Still Here!!!

Gosh! its been a while since I was last here LOL!!!!  There's been a bit of a sewing drought in this neck of the woods lately!  I have been following but not sewing and everytime I think I can escape! something pops up to keep me occupied elsewhere, work is the main culprit I have to say, but without it I couldn't do what I love at the end of the day!!!!

My last CW block was #29 Railroad Crossing!  It's kinda grown on me because initially I thought the red was too much,  but in the whole scheme of things it should blend in quite nicely!!!

Then there is #28, Next Door Neighbour! 

I enjoyed putting this block together because I was able to use a couple of fabrics I had no idea how I was going to use.  They are the two blues, the pale centre blue print I thought I'd never find a home for and the mid blue with all the little icons, I loved, but couldn't imagine where it would fit!   But there you have it, they seem to like where they are and it just goes to show buying a FQ bundle can really stretch your creativity!  If I saw them on the bolt in a shop I would have just passed them by.....

A large number of people who are doing these blocks are members of the flickr group, http://www.flickr.com/groups/civilwarquilts2011/  and were given the option a little while back, of making an extra block as a gift to include in a quilt to be made for Barbara Brackman. This is a token of our appreciation for all the work she is putting into giving us these lovely patterns every week and the detailed history of the American Civil War on her blog.  One of the ladies, Becky has volunteered to collect them all, sew them together and have the quilt quilted.   The choice of which block to make is optional.  I think it is an awesome project and a wonderful momento for Barbara to keep from quilters all over the world.

While I was doing #26 Barbara Frietchie Star, I picked out some other fabrics that I thought might go well together to make for Barbara's block.  I chose a more patriotic palette for her block.

We were asked to sign our names and country of origin on the block.   I have mine ready to pack and post this week.

If you have been following my blog you will know I have a modest collection of vintage sewing machines which I am sharing with you all.   This week it is my Singer 201K.   Her birthday is 24 January 1956.  Made in Great Britain.

She comes in this wonderful old case.

This particular 201K model has a more stream lined look compared to some of the older models and is a full size machine.

She is a beautiful stitcher, but didn't come with any attachments or booklets.  I have managed to collect a little wardrobe of necessities for her.

The front cover of the manual on the left has already come adrift, but it's all original, the booklet on the right gives details about all the technical bits, like light mountings, motor stuff, wiring etc.

These are probably not all the accessories available, but what I do have are in beautiful condition. There is even a little needle threader (botton left) with a couple of spare teeny tiny hooks that fit into the eye of the needle to catch the thread.   It took me a while to work out what this ingenius little item was, I was tickled pink!!!  I have another box of extra accessories that would fit this low shank machine.  I also have a large sewing tin for most of my machines, but this one hasn't got one yet, something to get soon I think!

He decals are in pretty good condition and she fits nicely into her little case.  

Last week there was a magnificant sunset, it was great to catch because I work a lot of late shifts and generally miss them.   This was taken on the side verandah of my house overlooking the neightbours' roof.
The colours were so rich as the light filtered through the trees in my neighbours' yard I just had to capture it on my camera.

Notice the tallest tree just to the right of the photo.   This tree is a favourite of our resident koala.  A couple of years ago this is him, resting on a branch catching the early morning winter sunshine.

Isn't he wonderful!  It's nice to know he feels comfortable enough to live around us.  

I'm about to tackle the latest CW block.   It is applique, and seeing as how me and appliqued blocks don't really get along I am going to try and think of an alternative method.   One of the ladies who has posted on the flickr group has pieced a star instead, so this is looking good for me too!!!

Have a great weekend everyone, stay safe and warm if you are in Australia, and cool if you are in the US/Canada.

Take it easy!

Merilyn

Another Finish

It's so nice to be able to sit down and write another post, it seems like ages since I last put (pen to paper) finger to keyboard!!!  Life sure has a way of putting a major dent in my creative time,  nevertheless I do have another finish and it is happily lying on my bed,  finally, 4 years after it was first created!!

I really love the #27 Irish Chain block!  But I did have to have a good dig around in my stash to find the right colour green (it just had to be an Irish green LOL!), I don't have a large selection so I was pleased when I found a Jo Morton hiding in amongst my stash.  

I thought it would be too much to include it in the centre square so I tried to find another print with a deep mustard that sort of went with the flowers but I think I chose poorly this time, don't know if I'm that happy with it or not!  Oh! well a 'dog' or two in this quilt won't be all that bad I don't suppose, especially when some prettier ones will be sitting beside it in the eventual quilt!!

In my last post I made a major boo-boo!!!,  I really must not have been paying attention because I posted the wrong block, so this week I will post the one that was intended, which was #25 Calico Puzzle.

