Magnolia Mystery Update

Progress is continuing on my Magnolia Mystery. It's slow, but it's certainly progress!

I got out my cute white Featherweight 221K called "Sweet Baby Jayne". It's such a joy to sew on this machine but I worry about wearing her out. However, I also do not want her to spend her whole life in a dark closet with no attention at all. So on special occasions, I treat myself to a sewing session.  Her stitch is lovely and her sound is soft and sweet.

There are 3 different block patterns to sew for this step of the mystery and I made a sample of each block. However I sewed one of the sample blocks incorrectly, so right from the start I was using the seam ripper. The correct blocks have the paper notes pinned on, and the wrong block is under the seam ripper. It has since been dismantled! All the block components needed to sew the required number of blocks are now ready to mass assemble. Progress should be much faster now...fingers crossed!

Emerald Stars Step #1

Scrap organization is an ongoing challenge for a busy quilter! I'm always tossing pieces here and there, and trying to figure out how to store scraps so they are actually useable for future projects. What good does it do to keep scraps if they don't actually become finished quilts?!?! 

Well, Kevin the Quilter is helping us out with that challenge! He is hosting a scrappy mystery project called "Sapphire Stars" (step #1 is here). There are lots of tips already posted for scrap organization. 
For this project I am using up green scraps, so my quilt will be called Emerald Stars. The dark corners were leftover from the sashing and backing on the bear quilt, the medium squares are some of my favourite green plaids, and the lights were from the green scrap bin. It's so great to be getting these scraps into a quilt ... thanks Kevin!



The 48 blocks for step #1 were sewn on my white Singer featherweight 221K.  I thought it was the perfect machine for sewing these green blocks since under some lighting the machine appears to have a slight tinge of green. Notice that I'm using up a bobbin of light green thread to piece these blocks. 
Ready for step #2!
Linking up to Oh Scrap!

Accidental Acquisition

 Last week I accidentally purchased a sewing machine. Just like I started a quilt by accident while on retreat a couple of years ago. These things happen. What can you do?!
I was innocently dropping off a donation quilt for the Mennonite Relief Sale Quilt Auction at their local office. All went well until I spotted their newly renovated thrift store.  I popped in to look around and spotted a black box. 

You know the one that makes a quilter gasp?!?
It was an item in a silent auction, so I made a bid of $150 thinking a gem like this would never be sold for that price. But guess what?!? It did!

I was beside myself with excitement, and quite a bit shocked that I accidentally bought another sewing machine!
Meet sewing machine #10 in my herd. She is a Singer 221 (aka a Featherweight).




Her serial number is EH626237 and according to the Singer website, her birthdate is 1952.
Just look at how beautiful she is!

The big question is can I get her working or is she a boat anchor?!?

The Herd

It's time to fess up. I have developed a slight problem with collecting sewing machines. It's an odd thing to collect, since a quilter really only "needs" one good machine.  So what's the deal on the "herd" (that is what quilters call a group of machines)? 
It's like any other addiction I suppose. It started with just one sewing machine ... a basic Janome with no frills, purchased in 1990 for $300.  I took my first quilting classes with that machine and sewed the guts right out of it. It is still kicking around here somewhere, but it has been retired.

Ny nephew helping me to clean my Brother 1500

Then I realized that I really liked quilting and I needed a real work horse for machine quilting. So I bought machine #2 - a Brother 1500 that supposedly sews 1,500 stitches per minute. It has been such a fantastic machine and I love it. If it ever dies, I will immediately replace it with one that is exactly the same.

Janome Jem Platinum

One Christmas Santa brought me machine #3 - a lightweight portable machine called a Janome Jem Platinum, which is a great machine to take to classes. It is also the only machine I own that does a zigzag stitch, so I use this one for sewing batting scraps together, and anything else requiring a zigzag (like making fabric bowls).

1901 Singer Treadle

Then I started to covet a "people powered" treadle machine and purchased machine #4 - an amazing 1901 Singer. I love this machine and it is set up in my dining room. I have a scrappy project that I only work on with this machine whenever I get the urge to treadle.

White Featherweight

Just after I bought the treadle machine, a wonderful friend surprised me with machine #5 - a beautiful collector's white featherweight machine, which I love but don't want to sew on it too much for fear of wearing it out! It is so cute and makes a perfect stitch even though it turned 50 years old last year!

