Dinner with Michelle!

A reader’s question posted as Anonymous reminded me that I didn’t post anything about our dinner with Michelle and her parents!

It had been a few months since I had seen her – time passes quickly for me, but BOY has she grown!

Look at this adorable face!

She’s got the world on a string ---and she’s wrapped herself around everyone’s fingers.

Not only that --- she doesn’t just walk – this girl RUNS!

We could hardly get her to stand still enough to take a photo…I had to catch her mid-motion-blur!

Hold Still, Michelle, smile at me, let me take your picture!

Zoom zoom, NO WAY!!

Not only is Michelle quite the character, but she is Mama’s side-kick, always busy and into everything as most one year olds are.

She loves to dance with her “Ba-Ba” ((Daddy)) too!

((Ya’ll, are you catching that batik skirt fashion statement? She’s got it rockin!))

She wasn’t all too fired up about me holding her – she wanted DOWN and to go play --- NOW!

But the funniest of all --- this is what happens any time DH picks her up:

SHE HOWLS! LOL!!!!

I don’t blame you, Michelle, he scares me sometimes too…LOL!

And for the commenter who asked….I’m happy to say that when Michael and Harriet moved to a new rental house a few months ago – Michelle got her own room, and has slept through the night since! A change of venue, a new routine, a room to herself – and she is out for the count, which makes for some very happy parents. I hope their move to Texas goes smoothly and they settle right in again into their new digs.

We will definitely miss you, our friends, the Gutoh Family!

Help Me Pack!!

This is my route up through NC, into VA, across parts of WV and into Ohio where I’ll be in Fairborn, near Dayton! From there I go up to the tippy top corner of Ohio over to Ashtabula, and then finally into North East ((Yes, there is a town called North East!)) Pennsylvania.

It’s gonna put LOADS of miles on Shamu! But I’m ready…

I’m packing up the car, but I’m still undecided on a couple of things.

I’ve got room for 4 or 5 of the quilts as a preview of String Fling for my trunk shows. I can’t narrow them down. I love them all!

Would you mind helping me out?

Click THIS post, check them over..and come back here and leave me a comment on what you’d like to see up close and personal if you could, okay?

For instance, I am really torn between bringing Orca Bay, or Jamestown Landing?! I want a good variety --- but I can’t take it ALL.

In the mean time – laundry is going, and the suitcase is getting packed and projects are finding their way into the tote bags for evening sewing my hotel…..

Here we go, on the road again!

Bonnie

A Bit of Desk Distraction!

I made it to Lynn’s and picked up my featherweight case! It’s in great shape--- missing the inner tray, but both latches work, and that’s all I care about.

I have three featherweights – the white one was bought in an antique mall in Twin Falls, Idaho and came in a plastic file box! The black one came without a case at all ---it was also another antique mall find, back mid 1990s before the prices on featherweights skyrocketed ---I still paid a pretty penny for it compared to what I’ve paid for other machines, but I love her. And of course, the magenta one that travels with me the most often --- it DID come with a case.

Lynn had a wonderful collection of vintage machines, but was uncomfortable letting me just come in and photograph them, so you’ll just have to know that I drooled--- a lot!!! Very sweet lady and we have SEW MUCH in common! I did resist purchasing anything else…I’m feeling rather saturated, and mostly I just want to SEW on the ones I’ve got!

So since I can’t share Lynn’s collection with you, how about a Down-Under alternative?

Margo sent me this email:

Hi Bonnie
I love all your machines. In Australia we have a sewing machine museum.
Here is the link
http://www.maryboroughflourmillgallery.com.au/
It is about 3 hours away from me and they are also on Facebook. It's a long weekend this week so I hope to get there. I thought you might like to share the site on your blog.
Margo Hendy
Who wishes she was coming to Bali

Thanks for the heads up, Margo! I wish you were coming to Bali too! OH! That’s less than 2 months away! I am getting SO excited over this trip I can hardly stand it!

And that said – I hope to make it to Australia some day, because I’d LOVE to come explore the sewing machine museum!

