Catching up; baskets, candle mats

It's been in interesting few days. I've been going a wee bit nuts trying to figure out exactly what I'm going to do for the show coming up. I had a whack of ideas; but felt like a one-eyed cat watching 10 mouseholes. ;) I think it was just a case of nerves and just needing to settle on what items I was going to start on first.

I did find some really neat patterns and ideas on Freepatterns.com - it was just a matter of settling on what to do first. I found a really neat quilted basket there called Mexican Star Basket. It's the neatest thing - it's basically a 9 patch style 12" block that is folded and tucked at the sides to create a basket. I found a neat pattern called fancy flowers that is a traditional block so i am free to use it according to her terms and conditions. I cut out enough pieces for 5 blocks and rather outsmarted myself as I was going to cut them all out at once .. I made notes in the margin and ended up cutting wayyy more than I needed .. ah well .. I gots lots of pieces now :S I put the first one together and it looked really great.. so I started on the second one ... I realized that this was a 5 patch block - bloody hell! Well I had them cut, I was going to piece them .. i had all the sections of one block ready to put together and then I took a look and wondered how would this look without the sashings??? - welp i put it together and it looked great .. and what do you know .. i got my 9 patch block back :D :D :D I have 4 others like this but in different colourways waiting to be basted and quilted.

I decided to get going on my candle mats and pot holders to meet a challenge that one of my lists is holding. I need to have my mats done by Thursday at midnite. Well since my machine is still sick, I needed to use mum's. I've asked my friends to pray for me with this. I didn't care of they prayed, danced naked in the moonlight, or waved burning feathers .. I needed all the help I could get .. well I cleaned and oiled it this AM. heh .. only jammed once and broke a needle. I'm off to a GREAT start!!! I let it sit for the rest of the day so I could finish piecing the blocks for the baskets. I pulled it out and needed to make a bobbin .. heh .. you got it .. jammed on me again .. *Hellasigh Well I redid the bobbin again, double-checked to be sure that it was all in good working order and tried again .. so far so good .. i managed to piece 6 fans and it didn't jam again. I need to use this machine for the applique part of these fans. It's going to be a pain to have to swap machines around, but I don't have a walking foot for this machine and the speed is a wee bit tetchy for me to be wanting to quilt on it.

My house isn't as odorous, but Reg is sick and managed to get me sick as well .. oh well .. I started to hack and cough this am. I've got the itchy inside of the ear and the raw-ish throat. I'm hoping he and I start to feel better soon .. it's hard to concentrate and my temper gets frazzled more quickly right now.

But starting was the key - i'm not feeling so overwhelmed right now - matter of fact I can't wait to get a few things to the point where I can quilt them so I can see actually how they will work out. I'll be quilting stuff tomorrow .. it'll be busy for me tomorrow .. I have to go pay for my table at the show, reg's quarter finals for his bball team are tomorrow nite so I'm going - not been all year - would be nice if the coaches wife showed up .. I went to a lot of games last winter. Then that will leave me tomorrow nite and Thursday to get the candle mats done :D .. I can't wait to see how they'll turn out

Wandering Kitties / Sunny Stars

Yesterday I measured my quilt for the borders; holybiblebatman!! I knew that it was out of square, but it was bad .. there are 5 rows in this quilt and of the 3 that I measured, not one was the same or even close and the difference between all measurements was 1¹/2". This just wasn't going to do. I did notice that the bottom of the quilt top had a VERY friendly wave it in. I didn't even need to think about it it, Frogging I go. I separated all the rows and took a good look at where the waves were. I didn't have to square up as many blocks as I had thought, but when I did one, I needed to do the rest of the blocks in that row so that the blocks would all be the same size. Fussy? Anal? You betcha - But i do now want to have to see and battle the size difference. Heh, and wouldn't you know, the little buggers moved around on me again .. there was one cat who's tail was upside down that I did take apart and fix, and he's relocated from the bottom of the quilt to the top of the quilt :)

