A Wilson and Wheeler W9 Treadle Machine for $23.00

Mister located a treadle for sale on Craig's List and we were off to check it out.  It turned out to be an 1895 Wilson and Wheeler W9 manufactured in Bridgeport, CT.  What a great find by Mister and the treadle soon found it's way into our car for the wonderful price of $23.00.  Yep, all the parts are there, even the missing decor for the drawer fronts.  It will take some work by Mister to get her shiny and pretty again, but everything moves and she runs.  I cannot tell you how excited I am.  What a fun thing to have.

As soon as we get her home, Mister gets the shop vac out and starts the cleaning process so that the photos can be shot in order to have a good record of everything.  Here are the pics and I will show the finished ones when it is all finished (probably several months worth of work).  Enjoy.

Yep, that's me working away.  Silly Mister.

Modern Quilt Show

This morning we are off to the Richardson Civic Center where the Modern Quilt Guild of Dallas is having a showing.  We enjoy wandering down the rows and learning a bit more about the artistic nature of the modern quilts.  I am truly a traditional person and my eye goes towards that type more than any other but there were two that Mister and I both really enjoyed.  Here is some eye candy for ya.

Quilting Time With Bonnie Hunter

I joined the Dallas Quilt Guild last winter and in the spring I discovered that Bonnie Hunter would be teaching a couple of workshops in addition to her trunk show presentation for the membership.  Instantly I went to the sign-up table and added my name to the list for both classes.  Now, it is the weekend for all the fun and I can't wait.

I have cut and cut to prepare in addition to scouring local thrift shops and estate sales for mens shirts to repurpose.  At one stop, I also managed to snag a stack of fabric for only $1.00.  Mister is a champ and sits on two separate occasions helping me debone the shirts.  When we work together we can get about 10 done in a little over an hour.  His help is sooooo appreciated and I am, as always, incredibly grateful for the support he gives in whatever project I have managed to involve myself in.  I am ready.

The trunk show is first up and it is standing room only.  I am so glad that we (I asked Cass to come along) arrived early and have great seats.  Prior to the presentation, Bonnie comes out to take a few pictures and gets this one of me taking a picture of her.  Perfect timing, lol.  Let's get started.

She begins with a lesson in the life of a strip and shows the various ways to use it along with the best sizes to have.  All of this is accomplished with a quilt, of course.  Next lesson is in repurposing and for this she dressed up in a hospital gown to make a point.  The amount of usable fabric in some items is staggering.  I averaged about 1 - 1/2 yards per shirt and at $.25 per shirt, that's a great deal in any book.

The trunk show is so fun and she is a great presenter.  I laugh and drool over her stories and quilts and would like to stay all night but I need to get to bed as class starts early tomorrow morning up in Plano.  Gotta get some shut eye.

It is a beautiful, but very warm (that is spelled H O T) day.  After loading the car with all my stuff and my beautiful Featherweight (a.k.a. Barbara), I am ready to get on the road.  Lookout Plano -- lots of ladies with fabric headed your way.

The quilt we are building today is called Jamestown Landing and it is done in blue and white completely out of scraps.  Since I still don't have a large scrap stash, I picked up blue and white fat quarters and remnants everywhere I went for the last 6 months.  I have a pretty good selection and am excited to learn some new techniques.  Barbara is ready to go as well and we discover that she has a few vintage companions in class to keep her company.

Step one today is paper piecing 4 1/2" squares with our whites.  I love the way they are turning out. (look on Barbara above)

Step two is half square triangles with both the blues and the whites turned for the hour glass effect.  I start laying out squares next to me on the table until I get an idea of what it will look like.  It all blends together for me and standing over it, I am unable to see the pattern until I hold a camera up to it.  Then it pops out at me.  I like it so far.

Well, that is as far as I got today and I will have to continue this project at home.  I certainly am building a list of things to finish.  It is time to head home, get some food, and collapse for the night.

It is a new day and I am once again loaded up and heading to Plano.  I switched out fabric and machines.  Today, I am taking "Annie" (named for my aunt who instilled in me the love to sew), my 301A.  She is as ready to go as I am.

