Machine rescue

Yesterday while visiting thrift stores with a friend, I spotted what I thought might be a sewing machine in a large trash bin between two buildings of a thrift store. Staff confirmed they considered it "trash," and they didn't care who took it.

I am not normally a dumpster diver, and that bin was kind of smelly so I wasn't going in, and though my friend offered, we did the best we could reaching in from outside. The machine was resolutely attached to a broken cabinet. We got it maneuvered around so I could see the plate on the back saying made for Janome in Japan and the front said "New Home." The weight and style told me it was probably all metal inside and possibly from late '60s or early '70s. The wheel turned smoothly, the needle bar moved well, and the bobbin case looked intact. The cord and foot controller were attached and appeared intact, so I figured it was worth saving.

While we were still wangling the thing around trying to figure out how to unscrew or otherwise detach it from the cabinet, a man and woman drove up and offered to help. A very brief conversation revealed that they both sewed, but didn't have a machine (or much else it appeared). I do not need another machine (except one or two special ones I still want--that's another story!), I just couldn't leave a good one behind, so I was happy they arrived to save me from possibly having to get in that bin...

Nice to know a machine that needed an owner to make it useful again and a person who wanted to sew but didn't have a machine found each other. They will both be better for it I hope!

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

While a friend and I were running around today hitting a few thrift shops, I asked if she would mind if I ran in to buy a presser foot for my "new" 404 machine if we saw a sew 'n vac shop or other likely spot. That's all that was missing when I found the machine yesterday.

What turned up in the very next thrift shop but a sad, broken plastic box with "Singer" emblazoned in the center. It contained not only a slant needle presser foot, but several other slant needle accessory feet, and the whole shebang was a whopping $2!!! How easy was that? I did have to borrow a screw from another Singer machine to attach the foot, but I am now set.

Easy Street part 1

As you know I have become a really big fan of Bonnie Hunter and her Quiltville's Quips & Snips!! blog. Bonnie has inspired me to finally haul off and quilt--something I have loved to think about, read about, plan, play at, buy fabric and patterns for, forever. But I produced only a few quilts--a couple for charity, a couple baby quilts, and a few small items.

Until now.

I am currently hand quilting a king-sized quilt I made as a gift. I have started a Hello Kitty inspired quilt for my GG. AND I am going to be quilting along with other Bonnie fans on this year's mystery quilt, Easy Street. You can read all about it, and even join in, here.

Bonnie gave us information a couple weeks ago about choosing fabrics for this mystery quilt so we could make decisions and pull together our choices. She will release a clue to the mystery each Friday, and we will each do as much as we can of that clue before the next Friday's clue is released.

On Mondays Bonnie has a linky party where we share a link to our own blog posts telling about our progress. That way we can see how everyone else is doing, too. Here is the post for today's linky party. There are going to be a LOT of gorgeous quilts!

I'm getting a late start on this first clue, but I do plan to get it done. In the meantime, here is my progress--fabric for step 1 washed and ready for a quick press before being cut and sewn, possibly this afternoon.

And this morning, on my way home from the dentist, I popped into a Goodwill store even though it wasn't senior discount day or $1 tag day or anything else. Silly me, of course that is when I find the treasures! I found a really sturdy chair just the right size for my sewing desk AND this wonderful Singer 404. She shows a little wear and doesn't have a presser foot, but she does have a bobbin case, electrical looks good and works, and underneath is clean as a whistle. Her serial number puts her being allotted in December 1959. All for $17.99! How could I not bring her home?

I think Easy Street may be sewn on my new little friend.

Two Steps Forward...

...And one step back. I started hand quilting on my gift quilt, but have decided I need to take it out and start over. The design, Baptist fans, could turn several ways, so of course, now I want it the opposite of the way I started out.

After I put the last basting stitch in this quilt, I still wasn't sure how I wanted to quilt it. I considered all kinds of designs, but since I am hand quilting, I wanted it simple, and the closer the design could come to the 3-1/2" inch spacing the batting needs, the better! I considered wonky concentric circles, large spirals, Baptist fans. Baptist fans appeal to me because they would be fairly easy to mark as I go along, but that's a lot of quilting. I wasn't sure how they would look supersized.

Yesterday I stumbled across this picture, so of course I had to look closer, and there they were--GIANT BAPTIST FANS! And they look great. Also, the quilt happens to be absolutely adorable, and I think this will be my next quilt project for my GG. Amy (aka Sukie) at sukiedontyaknow.com blog designed this pixelated version of Hello Kitty. How smart is she? Thanks, Amy.

I won!!

Woo Hoo! I won this generous pile of goodies from the people at Quilty Pleasures blog. I got a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks vol. 6; "Quilt Batik!" by Cheryl Brown; "Clearly Perfect Angles" and 5 patterns by Kari Carr; four more quilt patterns by Curlicue Creations, Clothesline Quilts, Calico Carriage Quilt Designs, and Amanda Murphy; and a charm pack of Ty Pennington Impressions!!! Pretty good haul, huh?

The Quilty Pleasures blog tour showcases blocks in vol. 6 of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks. I entered by making a comment on the blog on Monday, was notified I won on Thursday, and here it is in my hands on Saturday. THAT IS GREAT SERVICE! And they don't have a clue if I'm a customer or not, they just delivered excellent service to a stranger/opportunist/quilting enthusiast because they can!!

The goodies are sitting on the almost-finished-being-basted-on-the-dining-room-table quilt I'll be working on most evenings for quite a while. This is just a sneak peek, because it is a gift, and the recipient, who has seen the fabric and pattern, doesn't want to see the whole quilt until it is finished and in her hands.

BTW, I am using a hand basting method I learned from Sharon Schamber's video on YouTube. Sharon Schamber is a master quilter--the list of those who have earned that designation from National Quilting Association since 1980 is only 27! Sharon, who lives in Payson, AZ, is one of that short list. Wow! And I just got a free lesson from her how to hand baste my giant quilt. And it is easy and works beautifully!

Okay, enough exclamation points for one day. I'm off to finish basting that quilt so I can have it off the dining room table so I can start setting up for Thanksgiving dinner.