The whole process was very tiring, but I'm glad that it's done. All the rows are back together now and just waiting for me to join them up again .. I was soo bloody tired last nite, I didn't dare. I've started to piece on my 15 and have to find a happy medium between the edge of the machine bed and the table so I didn't want to have to battle the length / weight of my rows. Plus, the sewing room is right next to our bedroom and I didn't want to wake reg up moving machines around .. With the 15 on a TV tray, it's the same height of the table so it can take the weight and I won't have to battle with it. I've remeasured my rows (after I moved them around I didn't know what row went with what measurement) and will trim them soon. The meeces and fish colours have been decided upon, Joanne in NZ is sending me some black to do silhouettes, so things are well in hand again for my kitty quilt.

As I was drifting off to sleep last nite / this AM (?), I started to think about my Sunny Stars Swap quilt that I ran a number of years ago. I got these blocks at all different sizes. There was a test line on the pattern that needed to be measured, but they didn't do it - the result, 5 different sizes. while I had enough for a double quilt, I didn't have enough of one size to make said quilt. What I will do is take the smaller ones and frame them in blue (dark or light depending on block background) and use yellow in the cornerstones - I was thinking of doing a dark light graduation of block colours .. so that will be going up on my design wall later today.

Director of Security / Squishy Days; Machine update added

Squishy Days are here :) .. My director of security informed me that someone was / had been on our porch. So a few minutes later I go to check the mail .. I saw a squishy!! Just what was needed to uplift my spirits as I was definitely out of sorts from yesterday. I knew that this was coming and had totally forgotten about it as US Postal service tend to load up snails for the mail run to Canada.

But here it is .. Inside the adorable quilt top that Joy had made for me .. it's even more adorable in person, a needle case (purrfectly cute!!) (these items were expected), and the purple that she had used to make this quilt along with other leftovers from the assembly - these fabrics were NOT expected.

I've been thinking about how to quilt this and I'm sure that something will come to me, loud and clear - I usually try to listen to the quilt, i can do birds, butterflies, flowers, cats, sea critters .. all sorts of things .. the TOT that she used is more gorgeous in person and the pics do NOT do this quilttop justice .. not be a long shot. With the discussion that joy and I have been having lately, i'm leaning more towards sea critters, the blues and greens rather lend itself to this too.

I ripped out the row I did on my kitty quilt as I've changed my mind yet again .. shock surprise LOL .. I do have 2 rows sewn up and as I now have house to myself right now, I might actually get something done before Kyle comes home ..

Machine Update

Sick 248 / Mum's Touch n Swear
I contacted singer today and had a wonderful chat with the lady on the other end of the phone .. Turns out she does garment construction and has a few machines herself LOL

What it boils down to is timing or my bobbin case .. I explained all that it did and she says it's not my gears as they are on the top of the machine near the cams ..

It was really great as she was looking at the exploded parts of my machine while I was talking to her and i was telling her all that i had done and the noises i had heard etc - I really hope it's not the timing as I talked to my repair shop today and that will be a hefty bill if they have to redo the timing .. If it's just a wee bit out of whack and needs a slight adjustment / no parts - then it's only about $10.

I wanted to get the bday's for this machine and my mum's touch n sew .. Couldn't get either as the number stamped in the bottom of my machine does not follow the numbering sequence for machines made after 1900 .. Meaning it doesn't have 2 letters starting it .. It's just a bunch of digits .. That came back to me as I was talking to her .. This machine was made for only 2 years tho, 1980 - 1981. Now my mum's machine - production started on the in may of 1960 in St. John's - the records for this time period are missing.. Now I know she had this machine from when I was a little girl .. This might even have been the machine she made her wedding dress on - i can vaguely recall "something" about that .. If so, 1960 is about right .. So I struck out with dating, but had a wonderful chat with a fellow enthusiast and got a better line on what's possibly wrong with my machine ..

sewper bowl; kitty stalls, speed bumps

Sewper bowl Sunday??? not here it wasn't. The best laid plans are usually fraught with interference from outside forces. first was the issue with reg's team on Saturday; i couldn't just let him stew and not try to talk to him and quilt could I??? well maybe .. LOL .. j/k .. i wouldn't do that.

