Nothing Sews Like a Bernina

Nothing sews like a Bernina, or so they say. Well, I'm about to test out that theory.

I've been having machine feature envy ever since I borrowed my mom's Pfaff and fell in love with the needle down and knee lift. I almost bought a Brother 8500 embroidery machine last week when I had my elna's in for repair but I held off. I took my Elna to the quilt retreat and she was back to her old tricks of not sewing over seams without tugging and I (thankfully) had also brought my featherweight and switched to that machine for the remainder of my sewing. Since the hotel had internet I ended up spending some time surfing ebay and found a Bernina Activa 240 from ebay, the seller happened to be local and was not interested in shipping the machine. As I was sewing with a number of ladies who all had more machine experience than I did I was able to get their opinions, and even try out my friend's Activa 230, and it sewed beautifully. Another quilter there had a 240 and raved about it and I was sold. I'm supposed to be picking the machine up tomorrow and am excited to work on finishing some of the projects I started over the weekend. I'm planning on cleaning out my sewing room tonight and making room for my new toy.

Retreat Packing and Planning

I had this great post planned about packing and planning for a retreat. I think I'll revise it based on my experiences this week and what NOT do to.

Don't:

1. Get sick
2. Try to finish your first quilt show entry quilt the week before/day before it's due, necessitating more than one night of staying up past midnight and therefore contributing to the cold.
3. Plan a family weekend away the same weekend
4. Take your sewing machine in for servicing, fall in love with the idea of a new machine, and then spend the entire week with machine envy and obsessing over what you should and shouldn't buy.
5. Decide to take a day off to get everything done at home, and then not take it, you'll waste the weekend before the trip and put yourself even further behind.
6. Decide at the last minute to care about the cleanliness of your house, that's a recipe for disaster.
7. Have your husband have work problems such that you end up teaching Youth Group on a Tuesday night and doing the running around and planning associated with such an event.

Despite my week before the retreat issues I went and had a wonderful time. I can't say it was the most productive weekend ever, but it was a needed break and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to get away with friends and quilt.

Lake Farmpark Quilt Entry

Ever since Mom and I started quilting we've gone to the Lake Farmpark Quilt Show, preferably over vendors weekend so I can indulge my love of fabric and notions and see the quilts at the same time. Every year I say I am a quilter and I should get something done and enter it in a show. I make a number of quilts every year (11 for 2013) but they often aren't "show worthy" or I give them away and they're not available to hang in a room for six weeks. This year I decided it would be different. After a flurry of activity which included deciding I'd finish a project, to deciding to finish another project, to starting a completely new project, basting project number two, and then quilting project number three, and then back to deciding to go with number one I finally got it bordered, basted, quilted, and bound and off to the Farmpark yesterday. I'm  not expecting to win any prizes (I know where all of the mistakes are), but I am happy it's done and I'm excited to see it hanging in the show.

The pattern is Vintage Holiday by Camille Roskelley, and the fabric is a combination of Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater

and Christmas Countdown by Deb Strain for Moda.

Baby Girls!

My sister is pregnant and expecting a baby girl!

In the summer of 2012 my husband, son, daughter, and I did a great american road trip. We started in Cleveland and stopped in Dayton, Nashville, St. Louis, and Kansas City. However, on the way from Nashville, TN to St. Louis, MO you pass Paducah, KY, and what quilter could drive by without making a stop in Hancock's of Paducah's fabric store? Certainly not me, and I found this darling fabric called Ooh La La from Bunny Hill Designs. I thought it would be perfect for my sister should she have another baby and if it was a girl.

Fast forward a year and that girl baby who already had quilt fabric is on her way! My mom was heading down to Kansas City and she decided that she'd get a move on getting the quilt together, so I stopped by on Sunday the 12th to help cut the panel squares, and develop the pattern, and Mom and Grandma worked to get the blocks together, she gave me the top to baste and quilt, which I did on Wednesday and then returned to her on Thursday for the Grandma's to hand stitch the binding down and for Mom to deliver to Kansas City on Saturday in time for Rebecca's baby sprinkle. I know it's not entirely my own work, but I'm still counting it as my first finish of 2014!

Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

On a quilt, of course!!!

My son James (6!) is a huge Scooby Doo fan, and last year he asked if I could make him a Scooby Doo quilt. I was sure I could, but where to get fabric? Ebay to the rescue. i was able to buy 3 fat quarter sets of Scooby Doo fabric and from there make a quilt. I started it on the 2013 Quilt Retreat (countdown to 2014 - one week) and finished it up just before Christmas. I'm counting the Scooby Doo quilt as my last finish of 2013. I had finished it, except the hand stitching of the binding which I've been giving to my Grandma so she has projects, and she finished it up just after the first of January. It's not a large quilt, but it's quilted in free motion loops and stars and James sleeps with it every night, which is good enough for me.

I find it difficult sometimes to find quilts that showcase large busy prints to full advantage, but I saw this quilt called Dinosaur Island and thought it might fit the bill. I modified it slightly, but the idea is still the same.

Reflections and Predictions

Kristin and Beth over at Sew Mama Sew were asking people about their reflections on 2013 and their predictions for 2014. I know everyone out in blog land wants to hear what I have to say, so my comments are below!

• Looking back on 2013, what trends stand out?

The move to older blocks/patterns with "modern" fabric

• Was there a personal or an industry high point?

I entered my first quilt contest! I decided to enter quilt stadium as an Iron Quilter. I didn't win, or even make it to the final round of voting, but I did start and finish a project and enter it in a contest.

• What did you make that you’re most proud of?

I'm proud of my production last year, I finished 11 quilts, to some people that's not a lot, but I was pleased.

• Whose work inspired or awed you?

All of the quilters really making quilts shine through the quilting, it's made me want to concentrate on my quilting skills this year.

• What was your favorite fabric collection or print?

Winter's Lane, by Katie and Birdie. I was obsessed from the moment I saw it and I needed that fabric. I have a pile of it, and still buy it if I see it at a shop.

• Do you have a book, pattern or class from the past year to recommend?

Absolutely. Mary Huey's Hexagons and Their Allies class changed my quilting as it simplifies piecing set-in seams. A DVD is available on her site.

• What are your thoughts about social media? How is it going for you? What do you love or hate?

I love seeing what other people are working on, and how they're using fabric lines or quilting quilts, but I spend a little too much time on Pinterest, and it's cut into my sewing time.

• What do you predict for 2014? (It could be related to style, social media, manufacturing, etc.)

I see a shift in quilt shops taking the younger, more modern quilter, more seriously. I think online has already been moving in that direction, but sometimes I'll go into shops and the fabric is all older lines and blah colors; however, in the past year or so I've seen shops continue on an effort to stock brighter, more modern fabric which is often more appealing to a new generation of quilters.

• Who do you think will be a rising star of 2014?

I'm unsure, I don't really follow enough bloggers to say THIS person really stands out. I'm pleased to see some inspiring artists (Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts, for example) publishing this year.

• Can you tell us anything about what to expect from you in 2014? Any projects or life-changing goals you can share?

I have two main goals for 2014.

1. Post regularly on my blog

2. Improve my free motion quilting.

• Is there anything else about the sewing industry or community that you’d like to talk about? (It could be good or bad, but hopefully constructive.) 

I recently went on the hunt for a new sewing machine, and I was disappointed with what I considered to be a high cost of sewing machines for a beginning quilter. The cheaper machines didn't seem to have all of the features that would really assist a beginner (and most had no throat space making quilting anything larger than a baby quilt impossible) and if I were a true beginner I'd be very frustrated with my options.

My second concern is that quilters may be intimidated by long arm quilters (and the fabulous work they do) and not want to learn to quilt their quilts themselves. It takes a lot of practice to keep stitch length even and execute complimentary designs and many quilters make it look effortless. That's not to take away from the considerable skill needed to quilt well, it can just be intimidating to others. It's important tn note that not every quilt needs to be a show piece!