I hope you enjoy the link everyone, I could spend a lot of time in there, but I’m printing everything out for my trip tomorrow – time is a wasting, and it’s not being spent on fun stuff like sewing!

It’s a Jubilee Morning!

My last day at home, and I’ve been up EARLY and on the go.

I went to an estate sale already this morning – it started at 7, and I was there at 7, but by the time I got there, everything I was interested in was gone – so I left and came back home for breakfast ---feeling happy about the weight of my wallet still in my pocket. Money saved there, means money to spend later, right??

I’m headed over to meet the lady with the featherweight case this morning – I just might NEED my wallet when I see what else she’s got!

So in between the estate sale that was a bust, and time to leave for Lynn’s house --- I’ve been working on my jubilee blocks! Randy released 2 more on Wednesday, are you keeping up? Check out her post HERE.

The first thing I want to say is how HAPPY I am with the scotch removable mounting strips as seam guides. Mary was spot on with these. I took two strips, stuck them together, and then sliced down the length of both of them, so it gives me two guides, double thick. It’s easy to remove, easy to re-stick. The package even tells you that if it gets linty and loses its stick to wash it and let it dry and it will become tacky again.

Yes, you have to leave the top layer of film on, or it is sticky too, because it's sticky both sides, but that doesn't bother me. It beats that purple strip stuff that is only sticky on ONE side, and doesn't stay sticky for very long at all and then is worthless.

I still like my screw on seam guide for many things, but when doing diagonal corners like this – using the mounting strip guide means I don’t have to un-screw and swing that guide out of the way to do diagonal corners. Just let the extra bit ride on top of the strip. I’m liking this!

Lots of diagonal corners! These units finish at 2” each, so needless to say, the bonus triangles from underneath these snowball corners are TOO SMALL to save! ;c)

The next block used 2” finished pinwheels! TINY!! But oh, so fun!

This red print was from one of MY favorite shirts – I’m down to just the end of it now – I’ll miss this fabric when its gone!

The blocks are Exquisite, and Flutter Wheel. And look, 5 bonus bow-ties made during the making of these blocks. They really DO add up! I love the silly one with the ant fabric – that scrap was just big enough for ONE bow-tie!

The design wall has been refilled! And blocks are not in the same place they were, but at least are now PINNED to the wall! It’s coming along! I like it!

I hope you enjoy your Saturday however you spend it! There will be more running around going on over here getting ready to leave tomorrow ----Wish I could spend it all sewing, but this is probably the last time my butt will hit a sewing machine chair until I get to Ohio tomorrow evening--

Evening Edition, Free Kindle Book!

I love plays on words, so when I came across this one, it sounded funny enough for me to want to delve into it. I am in a mood for FUNNY and light hearted right now….

I’ll get this out here quick because my to-do list is long and time is getting short for me to do it all – I’ve squeezed every spare minute out of this 2 weeks home….and tomorrow is LOAD THE CAR day – because I’m headed to Ohio on Sunday!

So here we go:

Silenced by the Yams by Karen Cantwell is free in the Amazon Kindle Store.

((Play on Silence of the Lambs, get it? HA!))

Genre: Mystery/Humor

Book Description:

What’s more chaotic than a house with a canary, two hungry cats, and a yappy poodle with elimination issues? Answer: Barbara Marr on a murder investigation. That’s right, when Barb attends her first movie review screening, film director Kurt Baugh dies within twenty minutes of meeting her.

If that isn’t bad enough, her friend, ex-Mafioso, Frankie Romano, is arrested for the murder. In usual Barbara Marr fashion, a whole load of trouble ensues when she seeks to vindicate Frankie of the crime. More laughs, more fun, more Barbara Marr!

This third book in the popular Barbara Marr Murder Mystery Series brings Barb out of the suburbs and into the slimy, urban world of bright lights, nightly news, and drive-by shootings. Luckily, she never loses her sense of humor or her ability to befriend some decidedly quirky characters.