This was a such a simple little block, I loved using a few pinks in there this time!!

Back in 2007 I made a couple of quilt tops, mainly to use up scraps that I had left over from a still unfinished project!!  Funny how that works!  the initial project still languishes while the left overs have come to see the light of day first!!!  If anyone can figure that one out let me know LOL!!!!

I'll start with the the second one, because that's the one I'm most excited about LOL!  It had lain for 4 four years under lots of 'stuff', but I always knew it was there!  I got it long-arm quilted in an overall paisley design a few weeks ago and I let you all have a sneak-peek a little while back!   I used an 80% cotton/20% poly batting in this one, as it gives a lovely loft compared to the 100% cotton which gives a flatter look!!   I finally put the binding & label on and a hanging sleeve!   It is completed!!!

I've called this 'Latticed Garden' #2.   It has been folded up for a few days, but in this morning's early sunshine it doesn't look too bad, the bright light hides a few creases!

It is the simplest design 6"x 6" 9-patch blocks, with the sashing and cornerstones at 3" and 3"x 3" respectively.  7 x 9-p blocks across & down.  I found this layout in an old quilt book I now can't find!  which is a pain because I remember there were some lovely simple yet effective quilts in it!   When I'm not looking for it, I know it will definitely find it LOL!!!

The fabrics I used are reproduction except for the mustard print in the sashing and binding!  It is a 2007 RJR print called 'Little Pretties', I also have some of it in a cream colour-way!   The CW repros are quite old prints that I have had for a very long time, some of you who have been collecting for years may recognise them and have them in different colourways as well.  Here are some closeups.

It is finally where it was destined to be, on my bed!! here is another pic, which kind of shows the furrows of the quilting in the dappled morning sun light that is coming through the windows.

This is 'Latticed Garden' #1.   I made this in Jan/Feb 2007.   It is smaller (6x 9-p blocks across & down)  and I machine quilted this myself - you can tell!! because it is all straight lines LOL!!!   I used my Janome 4800.   It has 100% cotton batting.

This quilt contains a real mixture of scraps, some repros, orientals, contemporarys, a Willian Morris print etc.   But I think it does have its own charm despite this!   It is now in the washing machine getting laundered, it is a sunny but slightly windy day here so a good drying day for quilts!!!

I have seen this little book by Tara on many blogs lately and people have said such good things about it so I finally caved in and ordered it.   It certainly contains some wonderful inspiration and small quilts, that could be big quilts too!!!

Like this one!!

A dear fellow blogger Elyte from http://teafabricandotherthings.blogspot.com/ told me at the beginning of the year when I started my blog that it will grow like a garden and everyone now and again you will plant something new.   So I have planted something new and that is the list of blogs I follow featured down the Right-hand side of my blog.  

I was staggered to count the number of blogs I do follow, around 70!!!!   I must say there are some wonderful bloggers out there, so no wonder I have such a long list!  They all give me a different perspective on this wonderful pastime we all enjoy, and the inspiration from your creativity is amazing.   So thankyou all for what you do, keep on doing it!!! and thankyou to those who have chosen to follow me on this journey as well, your input and comments are much appreciated!!!!!

I hope you all are having a good productive and happy week!!!

Take it easy,

Merilyn

Half Way with Barbara Brackman's CW BOW's

I can hardly believe that we're already half way through Barbara Brackman's Civil War BOW's.   It just goes to show that time is speeding along and before you know it Christmas will be upon us (oh! dear!)

I didn't get time last week to do a blog post, but did get the block done and posted it on Barbara's flickr group.   http://www.flickr.com/groups/civilwarquilts2011/

Everyone's blocks are coming along beautifully and new members are joining all the time.   This is this morning's effort.  #26 Barbara Frietchie Star.

This is last weedend's #25 Calico Puzzle.

I have been reading some of the comments on the flickr site that people have been making and the general feeling is that everyone is enjoying this weekly process so much that the thought of it all coming to an end at the end of the year is going to be quite sad.   Some people have suggested that another project get started, like the Dear Jane blocks, or The Farmer's Wife blocks.  

It seems as though the weekly blocks and the sense of community that a lot of quilters are feeling is the component that is the strongest.   That we get to share our weekly efforts, get feedback and inspiration from others is something that people who otherwise would not get to share these things, makes what we do, have some meaning other than just for ourselves and our immediate friends/family.

I guess we will see what eventuates as this year's BOW's draw to a close, but we still have 26 more delicious blocks to go!!!!

