Jan 29th Quilt Cam!

This is April’s Kitty!

Here’s her story:

Hey Bonnie,

On New Year's Day I was sewing and I heard alot of meowing outside.

It was -10 below or more so I went to check and it was this very small black kitty, cold to death and so skinny she was close to death from no food.

So I picked her up and brought her inside and we’ve been trying to save her since. She is so pretty and doing better .

We named her Moony and I thought she was 4 months old cuz of how thin she was but she was 12 months old. So she likes to come by me sometimes and on top of my sewing cabinets.  Here I have her in the pic watching quilt cam!

What a rescue, April! And I don’t know who is luckier – You or Moony!  I love seeing kitties getting into the act!

I just had a very close call – and not a fun one….

I was quilting away on the quilting machine, and all of a sudden something went wrong and the cables were flagging and the machine was stitching over previous stitching and making a mess!  WAAAAAHHH!

And Quilt-Cam is about to happen.  What to do, what to do?

Leave the problem for later, I guess. There will be some picking out to do, and I hate to pick out pantographs!

I’m all set up to do some strip piecing on the Eatonia.

I’m not sure how long that will last – I’ve had a bit of a trouble with the belt staying put.  Remember, her mountings were for a friction motor, and that motor is shot so I popped this Singer Spartan motor on.  The groove in the balance wheel doesn’t quite line up with the motor pulley ---close, but not quite so the belt is at a slight angle.  If I get to sewing too fast, as I often do……..Wwwiiiiiiizzzz! Off goes the belt.

I figure if it gives me too much trouble, I’ve got a “stand by” machine waiting in the wings.

I am hoping that this bobbin runs out so I can test out the bobbin winder :c)

Want to come join me?  Bring a project!  I’m turning on the cam in the studio for a while!

You can leave a comment in the comment section below, or leave one in the guest book by clicking the blue guest book button in the left hand side bar, While I can't answer them all ---I do pick randomly and try to answer questions and comments as I sew!

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How's It Hangin' ?? :cD

You guys are a wealth of knowledge and inspiration!

Here’s a little tip I got from Amy in Wisconsin who encouraged me to share it with you:

Amy writes:

I've been meaning to share this idea with you for a while, but I keep forgetting!

My new favorite way to hang small wall hangings is Command strips cord organizers.  

They slip right over the binding.  Instant and easy hanging. 

The clear ones can barely even be seen! 

Love it :-)
Amy

And here is Amy’s little hanging being held by the little cord clips:
 

Perfect for little changeable items – especially seasonal!

Thanks for sharing your tip, Amy!  Cute, cute wall hanging too!

If you have something you’d like me to share with our readers, please send me your info and photos!

This is what’s going on here this afternoon:

I am pinning in the gigantic back in hopes of getting the quilting started.  While I am doing this, I am watching “World Without End” on Netflix!  I saw the first part “Pillars of the Earth” But never got around to watching these ---I am SO GLAD I was born  when I was and not in 1400-something!

See you tonight at 9pm Eastern for Quilt-Cam!  I’ve decided that the little Eatonia is best served by easy tasks – strip piecing some 4 patches should keep me busy for a while!

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In The Land of Eatonia ---

Once upon a time in a land not so far, far away --((In Canada!))

There was a department store named Eatons.

Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue that was found in the homes of most Canadians.

Eaton’s purchased sewing machines manufactured by the National Sewing Machine Company, and had them badged with their own brand, Eatonia!

Where is this leading?

Well, Yesterday --- did you really think I could just go in that mall and pick up the quilt and walk out with it THAT FAST?!  If so, you should know me better by now!

Let’s just say it was you ---and you found yourself wandering.  And you spied this box:

Heavy Green hand crafted ((probably)) box.

And this tag was on it:

Would YOU lift the lid?

OF COURSE!

Oh! Goodness!

At the time, I’d never HEARD of this brand (And it was hard to read with that danged light in front of the name  ----but for $30, I was going to take a chance on it.

Before you buy any machine ---check a couple of things especially if it is a machine brand you are not sure that parts will be available for.  Are the slide plates there? Yes.  Is the shuttle inside?  Yes!

Upon getting my treasure home I removed the machine from the box to give it a closer look ---

Pulley driven friction motor.  Jerry-rigged with a spring and a green wire.  Not so attractive!

I also noticed that the pulley tire was FLAT on one side…probably because it had been sitting against the balance wheel for all of eternity since this thing had been sewn on last.  My first desire was to turn this cutie pie onto a hand crank machine.  I thought I could simply purchase a hand crank mechanism and away I’d go.  But not so easy.  The reproduction handcranks fit singers ---of which this is NOT ONE.  It’s a National, so the mounting places and screw holes are all in the wrong place.

Still, DH and I worked to remove the old motor ---the wiring was suspect anyway, and a plan emerged.  Of course, it meant that one of my other machines would become a temporary organ ((motor)) donor….

Here she is!

A close look at her bobbin tension --- the top thread doesn’t really show on the fabric I was using…..pretty good!

Spartan motor mounted from behind.  My broken fuscia featherweight was a donor for the screw that mounted the motor to the side of the machine.  She keeps on giving too!

This was before cleaning last night…there is some gunk yet to be gone here – but this is the serial number. 3199907  I’m hoping to find more about her age today.  My guess is somewhere in the 1930s ---and that is guessing by the wiring to the old motor.  But we will see!

She sounds like a tank when she runs.  The base is hollow, so it echoes something fierce beneath her. I might see if I can do some simple strip piecing on her tonight for Quilt-Cam ---are you up for it? 9pm Eastern!

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IPhone – O – Gram! Dinner out with the girls!

It doesn't happen often that I am able to meet up with the guild girls for dinner out on the town.

And when we can get together, there is much talking and laughing and catching up on things that have happened in the interim.

Thank you to whom ever suggested we meet at Basil Leaf for Thai cuisine – scrumptious!

It's been a while since I have uploaded a food post – but this was just so so good!

Fresh spring rolls, and "drunken noodles" which I cannot even pronounce in Thai!

Here we are all gathered at the table – Lisa is the only one absent from the photo, she is the one behind the camera!

Thanks for a great evening ladies, it was a pleasure to be in your company and I hope it is not too long before we are able to see each other again. :-)

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