A Couple New Designs

Thought I'd post a couple of pictures from the two nights of storms we experienced in five days--but the camera wasn't where I thought it was.
Sooooo....here's a picture of the plan for Alex's Star Song quilt--I didn't finish it until I arrived at the cabin, and now I have a shortage of music notes fabric.  We bought some irregular black on white polka dots to supplement it, but I may wait until we get to a quilt shop.  Hmmmm....thinking about that.

I used the same plan with a few blocks shifted and moved for the Butternut & Blue quilt--but so far, I have only one block for that one completed.
I did finish quilting the Tea & Roses quilt--but don't yet have a picture.
I did deliver the Field of Tulips--but the photos were horrible!

Okay, I admit to being pretty lazy on this vacation.  Of course, with a couple of days with the electric power out for over seven hours, lazy was well reinforced!  Having fun anyway!  (I snatched some library time while the girls are at the new movie that I didn't want to see.)  Think I'll try to read a few blogs too!

Happy quilmtaking........

Mini [not!] spools of Glide Thread

For all of you home quilters who have hesitated to try Fil-Tec Glide thread because you had concerns about buying 5000 yard spools, some of the Glide colors are now available on 1000 yard "mini" spools.

You can order them directly from bobbincentral (Fil-Tec's website).

Sorry for the mess in the background of the picture above--it was taken during one of our Victory Quilting days--so those are not 1000 yard mini spools since they hadn't yet been introduced.

 For those of us who love using bits of many colors on our quilts, this will be a real boon. This thread really does glide through our sewing machines--and provides a bit of shine in really luscious colors.
Of course, quilting is my favorite part of the quilt.

My only connection with this company is that I send them my money, and they send me thread.

EQ7 - On its way!

Yippee!  Just got a notice that EQ7 is on its way!  I'm really, really hoping they sent it via USPS and that it will be here soon.  However, I've also heard they're sending them via UPS--meaning shipment could take a very long time!

Okay, back to dreaming more quilts!

Here's Judy's Soda Pop Dreams--so named because the colors reminded me of all those bottled fruit-flavored soda pops--from back in the days when we had no idea what was in them.  Finished it over a week ago but didn't get it posted.

That's because I was busy with something I used to do a lot more of: home deco sewing.

I finally forced myself to make covers for the ottomans that I bought a couple of years ago, at least!  The hope was that they would provide some extra seating when needed in my tiny cottage and with a tray on top could also serve as a coffee table.  The tray wasn't where I thought I'd put it, but it will be on the ottomans soon.

Uh-oh, now you want to see the quilt on the wall, don't you?  Okay.

 I need to take a better photo that shows its true colors.  This was from a class that I took with my quilt guild in AZ 15 years ago--and I still love the colors.

Happy quilting as you wait for EQ7!

Grrrrrrr! I'm Angry!

When Daphne Grieg brought her quilts into the U.S. for Quilt Market in Minneapolis, a U.S. custom agent was afraid she would sell them, so she was forced to write "Sample" on her quilts with a marker the agent required her to use, thus defacing her quilts!!
I am absolutely appalled!
You can read about it on her blog post here: http://daphnegreig.blogspot.com/2010/05/quilt-market-report.html

I hope there is some way for her to file a claim against our government.
Sorry, no pictures with this post; but you can see her defaced quilts in her post.
I am beyond saddened that a bureaucrat in our government was allowed to do this!

Ready for Some "Vintage" Quilting?

Like an actress required to make her entrance down stairs so that the first things we see are her legs, Vernice makes her entrance:

 

Here's her head--now cleaned up and shining, although you can't see the dozens of pin scratches from the old fashioned pin-strip that must have been fastened around her sometime in the past.

  

She has two drawers on each side and one in the center,

 A  

a lovely face plate, 

(the tension assembly is mounted right on the face plate) 

and a spoked hand wheel.

 

She has a couple of spots on the wood, one to the right of the machine,  

and another near the left hinge at the back of the machine.

I thought I'd be stitching with her tonight.  I did get her top tension adjusted.  However, the wood was sooooooo hungry that once it was clean, I lavished it with lemon oil and beeswax.  I decided to let it drink up and wait until tomorrow to wipe her down.
 I'm so glad she's had some appropriate attention in her 74 years.  Someone did clean her decals with something that turned them silver, but there's a good chance she'll still be sewing in another 100 years!

Road Trip!

