Finally a finish

This baby bargello has been taking so long to finish that I was getting tired of it. The fact that I had to un-sew and re-sew one of the panels and re-cut a new fourth panel didn’t help endear it to me. But here it is finished and hanging to dry on the clothesline. Where it ended up freezing solid instead of drying as the temperature dropped and snow started again. Six days until spring? I think not.

Happy Thoughts

Some good stuff to go along with the bad. Thursday DH and I drove into Toronto to meet up with his brother and deliver two quilts to his cousin. I made the Thomas and Princesses for his cousin's grandchildren.  While there his other cousin brought out the quilts I had made for her boys back in the 90’s.  At the time I made these quilts I wasn’t photographing my quilts like I do now so I have very little documentation. So I was very glad to get a chance to take some photos and to see how they have held up to the years.
From 1992, hand turned applique of Sue and Sam. I still have one of these blocks in my orphans.

By 1994 I was doing fusible applique and sealing the edges with fabric paint. The blocks in the middle are his initials. Other than the puppy losing an eye it’s held up well. I really regret not doing more quilting on these, I just did a basic in the ditch around the sashing.
A really happy visit albeit brief.

Disappointment

I had high hopes going into this weekend that I would get two quilts done for co-workers. And perhaps if I had been better at time management maybe I might have. But yesterday we went to my SIL’s and helped install a bathroom cabinet and wound up visiting late. So very little done on quilting.  This morning I resolved to jump right in and get going, yeah like that happened. Finally by 2 I had Superman basted and under the needle

Things were going so well, until I got to the border and had a glimpse of the back,

So frustrated. I don’t want to un-sew all this. What I’m really tempted to do is go back to the cutting board and start over. Throw a binding on this one and donate it. I hate making mistakes and I hate trying to fix them.

Pedal to the floor, motoring on

I’ve been keeping off the computer and on the Singer mostly this week. Well except for those days I had to go to my paying job.  Starting to see some finishes or close to a finish.  Got the binding on Thomas, the words printed and sewn into the I Spy,  and ready to sandwich the Tinkerbelle log cabin.

   

I love the back of Thomas as much as the front.

DH did a really great job printing out the words

Be careful who you tell

Now I know - if you like old/vintage machines, be very careful with whom you share this information. Most people do not have the sane appreciation of what is vintage. And some just want to dump their machine on you.
This has happened to me twice so far. My DH has been sharing tales of our machines with his cubicle mate. Thus when this co-worker was cleaning out his aunt’s stuff, he immediately thought of us for her sewing machine.
Hence this:

A 10 stitch, 80”s era Kenmore – made in Taiwan. In a cabinet. It is kind of a neat cabinet, in that it has two settings for the machine. One like the picture with the free arm exposed for use, another with the bed flush to the table. But it’s still a cabinet, a pressed wood . Where the heck am I going to put another cabinet?

The other was the treadle machine DH’s cousin gifted us with as we passed through MA.

I think I can read “New Home” in what is left from the decals on the arm. Not sure what we are going to do with it. Tossing around ideas and the winning one so far is lawn ornament.
Lesson learned. Really, I don’t need another reminder. Keeping my mouth shut.

Busy Weekend

 

Been very busy here this weekend, but then isn’t everyone’s weekend busy?

The biggest item was the snowstorm Friday. It snowed the whole day long

Here’s a look at my back yard and picnic table Saturday morning. But no power outages here and I sewed and sewed all evening. Finishing the flimsy for the log cabin Tinkerbelle's

The centre of each block is a Tinkerbelle fussy cut. It is my first time doing a log cabin and other than a few spots where the light/dark is a little off I pretty pleased with it.

And I got all the blocks together for a Crayon Box, now working on the sashing.

Finally, today we went over the border shopping including a stop at Jo Anne’s for fabric. A co-worker requested a quilt with superman fabrics for a baby. My inclination was to look and see what some of my e-bay sellers had for fabric but DH is a real comparison shopper and insisted on checking out what was available locally. The Canadian chain fabric store had some at $18 a metre. Went on-line to Jo Ann’s and found out they were having a sale on licensed fabrics, so over we went.

There’s a few more faces than just Superman but DH persuaded me that at 40% off it was better to get some to have on hand. Was thinking on doing another crayon box but that was because I was thinking of the 4.5” I spy block for centres. Now that I have yardage to work with I’m considering a “Streak of Sunshine”

Basting Thomas

Thomas is on the basting wall.  And now I have to decide how to quilt him.  Thinking about some free motion around the trains and diagonal through the squares.  Or just going diagonal all the way across the whole quilt.