Rain-Check on QuiltCam!

I'm happy with the amount of studio re-org and treadle setting-up that got done today.
We are just now finished with dinner -- it's 8:51 pm as I type this.
You guys -- I'm done in!  I'm not even sure I have the energy for One Hour of Needle & Thread time, which I was hoping for.   I have a proposal ---A rain check! 
And hoping to catch the Europeans during their day time for a change, how about we do QuiltCam time tomorrow ((Sunday)) afternoon around 2pm  eastern time?  
That might just get me off their black list.  Though there have been a couple ladies who emailed saying they had set their alarms for 2am so they can get up and watch QuiltCam.  Crazy!
So tomorrow at 2pm eastern time it is ---hopefully that will work for you and for many. I'm going to call it an early night and catch up on some missing sleep.

Breathing Room!

Well, one thing leads to another as we all know.

I couldn’t move the treadle away from the wall and get it set up without putting something else in its place – and so the shifting and rearranging begins.

Mostly ---I wanted flat surfaces cleared off.  I needed the remains of the last couple of projects I’ve been working on trimmed down and put away – and all this was going to take AWAY from sewing time…but I’m glad I did it.

I’ll never be a neat-freak.  I like my STUFF.  I have LOADS of stuff ---but it all has a purpose as well as being part of a place that feels cozy to me – a place where I want to be free to dream, to imagine, to create.

This is how my studio looks now after spending all day in it.

Take a GOOD LONG LOOK.  Because by tomorrow it will look like a bomb went off in here again!
The first picture is the front of the room.  I’ve got that sort of divided off by the two easy chairs as “Office space”.

The jubilee blocks are hanging on the small design wall behind the door.

The quilt I’ve been spending my one hour of needle and thread time is there on the first chair.  I haven’t sat at in a few days. *SIGH*  Coming back from Indiana threw me into a loop and I haven’t settled back to it yet.

Two book cases of quilt books flank the brick fireplace with the lovely wood burning stove --- amazing heat comes out of that thing!  Of course, there are child size sewing machines on top of the book cases, and vintage irons on the stove…

The other end of the room boasts my longarm…and my first Dear Jane hangs on the wall behind it.  This “COULD” be better used as design wall space, but I love seeing it there.  See how clean that table surface is?  It won’t stay that way for long, I promise!

Sewing Machine Central!

You can see where I’ve set up the treadle…my Janome 6500p is against the wall now in case I need something with a tread cutter, needle position, applique stitch or heaven forbid….built in button holes!  In the corner is the Singer 404 that I’ve been working on ---

And as as you can tell, any quilt on the wall becomes a surface to pin other blocks and parts TO.  Quilted bulletin boards.  But it works!

I do love my space down here.  It’s not gorgeous or glorious by any means, but it is homey and comfy and suits me.

Now – if we can get dinner taken care of I can come back and sew some more this evening!

Determined to Treadle!

I was having a facebook conversation with Becky over the use of the hand-crank machine last night --- the passing posts going something like “You should use your treadle, it will work your leg muscles!” And my explaining that I’m not sure what needs to be done to this treadle to get it working.

That got me to thinking – how am I going to know unless I move it away from the wall, unload the bins of scraps that are on top of it and get in there and TRY!?


First things first…get rid of dust and cobwebs.

Second…go scrounging around in DH’s workshop to find some boards to put it on. Treadles need clearance from the carpet – I ‘m not sure what these boards were for---they came WITH the house---, but their beveled edges and cut corners don’t look too bad underneath the machine ---I’ve now got plenty of treadle clearance and the pedal moves easily --- next thing going….BELT anyone? These two belts are too dry rotted and too short. The pedal is too hard to move when the belt is on. It should have more slack in it.

Oh shoot! I know that Diane had gifted me a clear tubing belt, and it is somewhere here in the basement --- but where?!

Another thought ---go upstairs and grab the belt off the 1970s Sphinx anniversary edition. At least that poor reproduction is good for SOMETHING!

The belt is now on, and parts move really well – The machine head you see here is Tiffany:

She’s a very pretty girl, her decals aren’t perfect ---- but I like the fact that they are worn basically only where the fabric went through the machine in front of the needle. Someone sewed hard on her! She has a serial number that places her date at 1913.

I’m ready to start sewing --- only one problem left to solve. She has no bobbin case. *HUGE SIGH* I tried all the other bobbin cases for old singers that LOOKED they they would work, but nothing fit.