No pictures because I inadvertently left the camera at home.
Alex and I headed over to the Texas panhandle today.
We managed to find some needed wardrobe additions for 70% off.
We loved traveling through miles of spring green--usually we don't travel those routes until the world is much browner.
When we reached our destination and exited the car, we both gasped at the humidity we hadn't experienced in months!
In addition to our wardrobe additions, we came home with "Verniece"--a 1936 (I think) Singer15-88, whose original owner (of the same name) is entering assisted living with her husband.  She has a more modern sewing machine but had kept this one oiled and used it rarely.  It needs minimal cleaning.  Her son demonstrated how well it still work with its motor and controller--we drove several hours home with the smell of burning rubber--I'm guessing from the motor.  My plan is to use only the treadle anyway.
I'll try to get photos tomorrow.
I'm guessing this machine will work quite well for another hundred years.

We Have a Treadle Quilt and Embroidery Group

Okay, we have a Treadle Quilting group.  Actually it includes people who use treadles, hand cranks, and even e-powered vintage machines for free-motion embroidery as well as for piecing and quilting.

I've issued invitations to people who have provided their e-mail addresses and have asked to be part of the group.  It's okay to e-mail me to ask to join the group so that you don't have to worry about putting your e-mail address in the comments--if you do choose to take that risk, please, for your own protection, use "at" separating your address rather than the symbol.  (There are programs that go searching for e-mail addresses by looking for the symbol, and none of us needs more spam, and certainly not of the less than savory kind.)

I'm going to be doing some more piecing on my Singer 66 Redhead treadle this evening, knowing full well that the swish of the treadle will not drown out the sound of our howling winds.

New Quilt - Butterflies and Feathers

Finally, another finish.  Actually, it's not quite finished, but I'm going to let someone else sew down the binding.
Here are some detail shots--not great shots.  I meant to take pictures last night, but then forgot and had to hurry up on take them this morning before I took my daughter to play at high school graduation.

These blocks started life as four patches that were then split each side of the center seam.  I think of them as constructed, deconstructed, reconstructed--but someone somewhere probably has a lot better name for this technique.

I used wonderful Fil-Tec Glide thread.  Fil-Tec was at the Machine Quilters' Showcase in Kansas City.  Someone who attended told me they sold out of their Glide thread within the first 24 hours. And I'm pretty sure someone told me that a certain famous quilter ordered every color they have!  They do have luscious colors. It is wonderful, wonderful thread--the kind of thread that has loved every machine and every quilt I've put it in.  I used a coppery gold for this one. I just love the way it glistens against the quilt surface and says, "This is a special quilt made with love."

Treadle Quilt Group, Anyone?

I'm wondering how many people in the blogosphere--or who are just online in one fashion or another--might be interested in forming an online group to discuss free motion quilting and free motion embroidery with our vintage people-powered machine.....I know lots of people piece on them, and I know of a handful of people who use them for quilting or for embroidery.  I wonder if there are enough of us to form a group, stretch our skills, share our knowledge.

I know some people use vintage sewing machines that aren't people-powered as well.  Frankly, I'm so old that the sewing machine I bought my first year out of university is now considered vintage--and it's still one of my favorites--and it is, indeed, electric.

There are already groups for people who collect (ISMACS) and use people-powered machines (Treadle On), but I'm not aware of more specialized discussion groups.

If you're a vintage machine quilter (or embroiderer), and would like to join forces, or more accurately, share ideas and experiences, please let me know.

P.S.: You'll need to let me know with the e-mail address at which you wish to receive mail so I can issue an invitation.  (The list was set up as private to help avoid spammers or address harvesters.) If you comment on this blog and have yourself set to "no-reply", I will not be able to invite you. If you don't want to e-mail me *and* have yourself set to "no-reply" *and* put your e-mail address into a comment on this post, please use the word "at" instead of the sign, because using the sign opens yourself up to those drones who search for e-mail addresses.  Thanks.

Fil-Tec's Glide Thread

 Fil-Tec's Glide is my all-time favorite thread for machine quilting.  If I'd been able to hand-pick my favorite qualities for a thread, it would have had all the qualities of Glide.  Absolutely trouble-free quilting! I am confident their Magna-Glide Delight bobbins will be winners too!  Try some!

Fil-Tec posted this on FB today.

"Tell your friends! We are giving everybody on Facebook who posts their thoughts on Glide, a free sample of our new Magna-Glide Delight bobbins, which have not been released to the public yet."

End of School Year!