Then there was my 'stall' today .. I hit a speed bump with a serious case of nerves. I was almost terrified to commit the kitty quilt to getting pieced together. I fidge and fudge with the layout in my mind, did some crazy mental math - yup it was mental alright (as my friend joy told me and everyone else LOL) amazing what sleep deprivation will do to you. Then as I'm ready to move on it, I gotta make the chili, then I gotta do this, then this comes up .. maybe i wasn't destined to finish this top this weekend .. It's not like it's going anywhere; until last month, it was just a dream in my head, now it's not .. it's a nitemare LOL .. j/k .. just nerves is all .. something that I've plotted for so long is coming to life and it's a wee bit scary is all .. it's when something you really want finally happens you are stunned speechless type thing ..

But I got the first set of kitties together and it looks better than I imagined .. Maybe I'll have the top done tomorrow ..

heh .. i didn't even get reg's quilt done during the superbowl .. we watched Minority Report last nite and I did 2 more sides, which only left one to do :S .. bah .. that'll get done too ..

Regarding my sick 248, i'm just going to call the shop and see what they say .. i've been going nuts trying to get some help / advise on how to line it back up and i'm beating my head against my keyboard for my efforts; so tomorrow i'll just call the shop .. who knows, they might just walk me through the repair on the phone ..specially if it it's not going to net them much money .. we'll have to see .. they do have 2 locations and we'll see how it goes :)

Machines n kitties and cranky OH MY!!

It's been a few days since I posted to my blog - and actually been a few since i've really done anything really quilt-like. I did finish the one block I wanted to for the scrappy red swap; packaged it up and will be sending it out in a week or so. I've also packaged up 2 other squishies for fabric that I'm trading :). Monday Kyle had a basketball game and I went to that. Spent the time before and after just spending time with Reg. Heh .. in my days of basketball widowship I grab my time with him when I can ;). Kyle then had a basketball tourney on Tuesday. He did pretty good and that took the afternoon .. by the time we got home and dinner was done, I was just to bloody tired to much of anything else.

It's not been a total write off the past 3 days;

1. I've been plotting my civil war quilt in the back of mind as well .. researching blocks and habits of quilters back in the 1800s . I'm learning a LOT and having fun!!


2. I've also started to hand sew down the binding of Reg's quilt .. one side down .. 3 to go!

I had a machine 'die' on me on Wednesday .. bloody thing .. was piecing a block for a swap when suddenly my machine sounded like a train .. Clickety clack .. Clickety clack .. I slowed down trying to pinpoint the location of the noise (could have hand sewn faster at that point) I figured I would finish that seam and then stop and look under the machine .. It stopped dead 4 stitches later .. I wasn't going fast at all . The needle did not break - didn't even bend. .. The bobbin case was secure and not lose, I removed the bobbin and casing, the needle was hitting the disc that is UNDER the bobbin case. It almost seems to me that a screw got loose and it spun (!) .. I've joined a few machine groups hoping that someone might have an answer for me .. i've research a lot of possible causes, but none yet .. I'm guessing that this really put me off my stride as I was really cranky for the rest of the day. The above is a copy and paste that I sent to the list.

This is the machine that my mum bought me and while it's not a top end machine, there is sentimental value to it. It is also my only zig zag machine and the one I did all my quilting on. I don't like this for free motion as it skips stitches, but for regular quilting it's just fine. Now I do have my mum's touch n sew, but that machine and don't have any sort of common ground between us ... on one of my lists, someone referred to it as a touch n swear .. I believe it! This machine is also a slant shank machine and all mine are short shank .. feet are not interchangeable.