I wasn’t sure what else to do, so I loosened her check screws and removed her from the cabinet and off to the Sew & Vac I went. They oooh’d and ahhh’d but just as I thought ---they aren’t going to have a bobbin case in stock for this pretty girl. I believe she is a class 15 machine, but the other 15’s bobbin cases I have here do NOT fit her bobbin mechanism so until I can find what she needs…she can only sew WITHOUT THREAD!

On my way back from the Sew & Vac ---a thought hit me.

I have the perfect machine that can be reverted from Electric to Treadle in a heart beat!

Those who have been reading me a while may remember this post from my visit to Kingston, NY this past may!

One of my readers who couldn’t be there left this gift for me in the office of the church we were meeting at! I of course quickly named her Gae, and she has sat in my basement waiting her turn to go be rewired ---I already have another machine just like her, she is a Singer 66 with a drop bobbin. The other one was my great grandmother's machine ---which works ----so I wasn’t in a hurry to get the rewiring done.

BINGO!!

I came home, got out the screwdriver – removed the motor with one turn of the screw --- cut off the wiring on the broken light….and held my breath.

I set her into the treadle base I’d vacated with the removal of Tiffany. Would it work??

PERFECT FIT!!

I’ve cleaned her up, oiled her down inside and out. Her decals are lovely! I checked on her serial number ---G0805495. She was made in 1924. Just 11 years after Tiffany. I carefully threaded her ---ooohhh, I get so nervous on machines that don’t have numbers on their dials. How am I going to know to get the tension right? I’m repeating to myself ‘---“Righty Tighty Lefty Loosey” and I start. First with my hand to get her going in the right direction – and then my feet.

OOH GOODNESS! She sews!!

The thread tension is a bit loose, the bobbin thread is just laying there. I turn the nob a bit to the right --- tighter, tighter…sew some more. PERFECT!

Stitch is kind of big though….looks like the last thing done on this machine was BASTING!….oh dear. This doesn’t have a lever – just a turn screw with no numbers.

Which goes smaller? I’m thinking tighter would be looser…….bigger stitches…..okay, so turn it the OTHER way, stupid!! Slowly as I play with it and do test runs, I achieve a perfect balanced just-the-right-size stitch length!

I’m gonna do it! I’m going to treadle!

I think I’ll start with something simple like string piecing first ---just cover foundations and get used to the feel of the wheel in my hand to start and make sure that I’m going in the right direction. Get used to the feel of my legs making Gae do her beautiful work with needle and thread.

In the mean time, I’m looking for a bobbin case for Tiffany. If anyone can help, please let me know.

And Di – if you are reading this. You are to blame. Totally. And I love you for it! ((And be proud, be very proud --- I didn’t break the thread when sewing WITH thread in the machine!!))

 

Chhhh-chhhh-chhhhanges!

I am one of those who stuck with the old blogger interface for years.  7 and “almost a half” years.

It worked for me.  The tabs to click were close together and didn’t create a need to drag a mouse clear across the screen to choose an option I needed.  It was comfortable.  It worked.

The day before yesterday everything changed.

They said it was coming, but I still waited until THEY changed it ---I didn’t like the new interface and I still don’t.

I write my blog posts in Windows Live Writer --- mostly because I like that I can choose the size of the pictures.  I can insert a graph or a table or do a multitude of effects that I mostly don’t use!  With the old interface, when I trasnfered my draft over, it would appear as I sent it with the line spacing between the paragraphs the way I want it.

With the new interface, there are no paragraph breaks, I have to go back in and set them all.
I know this sounds like a big whine ----and that’s why I’m writing this post.  I need to get over it, get it out of my system, learn it, and move on.

Will I start writing my posts with double spacing in Live Writer ((I like Live Writer because I can write the posts offline, and upload them later –can’t do that in blogger)) so there is less tweaking later?  It’s a hassle.

There is a button for feedback at the bottom of the editing screen on blogger that I’ve started using a lot lately.  Yesterday when trying to edit a post, it had my html all super-imposed on TOP of my compose mode --- I wanted to change some code around.  It wouldn’t let me.

I do stick by the old phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  and it WASN’T BROKEN.  It had been fine for years.

It is now taking more work to get a blog post the way I want it, and I’ll be using that feedback button a lot.

I also changed things up a bit last night with QuiltCam time.  I pulled out my hand-crank machine and did some paper piecing!  It was fun to show others how it worked.  It’s definitely not a speedy process, but as I’ve said before, it’s NOT a race! 