I don't dare start celebrating yet--the last week of school can be tremendously difficult.  Of course, Alex has finals.  I can't begin to predict what the week will hold for me.  I have students whose general ed teachers still don't have grades posted for their report cards.  I have reports to write and print--and there will be all kinds of record keeping surprises, things I'll have to do that no one has let me know about.  (I let the general ed teachers know about the grades two weeks ago and have reminded them frequently, but there are still students with no grades posted.)  We have a "Fun Day" scheduled for Wednesday--it will be fun for the kids, but not so much fun for me.  I'd rather dream about the things I'll be able to do over summer break, of course.

I frequently hear people complain about teachers and the three months they get for "vacation".  If we manage 10 weeks of not teaching, we're doing well.  There is NO paid vacation--nada.  No paid holidays either.  Maybe there's a teacher somewhere in the U.S. who has an easy job--but I've never had a teaching position that wasn't so exhausting that most times at the end of the day, I have enough energy left to be a vegetable, but little more. (Yes, it's true that I get the students with serious behaviors whose parents think I'm the bad guy.)

I love summer break--when I can stay home more, plan and prepare meals, work on a few other projects, read, and regenerate.

I thought I'd continue to coach Alex in reading and English, but haven't been sure of how much she'd need.  It's heartbreaking during the year when she has to work five or ten times as hard as any other kid for the grades that are so important to her. Last week I gave her some fairly quick, "down-and-dirty", reading tests.  She didn't learn to read enough to enjoy it until she was in fifth and sixth grade.  When she was in Kgn and 1st grade, I was told it was too early to diagnose reading problems. When she was in 2nd grade, the school finally agreed to do some tests--and then told me they would not qualify her for any services, that as a special ed teacher I should fix her.  Right.

The summer after 5th or 6th grade I offered her a dollar for every hour she read.  She did not have to read for an hour at time.  I purchased a timer from the dollar store.  She set it for an hour, stopped it when she stopped reading and turned it back on when she started reading again.  I encouraged her to read for at least a half hour after lunch, but that didn't always work out.

This week when she tested she came out at the 11th grade level on one assessment (more than a year ahead of her grade level) and above the cut-off on a couple of others. She was delighted.  I am too.  Now I'm hoping we can fill in some of the holes she has in phonemics, phonics, morphology, and grammar--a much less daunting task than we faced a couple of years ago.  She's also preparing for a flute recital June 4 and is planning to work on alto sax over the summer too.  It will be a busy summer--and will be over much too soon!

As for this week--we'll take one day at a time.  Her school's last official day is next Monday, May 24.  But unless something happens to cause her to be sick and miss a final, she'll really be finished Friday, May 21.  So will I. The principal has said we must be checked out by noon--and then we'll have to wait until the Central Office says we can leave.  I hope they are merciful.  Nothing makes me as crazy as not being productive!

Dreaming quilts......

May Whirlwinds!

End of school year craziness has begun.  Last night was the spring band concert.  Alex played Faure's Pavanne with the two other flautists.
Tonight was the band banquet.  As band historian, Alex prepared the PowerPoint presentation.  It was a big hit with the band kids (although Alex had already left for the Spring Fling dance).  I suggested we add movies of several performances--and presentation ended up being so huge that we couldn't save it to a CD--I think I need to learn to use Moviemaker!

Also in tribute to spring---

The single tulip that has been looking like it would try to bloom in my yard.

I've been keeping an eye on it since last weekend's snows and winds, hoping it would make it to the blooming stage.  I'm not sure--it's getting pretty windblown.  Maybe I should pick it and bring it inside.

I am so very ready for a weekend--although it too will be stuffed with activities!

It's Spring!----Really!

Okay, so I don't have a great pictures to post.  However, despite 3 days with snow this past weekend, it is finally spring!!!!!
I am soooooooo happy!
And to add to the bonus--13 more days of work.
Wellllllllll, I did sign a letter of intent for next year---apparently it binds me but not the school district since they included the clause, "....This contract is contingent on the State of New Mexico providing adequate funding."
 Kind of scary--so we'll try not to consider the more negative possibilities........

Frogs - Eeoo!

Alex chose the two main prints for this quilt when she was just over two years old. We purchased them at a quilt shop that was located in an old train depot in Flagstaff.

One was a colorful print of exotic animals. The exotic animals got chopped up in a "Stack'n'Whack" manner.

The other was a frog print that also featured dragonflies. The frogs and dragonflies became pinwheels.

The back of the quilt was a repository of all kinds of wild patchwork leftovers.

Alex napped under the quilt, played on top of it, enjoyed it for months.  Then one day she realized it had frogs on it.  She no longer liked it--and rarely touched it, let alone considered using it.  All because of the frogs.  By that time she no longer remembered having chosen any of the fabrics.

