Dolly has a wee friend.

 Can you see him sitting on the inverted bucket?

Both are waiting for Spring to arrive no doubt.

Did you get snow yesterday too?  We had flurries all day with high winds and a low of 20 last night.  Brrrr.

However, I know warmer weather is coming, as this is what I found while on a picnic with friends last Saturday.  Aren't they lovely?

I've been busy with a few yard projects.  Nothing very exciting, just things that must get done.  There is a quilt I'll be showing you soon though, so stay tuned.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .  

A word on pinning . . .

For newby quilters or others learning to machine quilt.

There are 2 ways to pin a quilt top, the right way and the wrong way.

Can you tell how closely my pins are spaced?  Yup that's right, very close.  Those squares are 1-1/2" and I try to pin around 2" apart to prevent shifting as well as bunching of the bottom fabric.  Never a fun discovery.

Can you see that the pins go in different directions?  If you pin in only one direction, the quilt will shift in that direction as you sew.  And you don't want that to happen.

I use dry cleaner pins and buy them by the 10 gross, or 1,444 pins, from a dry cleaner supply store.  If they get rusty, I throw them out.  Rusty pins leave marks.

Some folks use extra large pins which leave extra large holes.  Aaand you really don't want to do that.

There have been times, depending on the quilt, when the contraction rate was so great, I had to re-pin entire sections or borders half way through quilting the top.  But that's just part of the process.

Any questions?

This is Squigley.  He has friends . . . Wigley, Figley, and Bartholomew.  They all came for lunch today and, as you can see had quite a bit to say about menu choices.

 I mentioned they were nutty and the conversation went downhill from there.  Dolly went out and solved the matter.  Nobody messes with Dolly's porch.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

What is the first sign of Spring?

 When daffodils bloom?

 When squirrels build their nests?

Or when baby bunnies go for their first wagon ride?

Around here, it seems to be all 3.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Ut Ohh Spaghetti O's

My first mistake was not double checking the quilt backing to make sure it fit the one-patch quilt top properly.

My second mistake was cutting the batting to match the backing that did not fit that quilt top.

Side bar:  My Hobbs organic batting was purchased about 10 years ago and I'm only using it on really special quilts.  I have no idea how much it's gone up in price, but I'm sure it has!

Luckily there's a back up plan.  The glorified 9-patch finished just last week will fit with no problem.

Note to self:  On queen size quilts, always extend the backing and batting a minimum of 5 inches on each side.   The contraction rate when quilting every 2" is greater than when quilting every 6" so extra yardage is needed.

We're at 65 degrees today.  For those of you dealing with more ice, snow and cold temps, you're welcome to come on down and help me pin.  There could even be brownies.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Ahh, yes indeedy . . .

 The pinning table has finally been set up.  New backing is clamped down.

 So I can commence to pinning The BIG One!

How many 2-1/2" squares are in this one again . . . a gazillion I'm thinkin'.

Simple diagonal line quilting will suffice using Hobbs 100% Cotton Organic Batting.  I want it to shrink and texture nicely.

The suet feeders were filled with a mixture of peanut butter, cracker crumbs, bread crumbs and bird seed.

We'll see how long it takes these guys to discover it.  Dolly loves to chase them off the porch.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Things have been a bit nutty 'round here.

 With lots of activity around the bird feeders.

I wanted to take a minute and share with you a few fabric collages created by a dear friend.

She has such a great imagination.

 Each piece is unique.

 And very, very colorful.

She's working on a variety and will be selling them at various locals in the area.

Happy Spring everyone, I think it finally found us.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Kindly welcome the newest member of the family.

 This is Gracie-Gertie (G.G.), a 1948 Kenmore with only 68,472 miles.  The previous owner, a little old lady from Pasadena, only sewed on Sundays.

Gigi weighs about 837 pounds and will be used primarily for string piecing / crumb piecing QOV tops.

 When first seen at the thrift store, I asked permission to plug it in and ran a test, then got the serial number.

I came home, did a lot of research, found this great site (thank you Zorba), and also looked up the prices on parts needed including light bulb, bobbins, etc.

Thankfully, Sewing Parts Online, has everything, but are closed today due to an ice storm.

It even does machine quilting.

See the small black wheel next to the chrome wheel, that's a motor pulley on a 1/4" shaft.  It needs replacing.  This is a rotary machine (no belt) and those 2 wheels are what make the machine run.

Threading it is a bit tricky at first.  There's a tiny horizontal spring that the thread must go through.

 I'm having a bit of trouble with getting the bobbin to stay in.  Need to work on that.

Zorba mentions disassembling the motor, cleaning the brushings of any heavy, solidified grease, and re-lubricating the motor.

I had plans to show pictures of that process, until Gigi landed full force on my right pinky finger, crushing the tip, causing extensive bleeding and swelling, and generally messing up my day.

Thankfully, my dear neighbor came to the rescue.  He showed me exactly what a brushing was, disassembled the motor, then told me how to clean it, etc.

 When this black non-metal screw is removed, the spring and brushing come out.  There are 2 non-metal black screws, one on the top and one on the bottom of the motor.

There are 2 brass screws under the motor which come off also.

 After unplugging the motor of course.

I did not have to undo any of the electrical wires attached to the motor.  I did make sure the sewing machine was unplugged before starting this process.

The top copper section of the motor was cleaned with alcohol.  Varnish is used on the motor and must be cleaned with a non-abrasive solution.  Q-tips were used to clean inside the motor casing, and then I lubricated the motor casing felt.  There are also 2 screw pins that have inside lubricating wicks (seen in the above photo on opposite sides of the motor).   The book says to use Vaseline on those.

Of course, all moving metal gear parts were thoroughly oiled as per Zorba's instructions.

If you have this machine or wish to buy one similar and want to know more, just e-mail me.  

And for heaven's sake please don't drop it on your fingers.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .