Featherweight Spa Day

Everyone knows about me and my love of vintage Singer Featherweights...of course, I've always loved old things, antiques and the history behind them.

My dear friend Marianne has been on the lookout for a Featherweight to call her own for quite some time now.  She was particular about the age of the machine she wanted...so she had to wait until the right one came along.  She finally found her 1948 Singer Featherweight and I couldn't be happier for her!!!

This is Marianne's new baby....

Isn't she a beauty?

To celebrate Marianne's new toy, I decided to give my own Featherweight...the one I've been sewing on the last couple weeks....a "spa day".  She was starting to sound tired again, so it was time for some oil. :)

Silly me didn't think to take a photo of her sitting all pretty on the table. :)  She is a 1947 Featherweight and I love her to moon and back.  She is the first one I "fixed" myself during the basic maintenance class I took several months ago.  I'm still not completely certain what I want to name her....probably "Ruthie"....I'm still thinking about it.

I don't know what possessed me next, but I decided to get brave and work on my oldest Featherweight.  Ray picked her up at an auction and she wouldn't sew once we got her home.  She is so pretty and I've been afraid to attempt to work on her myself....oh well, she wouldn't sew in the first place, so I couldn't hurt her...right? LOLOL

The work was a tad bit more extensive than I was anticipating...but it could have been much worse.  The poor thing had a deformed belt (I think it was stored too long and developed a "hump".  Since I didn't have a spare belt, I worked on massaging the hump out the best I could...then I readjusted the belt tension by tinkering with the motor placement.  Cleaned her inside really nice (she wasn't as dirty as I expected, but she was dry as a bone).  She was so thirsty for some oil and lubricant.  Would you believe I even found an ancient pin stuck in one of the holes on the motor where lubricant goes.  That took some gentle digging out...but thankfully, I finally worked it out.  Then I put her back together, gave her a brand spanking new needle and light bulb, then turned her on.

Light works...check.  Motor runs....check.  Humpy, lumpy belt starts turning for the first time....check.  Needle goes up and down...check.  So I threaded her up, put a bobbin in....oh boy...she is sewing...not great stitches, but that can fixed. :)  Tinkered with the upper tension....tinkered with the bobbin tension...then lo' and behold....she's sewing a beautiful stitch!  I'm so tickled with myself...time to do the happy dance!! :)

She is a 1936 Featherweight and has the beautiful scroll work on her silver face plate.  If I'm not mistaken, the fancy scroll designs stopped with the 1946 models.

The gold decals on her fold-down plate are still in fairly good condition.....

But the gold decals on the actual sewing surface have seen better days.  This actually tells me that she was loved and used A LOT at some point in her 77 years of life.

Where the decals have been scratched off is exactly where sewing pins slid across her as one of her previous owners sewed....probably clothing for herself and family members.

Her motor sounds strong and she purrs like a little kitten.  I'm naming her Adeline which was my maternal grandmother's middle name.

I think me and Adeline are going to get along just fine....she's short, compact and strong as a horse....just like my grandma. :) :)

P.S.  I did some shopping on Ebay after working on Adeline and ordered a new belt and a new pair of shoes (4 padded feet...she was missing one).  Didn't even spend $10.00....I feel good...and productive! :)

Scrappy Crib Quilt Top

Over the weekend I became so tired of the constant cold, snow and dreariness that I decided to snoop around my stash of fabric goodies and see if I could find something bright, cheery and small to experiment with in the sewing room.

I found a Moda Jelly Roll (roll of pre-cut 2 1/2" strips of fabric)....so cute, pastels with a pop of red for a pleasant surprise.  The design line is doggie related so there are dogs, bones, etc...along with florals, plaids, etc., and each fabric has a vintage look from probably the 1930's...right up my alley! :) :)  I needed a few additional strips of fabric in order to have enough for this 48" x 48" square crib size quilt top so I added a few solid pastels to the bunch.