This past winter when I was looking at some of our older small quilts, I asked her about this one.  She still doesn't like it---because of the frogs, of course! It definitely has a lot of good use left in it! I hope in 20 years or so she'll have a child who thinks frogs are okay!

What Are These Machines?

I just received a call from my little sister in Houston. It was followed by an e-mail with these pictures attached.  These machines belonged to a family member and have been stored at our dad's house.  She wants to know if I want them.  She has a fuzzy memory of when they were purchased (she was a child) and thinks one might be an embroidery machine.  I've never seen the actual machines, only these pictures.  So please help me out if you have information about what they are.

  

   

 

These pictures supply the only knowledge I have of these machines, so I'm looking for information.  Since I'm mostly a quiltmaker (I piece, applique occasionally, and quilt), I'm not sure if they would serve a purpose for me.  I do love the quality of vintage machine; I know Wilcox & Gibbs made some great sewing machines.  But aside from that, I'm pretty ignorant about these machines.

If you're knowledgeable, please leave a comment, e-mail me, or reply to the list to which this post was linked.


Thank you, friends.

Sentinals of Spring: A Flower and Strawberry Crepes

One lone narcissus. I think this one was just checking--so she could tell the others if it's safe to come out. I surely do hope so.  We live a couple of thousand feet higher than Albuquerque and where I work, and we have the added "benefit" of high winds, so it takes several more weeks to actually accomplish spring than those other areas.

Yesterday was solo and ensemble adjudication for bands from around our area.  (Be aware that our "area" is larger than quite a few entire states.)  Alex was incredibly nervous as usual.  Of course, I found myself reminding her that her value as a human being has nothing whatsoever to do with the rating she gets and that it's okay to just relax and enjoy the experience.  She was still more nervous than I'd like, but she did receive a superior rating.  She's glad the competition was yesterday because today her throat is really swollen and sore.  I think it's allergies; she really hates taking the nutritional supplements that make them less extreme.

Due to the severity of her sore throat (and the fact that the choir has the morning off), we stayed home.  I made these:

Crepes, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream.  Alex was definitely not happy about that.  She said she wanted french toast.  Too bad!  She has no idea how lucky she is to have a mom who makes crepes for her.

I use a very basic French recipe: 1 part eggs, 1 part milk, 1 part flour.  Today I used 3 eggs, 1 cup milk (whisked together); 1 cup flour, whisked into the liquid mixture until there are only a few baby lumps left. Because these were to be served with fruit, I added about a tablespoon of blue agave syrup (because it's very low glycemic) and a dash of vanilla. (Sometimes I use almond extract instead.) I then let it sit in the mixing bowl while I sliced strawberries and made whipped cream. Then I took my sweet time cooking the crepes over medium low heat.  As they finish I stack them rougher side up on a plate and separate them with Kabnet Wax tissue on my stove's warming center. (I don't think it's waxed; in the "old" days, I precut sheets of waxed paper.)

Then I lift each one to the side, still on the tissue square, and fill it, then place it on the serving plate.

If I'm making more than I'll need, I omit the sweetener and flavoring so I can stuff them with a cooked chicken/turkey and vegetable mixture later.  Those go into a baking dish until it's time to put a little extra sauce and grated cheese on top and heat in the oven for lunch.

When we used to have 10:00 or 10:30 church services, I loved cooking a real Sunday breakfast for my family.

Before she had eaten anything, Alex asked, "What's for lunch?" Having had my efforts and my crepes shunned, I replied "Whatever you fix, dear?"  (Bad mama!) I realize she's not feeling well--all the more reason not to do the pearls before swine routine today.

Instead, I think I'll go count how many flowers will be ready to burst into bloom this week.

Play Day!

The last time I took my Singer Featherweight to our prayer quilt group, I thought it was stitching awfully slowly.  Today I got out the Tri-Flow and the tools to give it a good cleaning.  The blobs and thread you see above were stuck behind the bobbin case.  I slowly worked them out.  I don't think I've ever used black thread in this machine, but that glob is not only black thread, but also black fabric.  That thread on the right isn't really black--and I'm sure I was the one who got it caught in there.

See the shiny rectangular slit to the right of the bolt?  I could have removed thread from there even without opening the machine.  But I didn't because I figured the moving parts inside could use lubrication.

After all that, I noticed that the plate on the bottom of the foot control is cracked.  I took it apart and found the scrap of fabric that's at the top of the first photo.  I don't know how it got in there, but it's from a quilt I made three or four years ago.  I hope someone who salvages these machines has an extra bottom plate so I can replace it.  Whoever put it together last substituted a too short wood screw for one of the screws in the foot control. I've had this machine for over 20 years, so I'm wondering why I didn't notice the problem with the foot control sooner.

