Modest Crew

I made another sewing machine cover. Now why would I want to do that since these vintage ladies and gents are past the age of being modest. I'm not trying to camouflage them since I don't need to hide them from my husband. Well, I'm testing out different ideas for the sewing machine project that I will be demonstrating at the Treadleon Gathering. I love the look of this side! Yes, you read correctly. Even though I would have never purchased this fabric for use (scraps from my mom's stash), I'm very surprised at how elegant this side of the sewing machine cover looks with the vintage cabinet.

A Reversible Coat

Three different looks from just one sewing machine cover.
This reversible sewing machine cover made from scraps is a test cover. I used my new vintage lady, Rose (Standard Rotary), for piecing and quilting.

A look at each side. The little sewing machine is a button.

Close up of decorative stitching made from Singer 328K in treadle.

She's up and running!!!!!

Rose! She is a sweet machine!
After I got the cabinet and machine all cleaned up, I gave her a test drive. Well I tried to give her a test drive! At first, I couldn't get the machine to pick up the bobbin thread. I looked online for a manual with no avail. My first thought was that the bobbin must not be in correctly. So, I read White Rotary manuals, Domestic Rotary manuals, and any other rotary manual for a treadle machine that I could find on the internet. The Standard bobbin looks just a wee bit different from the Whites, but not too much of a difference in technology for me to understand the correct direction and threading of the bobbin. I decided that the bobbin wasn't the issue and decided to study the mechanism for picking up the threads. Well, a light bulb went off! I realized that I needed to turn the hand wheel away from me, just like if I were using a White Rotary.

She sews a pretty stitch. I'm looking forward to making a cute baby quilt with her.

Finished Twisted 60

Finished in time for my daughter's birthday! This quilt will grace her bed in her new college room.

Forget the veggies...

..bring on the succulents! I killed my veggies!!! I guess watering would have help, but it's a bit difficult when the surrounding plants are all drought tolerant. Going ROGUE, all my flower pots now have succulents, and the entire yard is drought tolerant.

Oops, how did this one get by me...not a succulent, but the herb spearmint.

Basting Away in the Summer Time

My dinner room table makes for a wonderful workbench for this project. I extend the table to hold the two long pieces of wood that the quilt top and bottom gets wrapped around; the Sharon Schamber method. I find that I can sit for a couple of hours basting while watching tv. For a large quilt, like the one I'm working on now, the fabric is laid out on my kitchen floor where I roll the fabrics onto the boards. Once the fabrics are on the boards, I then move the project over to the dinning room table to do the basting. I prefer this method over pinning or spray basting. It does take a bit more time to do this than the spray basting, but I like the result much better. Plus, it is healthier for me than inhaling all the chemicals.