This is SO easy and simple and there is a detailed, step-by-step, color photo, printable tutorial at this link:

Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips Around World 

Because Bonnie Hunter is famous for being a "scrappy quilter"...she does not include actual fabric requirements in this particular tutorial.  Don't worry, I did the math for you. :)

My calculations are based on starting out with 2 1/2" strips of fabric that are WOF (width of fabric)...typically 44".  Of course, then you would simply follow her instructions from that point on.

To make a Crib size quilt - (48" x 48" square)  you will need 48 strips of fabric 2 1/2" wide x WOF

To make a Twin size quilt - (72" x 96") you will need 144 strips of fabric 2 1/2" wide x WOF

To make a Queen size quilt - (96" x 96" square) you will need 192 strips of fabric 2 1/2" wide x WOF

To make a King size quilt - (120" x 120" square) you will need 300 strips of fabric 2 1/2" wide x WOF

This truly was a very simple design and it only took a couple days to complete a crib size top.  I'm folding this up and putting it away until it gets quilted...then it will be saved for whenever, if ever, I have another grandchild.  With three more daughters left to one day hopefully marry and have children....I hope I have many more grandchildren.....in the FUTURE. :) :)

Sew, sew, sew your seams...

Forewarning:  

This blog post will jump from topic to topic....that's just how my brain is working today. LOL

Sewing, and anything sewing related is keeping me sane during these recent frigid temperatures.  At 10:30am this morning, it was only 3 degrees outside.  Our heat source just can't keep up with these cold temperatures and I find myself retreating to my sewing room because I don't feel like doing anything else.

Sometimes I just find joy in looking through my quilting books and magazines and "dreaming".  Because of the Birthday Swap Block group I joined, I've spent a lot of time the past few days looking for potential block patterns to make for future birthday ladies.

Thankfully, I can say that I DID finish SOMETHING.....all 32 of one of the block designs needed for my Tennessee Waltz quilt top is complete....whew.....

Now I just need to cut out and assemble 31 - 8 1/2" Snow Ball blocks to go along with the above blocks and then I can assemble the entire top. :) :) :)

It has been decided that this year will be a year that I focus on frugality!  Have I ever mentioned how thankful I am for the stash of fabric and everything else craft related that I have accumulated over the past 24 years of married bliss?  If it were not for the mass accumulated stash I possess...I may be feeling a tad bit depressed these days....but I'm not! :)  It's a good thing that I stuck to my guns during all those military moves we made when I fearlessly stood over my "stash" like a mother hen over her chicks and REFUSED to get rid of anything....but insisted everything be packed and moved with us. LOLOLOL  (And yes, the fact that I could possibly open my own fabric/craft store is beside the point! :) :)

I'm sure that most families are experiencing the effects of the "fiscal cliff" tax ramifications, some worse than others.  On top of that, I'm also certain that we are not the only family who is faced with a HUGE increase in our health insurance premiums.  These two items, both starting January 1st, will have a great effect on our family budget....so it's time for some creative juggling and saving for essentials....and using what I have for my personal hobby.

So my first small way of using up what I have rather than buying new....drum roll please....is to use up those odds and ends,  the half-used spools of thread to do my quilt piecing.

I'm so proud of myself....look at my empty spools thus far.  (You can probably tell by the colors of the empty spools the age of some of the thread.....old!!!!)

It's not much....but it's a start! :) :) :)

Think I'll go load the dishwasher and then go back to the sewing room....until next time!

No Greater Compliment

I can think of no greater compliment than when you make a gift for a friend and they actually like it enough to display in their home!  I can only think of one other quilt I made for a friend that is hanging in her home.  MANY years ago, when I didn't even know how to quilt and was just learning, I made a quilt for my friend Lisa.  It was so long ago that I "tied" the quilt together...but she loved it regardless.  I was able to visit her in Ohio a couple years ago and I was truly shocked to see that the quilt was hanging on a wall in her guest bedroom.  I need to ask her to take a photo of it.  Now I take photos of everything I make so I can keep a photo memory book of my projects.

If you have been following this blog, I'm sure you remember when I made this quilt for my friend Marianne for her 45th Wedding Anniversary.

