She's Not Blue

Today is the day I've been waiting for: the quilt I made for my sister Sue is being delivered. This quilt was truly a labor of love: love for my sister and love for quilting. Last spring, during shut down, I made a quilt for my sister Mindy. It wasn't a big plan, just a bundle of quilting fabrics I bought from a quilting friend for $3 that I managed to put together into a pleasing pattern. I liked it, quilted it with her name in it, and sent it off. It was more of a whim than anything but this time I wanted to make a quilt that was more of a custom order, just what the recipient would want. 

Finding a bundle of blue quilt fabric at the Goodwill Outlet (I always seem to find these great bargains), I brought them home, washed, and set them aside while I contemplated their use. Over time I finally thought about Sue's love of the color blue so maybe I would make her a blue quilt. Checking out quilt patterns, I fell in love with Triple Barnstar quilt pattern by Amy Gibson

and thought it fit with my sisters decor also. I sent her a photo of the pattern and a stack of fabrics to see how she liked them and if she would like a quilt like this. It was an enthusiastic YES so I got started. The cutting and piecing went together very fast, maybe due to the rather large size of the pieces, and I used my Singer 66 Red Eye treadle for the piecing. I can't explain why but I like to piece on the treadle!

Spread out on the bed: looking good

This photo was before sewing it together and it seemed okay; I sent this photo to my quilting daughter, Kelly, and she also liked it. Here it is spread out on the porch floor

In full view, top pieced and sewn together.

I shared this photo with several people and all were fine with it. I added the row of four stars at the top and bottom so it was bigger and better able to fit on a queen sized bed, the requested size. By now I hope you have found the flaw in my assembly. Take a good look at the corners: the two on the right are facing out (correct) and the two on the left are not. Of course, I didn't discover this until I was way too far into the free motion quilting to make the change. I guess this just shows how "unique" this quilt really is!

Next up was the quilting and I spent many hours trying to figure out what to quilt where. After learning more from online quilting sessions, I wanted to highlight the white spaces and let the blue fabrics have a supporting role. Once I figured out what to quilt where on a quarter of the quilt, it was easy to repeat the patterns on the next quarter and the next until I was all done. It has a star theme:

Large white spaces with stars and fill

This gets difficult to describe but I made three star templates that I then used to trace out the stars and then use a fill of meandering loops. Some spaces have scallops in large or small proportions, there are other sections that have been divided into quarters for looped lines. Well, you get the idea. I loved how the final wide white border turned out with packed leaves and it was fun to do, too.

Wide border before binding

Which sewing machine did I use? It's a new-to-me Elna Quilting Queen 7300 that I just picked up in the last month and is she a beauty!

Elna Quilting Queen 7300

I knew it would be a good machine and it was a very good deal but I didn't know I was going to use it for this quilt but it has some very perfect features. The free motion was made so much easier, I love the thread cutting (it's better than my Viking Designer 1), bobbin winding was super easy, the presser foot can pull way up and lock in place to get the bulk of the quilt under the foot, it came with a large table to help support the weight of the quilt, and it was just fun! I did have to watch my tension and when I forgot I ended up taking out three sections and quilting them again. It could be my new main machine but we shall see. Much to my surprise, it also has a built in walking foot that I used for the binding:

Walking foot on Elna 7300

It was just like the Pfaff IDT where it pulls down from the back of the presser foot and locks in place. I'm using it now for a chenille quilt and it's just perfect, keeping the fabric from sliding out of alignment. Finally, I made up a label using a Singer Quantum XL400 embroidery machine:

Label on the back corner

I took the quilt to church and my daughter's house for better chance on getting the whole quilt into a photograph so here's the final result:

Triple Barnstar in blue with added stars

It's out for delivery today and I can't wait until she gets it because she knows how much labor is involved and how much I love her. The flaws and errors? It just shows that it wasn't made on a machine but was quilted at home just for her. 

UPDATE:

Sue got her package on Wednesday so we had a long phone conversation at night: she loves it! Just so you can see it in her home, here is a photo she sent:

Triple Barnstar in blue for Sue

Cheaper By The Dozen

Editiors note: sorry for the long delay in finishing up this post. I always want to include more photos but while I'm thinking about it I'm cleaning up and putting them away. I'll try harder "next time" 

When it rains it pours and sewing machines have started to pile up here in Minnesota. It started with an offer to buy six sewing machines from a young woman who wanted to start a business in sewing high end clothing. She traveled the world buying fabric, renting a space to work and store supplies but then things took a turn and she decided to go back to school instead. Not only was she selling off all of the fabric, she had six very nice sewing machines for sale: two Bernina's, two Elna's, a Brother and a Signature dedicated to buttonholes.