I love this block!  It’s called “This and That” by Kansas City Star and was printed in their newspaper on November 15, 1944.  It seems appropriate that I sewed this block on Winston, he was made in 1941!  He would have been just 3 years old when this came out in the paper.

I hope Siobhan sees this block!  I made it with the blue plaid she brought me when I was in Aiken a couple weeks ago!  LOVE the cool turquoise colors in it, and plaids that have lines that are far apart, and then some close – really add a lot of interest when cut up, don’t they?  I LOVE this block.  I’d like to do more with it.  Perhaps with crumbs?  Could be!

Would you like to try your hand at paper piecing this block?  I’ve uploaded the foundation HERE.

Be sure to right click and save it as a pdf.  Don’t just print it from the page you view because printer sizes and screen resolutions can vary the printing size if you do.  Click to save, and then open it on your computer, and print.  It should make a 6” finished block with each block quarter finishing at 3”.  Measure the units on the printed template page.  With seam allowance they should be 3.5”.

And I’ll try not to be such an Angry Kitty when I send this draft back over to blogger and have to mess with that (*&U@#($*& new interface.

Thank you, Blogger ---for taking something I love so much and making it such a HEADACHE!!

Kindle Freebie & QuiltCam time!

Home from Dinner!  We have only a couple places here in town -- Wallburg is tiny, we've got one stop light, and the biggest brightest thing around is the new Sheetz gas station. Of course, now they are going to re-route hwy 109 with a bypass -- I"m sure that Sheetz is not going to be happy they built where they did. Anyway ---there is a little mom & pop Italian place that we really like, and we go to all the time.  They have a wide variety of dishes from pizza to pasta to salads and soups and sandwiches, and it is FAST.  I needed fast tonight!  I was ready for QuiltCam time before we even left.
So I'm back.  And ready to sew.  And for those who come along later, I don't want you to feel like you missed out, so here is a Kindle freebie that I just added to my collection.  It's by the author of Pay it Forward.  It looks to be a great feel-good read. Don't Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde is free tonight in the Amazon Kindle Store Genre: Drama/Inspirational Book Description:  

“An excellent read.” –New Books Review  “Original and wonderful.” –The Sun

The U.K. bestseller is now available in the U.S. for the first time!

Former Broadway dancer and current agoraphobic Billy Shine has not set foot outside his apartment in almost a decade. He has glimpsed his neighbors—beautiful manicurist Rayleen, lonely old Ms. Hinman, bigoted and angry Mr. Lafferty, kind-hearted Felipe, and 9-year-old Grace and her former addict mother Eileen.

 
But most of them have never seen Billy. Not until Grace begins to sit outside on the building’s front stoop for hours every day, inches from Billy’s patio. Troubled by this change in the natural order, Billy makes it far enough out onto his porch to ask Grace why she doesn’t sit inside where it’s safe. 
Her answer: “If I sit inside, then nobody will know I’m in trouble. And then nobody will help me.” 

Her answer changes everything. 

By the bestselling author of WHEN I FOUND YOU, SECOND HAND HEART, and PAY IT FORWARD, DON’T LET ME GO is the heart-breaking, funny, and life-affirming story of a building full of loners and misfits who come together to help a little girl survive—and thrive—against all odds. 

“Catherine Ryan Hyde at her utter best.” –ChickLit Reviews

Now that that is all out of the way --- I'm ready to sew!  I'm going to hang around for an hour or so while I work on some paper pieced Sow-Along blocks.

Wanna join me?
Click Below!

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Friday Evening Plans!

I’ve been working on secret project #2 ----and you have to know that there are about 4 different secret projects in progress all in different sizes, with different techniques with different colorways, so these could be for ANY of those projects!

I’ve been sewing on my singer 404 ---She was made in 1958, and her name is Norma Jean.

She does an EXCELLENT Job in all ways that matter to me.  Her stitch is perfect --- She runs like a race car, and the slant needle machines make it really easy to see where you are sewing, bringing  the tip of the needle almost an inch closer to you than machines that sew straight down.

I love that she has a full sized bobbin, where the 301's use the same small bobbin as a featherweight.  It's amazing how much thread a big bobbin holds when you are used to small ones.

I've mentioned before how I like that the 404's needle also threads from the front, not the side.  If you are in the look-out for a vintage machine, you can't go wrong with the Singer 404!

I enhanced what I was doing by using a ruler and a sharpie marker to mark a line directly in front of my needle.  It makes sewing those diagonal corners extremely easy!  However, My time for secret project is about up for today.  I just can’t make myself go onto the next step ---I need a break!

