quilting designs I used or if it would just make more sense to add them to my sketchbook.

 In any case, I may get time to do that today since I-40 is treacherous and most of the schools, government offices, and courts east of the Sandia & Manzano Mountains are closed today due to the snow and ice.  Although most of the schools in Albuquerque's "doughnut hole" are open, I'm opting not to attempt those treacherous 40 miles.  Even the guy with the monster truck a few houses down hasn't ventured out.  More snow is predicted, but high winds are predicted as well, so I'm thinking I'll wait until the winds have had a chance to move the snow around before I attempt to clear any of it.  The storm should be in TX tonight, which means that with the clearing we may well see sub-zero temperatures tonight.  Brrrrrr!

With any luck, Aunt JoAnn's quilt should arrive at her home today.  (I tried to track the package, but the USPS website doesn't like the format of the number their computer assigned to the package.)
She suffered a stroke after her surgery, and the family is hopeful that she will be able to move from the hospital to the rehab facility today.  It's reported to be a "superficial stroke," but we know that a lot of events that look minor from the outside create significant challenges inside the brain and to the brain's owner!

Years ago I used days like this as an excuse to bake cookies.  I need to choose a recipe and do that today too!
Update: On our street we just had an visit from the snowplow.  That rarely happens, and it must mean the snow and ice are worse than even I would have guessed.  (We have some really nice people working here where I live.)

Happy quiltmaking and knitting,