If you have been following my blog you will know that a wonderful lady Lyn of Blue Bird Quilts blog http://bluebirdquilts-lyn.blogspot.com/ was generous enough to send me some wonderful vintage hexie blocks a while ago after I had commented that I had never owned any vintage blocks at all, in response to some she had.

I couldn't let her generosity go unacknowleged, so I made a little 'thankyou' gift for her.

Now that she has recieved it I can show it to you!   I had some precious pieces of 30's fabric left over and because I just love fiddling with little bits I made a pincushion.   I hot glued it to a small plate to give it some stability.   She tells me she loves it!  

It is four little Foundation Paper Pieced blocks designed by Carol Doak from her book '300 Paper Pieced Blocks'.  I reduced each little block down to 2 1/4" x 2 1/4", so the pincushion measures approx 5"x 5" which includes the 1/4" border.

As I mentioned in my last post I will feature some of my vintage sewing machines.  So this week another of my dear old girls makes her debut.

This wonderful old case houses a little black beauty.   It is one of my prize possessions and travelled an awful long way to live with me.   This machine is the Singer 301a and was manufactured in Anderson, South Carolina.

 I don't know the year of manufacture as when the factory closed down all the old records containing serial numbers and dates of manufacture etc were destroyed - such a shame!  In Britain however these records have been kept and made available so people with old British made Singers can look them up.  If you have an old Singer made in Britain  and want to know your sewing machines' birthday, check out:   http://www.singerco.com/support/machine-serial-numbers

These full size machines are the big sisters to the little 1/2 size Featherweight.   Like the Featherweight they are also made of aluminium, so are light enough to carry to class or weekend retreat.   They also have a slant shank which makes the sewing area very visible.   It sews like a dream and I was lucky enough to have lots of attachments included in my ebay purchase.   The original Manual was a later addition, so lucky to have managed to get that little item on ebay too.

My machine has a short bed extension, but other models have a slightly longer extension bed, they also come in a tan colour.  Her decals are in great condition, and I just love the uncluttered - almost deco - lines of this model compared to other Singers which are all round and Victorian looking!

Because these machines were not made for the Australian or New Zealand market they were designed to run on 110v and not 240v.  So to get around that little problem I had to purchase a magic box called a Stepdown Transformer.

This neat little item plugs into our 240v mains power and delivers 110v when my machine is plugged into it.   So easy and safe.

Here she is all safe and sound, I made a fleecy sock to put the foot pedal and cord in so as to protect the bed of the machine from scratches.

I was asked recently about names for my machines, I have only named two of them, and the Singer 301a is one.   Her name is Celeste.   I named her after my mother's best friend we all called Aunty Celeste.   It was she who taught me how to sew on her beautiful old black Singer, which had a knee control, when I was just a child.   I used to play on my grandmother's old treadle but I really didn't know what I was doing until Aunty Celeste show me properly.

I hope you have enjoyed meeting Celeste and in another week or two you will meet another of my dear old girls!!! 

In the meantime I hope you all have a great week (and yes I have just finished sewing on the binding to my big bedquilt which I will show you soon!!!) and try and get in as much sewing time as you can!

Take it easy,

Merilyn

Vintage Sewing

I have a little 'thing' for vintage sewing machines!   I don't have a large collection but eight of the 12 sewing machines I have are vintage.

Most of them I bought on ebay and others locally from older women who no longer sew or have the room to house their machines.

I use one in particular for most of my piecing, and this weeks' Barbara Brackman's CW block was added to it efforts.

This is such a pretty block layout, I decided to go a little romantic with my fabric selection this week.

I thought I would showcase my machines over the next few months, so the first lady to make her debut is my darling 1958 Singer 99k.   It is a 3/4 size machine (as apposed to the Featherweight which is 1/2 size).

I bought her from a lady in rural Victoria, she was in excellent condition although I did get her fully serviced and had all her wiring checked.   This little lady did not have a light fitting at first but after a bit of scrounge around at a couple of local dealers I managed to find one with the correct light mounting.

All her decals are in reasonable condition too and she sews like a trooper, a gutsy wee lass!

I have also managed to collect the full range of attachments and original manual for this old dear too, although I must say I haven't tried most of them out yet!!

I haven't got very far putting the binding on my latest quilt as yet, so this is a sneak peek.   A local lady did the long-arm quilting in a paisley design, it is fairly dense, but that's the way I like my quilting!

I have used a lot of very old pieces of reproduction fabric that I had lying around for a few years, and put the top together about 3-4 years ago.  It is so nice that I will finally be able to enjoy these glorious scraps once again.

Hopefully by the time I post again I can show you the quilt entirely, binding and all!!!!

Hope you are all having a good week, keeping your fingers busy, unfortunately my fingers having been busy doing other work and not the sewing kind.....