Baby Clothes Quilt

A friend of mine adopted a little boy from Guatemala; her son is the same age as James. She wanted to do something special with his baby clothes and asked me if I could give her some pointers on making a baby clothes quilt. I told her that as she had limited sewing experience to just send the clothes to me and that I'd put them together for her. So started a UFQ that I admit taunted me every time I looked at it. You see, clothing isn't the same as working with quilt fabric, and it's stretchy.Instead of stabilizing the shirts I then sewed them to another stretchy fabric (the dots) and basically, it was just a huge pain to get the top together because nothing would lie flat, and I couldn't iron the dotted fabric or else the dots would press out. I finally got the top together, basted it, and tried to quilt it. 

That was funny. Or at least my machine thought so. I swear I heard it laugh at me. I was trying to just stitch in the ditch on the squares and it didn't work out very well. The back didn't feed at the same rate as the front and it was basically a mess. So I gave up for a while. And when I say a while, it was about 3 years before I got back to working on it. You see, my Elna Supermatic is a great machine, but it doesn't free motion quilt, so I needed to wait until I finished the quilt that was up on the frame at my mom's house then I could put this one up and get it done. I still haven't finished that quilt, but my mom ended up taking the frame down and at the same time my machine was misbehaving, so I ended up borrowing her Pfaff Grand Quilter and I FINALLY got this baby quilted. It still had some drag and it's not the prettiest, but at least it's done and off to its rightful owners. It will be a long time before I attempt another one of those suckers...

Conner's Baby Clothes Quilt - Finished: December, 2013.

It's Retreat Time!

T minus 12 days until my quilt retreat!!!

Mary Huey has organized a quilt retreat for her friends at the Amish Door Inn in Wilmot, OH for years, and i was lucky enough to find out about it in 2005 and I've been going ever since (except for the year I got strep throat and I had the car packed and was on my way down until I found out what I had and thought better of it). Mary rents out the conference room which is a lovely spot for quilting as it has windows on 3 sides and about 25 ladies bring their machines, stacks of fabric, and their creativity and sew from Friday through Sunday, with some shopping and eating thrown in for good measure.

My dear friends K and S and I share a room and we'll get there on Friday, do some fabric shopping at some of the quilt stores in Amish Country, go out to dinner, and then sew for the weekend. I can't wait! I just need to plan what I'm going to bring, and which machine will go with me.

At home the ornaments are off the tree, and although I haven't basted my entry for Lake Farmpark yet (T minus 10 days until that's due) let alone quilted it, I'm confident in my abilities to finish a quilt on a deadline and will get moving on that this week.

Beware of Machines From Ebay

This post is a bit of a cautionary tale.

I purchased an Elna Supermatic from ebay last week and it arrived yesterday. The thing I love about ebay is that there are a number of options and you can get what you're looking for, often for a reasonable price. However, what you receive isn't always in perfect working order, as was the Elna Supermatic. This is not the fault of the seller, who described the machine accurately; however, it's obvious that they had no idea what a clean sewing machine would look like, and the motor may have sounded like it always did, but how it "always" sounded was not the way a sewing machine should sound. So I spent 20 minutes this morning cleaning and oiling the machine, but it really doesn't meet my needs in its current condition. In fairness, I was well aware of this possibility and as one of the reasons I was buying this machine was so I could have a part for my other machine if it wasn't in a condition that met my particular needs. I was a bit disappointed, but not particularly surprised. So at this moment both of my green machines are with the sewing machine repairman.

On the other hand, my mom came over this morning and we oiled the Singer 15-91 and although it has about 10 time more spots to oil than the Elna, it's purring like a well oiled machine should. I'm giving it 24 hours to settle in and tomorrow after I get some more bobbins for it I'm going to start putting it through it's paces. It wasn't nearly as dirty as the Elna, perhaps it hadn't been used in years, and it certainly wasn't put away dirty. I'm hoping it's going to be a great free motion quilting machine.

My goal for tonight is to get my Vintage Holiday quilt basted and the bobbins full and ready for quilting tomorrow. After we finish taking down the Christmas tree, of course.

Sewing Machines

That sewing machine bug bit me.