Did you notice the beautiful wood frame from which the quilt is hanging????  Would you believe that Marianne's multi-talented husband George MADE this so she could hang the quilt!!!!!!!!!!  Isn't it just beautiful!!!!

Hummm....I wonder if he's thought about starting a home business.  If anyone is interested, just let me know and I'll put a bug in his ear. :) :)

Now that I think about it...I can only think of one other quilt I made for a friend that is hanging in her home.  MANY years ago, when I didn't even know how to quilt and was just learning, I made a quilt for my friend Lisa.  It was so long ago that I "tied" the quilt together...but she loved it regardless.  I was able to visit her in Ohio a couple years ago and I was truly shocked to see that the quilt was hanging on a wall in her guest bedroom.  I need to ask her to take a photo of it to add to my collection.  In my early days of quilting, I didn't always remember to take photos of my completed projects. :(

Until next time....

Birthday Blocks heading to Missouri

I had SO been looking forward to attending last night's quilt guild meeting.  I wasn't able to attend the December meeting and with all the snow FINALLY melting away over the weekend I was really in the mood to get out of this house.  Frustrating doesn't even begin to adequately describe how I felt when I woke up to find fresh fallen SNOW yesterday...which continued off and on throughout the day.  We had about 4 inches by lunchtime.

UUGGGGG!  I know that this wouldn't have stopped most people....but I'm not most people. :(  I'm a true Southern girl, a Tennessee Hillbilly uprooted and stuck in this foreign land called New York.  PLUS, I have an uncontrollable fear of slipping and falling on ice/snow.  What does all of this mean?  Simply put....if there is one teensy, tiny, itty, bitty, little speck of anything remotely WHITE outside....this little lady is staying home.  And yes, this means that I stay enclosed within these same four walls the majority of each year spent in this place.  If it's a good year, I may get out for good behavior from about May through September.

So, instead of going to the quilt guild meeting last night, I spent the evening in my sewing room piecing together two more Birthday blocks to be sent to a fellow quilter in Missouri.  Now I'm all caught up with the two birthday girls in January.  I have a few weeks before I need to send two more blocks to a quilter in Nevada whose birthday is mid-February.

Teresa in Missouri requested her blocks be made with Red, Blue, Tan and/or Creams.

I'm trying to use this opportunity to experiment and make new patterns....not sure how long that idea will last. LOLOL

This pattern is the Walking Star.....

This pattern is called Nelson's Victory....

Once again...the blocks where constructed using scraps in my stash.

That's it for now....I'm sure I need to go do SOMETHING to this house. :)

Two New Quilt Blocks & Dinner

Yesterday was a productive day.  Along with the routine laundry, and slightest bit of cleaning, I was able to sew together two different quilt block patterns needed to send off to a woman in New Jersey as part of a "Birthday Block Swap" I committed to participating in for 2013.

Rules are fairly simple....everyone participating must make 2 quilt blocks that are 12 1/2 inches (once the recipient sews them together the finished size is a 12" square).  We have a document with the birthdays, names, mailing addresses and recipients color requests.  We choose our own patterns.  They can both be the same design or we can make two different blocks.  Everyone tends to send different designs so that's what I did also.

The first block is called Star Checks (designer: Sue Garman from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks)....I made a few variations to the pattern.  It originally had 56 pieces but my changes cut that number down to only 49 pieces within the 12 1/2 inch square. :)

The second block is called Star Puzzle (#87 from the Quick & Easy Block Tool)...

For the most part, I used scraps from a memory quilt I made for my friend Marianne a few months ago.  Other than the scraps, I used two fat quarters from my stash.

Had it not snowed today, I would be able to get them in the mail....but that will have to wait until tomorrow.  I sure hope Mabel in New Jersey likes them. :)

Wouldn't you know, because my birthday isn't until Dec. 20th, I am the LAST person on the Birthday Block Swap list.  Oh well....what can I do about it?  LOL

For dinner last night, I tried a new recipe using my crockpot.  It turned out to be a nice, hearty meal for a cold night.