Brother CS 100

Signature ZigZag

We made arrangements and I picked them up a couple weeks ago. While there I could see how much fabric she had and it was overwhelming and a bit reassuring: I don't have that much fabric! I should have brought my husband along so he could see how fortunate he is that my fabric collection is much smaller! My sewing daughter and I went to her "bundle" sale last weekend, vowing we were just going to look but we each managed to spend $42 for some pretty nice fabric.

How about those machines: they seemed to be very complete with cases and accessories so I got own to cleaning and checking them out. The Elna 8000 was very complete and in good shape but the Elna 9000/Diva is missing the spool pin and doesn't have the extra vertical pin either. That got ordered and in the meantime I tried out all of the cassettes for more stitches, something only the Diva has, not the 8000. Don't let anyone tell you the 8000 and the 9000 are the same because they are clearly not.

The Berninas were also great with accessories and cases. Just a little loving care was needed and I think one might already be going out the door. The Brother CS-100 did sell right away to a grandmother who is teaching her granddaughter to sew, something I heartily approve of! The only one left is the Signature that came with a Singer buttonhole attachment, use solely for making buttonholes. They do work up very nice buttonholes! Here's my bundle of fabrics I brought back from my second visit that includes the stretch velvet, leather like fabric, a nice dress fabric, and some scraps that I couldn't resist for only $1.

From knits to leather, I can't wait to sew them up!

While I was busy with this group of machines I answered an ad for a set of four machines up in Lindstrom so off we went. This was a much more rugged group that I suspect came from an auction. It included a Pfaff 77, Bernina 700, another Signature, and a Kenmore 158-19412. Unfortunately, the Pfaff 77 bit the dust early and I had to strip down for parts, the Bernina 700 has stitch width problems, and the Signature has a bad case of smelly case. The real winner here is the Kenmore: very dirty but working just fine. I spent some quality time with it and she's looking good, just needs a Kenmore case that I think might be in the garage attic. 

Whew! But I wasn't finished. There's also a Singer 301 in a lovely table that included a full set of accessories and the cradle for easy lifting out of the machine from the table for transport. I'll have to tell you about the fabulous Elna Quilting Queen I picked up and even a New Home/Janome MyExcel 15S that works perfectly (and was free). Now I have to stop buying and need to get these sewing machines in shape so someone else can revel in their "new" machine as I have. Sew on!

New and Old Loves

 Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy. For example, I answered an ad for sweater mitten supplies. Sounds innocent enough, but I didn't get my questions answered, such as how many mittens are cut out (answer: many), is a pattern included (answer: there are free patterns online), and other questions that are pretty straightforward but the answers were dodgie. I went ahead and drove out to pick up a very large box of supplies from her husband who couldn't answer any questions but would take my money and help get it into my car. After getting home and sorting through the box, I ended up with supplies for only 9 pairs of mittens, wool that hadn't been washed yet,  2 skeins of cheap yarn, a stack of thin fleece, and a huge pile of scraps that went right into my garbage. Oh my, what have I gotten into? I found a better pattern online, used my own fleece and wool, and started to sew sweater mittens. I seemed to have gotten carried away because I now have 52 pairs of mittens all ready for the fall craft fairs. Maybe this didn't turn out so bad.

Because I wanted the mittens I made to be different and, hopefully, better than some I've seen, I decided to quilt the lower palm section and add leather to the upper palm. This proved to be a bit of a problem because the leather had a small amount of stretch so it kept expanding as I sewed and there would be a pucker at the end. Then I remembered the Pfaff IDT, their version of a built in walking foot. This time I decided to get even more strategic by anchoring the leather onto the palm by using a spray used by quilters to hold the many layers of fabric together before sewing without using pins or basting. Between the spray basting and the walking foot/IDT, they went together like a breeze. I didn't put leather on all of the palms, just a selection, but all of the lower palms were quilted. I'm pleased with the end result and can now put this project away until fall when I'll add some in a child's size. Craft fairs: here we come!

Wool and fleece mittens with fleece lining.

Vintage linen continues to haunt me so I cut out a series of circles for my zipper cases to hold ear buds or anything else you might need a small holder for. I had great fun cutting them out but knew I would need to purchase extra zippers. Loving the look of lace zippers, I ordered an assortment package as well as regular all white zippers and went to town:

Zipper pouches in vintage linen

They are fun to do, no special machine needed this time, but I made up over forty! Plans are being made to make some for kids but for now I need a break. Before I leave the vintage linen projects, here's one more:

Fortune tellers

I saw this idea last year and now put it into action: linen napkins were starched using liquid starch so there are more like light cardboard, folded, and written on with a Micron pen. Did you make these with paper in school? Inside are little sayings like "You are my sunshine" and "When I count my blessings I count you twice" as well as some famous quotes. There were easy to make and are just a bit more sophisticated in the vintage linen. Now I have twenty of these to add to the craft fair stock.