We are headed out to dinner in a bit – and when we come back, I’m turning QuiltCam on.  It should be somewhere close to 9pm eastern, maybe a bit later.

I’m planning on a night of paper piecing by handcrank!  This is Winston, and he is from 1941.  I love the eagle on his base ---he’s a WWII era boy!

TOTALLY has to be a HE machine! No flowers for this fly boy.

Paper piecing by hand crank is easy because you have a line to sew by, and it’s a great way to accomplish the blocks that Randy gave us to do for her Sow-Along.

Precision is also easy by hand crank because YOU control the stopping, the starting and the speed.

Check for me later ---right now, this girl is raring to get out of the basement and go to dinner!

Back after a bit ---

Hexie Insanity!

I love that you all are my eyes and ears and send me things that I would love to see if I could be where you are.

Do you know how cool it is to know that someone “GETS” you?!  You get me!  You know just the thing that is going to bring a smile to my face and inspiration to my soul!

Yesterday Judy D sent me this picture of the most incredible mini-hexie quilt ----and she is right.  I would have LOVED to see this in person, but they probably would have thrown me out only to find myself next in line in the Chain Gang --- for touching and drooling on the quilts at the show!

But take a look at this….could YOU resist the touch? I don’t think so---

OH, YES!

Close up…see the fussy cutting going on??

SEE the finger to give you an idea of the SIZE here?!

Do you want to know the story?

((And please note that this is HAND QUILTED..you can see it in the round of pale green hexes ---))

Judy wrote:

Hi Bonnie.
Today we went to a quilt show and this is one of the first quilts I spotted.  Itty bitty teeny tiny hexies.  Evidently this is the quilters first quilt! 

Hand pieced mini hexies, done in the 1990s.  It was amazing and I thought of you-maybe you could do this for your next project. LOL 

If I remember right, the lady said over 12,000 pieces.  Love all the fussy cuts. Pretty fabulous.

Judy D in WA

1990s makes it almost “vintage!”  And some of those 1990s fabrics look pretty fabulous ----cut VERY VERY SMALL! :c) Come to think of it, that sea foam green pathway DOES shout 90s doesn’t it?  I heard it’s a color that is coming back into vogue ---let’s hope not!

But then again -- it might be a way for me to finally use up the original 1990s sea foam greens that are still IN my stash -- along with those peach calicoes!

Thank you for the inspiration, Judy – and for allowing me to share it with all the other hexi-holic quilters.
I am SEW INSPIRED!

Friday Scratch & Dent Sale!

***UPDATE!!*** 
All the books below have been snatched up!!  Thanks everyone!

Emmy Lou says I have way too much “STUFF” around here.

And I know she is right.  I’d love to minimize my house ---I could deal with getting rid of HALF of everything, until it comes to my quilting stuff, and you know--- I just need ALL of it, it all has a purpose, and I’d rather sew it up than sell it off!

There comes a time, however, like today that I take her advice and move some OUT.

I’ve added some items to my etsy shop ----

I’ve got a handful of books that have small dings, dents or other cover damage that I can’t sell for full price.

These items have been shipped back and forth a bit, got banged up in the process, or in the case of one --- signed to the wrong person while the book table at a lecture was mobbed with quilters!

If you’ve been on a search for my books at a discounted price and you don’t mind a ding or a folded corner – this is the deal for you.

I’m selling these at cost plus shipping.

First come first serve, this is all there is, there are no others to offer at this price, well --- until books get man-handled and signed wrong again!

Here’s what I have available:

Click HERE to purchase!

SOLD OUT!

Currently I am only accepting orders on these from Canada and the US.  The shipping would be more than the cost of each book to go to Europe and Australia – I’m sorry for that!

I want you to know I stayed up late and have been VERY FOCUSED on a special project that is coming together quite nicely!  I’m down to the final borders!  There will be more cutting and sewing today --- but we should be good to go for QuiltCam time tonight.  Randy has two blocks posted for her Sow-Along and it is on my list to get those cut out and kitted up so that I can sew tonight – be looking for that about 9pm Eastern time.

Happy Friday everyone!

Plotting and Planning!

