Where has this month gone? I truly love September. I visited my mom this month, spent as much time with the littles as I could, and began prepping to head back south. I also quilted and finished a few things. I think this is my favorite finish.
I really enjoyed making this little piece also.
Wait…..maybe this is my favorite…… I so enjoyed finishing this vintage top. I’m thrilled with how it turned out!
This little baby quilt was a quick and easy finish.
Then there was this…… wa wa waaaaaa……
I’ll say no more about it.
I also quilted a few QOVs and a couple quilts for a friend. Not bad.
This is a great deal for anyone that lives in Michigan. I’d like to sell all 12 of these toys together for one price. Pick up only, though I would be willing to drive up to an hour to meet you. These machines are in as found condition and are from my personal collection. I have not sewn with any of them. $325 or best for all 12. Please e-Mail me at sew4given@aol.com if interested. Thanks!
Electric Betsy Ross in case. Runs great, but I haven’t threaded it up.
Plastic/metal Straco
Plastic Necchi
1980s plastic Singer with box
Metal Sewmaster. Paint loss on the top of the arm as shown.
Metal and plastic Sister. Plastic fittings in the base have broken away so the metal machine sits well in base, but is not secured. Not working, I think a wire is loose.
Kayanee Sewmaster with extension table and drawer.
Free arm Kayanee Sewmaster.
Metal Gateway
1970s French plastic Singer toy. Lock stitch. Battery operated. Shuttle is present.
Late 50s/early 60s Singer Model 20. Missing spool pin. Solid hand wheel.
Late 50s black Singer Model 20. Missing spool pin. Seven spoke spiral hand wheel.
Maybe that’s a bit dramatic…..perhaps A Cautionary Tale might be better….. Anyway, here goes. I finished this quilt and loved it ( notice, past tense).
I spent a lot of time on the quilting, and while there were some areas I would change, I learned a lot and was pleased with most.
I’ve had this button fabric in my stash and it made a perfect backing, though the quilting doesn’t show at all.
I took the photos above and then I washed it. Ugh. Take a look at this misshapen mess.
I should have known better. I used a Moda crossweave for the alternate blocks. I had forgotten how much this stuff shrinks. The shirting fabrics were obviously prewashed, but the crossweave was not. I also quilted more heavily in the alternate blocks than the shirting blocks.
This lead to uneven shrinkage and lots of distortion. Those seam lines that wave like the sea, were straight before washing. In the photo below you can see how even the edges of the quilt now appear scalloped. And this is one of the better sections, because I quilted this one shirting block more heavily than the rest.
There is no fixing this. Blocking might help a little, but not enough.
I’ve mixed washed and unwashed fabrics many times, but I’ve never had this much disparity in shrinkage.
Thankfully, this quilt had no intended recipient. I won’t forget the lessons learned. And yes, this is a true, first world problem. No tears were shed, I’m moving on.
It’s getting closer to a finish! I thought I’d share a bit about how I decided on the quilting for this.
I use a free app called YouDoodle. Mr. Wonderful bought me an Apple Pencil for my birthday that I can use to draw on my iPad, but before that, I just drew with my finger using this app. It allows me to draw on top of photos.
So, I just pulled up a photo of the top and started doodling. I erased the designs I didn’t like and replaced with other ideas as I went. I took many screenshots along the way. Here are just a few.
I liked the ones that had partially hidden motifs the best.
Are you still hanging in there? Lots of sewing last week, I know. But this week is easy. Just sew those rows together.
That’s it! Lay out your rows so light and darks alternate. Then sew 10 long seams and you will be all done.
This is really a jumping off point for other ideas. What if you put all the four patches together in the center and the rectangles on the outside?
What about all rectangles?
You could insert a column of flying geese, or strips of solid fabric in between. So many ideas! This would also look great in two or three solid fabrics.
We will have a linky party on October 12 for those of you with blogs. No blog? No problem! Send me a photo of your top and I’ll share them for you here on the 12th.
Thanks for playing along. I can’t wait to see what you have done!
Have you noticed a trend here? Two posts on Monday, because I never seem to remember everything I want to say in the first post!
I’m working on adding new pages to the blog. You can find links to these pages just below the blog header.
I’ve decided to do this as a permanent place to share my vintage toys. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, but it’s a big job. So I’ve procrastinated. I’m not done yet, but have three pages published. Just click the links above to see them. If you are reading this via email or a blog reader, you may need to come directly to the blog itself to access these.
Also, today is the last day for a fantastic sale at Accuquilt .
And that is not all! You can get a free GO! Me die cutter if you spend over $375. No code needed!
Need any more encouragement? How about free shipping?
Accuquilt cutters and dies are an investment, in my opinion. These deals make them an even better value.
When I started the hand quilting on this, I used the leftover pearl cotton I had purchased for the vintage red/green quilt. Of course, I ran out. 🙄 But I managed to get this far first.
Here is the back.
It’s interesting, can’t say I’m in love with the piece, but I enjoy the process. Rather than buy more of this thread, I found that I had some crochet thread in the stash. Hmmmm…..idk about this either, but I’m forging ahead anyway.
I love Kaffe Fassett fabrics! This top was made by my friend, Donna. I quilted it gir her.
I used a light blue thread and she chose Warm and White batting.
Isn’t this backing awesome?
This is the pantograph I used.
Blog reader, Elizabeth, from across the pond, sent me this photo showing what she did with her Kaffe fabric. It is just stunning! I’ve never been big into purple, but goodness, I am gobsmacked by this gorgeous top! I may end up doing something similar with mine.
KatyQuilts 