And finally, something not sewn, I've made up my own shoes:

Crocheted summer shoes

I came across a pattern and decided this might be fun so I tracked down a pair of flip flops for the sole, punched holes for the crochet hook, and started picking up stitches:

Evenly spaced holes really helps

Although my first shoe looked good, it was too big and wouldn't stay on my foot. I made up the second one and this time I altered the pattern to decrease stitches after the third row and kept working at making my stitches tighter and smaller. Here's a comparison of the first and second shoes:

I wore them around the house the whole day and they were very comfortable. Next up, I'm looking for black flip flops, a color I find I'm wearing a lot and could use another pair for summer. Maybe I'll design my own this time instead of trying to adapt a pattern. A big thank you goes out to the Make and Do Crew for providing this pattern and good instructions.

I've been working on sewing machines, getting them ready for sale or admitting defeat and stripping for parts, when I came upon a Singer Quantum XL-6000 sewing and embroidery machine. This is a real top-of-the-line machine that sat on my shelf too long. I've been getting it ready for sale but find it is so sophisticated I have to sit down with the manual to set up each part. From the thread exchanger to the endless bobbin, it's way cool.

Singer Quantum XL-6000

Jelly Roll Rugs without the Jelly

 It has been another busy week with sewing machines and sewing projects. You never know which sewing machines are going to be sought after until you run an ad and the phone rings off the hook. Actually, the phone never rang at all but I did have six people who got in touch with me via text and email who wanted a pink and dark gray Brother Select-O-Matic I advertised for sale. I've had eight of this model over the years and even kept one for myself but never have they been this popular. Due to the poor condition of the paint on the bed of the machine, I repainted it in November but then let it "cure" so there would be a nice hard finish when I was ready to sell it. First contact was from Susan, a repeat customer, so I was willing to hold it for her. Then came the other inquiries and I even managed to sell the same model in teal that was in even better condition but there was just something about the pink and gray finish that is irresistible. Here's hoping Susan is loving her Brother Select-O-Matic as much as I love mine.

Brother Select-O-Matic in recovered case

I have been intrigued by the jelly roll rugs, those easy to make rugs that use a set of strips 2.5" wide and 44" long that are rolled up and sold in a bundle called a jelly roll. As if that wasn't easy enough, they also have a roll of batting that is 2.5" wide, sold in rolls of 25 or 50 yards. I had been sitting on a 50 yard roll but didn't want to use one of the jelly rolls I had in my stash so I cut my own using the Simplicity cutter. Here it is with the strips I cut for my own rug:

Simplicity Rotary Cutting Machine

The dandy little machine was purchased last fall at one of the Textile Center's sales for less than $10. I found out that the widest setting is exactly 2.5", perfect for the jelly roll rugs. It takes practice to hold the fabric steady so my strips weren't as precise as when using a hand held rotary cutter on a mat, but it was fast and good enough. I sewed all of the strips together and sat down to sew then up on an industrial Singer 31-15. That didn't go very well with much puckering and struggling to keep it straight. I needed a walking foot but that doesn't really exist for industrials since they would simply use a walking foot machine, not a different presser foot. Here I was, all ready to sew, without a walking foot machine.

Strips sewing together but need to add the strip of batting

Then it dawned on me: use a Pfaff with the IDT, their version of a built in walking foot. I pull out my Pfaff 1222, set it up on the kitchen table, and get to sewing:

Here's 50 yards of tubing for a rug

Would the Pfaff 1222 also be able to sew the strips together with a zigzag? Let's hope so. I added a plexiglass table for a larger work surface and found that to be very helpful.

Pfaff 1222 with extension table

Other suggestions were to press after a few rows and that was good advice, too. In the end, it turned out to my satisfaction and now resides at the porch exterior door:

My version of a jelly roll rug

This worked out so well I found/dug out a braided rug I was working on but could no longer use the Bernina 217 industrial due to a cracked needle plate. The Pfaff 1222 can sew up those braids, too!

Waiting in the laundry room with 2 more rows to sew

I'm not sure if this is going to end up in the camper or in the garage, but it has been an experiment.