Mickey and Karen and Lisa and I have our heads together.
We are working on a North Carolina retreat for August of 2013 ---tentative dates are August 8-11.  We are hoping to hold it at Montreat Conference Center, just 20 miles from Asheville, North Carolina.
Lisa and Karen will be the power behind the scenes ---we couldn't do this without them doing all the leg work and set up.
Mickey and I plan to give two days of workshops! I will have a scrappy pieced background, perfect for placing the pieced hexies you will learn in her workshop. 
Our thought is we could divide into two groups --- Attendees will get one day with each of us, plus enjoy enormous amounts of fun Thursday afternoon through Sunday noon.
I let all this slip last night during Quilt Cam time. 
I've been flooded with emails ever since asking questions I don't have answers for, because we are still in the planning stages.  I don't know cost yet.  I don't have accommodation info yet.  There is no waiting list yet!
I'm so excited that YOU are excited ---but if you hold onto your questions just a bit longer, I'll have more information to tell you.  I'll let you know when sign ups start.  I'll put you in touch with the right people to get your questions answered.
We just need a bit more time to learn more before we can tell you what you need to know.  SO until then ---just keep your fingers crossed that we will get this to work and we will have a blast in the North Carolina Mountains in August of 2013!  Mark the dates on your calendars -- Aug 8-11, 2013!

PS --too much on my plate for QuiltCam time tonight -- I'm working on a deadline and the borders are driving me nuts and I need some off-cam time to work it out!  Check for me tomorrow ;c)

iPhone-o-gram! Wandering!

I made a pit stop at an antique mall after an appointment was over.

So far nothing is coming home but I like what I see!

The hand hooked kitty rug is calling to me!

Backtrack to Bali ~~

I woke up this morning, a bit late – I stayed up – a bit late ---and realized I didn’t have anything planned for this morning’s post!

What’s a girl to do but go back through the photo archive and pick up where I left off on the Bali Expedition.  I hope you don’t mind ---I realize that not everyone wants to see endless fields of rice paddies, but this trip has had such an effect on me.  And this is after all, my journal space and I have more to share!

We did spend quite a bit of time on a bus.  And for me, the time on the bus was one of the best parts of the trip.  We asked Mawa questions, he explained things.  We talked amongst ourselves and got to know our fellow travelers.  I really started to think of many as friends and am happy to still be in contact with them.

Time on the bus with a view gave me a window into the world of the Balinese and what it is like to live here.  Photos may have a blue cast – that’s normal from a window, but maybe you’ll feel like you are on the bus with me!

As we work our way up into the mountains this day it had been raining.  We only got a few drops, but I loved how the clouds hung on the mountains and the sky was reflected in the water of the paddies.

It’s a world away!

And I am captivated!

And just for fun…here I am working on hexies on the bus!  I had traded American dollars with rupiah with another traveler ---and was entertained by how much they MATCH the colors of my hexies!

Rupiah are a bit confusing.  Way too many zeros.  But what I have here in my lap is the equivalent of about $50.00 US.

We are on our way to enter a palace. This is a Sarong Day.

Even the statues comply!

Yes, I like catching action from behind!

Artwork enchants me.  The panels on the column as much as the statue with the sarong and parasol.  I have new found delight in black and white check!

I wish I knew the stories that go with the mythical characters.  This guy has a bow…..not sure where his arrows are!  But see how the tree is wrapped as well?

The grounds are beautiful!  Mawa explained to us that the ceramic tile roof dates back to the Dutch occupation of Bali starting in the 1500s.  Many Dutch influences are still seen today in Bali.

Gardens.

Palace doors.

When we hear the word “PALACE” we are thinking of Cinderella or Buckingham.  This wasn’t like that.  Balinese live in compounds --- where each living area is a separate building connected by a courtyard.  But the artwork in this door is incredible and extremely royal!

hand carved and painted wood.  Look at the detail and colors!

Inside the former King’s living quarters were decorations for the upcoming Garungan Day holiday!  These are made of palm leaves.

An altar in remembrance hangs above the bust of the former king, offerings adorning the table top as well as the shrine itself.

The sleeping quarters of the former king.

The palace roofline was really interesting!  See the black/white check insets and the black white “egg” shaped thing with the spire? And the influence of the Dutch in the clay roof tiles.

Artisan detail everywhere! I’m sure this carved stone panel has a story to tell, I wish I knew what it was!

A side shrine on the property.

Reflecting pool.

And here we all are!

I loved the detail in the wood railings behind me too – and that blue color – LOVE LOVE LOVE!

((And yes, it was a hot and unbelieveably humid day!))

Thanks for indulging my need to put all these photos into the blog and not just storing them on the computer ----

As for the rest of my day, I better get busy with it!

Happy Thursday, Everyone!