It sounds very fun. Much more fun than packing up a trunk show and getting Shamu loaded! I’ve also dowloaded a bunch of mp3 books from my library to my mp3 player, so that will be ready for car listening.

I don’t know how long it will be free, so please double check before clicking that it still is for you.

And OH! Look what came today?!?

The quilts from String Fling are home! I’ll be taking a few of these on the road with me this week ---I just wish I had the books to go with them, but I hope to whet some appetites!

I spent a good part of today working on a top from those leader/ender 4 patches --- Still haven’t made near big enough of a dent in that huge bag of them….but I’m making a go of it!

Can you tell that Sadie was wishing I’d stop sewing and pay HER some attention?

Awww, poor neglected girl!

Have a super evening everyone – it’s officially THE WEEKEND!! Whoowhooo!

They’re At It Again!

I got so busy with other things I forgot to mention what I found when I went IN to the Chiropractor’s office yesterday --

See, they are closed from noon til 2pm – and if I am there early, which I often am, I enjoy sitting on the bench on the wrap around porch while I wait for them to come back from lunch.

The office is in a converted house from the early 1900s ---that’s where the pictures of the cone flowers and other garden beds came from in yesterday’s post.

So I had hit SEND on that post from the comfy relaxing bench on the porch – and then they opened the front door to start letting clients in.

I go to the desk to sign in and what do I see?

YAY!! It’s another “GUESS THE NUMBER OF :::Fill in the blank::” for Father’s Day!

((No donuts this time – good thing, I don’t need them!))

This time it’s GUESS THE NUMBER OF NAILS.

Hmmmm..that jar doesn’t look like it could hold THAT many, does it? But nails can be tricky because they are long and narrow. Anyone want to venture a guess? I guessed something like 472 but we’ll have to wait until the contest is over to find out. I think I over guessed.

And no, the winner doesn’t just win a jar full of NAILS…

It’s a BBQ extravaganza!

Okay, so I really liked my winnings from Easter with the garden tote full of goodies AND the super humongo jar of jelly beans --- but this is some cool stuff too.

Let the guessing begin!

Welcoming Ken Home!

Okay, I’m almost ALMOST embarrassed to admit this!

But I bet you were guessing it anyway ---

I can’t help myself!

It’s almost as bad as the other night when we were driving home from Michael & Harriet’s house after dinner ---There was a kitten in the middle of the intersection!

I only saw it because of the headlights of a passing car.

I made DH pull over and I went out to get it…it came right to me, just mewing up a storm.

It was well fed. It smelled “clean”. It had a full belly. I thought it might live somewhere close ---- I don’t think it had been dumped.

But DH said “No WAY!” and all we could do was drive to the next house away from the intersection in the direction we think it came from and let it out on the side of the road. And it tore my heart out! But he was right, it was late at night, and I could not bring it home.

And for Lynda who commented so harshly -- here is my reply:

I could NOT bring it home late at night -- I have two other cats and a dog and family to think of who were against it. I did all I could in that situation and it broke my heart to have to do it. I am an animal lover also, but I have a FULL HOUSE.

So, this story goes like this:

Sherry and I walk into the Antique Mall and greet the old guy at the counter. He asks if we are looking for anything in particular that he could help us with. I tell him “Why yes, we are looking for old sewing machines!” And he scratches his head, thinks a bit and says “I honestly don’t think we have any ---“ and I feel like I have dodged a possible bullet, and we go on our merry way to inspect the quilts we saw hanging over the bannisters.

I had no more than walked about 12 feet --- and there on top of a dresser ---was KEN!

My biggest concern was if he would run or not – things were pretty tight in his movements ---but we carried him to the counter and asked if we could plug him in.

He ran. Barely – grindingly ---and BOY was he dirty!

But he came home --- for a whopping $40.00.

I paid $30.00 for my pedicure – plus the price of lunch ---when you think of things in terms of what other things cost, it doesn’t seem so bad does it?

Ken had been stored a long time --- you can see it on his foot – little rust flecks – and his undercarriage was COVERED in grime and spiderwebs. I set about to cleaning him up. Upon opening his feed dog cover – OY!! What a MESS! Out came the Q-tips and machine oil! I worked and worked and worked on him, inside and out….