With all of the interest in the Brother sewing machine these past two weeks keeping me busy, I had one machine returned. That's not quite right: it wasn't returned but given back when it was no longer needed. I wrote about it in Maintaining Good Will back in 2018, this interesting Singer Quantum CXL. The alphabet stitches were used to write the name of a nursing home resident right on his clothes, not a tag, so they would not get mixed up with others in the laundry. Sadly, the resident died and the machine was just sitting around so it was given back to me. It's a fine machine with much life left in it but no long can stitch in a multi-directional mode: I think the step motor is dying. I hope I can find a buyer who doesn't care about those stitches since it is still working fine for all of the other stitches. It even has a cut thread feature and a needle threader. There is a sewing machine for everyone!

Next up: ready for winter mittens? I can sew up a pair for you!

Refashioning

 I've become frustrated with a few sewing machines, only stitching backwards, won't stitch in fabric but makes perfect patterning on cam settings, sticky dials and insides, so after a few days of that I turned to sewing for an ego boost.  While moving things around I found a bag of clothes I set aside because they were just too nice to toss and I hoped to bring them back to life as a different item. There were two men's shirts that I wanted to make into full aprons, not the half aprons I've made in the past, so I made up one as a sample

Man's Shirt now a full sized apron

and I liked it but that's as far as it went.

There were two skirts with border prints that just begged to be made into little girl dresses so that was a great project. Using the following patterns

I used a blue skirt with a border pattern to make

Simplicity 1673, size 3

but I didn't have enough for the neckline band. However, I did have some collars so when I combined them with a set for the front

and another set at the back

all I had to do was to sew them together at the shoulders. I did have to make up the neckband in white and laid the collar pieces on top but I think the collar shows off quite well. 

Next up was a skirt I never wore but I bought because of the border print. Using McCalls 336 (2010), I made up this model

adding the tie belt/sash because it seems quite wide! I also made the shoulder straps adjustable by using three buttonholes with fairly large buttons so they would look like decoration if they weren't all used due to the length needed. The straps seemed too thin for buttonholes so I added grosgrain ribbon on the back. As long as I had the ribbon out I added my granddaughter's name on it so now she can tell the front from the back

The final refashion was a bridesmaid dress from Evelyn's mom. I said I would donate it to a free prom dress cause but it was just too old and not at all prom-like

Bridesmaid circa 2004

I loved the dresses from Simplicity 5638 (2003), but the bridesmaid dress had a separate skirt, with gores, and a highly structured top, I wasn't sure this was going to work. But it did:

Front

I actually laid the front pattern piece right onto the front of the beaded bodice and cut from there. When it came to the back I did the same thing, especially since it was a separating zipper so I wanted to keep it in place as well as the row of buttons

Back

Because we live in the land of cold, I thought a little jacket might work out well and there was just enough fabric left over for a bolero type shown in the pattern

From bridesmaid to little maid

I struggled with all those gathers on the skirt and came to the conclusion bridal satin is not made to be gathered. I ended up taking it out and making pleats but it still seems to stick out even after pressing. Lesson learned but it was all for free! I didn't dare line the skirt but the bodice is fully lined. All three dresses were approved by Evelyn's mom and I loved the whole process. I honestly don't even care if she doesn't have the opportunity to wear such a fancy dress, I now know I can do it.

Sewing machines are awaiting and maybe now I can face their problems again but wait, I hear the call of winter mittens out of fleece and old sweaters that also want to be refashioned. Will it ever end? Let's hope not!

More Vintage Linen

 Picking up on the last post about using tablecloths, I seem to be on a roll and can't stop sewing up those vintage linens. I went into a huge storage container at the bottom of the pile to see all of the linen I've collected. Some got washed, pressed, photographed, and made ready for my Etsy shop. Others had stains or even holes so I have earmarked them for porch pillows. I then worked on making summer tops out of two of them in better shape. Here's a very fancy top sheet that was probably never even used it was so pristine:

Bed sheet?

The embroidery was only along one edge so that was my conclusion. I went with a sleeveless shirt pattern and put the fancy work at the bottom

Decorative edge extends on the back also

I like it but it seemed like it was a long way from the top of the decoration to the neckline so I added a row of stitches

Embroidery stitches using light gray embroidery thread

What machine did I use for this nearly perfect stitch? My Bernina Record 730, of course. Now I'm happy with it. Next up was a cross stitch tablecloth that reminded me of a little shirt my daughter Kelly wore when she was only five years old. I didn't trust myself to make up a peasant blouse pattern although there are free ones online. Here's what I came up with using a commercial pattern:

I couldn't fit the long sleeves onto the tablecloth so I tried elbow length sleeves with the scalloped edge of the tablecloth at the bottom. It worked great so I went with that rolled hem edge for the hem of the shirt, too. As it turns out, not every serger can make a decent rolled hem (I tried three) and I finally had to pull out a Simplicity tiny three thread serger to get the best rolled hem. I leave that one set up for rolled hem only!