The quilt today is called Virginia Bound and I am doing it all in repurposed men's shirts.  Bonnie teaches us how to make our own templates and so another skill is added to my list.  Woohoo.

She then demonstrates how to make our "kites" and sends us on our merry way to sew, sew, sew.  As I complete each block, I throw them on a table behind me and people come and go putting them in all sorts of combinations.  This is definitely not a final combination as there are too many similar fabrics near each other, but by the time I complete all 80, I am sure that problem will be solved.  I am only able to finish 6 blocks today as I spend way too much time sitting and chatting with Bonnie.  That too, however, is part of why I enjoy her classes so much.  What a great couple of days.  I can't wait til New Years for the next 3 classes.  Yes!

Working on my Lazy Sunday Quilt

I spent New Years Day in the first quilting class I have ever had the pleasure of taking.  The instructor was Bonnie Hunter and the quilt was a mystery.  I only got into the class by the skin of my teeth because someone cancelled the day before.  Now, during my move to Texas I had drastically reduced my "stuff" and had given most of my fabric stash away.  The class gave a color list and amounts although it was supposed to come from scraps.  Not having any scraps, Mister and I went to a local quilt shop and selected some bright batiks in the requested colors.

The class was a blast and I learned oh so much.  It has taken me most of the year to get the blocks together, but finally I am making some progress.  I am able to lay out my strips in the studio and get an idea of what is happening here.  I still have border pieces EVERYWHERE but at least it appears as though it might become a quilt at some point.

We have rearranged the studio at least twice during this project and I am about to do so again.  Ugh.

After spending most of the day sewing away -- I am able to lay out ALL the strips and have the sashing sewn as well.  I have to take it into the house and use the living room floor in order to have a large enough space, but I can finally see the pattern taking place.


This color scheme is waaaay outside my comfort zone, but as it comes together I am liking it more and more.  My goal is to have it finished, learn how to long arm quilt it and take it to this years class on New Years Day again to show.  I hope I can make it.

The purple border pieces on the ironing board above used a technique that gave me bonus half square triangles on each end.  That made 310 new squares to work with on another project that would have otherwise gone into the trash.  Fun.  I took them with me to Austin for the soccer tournament and between games, cut the dog ears off.  I call that devotion to a project.

It is so good to be back at the machine after all these years.  I am lovin' life and lovin' my new vintage machines as well.  Now to find more of them.

A New Featherweight -- woohoo!

Oh My Gosh!! Isn't she beautiful?  This is my new baby. Her name is Barbara for the lady across the street.  When she passed, the estate sale had 15 of these lovely's and I managed to get one.  I feel so blessed.  These pics are after my sweetie took her all apart and cleaned EVERYTHING.  What  a treat.

Singer 301A --- Thank You Mister

As you may recall, Mister purchased a Singer 301A for my birthday and he has spent the last few days out in the yard working on cleaning and restoring it.  There has been a beautiful breeze out and our spring is amazing for Texas.  I cannot stress enough how much I appreciate the effort he has put forth on my behalf.  It is so nice to be treated so special.  The following picture is one of the before shots and you can see the discoloring on the metal.

He worked and worked and worked for 3 days to clean not only the exterior, but to totally disassemble it and clean each of the mechanisms inside.

The results are amazing and other than a small scratch that happened during shipping, it is perfect.

What do you think?  I am so happy to have it - now we can get my regular machine worked on and I don't have to stop sewing in the meantime.

The greatest part:  IT WORKS!  So fun to take the first few stitches.  After just a small tension adjustment, everything is perfect.  I could not be more happy.  It's kinda fun to sew outside as well.  Now I am on the hunt for a treadle so that I can do just that.  Gotta love these vintage machines.

A New Iron Tote

I returned from grocery shopping to find Mister outside working on the measurements for a new quilted iron tote/portable ironing pad that I can use at meetings, classes, and workshops.  I guess that means I have to get busy as well.  We had picked out the fabrics awhile back and I love the bright colors.

As soon as he finished, I set to work making the sandwich and then hand binding it.  Attaching the handles last leaves me with my finished project.  Now, I only hope that it fits the iron.  Yay!