I have finally done 3 more blocks for my kitty quilt .. I was rather putting these off as they are paper pieced and I've had enough issues with them LOL .. And these were a wee bit different as the lines aren't sewing lines, but guidelines .. well I finally bit the bullet and started them .. I got 3 done and they do go pretty quick .. once you get the hang of pp'ing this way, it is actually pretty easy! I only have about 5 more to go, then the fish, mice, yarn, and milk jugs .. altho, I just might do them for the border instead as this is going to balance out just nicely me thinks. I've not updated the scrapsnclaws webpage yet as I'm going to make more blocks and will update them when I get the set of 8 done I think.

This one's feet are backwards .. I didn't notice it until I took the picture - I just may leave him like that

This one i reversed the fabric for the tail to make it stand out more .. should have been the other way around, but didn't occur to me until AFTER I had him more than 1/2 way done

I really like how this guys face worked out just right! Altho I think that this fabric is a wee bit to busy for the size of this block

Reg's Quilt is almost done!

Well Reg's quilt is almost totally quilted. I've done almost all of the top; criss-crossed through the squares, 3 lines per section; and put in football, baseball and basketball equipment quilt motifs in the 'blank' spaces. Here's a shot of the back of the quilt, I ruffled it a bit so you could get more of an idea of with the shadows for the overall quilting patterns.

I'm not sure if you remember but when I did the logos for this quilt, I had an inspiration that made doing them a whole lot easier. I created outlines of the images, converted it to black and white then printed it on paper. I used my sullivan's to tack the paper onto the quilt for stability while zigzagging (for the logos, not the motifs) and that gave me the idea for EASY quilt marking without marking my quilt! Again I created the outlines, printed it out, and tacked it on .. then I freemotioned and put the motifs in the blank spaces.







It went VERY quickly, no shifting of my pattern and since i just did a light mist, no residual stickiness. Worked like a charm.

For the borders, i'm thinking of diamonds .. but that's not what they are called, it will be a rectangle with a triangle on top and bottom of rectangle. Then I put the binding on and voila! time to hand sew it on, wash it and reg can have his quilt :D

I decided to try my 15-91 for the quilting - the feed dogs seem to want to sleep on the odd occassion and the quilt stopped moving (!), but I was ready for it after a few times and it went well .. Freemotion quilting on this machine is a DREAM .. not once did my thread break!! It was great!! Since i didn't have a cover plate for the feed dogs nor can I lower them, I used a mccain pizza box to cover the dogs .. worked like a charm!!

This gives me all the confidence I need for the freemotioning that I am thinking about for my kitty quilt .. I'll be getting back to that one soon .. but first swap blocks, and kyle's quilt :S .. poor kid, his isn't even basted yet!

Mum's Stuff

Well this AM I went with my dad to take care of cleaning out his lazy susan from the mouse problem and fritter through my mum’s stuff. Mum didn’t quilt, so a lot of her stuff I really can’t use as I don’t make my own clothes anymore .. to bloody expensive with the cost of fabric now a days. There was a box of sweat suit type stuff (velour) and ribbing that I left as I knew I couldn’t use, but did grab a box of various tweeds, and linens with the odd cotton in there .. I need to do window treatments so these will come in handy. There is an old steamer trunk in the basement that my dad says has fabric in it .. i’m like .. esh .. another day. Then he remembered that there was the cedar chest upstairs - he wasn’t sure what was in it and thought it was locked. Actually all he had to do was push the button and it opened. Silly man ..

In our forays I found 2 sugar sacks!! I had never seen them before and remembered how ladies on the lists would talk about them .. stupid me forgot them there - ARRRG, but I am wanting to get them here and use them ..they have a NICE heft to them!