He’s a 1950s singer clone basically, sold under the name KENMORE. What I love is the RED in his decals!

Pretty flashy, eh? And you can see he really cleaned up nice!

The one thing I needed for him though, was a base…..and I found myself cannibalizing the base for one of my Singer handcranks…in fact, this has me wondering if Barbie would fit in here too? The hand crank was in a bent wood case, but the base is a standard full size.

Oh Ken, you are looking smashing!

And you guys can laugh all you want at my pink Ikea light --- but a girl has got to have a bit of pink in her life, and this way I know no one else in this household will be caught dead stealing a pink lamp from me!

I put my Sew Adjustable table around two sides giving me the perfect L workspace. If I’m sewing with a regular machine, like my Bernina, I can put the back section on, but find it easiest just to have the two sections when working with vintage machines.

Ken and I got very busy yesterday, digging into that pile of leader/ender 4 patches! I can’t show you what it’s going to be – it’s for the next book in the pipeline, but never fear ---you WILL love this one! And of course, I’m sewing leader/ender cheddar bowties at the end of my rows –Win/Win!

I also just met the NICEST lady via her ad on Craigslist. I’ve been looking for 2 featherweight cases. I have 3 featherweights, only one has a case. She had an ad for one for $35.00 Turns out she is a machine hoarder lover too, and is down-sizing! OH NO!! This could be VERY BAD!! But we had a very enjoyable chat on the phone this morning talking about this machine, that machine, and we will be meeting up tomorrow for me to pick up the featherweight case. Isn’t it fun when other quilters/sewists cross our paths and we find we have much in common?

And that’s it for my confession. It’s a load off my chest!

But this machine insanity just has to STOP at some point, doesn’t it? :cD

A Pain in the Necchi ((Neck!))

I’ve been searching high and low for a walking foot that will fit my Necchi Supernova Ultra, Sophia. So far, no avail.

I hate having to return parts that I’ve ordered online – they usually have such things as “re-stocking” fees, even though the website states it WILL fit your model of machine. SIGH --- not so!!

This is the foot I was so looking for…..

It was specifically recommended on THIS PAGE that “The professional high shank walking foot will fit the needle stroke of the Supernova without modification. “

It doesn’t.

I emailed the company, and they said that it fit on “their” Supernova, so I went over to check their video and see that their set up looked like.

It definitely fits THEIR Supernova, so why doesn’t it fit MINE?!

Let’s take a look:

My nekkid needle bar minus any foot.

My push-button needle release sits at front…my thread threads from left to right…that post on the right hand side of the needle clamp? TOO WIDE! It won’t let the fork fit over it. And that extra oil? That came from tipping the machine back to get it out of its case to put it into my Janome table – more on that below!

Here I am struggling to get the foot on, and getting the fork over the screw thingy… ((which doesn’t have a screw, because the needle release is push-button in front.

It DOES fit if the fork is in the down position…so it’s not the height of the shank…that part is a good fit.

It just ain’t gonna go over that bar, folks!

I’m writing this post mostly for the benefit of the yahoo necchi group ---I wanted to be able to direct them to this post to see what I was dealing with – pictures are worth a thousand words, right? I hope someone has an answer for me on what to do.

I am afraid to bend the fork….I need to be able to return it in its "original condition" if need be. What I want to know is if there is a different needle clamp assembly that has a regular needle screw. That might solve the problem.

Oh, and for those on the Necchi group who wondered about a low shank walking foot with a low-to-high shank adapter added -- that doesn't work either. Putting the adapter on a low shank walking foot meant that the fork was in NO WAY going to reach over that needle bar that high up either. Rats.

And another thing ---I’ve wanted a table for this machine, but Necchis are a lot longer-bodied than any standard Singer size…so it wouldn’t fit my Singer cabinets. I turned around and looked at my empty Janome table just sitting there and wondered --- what if…..

Aha!!!!