While looking for the sergers, I had to check out a shelf that had some old White treadle heads. I know I'm not going to be using them so I bit the bullet and listed all three for sale: I got two calls for buying all three! Dwayne came down yesterday and picked them up, telling me he refurbishes and sells them to the local Amish community. We then had a bit of discussion if I would have others without motors and I just might have to take him up on that. I would love to see some of these machines go to good homes and sometimes a motor is the only thing that holds them back. Dwayne might be my next best friend.

Everyone is sewing and buying sewing machines with cold weather and indoor activities at an all-time high. Some sell as soon as they get posted, other linger but are just as worthy. They are all my friends, but some just a little lower on the list. 

Keep calm and sew on.

Tablecloth Magic

 I would love to be able to pull a tablecloth out from under a full setting of dishes but I'm no magician. Instead, I've been busy with vintage tablecloths and finding new life for them as pillows. When I could no longer contain my personal collection of tablecloths, napkins, and placemats in the four large containers, I knew it was time for a clean out. Those I knew I was not going to use I sold in my Etsy shop but I had even more vintage linen in a huge Rubbermaid container. I dug down into that box and pulled out most of the tablecloths and then started to evaluate their worth. Only a few were worthy to sell and the rest were in various stages of disrepair. What can you do with stains that do not come out and holes worn through the fabric in others? I got busy and started to figure out which pieces were of usable size and what to make of them. First up was a rosy red tablecloth with four good corners so I pieced them together, added piping border

Four corners red and teal tablecloth into pillow

and pieced the rest of the salvageable tablecloth for the back.

It's even pretty on the backside!

I got fancy and added an invisible zipper so it can be removed for washing. This one got a new pillow insert with the very last of the poly filling I had, encasing it in a new white cotton case. Could I do this with each one? Probably not.

Next up was a lovely green scalloped edged tablecloth that had no flaws except for some of the stitching coming undone on the scalloping. Thinking I had good luck with the four corners idea, I did the same

Green scalloped edge with delicate flowers

for this pillow. Instead of the zipper insertion, I made an envelope pocket style of closing where one side of the back overlaps the other by at least six inches to allow the inserted pillow to be removed. I really liked this one but now I'm wondering where I'm going to put these two pillows.

The next two pillows just cried out for lace edging and did I ever have a stash of it to use up:

Faced roses and lullaby land pillows

The print was so delicate, maybe faded, on the teal and green tablecloth but there was enough to capture two sections for a pillow with a zipper for easy removal for washing. That little lavender gem was a tablecloth made out of what seems to be hankie linen so maybe it was not a tablecloth. Looking closely it appears to be a sailboat and looks like it belongs in the nursery. The front and back are the same on both of these lace trimmed pillows and by now I've exhausted my stash of pillow forms. What is left is a very large tablecloth and a couple bed pillows so that is what I made up:

Full sized bed pillow with new blue and white casing

For this one I found some thicker piping and there was enough fabric to make up my own matching piping. I used the envelope style of closing but added vintage buttons to keep it closed:

Last section of this tablecloth on the back, buttons on right side

I had already used a large piece of this tablecloth to cover my BIG iron board having read that tablecloths can make the best ironing board covers. I'll give it a try!

Now I have this great collection of vintage tablecloth pillows but where am I going to use them? Some would look nice in the porch for summer and others really wouldn't but I get another brainstorm. How about taking the dark quilt and pillows from the guest bedroom

and replacing them with the bright quilt my aunt made for me? Here's how it turned out:

It looks quite old fashioned with the metal trundle bed but I like the brighter look for the coming spring. The pillows look great with all of their colors, finding some of those shades in the quilt. My aunt hand quilted the whole thing! I've had it for 40 years so there's no sense in keeping it stored. although I did use it for several years as a bedspread when I first received it.

There are still more tablecloths left, some to be used for clothing, some for the remaining bed pillow in that bedroom, but I feel like I've made good use out of these worn out beauties. Their best parts are now on display and the rest is cut up for rags. I really hate to use paper towels so now I have a good stash of rags that might be used once, might be used and wash up but at least they are getting used.

Which sewing machine did I use? My Husqvarna Viking Designer 1, of course. I managed to repair the broken bobbin winder but in the process now the LCD display if a bit off so I'll have to investigate and see which part I jiggled lose but my bobbin winder is back! Sewing machine sales are still going on with another Bernina leaving midweek and a Viking Freesia 415 finding a new home yesterday. There are many happy sewers out there and I love to hear from them. How about you?