Found my mum’s wedding dress in there that she made .. a comforter that my grandmother brought from Russia and a woven bedspread (tapestry like) also from Russia .. at that point, I couldn’t handle going through stuff like that .. so went on the search for her serger and her singer .. found those .. her serger is a juki and i didn’t find a manual for it - I’ll have to check on line to see if there is one there .. never used a serger in my life and mum got this after I had moved out of the house .. worse case scenario, I can ask my grandmother (Dad’s dad) as she sews and could help me I’m sure .. I think that she advised mum on this one (??) .. found a mess of notions and all the parts for her singer .. all the discs and the manual and the original box with the seam guide, screwdriver ..

There was also a craft table still in it’s boxes that i can have .. I needed to measure it tho .. it’s 72 x 40 when opened .. it’s a batwing type table on wheels and is at least 6“ higher than the table I currently use .. I’ll have to rearrange my sewing room .. move the computer out of the corner it’s in and further up the wall and put the table against the far wall - but it will fit .. 70” of work space :O .. can you IMAGINE!!! i could actually baste on this thing .. no more crawling on the floor to baste now .. that always kills my back for a good day! which reminds me .. I need to baste reg’s quilt .. ouch I’ve always said that this table is to low .. i bend over to cut and pin and my back hurts .. this table of my mum’s is a good 6“ higher! YIPPEEEE ... I’m not a tall person .. not by a LONG shot .. i’m only 5’3” .. but these short tables are murder!

Mum’s singer - now this machine hates me .. always has .. i look at this thing and it jams! It’s a slant shank so it makes my life a wee bit difficult as all my singers are short shank .. i’m still hoping to find a walking foot .. If that’s the case, I’ll oil this one up and give it a whirl while firmly holding my temper in check! I was really hoping that I would find one, but didn’t expect to .. My singer (the one I use for quilting) is making some really odd noises .. you know like a car that won’t start .. the err err err err and the wheel’s not moving .. I can sew for short bursts (maybe 4“) then it does this - then give the wheel a hand and off it goes again .. I can’t quilt on my FW as the motor just won’t tolerate the stress of all those layers. I do have the 15-91, but it’s noisy and I’ve only used it once .. nice stitch on it tho! The 99 needs to have the brushes replaced so that one’s out.

Kitty Quilt - Now a reality

Instead of being something percolating in the back of my mind for the past 10 years .. it’s reality .. or at least getting there .. got the fabric; pressed it, tossed almost all my kitty fabrics onto the table; started sifting through the patterns that I picked for this to print, rethink, etc ..

I’m excited, I’m finally getting to do this :D Reg made sure we were able to grab my fabric for this; prolly because I never think of myself first and haven’t made a quilt for ME yet; ever .. I don’t count the nap quilt I did for a swap .. poor thing is falling apart now ..

Most of the patterns are from the book “Cat’s meow” , some are from the net and other books .. I’ve picked my focal pattern - have now decided upon the kitty fabrics for these two cats .. heh .. I’d better cut them before I change my mind .. but not likely to with this .. This whole quilt is going to be on that fabric no other background even for the borders and the kitties will be made with just kitty fabric .. no other kind

This is going to be GREAT!!!

Tomorrow I am going to my dad’s to sift through my mum’s fabric, take her two sewing machines (regular machine and serger), look at a sewing center table that she had purchased that is still in the box and help my dad clear out the lazy susan from the eeeker (mouse) damage .. he’s finally realized that he needs to get another cat .. he’s got mice .. poor dad ..

It’ll be hard for me to go through my mum’s things, but as my aunt says “Better that it’s being used that sitting there rotting” If mum had a walking foot on her machine I would consider trying it for my machine quilting as the one I use has been put away due to odd sounds it’s making while I sew right now .. then again .. mum’s machine jams as soon as I look it :S .. that thing hates me and always has LOL. At any rate, my dad assures me that my mum has some home dec stuff in there, sheers and the like which means I’ll finally be able to put up curtains .. none of our existing curtains fit the windows here, and I not taking down the tree until I have at least sheers up .. otherwise we are in a goldfish bowl - granted our street is quiet .. but that’s not the point!