I had to put a 3/4” thick board across the brackets on the underside of the table to lift the machine flush with the table top. And that gap to the right? Not a problem!

A basket covers the hole and becomes a great place for keeping – well---more STUFF!!

I find a machine that threads from the side NEEDS a good old-fashioned needle threader for me to be able to thread the dang things….bending around the side of a machine like a pretzel to thread a needle just isn’t working for me. I could KISS the engineer who finally got machines to thread from the FRONT!

I also pulled out my old not-very-often-used Sidewinder --- I can’t get the bobbins to fit the bobbin winder on this machine, nor can figure out the right way to wind them, even WITH studying the manual. I need to keep it simple. Often!

And that’s the story of Sophia, the Walking Foot Cunundrum, and how she came to live in my Janome 6500 table!

I’ll deal with where to put the Janome when I get her home, but she is just going to have to learn to SHARE!

iPhone-o-Gram! Afternoon Chiro Edition!

The one thing about the iPhone app for blogger that I don't like is that you can't space the text between the photos or put the photos in any given order, so bear with these! It's all I can do but a fun way to share.

I looked at the clock and saw that I was going to be late-

Where are my flip flops?? Buried under the pile of leader ender 4 patches I'm designing with!! Lol!! I had to un-bury part of them to show you---much morning fun in the basement.

And man that is a load of 4 patches built between-the-lines of chain piecing over the past couple years!

The flower beds at the chiro are in full summer bloom. I just had to share their colorful beauty with you too.

I especially love the cone flowers!

The shot from yesterday has me achy and sore--steroids flush my face and give me a queasy tummy and make it hard to sleep at night but I'm hoping to be on the mend!

Quiltmaker Block Party Update!!

I’ve heard from many of you who are in my classes in August in Williamsburg! I’m so excited for this event ---Quiltmaker Magazine – in my corner of the country! They really have a great line up of teachers for the fun weekend and it’s going to be exciting and wonderful.

And yes, my fingers are crossed that String Fling will be in my hands by then --- but I remain a bit cautiously skeptical on that. I'm not sure what the actual print or ship dates are scheduled to be yet.

But please consider coming to this event! It's going to be wonderful, String Fling or Not!

Click HERE for the full PDF Brochure!

Details are coming together and I got the whole itinerary in my inbox this morning:

WEDNEDSDAY:

• MEET & GREET

Plan to join us at the Meet and Greet on Wednesday August 1, 2012 from 7:00 – 8:30 pm. After our attendees check in and pick up their registration packet they will come into the Meet & Greet where they will be able to mingle with each teacher, ask general quilting or class questions. This gives the attendee the opportunity to get to know each instructor and will be a great way for you to meet people who will be in your classes throughout the week.

THURSDAY

• FIRST DAY OF CLASS

Classes will begin on Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. If you are shipping any items to the hotel, please take a minute to make sure that your boxes have arrived at the hotel and that you have everything you need for class.

• DINNER & KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

Please join us for dinner and a keynote presentation by Bonnie Hunter, dinner and presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m.

FRIDAY

• SECOND DAY OF CLASS

Classes begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m.

• DINNER & KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

Please join us for dinner and a keynote presentation by Jennifer Chiaverini. Dinner and presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m.

SATURDAY

• LAST DAY OF CLASS

Classes begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m.

My classes ARE sold out – but there are so many more great ones available --- seats for my presentation are still available –won’t you still think about coming?!

Click HERE for the full PDF Brochure!

Check the class lists – find something you want to do, come join the fun!

Love those Antique Beauties!

I love haunting the corridors of antique malls all across the country and seeing what things are "local" to where I am.

If I'm in Tennessee I'm looking for things FROM Tennessee...if I'm in Ohio, I want to see things that have a history and connectin to Ohio.

Quilts are household items, so it's hard to tell if one as "local"origins or not. People tended to bring their quilts with them when they moved from place to place.