I'm also wondering if it's always sewn this slowly and I just didn't notice until sewing on the treadle and the hand crank.


The photos below are to show comparison of the full size machines (in this case my Redhead Treadle--a model 66) to the 1/2 size Featherweight.   And the second photo compares the size of the Featherweight to the 99. I'm told some people refer to the 99 as the little sister of the 66. They refer to it as being 3/4 size.  Those are interesting comparisons, but they're accurate only in a figurative sense.

I managed to get some piecing and ironing done, but the rest of what I accomplished today was just some housework.  (Why did I say "just.")

I won't have another day off work until the school year is over.  I did my best to enjoy it.  We had our first day of 70+ temperatures, so I was able to open a window--just one because it's really windy.  I inspected the sprouting bulbs.  My neighbor scattered single daffodils around her yard, and hers are in bloom.  But I guess I get more shade than she does.  I did go outside and gather windblown objects--mostly some pots that haven't been planted yet. With the warmth, today was a perfect day to have off work.  Temperatures will be significantly lower tomorrow.  (In fact, there are winter storm warnings active for the NW quadrant.) I loved seeing all the blooming flowers in the Easter photos from friends in other parts of the country, but at 6500 feet, and with the unusual weather El Nino has produced, it will be another week or so before they bloom here.

Singer 99 Handcrank Conversion and a Picture

I converted the Singer 99 from electric to hand crank.
Here's the conversion:

I ordered the hand crank, spoked wheel, etc. from Cindy at Stitches in Time in Lake City, MN.  She gives absolutely fantastic service!  (I love ordering bobbins from her because I know they will fit my machines and work perfectly--because she tests every batch she receives--unlike any fabric store.)

The conversion took less than 10 minutes--and that's with *no* instructions.  I just removed the motor and the original hand wheel, and then I installed the new one.  Honestly, it was so easy that my mind is still boggled!  I've spent longer trying to adjust the thread tension than it took me to convert the machine!--The needlebar was set so low that the feed dogs had begun to wear on the bottom of the presser foot.

This machine is one more reminder that the "sewing police" think they know more than they really know; I think they usually speak from lack of experience and assume that what works on one or two machines is true for all.

I am so excited that I now have a quiet little machine that I can pick up and take anywhere (that "anywhere" includes outside--when we get real spring weather). I'm debating asking someone to tell me how to get the housing for the machine light apart so that I can rewire it, just in case I want to use the little lamp that was on the machine.  It was wired into the motor--obviously the motor is off and no longer needed.  (It was making a funny rattle noise anyway.)

I do love people powered sewing machines!  (My friend Harriet reminded me that she and this little machine share the same birth year--the year my dad graduated from high school.)

Next, a picture for Aunt Katherine.  Sweet Teen has had this dress for several years--we've watched it get shorter as she's gotten taller.  (I offered to get some taffeta to lengthen a plaid dress from last year [I think], but she decided to wear this one.)

Blustery Day.....

Last weekend Alexandra played in the New Mexico Federation of Music Clubs spring festival held in Albuquerque.  As a result of that she was asked to play in an honor recital held at Charles Pianos yesterday evening.
She played beautifully--she thinks she didn't.
Getting her to the recital created some logistical problems--both time issues and mileage issues--but we got there a couple minutes before she was supposed to play.  Her current band teacher attended--but neither of us got to talk to him because of where he was seated.  I did manage to hand her current flute teacher the piano score--because she had loaned her own copy of the score to someone else.  Alex dashed to a back room to warm up.  Her band instructor from last year arrived a minute or so before Alex went on.
We had to leave as soon as Alex was finished because she was one of the lectors for last night's church service.  However, Ms. Sedillo had time to hand her a beautiful bouquet and a small stuffed tiger (the mascot at last year's school).
Aside from Alex's comment that she had "messed up" during the performance (minor error unnoticed by most people, I'm certain), Alex was amazed at how many Asians were part of the recital.  We were told she would be one of 12 students playing, but when we arrived the program included at least twice that number--however, only Alex and one other student were flautists; the rest were pianists.  Indeed, there were more Asians present than at any event we've been to in years.
Following the church service, several people commented to me how poised Alex was.  She confided that in the minutes before the church service she'd pretty much memorized the extensive scripture readings.  She is amazing.
....as were the winds yesterday.  We watched all kinds of airborne objects flying past the window of my classroom for most of the day.  I drove through wind, rain, sleet, and snow yesterday--and felt blessed for the safe travels.  Spring in New Mexico......