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!

Sewing For the Girls

There have been multiple projects going on around the house the past month.  It seems as though they have all come together this past week.  Mister finished the quilt frame, we both finished the tea set, and I finished the matching outfits for Elena, Zyra, and Malea.  Whew.  We have certainly spent a great deal of time in the studio lately.  This doesn't mean that there aren't still a ton of things we are in the middle of, BUT ---- we did finish a few.

Tea Time for Miss Elena

Many years ago (oh, let's say 20) a ceramic shop in Billings was going out of business and I bought quite a bit of the greenware.  I boxed it up and put it away for a time when my children were grown and had families and homes of their own.  Then, about 5 years ago, many changes happened in my life and I had to go through my stash and purge.  I was able to keep a few of the pieces of greenware and put them away hoping for a chance to put them to use still.  Finally, one of my chances arrived.  My granddaughter, Elena, is all girl and loves to have tea parties with her dolls.  She is turning 4 this year and so I decided it was time to give her something special - a handmade tea set.  So, I dug out the greenware and started in on it.

First step was to clean it, smoothing out all the raw edges and mold marks.  Then, off to Trinity Ceramic Supply, a local shop that makes their own glazes.  With underglazes in tow, I set to work putting the color directly onto the greenware.

This was a new technique to me but I loved working with the product and was excited to see my project come to life.   I loved how they turned out -- next step was off to the kiln for the first firing.  At this point, my daughter let me know that the party was an "Alice in Wonderland Tea Party" and I could not believe my luck.  I have the perfect gift.

Yay!  First firing went well!  No cracks and the glaze worked just as I had hoped.  Now to clear glaze for the final firing.  Again, I was nervous as I had been an abundant glazer in the past and did not want a repeat of past experiences.  No runs please!  Back to the kiln and wait the 4 days to pick it up.  I was so scared -- please let it all have worked.  When I walked into BPERS to collect my project, it was all sitting out on display.  It was perfect!  The owner said she searched for problems and couldn't find a single one.  Oh my -- I was doing the happy dance.

Now I had the dilemma of how to get it to Montana for the party and at the same time provide a storage place for the tea set so that it didn't have as great a chance as breaking once Miss Elena owns it.  It just so happens that there is a Tuesday Morning within walking distance from the house.  A quick trip down and I had found the perfect box.  Another YAY!  During a recent cleaning of the studio, I had come across 4 foam seat cushions that were almost a perfect fit for the box and now it was Mister's turn on the project.

He had to make the foam fit just right by slicing off one end of the square on all four cushions.  Next, cut out all the shapes so that the pieces locked in place and yet were protected.
After 4 hours, he had a finished project.  Hopefully the next time we tackle something like this, it will go a little quicker since we have a small idea of how to go about it.

Here is our finished product -- all boxed and ready to be hand carried by me onto the plane.  Isn't it oh so cool?

And just so you can see the box -- isn't it pretty?  I love how the colors went so well -- it was a lucky shopping day.

OH - in case you didn't notice --- the studio cleaning took place during this project.  LOL -- that is why the room looks different.  Upper picture is also pre spilt glaze -- in the lower picture you can see where it stained the rug.  Yep, not everything went perfectly.

My New Quilt Frame -- Thanks Mister!!

We are both moving into quilt mode around here.  We have books, magazines, new sewing machines, and fabric everywhere!  Mister has been building my new quilt frame this week and as I was sewing in the studio, he was working away in the yard.  I did hear a few words that I won't print here, but he kept after it and the finished project is awesome.

Next, we had to completely rearrange the den to fit the frame in the house -- yep, that bugger is long.  Once we had it in the house, it was time to learn how to put a quilt on.  Fortunately, I had finished a top and it was ready to go on the frame.  After many tries and a small temper flare-up by me, we got it.  Once again, it will go much quicker the next time.  Now to start poking holes in my fingers.