I do have my favorites that tug at my heart strings though-

These quirky ones! The TRUE scrap-baggers, where a quilter was forced to work strictly from what was in that humbe scrap bag ----look closely at this section…there is lots of “substitution” going on in several of the blocks…ran out of this blue? no problem, we’ll throw in a red and a peach instead! And aren’t those fans wonderful?

Floor space was limited, but we did what we could to lay it out. We determined that these top and bottom borders were actually “whisker guard” casings over the inner border and binding. Tops and bottoms of quilts are usually the first to wear out, and often times a “whisker guard” was stitched in place to keep the oils from grandpa’s beard and the tugging of hands pulling the quilt up in the night from doing more damage to the quilt.

In this case, the quilt dates to about 1900-1920. The whisker guard fabric looks almost like a bark cloth, late 1940s-1950s. This was a family quilt with many generations sleeping beneath its warmth.

There was a bit of a churn dash theme going on too….we found another one, so adorable!

What a difference a few changes makes! Smaller blocks, though still quite scrappy ---on a field of pink with 4-patches as cornerstones…and a gently curved binding. DARLING!

Here’s a better close up --- lots of fun 1950s fabrics in this one.

Loved the display of old luggage sitting here, but what really caught my eye was the luggage tag on the middle case with the CLT marking ---

Piedmont Airlines!

Piedmont Airlines were very busy here between 1948-1989 when they became part of USAir.

So how long has this tag been hanging on this piece of luggage? I wonder where they had traveled to?!

Which reminds me of how we had to LUG suitcases without wheels in the “olden days”. I’m sure glad I don’t have to do that now! Well, in a way I do --- all the quilt bags. But that’s what the little rental carts are for and I don’t hesitate to pay my 4 to 5 bucks and wheel them in!

Sherry spied a very nice trip around the world, also in 1950s fabrics! I love the leaning of the strips and how the rows of color go. There is something to be learned when making a trip around the world. You can’t just go light/dark/light/dark/light or you get something that looks like a checkerboard! But see the center where you have more intense color up against color? That’s where your eye will be drawn.

LOVED the orange up against the black! I think it’s that tartain plaid up against solid green that makes this look kind of Christmassy, but other than that, it really didn’t.

ALWAYS STRINGS!

This is a String Snow Ball, the strings are pieced and then quarter circles, much like with a Drunkard’s Path are pieced to the string pieced units to fill in the corners. Really fun old fabrics in this one…but it’s pretty hammered in the wear department!

I just loved the displays hanging over the railing!

Log cabin, Grandmother’s Flower garden and a great double-framed 9 patch on a field of blue.

This one! I wanted this one! But I think I’ll make one instead. I’ve already drawn it out in my mind……oh this one will be fun!

I love that there are borders only at the top and bottom…Did you notice?

A very busy and cool many trips around the world postage stamp, and a pair of double wedding rings on either side of a woven coverlet.

A wonderfully hand quilted dresden plate with bubble gum pink sashings. This one was really sweet and in great condition!

Can you resist a red and white double 9 patch? This one was shredding pretty badly in places, but look at the texture of that quilting!

I love a double Irish chain in blue and white! And the diamond border..NICE!

Such a variety of indigoes in this one…and the quilting was very fine.

This one was interesting --- it was an older top that someone had machine quilted --- a LONG TIME AGO.

It has very basic loops and figure 8s in the quilting. Longarm quilting machines have been around for decades, the upholstery industry had used them forever for doing quilted bedspreads, etc, so there is no way in knowing how long ago this was quilted. It was not recent. This quilt has been used and loved and washed and used and loved and :::rinse & repeat::: It’s in very good condition.

I love finding machine quilting on antique quilts!

So what came home with me? I’m not ready to divulge that bit of info yet! You’ll have to wait for that reveal in an up and coming post!

The hip feels “okay” this morning, but I haven’t really done much moving around yet. So we’ll see, but I’m hopeful. Ive got a repeat visit with the chiropractor this afternoon….and then I’m heading over to Barrister’s Block for the next 2 installments of Randy’s Sow-A-Long that came out yesterday! I wanna sew!

Happy Thursday, Everyone!