Take it easy,

Merilyn

Quiet Week

Sometimes life just gets in the way!! But on the positive side I did manage to get the latest Barbara Brackman's CW BOW completed.

This was a nice simple block and I'm quite pleased with the results!

I've had the floral stripe fabric for quite a while and wasn't sure how I'd use it!   I guess if you wait a while something always comes along where it is just perfect for the job!!!

I have also added the border fabric on my little vintage hexie quilt.   The binding will be a pale lemon,  picked up from the lemon bits in the border print.

Now all I need to decide is how to quilt this little sweetie LOL!!!   It will surely tell me if I listen carefully!!!

Winter has really set in here on the Far North Coast!  I'm afraid I don't do winter too well even if it is a sub-tropical winter LOL!!!   Another couple of months and Spring will be here.....can't wait!!!!

Hopefully I will have the binding on a large bedsize quilt to show you soon.  I got it back from the long-arm quilter late last week, it is so nice to have it finally quilted.

Hope you are all keeping yourselves busy, and thankyou for dropping by!

Take it easy,

Merilyn

BOW # 22

This week's CW block took a bit of thinking through!   I generally try and work out the how's and why's of measurements myself.   My methods however are all to achieve accuracy without distortion, and when dealing with so many cross-grain cuts it can be tricky!!!

Not sure how happy I am with my colour choices this week!  I am trying to get a range of colours included in these blocks because my first tendency is to go for the beautiful rich reds and blues.  

I opted for mustard and blue, but looking at all my blocks together I really will have to try and include more greens!

I have also completed the setting triangle segments for my Vintage Hexie quilt.   I had a play on EQ and experimented with different simple blocks to include.   Here is an update!!!

These are Foundation Paper Pieced and are not too fussy as to distract from the Hexie blocks.   I intend to add a 4" border.   Hopefully this week I may get some time to do that.

The 30's prints are wonderful to work with, so different from the repros I usually play with.   They are such happy colours and prints, ummmmm.......they could get addictive!!!

I know this weekend is a long one for our American friends.   I hope you all have a safe and reflective Memorial Day!

Thankyou for dropping by,
take it easy!

Merilyn

A Little Hexie Progress

Barbara Brackmans's CW BOW's seem to be moving along at quite a pace, or is it just that time is going passed too quickly?  This latest block took nearly no time at all to put together, such a simple and effective
design.

The little hexies that I received recently from Lyn have really captured my heart and imagination.   I had a play around on EQ to create a setting for them.   I took out my genuine Feedsack bits, but they didn't seem to work, so I had a rummage around in my 30's prints stash and found they worked better for the setting I plan to use them for.

These poor little hexies had a pretty sorry look to them after having lived in a cupboard for so long (maybe 70 years?).   They really needed a bit of an uplift and rejuvenation.   I had some advice from various ladies who suggested giving them a soak and gentle wash. 

I had nothing to lose really, so I soaked them in Nappy San, for several hours, gently hand washed them in warm water using liquid soap and after rinsing them well, left them to dry on a towel overnight.

Most of the staining on the outer white hexies pieces had disappeared, the coloured print fabric looked cleaner too, in fact they look quite pleased with themselves!  

I gently removed the outer white hexie fabric by removing the stitching holding them to the main part of the flowerette.   I have to say, the woman who did the handpiecing really knew what she was doing.   Her stitches are tiny, even and very stable.  These blocks were meant to stay intact LOL!!!  I hope she would not be too offended that I had to pick these pieces off.  

I gently ironed them and hand appliqued them onto 'vanilla' coloured Cotton Supreme squares.

I thought I'd share a bit of a sneak peak at my progress with these treasures.  The centre of the quilt will be set on point, now I have to piece setting triangle sections to square it up and add a border.   I will probably do quite a bit of hand quilting on this little quilt and use just a bit of machine quilting as well.

I think they look quite happy sitting there, the botton hexie flower is just a little bigger than the others, not sure what was going on there!  They were definitely made by the same person as the style of stitching and piecing was exactly the same as the others.  Lyn told me they came from America and were made in the 1930's as far as she knew.

I have been experiencing some issues with BLOGGER again recently, haven't been able to post comments on some people's blogs but can on others?????   Rest assured I have tried, it's quite frustrating, and I know I'm not the only one.   Several bloggers have mentioned the same issues, sure hope they get things back on track again soon!!!

Hope everyone is safe, after all the tornadoes that have swept through some US states again this week.   Seeing the devastation on the evening news is hard to watch with so much destruction and loss of life, whole communities ripped to shreads.   It looks really terrifying.    My thoughts are with them!

Take care and thanks for dropping by!!!

Merilyn