Blue White

Then I met a lovely blue machine while I was taking care of my brother when he was sick.  After my brother's death I bought machine #6 - that pretty "blue White" machine. This machine is a very heavy industrial machine and I can barely lift it - it's 100% metal parts (nothing plastic in this baby!). But it purrs like a kitten when it sews and makes a perfect stitch.

Then an old singer found it's way to me... I've never mentioned it before on my blog because I was embarrassed that I adopted machine #7! This really is a beauty, but I haven't had much time to get it working well yet. In addition to being a pretty machine, it's a lovely piece of furniture (being modeled by my Granddog Max). 

Twin 301 Singers

Last year I was given two 301 Singers (I call them Lucy and Ethel) by a generous blog reader. She wasn't sure they were working machines, but I have spent some time cleaning and adjusting them, and they are now sewing perfectly. Machines # 8 and #9.

And so you see how a herd appears. I have also become somewhat of an expert at restoring old machines and am amazed by the variety of machines. And here's an interesting fact - not one of my machines uses the same bobbin! Here is a photo of 4 different bobbins.

I do take full responsibility for my addiction collection and enjoy using each machine for various tasks. But I must admit that storage is becoming an issue.
My next machine purchase will be a hand crank machine, but working ones are in short supply. It's like searching for a needle in a haystack, but I'm fine with that. But that machine will be my last one for sure!  *snort*

Spring Tablerunner

Another grey, dull, spring day. Everyone is saying "at least I don't have to shovel"!
What better project to bring out than a bright, happy, spring tablerunner?
I wanted to sew this during the pink month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and got totally sidetracked sewing all these blue (January) and pink (February) spool blocks that I cut, and didn't get a thing done on the pink runner.



I have no memory of where or when I bought this kit, but I still really like it and want it to be on my table instead of in pieces in the closet. I'm about half finished the pinwheel blocks, and am enjoying sewing on my Sweet Baby Jayne featherweight!

And guess what tomorrow is? 
It's Friday Night Sew In!
Sign up over at Sugarlane Quilts and get your projects ready. 
I hope to finish this tablerunner at FNSI!

Temecula Hearts on the Design Wall

I am still sewing away on my Temecula hearts quilt. It's a little late for Valentine's day, but I'll be early for next year! I have all the 9 patch heart blocks finished and on the design wall, but can't figure out which fabric to use for the background squares.



This was my original idea for the center background squares, but I think it looks too busy.

So then I tried a red on white background fabric, but I'm not sure if it works or not?








And then I tried a plain muslin background, and it was much calmer.

But is it too boring? 
Too dull?
Just right?

Do you have a preference or suggestion?

Here I am sewing more heart blocks on my Featherweight.
Of course I had to put on my red shirt to sew my red blocks! My friend Diane loaned me her Featherweight book to read and I found a picture of my Sweet Baby Jayne in this resource  book. It was very interesting to read about the history of these machines.

Guess how many finished heart blocks are in that bag?!
There are exactly as many as I need to finish this quilt!
I just need to decide on the background fabric. What's your vote?
To see more design walls, hop over to Patchwork Times.

Accessories for "Sweet Baby Jayne"

My "Sweet Baby Jayne" Featherweight told me that she needed some accessories to help maintain her pristine condition. So I made a little bag to hold the foot pedal and cords when she is in her box. It was tricky figuring out how to get the ribbon  through the top, but it all worked out okay in the end. 

The ribbon came on a package of squares I bought last summer and was perfect for re-use as the tie for this bag. 
(Hmmm wonder where those squares are?!?)

Here is the bag with the foot pedal inside, and tucked into the harp of the machine as it is stored in her box. 
So cute, and safe from scratches.

Happy now "Sweet Baby Jayne"?
What's that?
Now you want a quilted mat for the bottom of the box?
Oh my goodness, what a diva! 
Yes... I know she is old (she just turned 50 this year!) and the storage box is hard :)

So, I opened up my selvage drawer (yes, I save those too!) and pulled out some selvages of recently used fabrics to make a little mat for her.

Sweet Baby Jayne does not like to work too hard and is much too dainty to do the heavy quilting jobs, but my Blue White is perfect for those jobs. She just plowed through quilting the layers with no trouble at all, even without a walking foot. It strikes me as really funny that I am sewing accessories for the dainty machine's comfort, using another heavy duty, hard working machine ;)
 The selvage mat is just the right size to sit under the featherweight while sewing, and it fits perfectly into the bottom of the box for storage.
She better be happy now or I might have to change her name from "Sweet Baby Jayne" to "Princess Crabby Jayne"!