Let me explain.... When I first started quilting I bought an Elna Supermatic - and what was not to love about it. I mean, it's green. Plus my mom has one just like it so if I ever needed help she knew the ins and outs of the machine.

But as much as I loved it, that thing is heavy. The case, which becomes a handy dandy table, plus the machine, require some serious heft.

So what does one do? Simple - buy another machine, one coveted by quilters - a Singer Featherweight (221). It's light, and it's darling. It's a straight stitch only machine, but the stitch is beautiful, and the one I purchased off of ebay ran like a champ after I had it serviced and bought a new power cord. Plus it takes the same low shank feet as the Elna, and anyone who's ever purchased a machine knows you can spend as much on feet as you can on the machine itself.

BUT, and there's always a but, I sew a lot. Especially for someone who works full-time and has a husband and kids and a house and other such things to keep me busy. My lovely Elna did her best, but she never could free motion quilt, and she stopped sewing over seams - a real problem for a quilter. I spoke with my sewing machine repairman and he said that unfortunately he knew the problem, but that he couldn't get a replacement part. In the meantime, I took a class from Mary Huey and learned her secret for chain piecing set-in seams. This is made easier if you can stop your sewing in a needle down position and I felt the lure of a new machine. And this time when I say new I mean NEW, as in just out of the box, never been owned by anyone before new. However, I'd never really gone machine shopping before. My Elna and Featherweight were both purchased off of ebay, I'd never seriously looked at machines before. I'd been in the Bernina store, of course, but only for fabric; any sewing machine that cost more than my car was not going to happen. So I started investigating. 

I decided that I wanted a machine that was great for free motion quilting, that could stop in a needle down position, and that had a knee lift for the presser foot, and that didn't cost more than $1,000. I decided that the Brother 1500 fit the bill, but just couldn't quite convince myself to buy it.

Then I started looking for machines on Craigslist and reading quilter message boards on buying a sewing machine. According to this post on ebay, the best vintage machine for free motion quilting was the Singer 15-91 so I got one. It came in a cabinet and has the manual and a number of accessories. But I still wanted a machine with a free arm and zig zag (I like to piece my battting if needed, and I might make clothes one day, maybe) so I bought myself another Elna Supermatic from ebay which arrived this afternoon.

Why didn't I buy a new machine? For starters, that's just a lot of money. I like fabric, I think I'd rather spend money on it than on a new sewing machine. Also, I've been "borrowing" my mom's Pfaff Grand Quilter, and I like, it, I really do, there's a lot of throat space, I adore the needle down and the knee lift, and it's not nearly as quirky as the Elna is, but it has some features I'm not in love with. The bobbin's don't hold a lot of thread, the thread cutter is worthless because it cuts the thread so short you have to rethread the machine, and it's a pain to rethread. I know another (different) model wouldn't have those problems, but let's face it, machines are expensive, and it was worth $100 to me to see if a different Elna would meet my needs. So I'm going to try it out. Time to get sewing!

Fabric...

Fabric. That wonderful substance that excites quilters everywhere. This is Kate Spain's Fandango. It's art, and can be yours to make pretty things.

My mom sews, and quilts and as a small child I remember loving trips to fabric stores. I have fond memories of cabbage patch doll clothes and Halloween costumes being lovingly stitched on mom's Elna Supermatic.



So I suppose it's hereditary, or at least part of my childhood, that love of fabric (and my own Elna Supermatic), and when I got married I decided I needed a hobby that wasn't just reading books. One of my dear friends was expecting a baby so I decided that I would make her a quilt and for that I needed fabric. So I bought some, and then I bought more, and then I bought fabric because I thought all quilters should have (insert type here) fabric in their stashes, and so on and so forth. I love fabric. But now I have too much. Fabric lines, charm squares, layer cakes, fat quarters, yardage, boxes, and bags are all haphazardly tossed in my sewing area. Maybe one day I'll be willing to take pictures. But there's no point in having all of those lovely colors and keeping them in bags and boxes - I need to focus on getting my fabric out of my basement and into finished projects. So now I have a blog, and I'm hoping this will help me make some progress and then I'll be able to justify buying more fabric!