I made "Steak San Marco" and served it over (or more like mixed with) Wide Egg Noodles and a side dish of steamed Broccoli (always have to have a vegetable or Kirsten thinks I forgot to cook half the supper).

STEAK SAN MARCO

makes 4 - 6 servings

used a 4-quart slow cooker

2 lbs. stewing meat, cubed

1.25-oz. envelope dry onion soup mix

29-oz. can peeled or crushed tomatoes

1 tsp. dried oregano

Garlic powder to taste

2 Tbsp. canola oil

2 Tbsp. wine vinegar (didn't have this so I used Rice vinegar :)

1. Layer meat evenly in bottom of slow cooker.

2. Combine soup mix, tomatoes, spices, oil, & vinegar in bowl. Pour over meat.

3. Cover and cook on high 6 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours.

It smelled heavenly throughout the day.  Kirsten and Ray said the Egg Noodles were a wise choice to serve it over (with).  I must say that although Kirsten and I ate it without adding any additional seasonings....on Ray's second helping, he did add some hot sauce to his serving.  Of course, with the noodles we didn't need any other carbs....but I thought some crusty bread would have been nice to soak up the juices. :) :) :)

I will probably make this again some day....especially on a day that I want something easy and quick, that doesn't require much time spent in the kitchen....and is a very hearty, filling, warm meal.  Because of the noodles, I have TONS of left-overs...so I will probably only plan this meal again when the rest of the family will be around to help eat it.

TN Waltz blocks, Batman & Shrimp Fried Rice

Until I find all my other projects....I'm working on the only project I have run across so far...and that is my Tennessee Waltz quilt. :)

I need 32 of these blocks....and since the weekend I have completed 13!  Yippee!!!

I'll keep you posted on the progress. :)

After my last post in which I showed the child's Batman cape I finished as a last minute Christmas gift....I was excited to receive some photos of the child who received it (wearing it, of course!).

Batman was REALLY a common theme this year.  My youngest three daughters are Batman fanatics also.  This was what it looked like at my own house Christmas morning. :)

Too bad the photo doesn't show their Batman Boots (house shoes) with gold capes hanging from the back of the boots. LOLOL  And just in case anyone questions their ages....from left to right....20, 20 and 15 years of age. :)

After sewing on my Tennessee Waltz blocks yesterday morning, lunch time came quicker than I anticipated.  Kirsten and I both were starving and I knew I needed to feed her well since we would be heading to her basketball game at 3:30.  A girl needs fuel to play basketball!

After looking through the refrigerator and not seeing anything interesting....I spotted left-over white rice from when we had Chinese take-out a few nights ago.

Huuuummmmm.....maybe I'll make my own fried rice....so out came the Wok. :)

A dollop of olive oil and some chopped onion (my goodness...I LOVE the smell of onions cooking...SERIOUSLY!!!)

Stuck my nose in the freezer and found a small bag of frozen "salad" shrimp....into the Wok they go...

They are already cooked....so just need to heat them up so they are no longer frozen! LOL

While the shrimp is heating up....I grabbed my bag of frozen mixed veggies (I try to keep huge bags on hand to throw into soups, pot-pies, etc.).  I dumped about 2 cups of veggies in a bowl with a dollop of water and quickly microwaved them until they were crisp tender.  Then they got thrown into the Wok as well....

Sprinkled some "Accent" seasoning, pepper and a tid bit of sugar over the top......then the cold left-over white rice got thrown in the mix....

As the warms up and gets stirred into the mess.....I see that I have some packets of soy sauce left over.  There's no need to use my bottle of soy sauce when I've got these (better than throwing them away...I can't stand waste). :)

Now only one last ingredient and then my masterpiece is complete!  EGGS!  Just drop a couple in and start stirring so they cook.

Once you see the egg has cooked....it's finished!

OH MY GOODNESS.....awesome, deliciousness!!!! LOLOL

Kirsten said it tasted better than any she had ever had from a restaurant....so it must really be good if she was impressed also! :)

****The only problem (which really WON'T be a problem)....is I now have tons of left-over Shrimp Fried Rice made from left-overs! LOLOLOLOL