Sewing in the Sun

The sun made a brief appearance today, so I just had to sit in it's rays and sew for a bit. I didn't seem to accomplish much sewing but it sure felt good to soak up a little vitamin D. 











I enjoyed stitching time with my featherweight.
It was around minus 18 degrees outside this afternoon, so it's best to stay indoors and sew!

Countdown to Christmas

Production has started here on Temecula's "Countdown to Christmas". I am using some reds from my friend Barb and background scraps from my UFO of the month - 3 Sister's Grace. My "Sweet Baby Jayne" Featherweight is doing an awesome job on piecing these tiny blocks.

I am making my flying geese units in a different way than the instructions recommend because my scraps are too small to use that technique.





These 2" blocks are so darn cute! Good thing that I am enjoying them because I need to make 22 more of them!

And speaking of pumpkin seeds...

I started a new project.
It's Google's fault.
All I did was Google "pumpkin seeds quilt block" and I found a little quilt-along over at the Quilts by Cheri blog that was too sweet to resist.
So, I guess it's Google's and Cheri's fault! 
I used one orange fabric, and went scrappy on the 48 HST blocks to use up some beige/tan odds and ends.


I decided to piece this little project on my white Featherweight machine, which I call "Sweet Baby Jayne". 

This machine makes a perfect 1/4" seam, so the blocks came out the right size every time! I really enjoy sewing on this machine. In addition to enjoying the gentle sounds and the lovely stitches of the featherweight, no matter what else is going on in my life, it reminds me how blessed I am to have wonderful, generous friends (if you missed the original posting, you can read the story here). 

The wonderful feelings of working with this machine were briefly interrupted by realizing that I had exactly the right amount of orange fabric, and I mean I just squeaked by. 

Cartoon from McGill blog

There were a few tense moments after I had cut the binding and realized I still needed 4 more 2" squares but had no fabric left. One square came from the end of the binding, and the other 3 squares were pieced from scraps that were already in the trash. That was cutting it a little too close for comfort!

Sewing Museum Link Up

This week Beth from Love, Laugh, Quilt is hosting a link up called "Sewing Museum". Of course I have to add my new collection to the list. Well, it's not really "a collection" as such, because there are only 2 items so far! 
Okay...it's a really small collection! 
Here are my two vintages sewing machines...

Sweet Baby Jayne on the left is my newly acquired 1964 white Featherweight 221K  (with a "tail", as the folks from "Treadle On" would say). And on the right is my 1901 Singer Treadle Model 127 with the sphinx egyptian decals (no "tail" so is people powered). Hey, I just realized that my Singer doesn't have a proper name. I have been calling her "Treadle" but that seems so impersonal! Do you have any names to suggest for this beauty?!?

To see more collections, hop over to Love Laugh Quilt. Enjoy!

I love both of my antique treasures and use them at least once a week to keep them in good working condition. They each have projects that are all their own from start to finish.

This is Baby Jayne's project this week... teeny tiny little half square triangles, which I am sewing with a 1/8" seam allowance, and the machine is doing a great job with these little bits. I plan to use the blocks as a border for a stitchery that I am starting to work on.

And I am sewing with the thread collection which I won at the fall fair last weekend! It is an 18 spool collection celebrating the Coats & Clark 200th Anniversary and I am delighted to have the selection of colours to play with!

Life is full of surprises!

After a long and terrible day at the hospital with my brother receiving his first radiation treatment for cancer that had spread to his brain, I came home to find a wonderful surprise on my kitchen table.

Life is strange that way.

 I had no idea what was in this box.

Imagine my delight to find it was something sewing related!

Singer = Sewing!

But imagine my shock to discover a prized and rare white featherweight sewing machine! 

Perfect and gorgeous! 

This machine is easy to thread and of course I put her to work right away sewing squares together!

She sews like a dream... such a quiet motor making dainty, perfect stitches!

I burned my hand more than once on the very hot light bulb when reaching through the machine with my right hand to put the presser foot up and down, and had to learn to use my left hand to reach around the back. 

Online research revealed that this beauty is a 221K probably made in Clydebank, Scotland in 1964, born the same year as my sister.

Maybe I should name her "Baby Jayne"??

 It took me a while to "accept" this gift. A long time ago I was talking with friends about our "bucket lists" and how much I would love to have a featherweight someday. Not only did my friend actually listen to my rambling about sewing (she's not a sewer herself) but she gifted me with a beautiful treasure she knew I would love. 

How can you thank someone for that?