A Little Picking

      I dropped by the local vintage shop last week and this machine followed me home. It is a 127, I think, and dates to 1892 by serial number.  Most of the decals are gone, but the spoked hand wheel sparked my interest and the price was hard to pass up, even to use it for parts.  Although, we have now bonded and parting it out is not an option.  I think she will become a hand crank.  It looks like she started life as a treadle, had a motor and light added at some point and was put in a case.  The case is marked Montgomery Ward and is sturdy, though ugly.  The motor started smoking when we plugged it in, so the decision was easy to make.  The hand wheel turns, bobbin winder works and the shuttle case is there.  She deserves another chance at life.  I will order the hand crank this week and keep you posted.

     I also picked up a couple of new/old pincushions.  That's actually what I was shopping for, not another sewing machine.  Here they are:

I also have been watching eBay for a sewing bird that I could afford.  I don't know what happened, but managed to get this one at a reasonable price.  Of course, it is clamped to the treadle.  Where else?

That same day, I attended the Country Patchwork Quilt Show.  They had a lovely display of antique doll quilts which grabbed my attention.  Here are some pictures of them.

Aren't they great!  I love the blue one on the left in the second picture.  

Here are some of my other favorites from the show.

And there was a Dear Jane, very well done.  

Isn't it gorgeous!

   I have been sewing, too, not just shopping and going to quilt shows.  I finally got the "Follow the Leader" quilted and bound.  It is on the bed, waiting for a label, so it can go to our quilt show this week-end.  I should have kept track of the hours of machine quilting involved.  It measures 96 X 112, so I know it was a lot.  I was really proud of my Viking Mega-Quilter.  After the initial problem with the skipped stitches which was solved by the needle lube, it handled it like a champ.  Here are some photos.

     Thats all for now, but am saving some photos to post after our guild meeting tomorrow night.  I have finished my challenge project, which was "Reach for the Stars".  It was to contain multiple stars and to be a personal challenge.  I chose paper piecing as my personal challenge and finished 10 blocks as well as several Dear Jane blocks.  Paper piecing no longer holds a hatchet over my head.  Thats a good feeling.  Until then, Keep on Stitchin'.

Judy

Pickin ' in the Ozarks

     I couldn't seem to find this picture when I was doing the earlier post, but wanted to include it.  We'll call this an addendum.  We stopped at a couple of flea markets on our way home from Quilt Camp in the Ozarks and I found two little sewing collectibles.  We also found a Singer 15-91 in pretty good condition for $35.00, but passed it up.  I have had non-buyer's remorse for days.  That is almost worse than buyer's remorse.  So, here is what I did buy, a sock darning kit in a wooden case and a needlepoint pincushion.

Here is the other side of the pincushion and a little better view of the darning kit.  The thread post fits into the wooden case. 

Its not a very long drive back to the flea market with the 15-91 and Gina is always ready for a road trip. 

Stay tuned for the next installment.

Keep on pickin'.  

Judy

Sewing in Atlanta

      Sewing with friends is always fun, but when it involves travel, new experiences and new quilt shops, it doesn't get much better.  You may remember that I hosted a sew- in in Florida last winter.  This winter, Julie took a turn at hostess and had the group come to her new house in Atlanta.  Sandy and I drove, while everyone else flew in.  Lola came from Tucson, Janie from northern Colorado and Teri from Mississippi.  We converged on Julie on Thursday and Friday. spending the week-end.  Sandy and I drove home on Monday and Lola, Janie and Teri left on Tuesday.  We had a great time with five machines running at full speed and everyone working on something different.  Teri was our novice and progressed so well that she left with a completed quilt top.  Here are some pictures:

The National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY.  We stayed overnight,
so we could visit the museum and Hancock's.

No photos were allowed in the museum, so this was the best I could do.
The quilts were amazing!

Hancocks.   We did some damage here.

This is only one half of the store.

The next day we drove on to the Atlanta area.

After spending the night at Julie's, we took off to visit a quilt shop I have heard about for years, Little Quilts.  I have two of their books, which feature small quilts or doll quilts.  The shop was everything I thought it would be, and then some.

Here's Julie and I at the entrance.  She has done their Saturday Sampler for years.

After visiting Little Quilts, we went to "Tiny Stitches", another very nice shop.  Meanwhile, Lola, Janie and Teri are sitting in airports waiting on delayed flights.  I felt a little guilty, just a little.

Here is Julie's sewing room.  Those are built in shelves under the dormers.  Its a great space.

There were six of us sleeping in three bedrooms, so an air bed was sleeping space at night and served as our design wall during the day. 

Here is a fast, easy quilt.  Lola calls it "Disappearing Rail Fence" and brought the directions for it.

Here is Teri, our new quilter, carefully using her rotary cutter.

Janie working on her quilt.  At last count, she had made 45 blocks.

Lola was making a Kaffe Fassett quilt with his signature fabrics.

Lola

This is Sandy's project.  It is the KC Star's "Women of Influence", 

from a few years ago.  She had the blocks done, and added the setting blocks and triangle border during the sew-in.

This is the Disappearing Rail Fence in red, black and white with the blocks framed.  It doesn't even look like the same quilt, does it?  Julie made this one.

Here is what I was working on.  The blue border is the air mattress.  It will have a green and yellow border.

Here are two of Julie's recent quilts.  We had lots of show and tell.

This is made with a panel Julie bought in Stover, MO

Julie's friend, Laura, brought this over for show and tell.

It is a Kaffe Fassett design and she used 25 thrift shop dress shirts to make the blocks.  They are all stripes and yes, she matched the stripes.  Each block is four triangles.  It was spectacular!

Here is Teri's completed top.  Not too bad for a newbie.

Good job, Teri!

  

It wasn't all work and no play.  Julie cooked a great Italian Dinner (family recipe) and we didn't leave much of it for leftovers.

Here are the quilters, getting ready to attack those meatballs.

One last picture.  Here is the pincushion I made for everyone.  The pattern is on Kathleen Tracy's website.  Avoid it if you don't do tiny.

It was a great time with lots of inspiration.  Thanks, Julie.