Sunday, December 19, 2010

Picture of machine(with more rambling)

Hi!

Here is a picture of my machine I talked about yesterday. Like I said, I am picking it up on Tuesday. I'm also going to get 4 heads, which will bring my total to 31, until I sell my white FR treadle Tuesday evening. I'm currently working on the White FR head, and am having a few issues. I am positive it is a user error, I just have to figure out which one!!

On the quilting front. After I get my mother's king quilt done, I am going to be working on a vintage top I have - very pretty lady of the lake pattern. Not sure how I'm going to bind it - so wish me luck! On my mom's quilt, I am trying a different strategy. I don't have room to lay out a 120x120 quilt, so I am going to sew the top and bottom right sides together and have the batting on the bottom. Then I will turn it right side out, baste and quilt it. Also, with this method, I will not have to do a lot of hand work for the binding, and I am pretty sure it will last for quite a while. I have another quilt that is in very poor condition, you can tell it was used a lot, and the binding was done this way. The binding has no wear whatsoever!!

On my "new" machine, I also got needles from ebay! I am crossing my fingers that they will get there by Thursday, so I can start playing with it!!

Have a good day all,

Emily

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Industrial

Hi!

I've been actually making and selling quite a few things! This week I am taking the money I've made from my quilts, and buying a industrial machine! I am really happy about this, as I have wanted one for quite a while. It's a singer 31-20...

My current project is a quilt for my mom, a king size. Will be posting pictures of it in progress soon. It's the bargello I posted pictures of a few posts ago. I had to add a huge border to it, but it still looks great!!

Hope all of you have happy holidays,

Emily

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Crystals

Hi!

I've been sewing like mad! I've made around 15 potato bags(which are very controversial by the way) two lap quilts, two table runners, a table topper, and a few other things I can't remember at the moment. I've had a lot of fun :)

So far the market my dad started is going pretty good. This will be the 6th week, and we have a crystal vendor. She was at another craft sale I was at today, and I got two crystals. One is a black one and I cannot remember what it is called. The other, whose name I do remember, is a quartz. I'm going to put both in my main Davis VF's drawer!! Fun :)

Apparently, we are expecting some snow. Main thing I see, is if the power goes out - I'll still be set, besides light and my iron, of course. I am hopeful we don't get snowed in, but if we do, we do.

Hope everybody has a great thanksgiving!

Emily

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Glasses Cases

Hi!

It seems like I dropped of the face of the earth for a while. Maybe I did ;)
Been pretty busy with quilting and book processing etc. My birthday was the 22nd of September!
My current project is quilted glasses cases, and other things to sell. Kind of fun - though I prefer quilts!

I am up to 23 sewing machines. I did have 24 but I gave away two, then bought another one. I'm going to a treadle on gathering on Saturday, and I will come home with a few there...
I'm actually doing a demonstration at the treadle on gathering - the glasses cases. Should be fun!

Emily

Friday, August 13, 2010

Shelving Project

Hi!

This week we have been doing a shelving project. In June we got 18 tons of shelving( I think I mentioned it)

This week we got rid of some of it to a FOL bookstore. It was cool to watch a empty room transformed in 3 days.. Fun sort of, and at the same time - I'd rather be quilting/knitting! Actually did take my needles to the store and did a few rows. The thing that is the most annoying about knitting is that I can't really stop in the middle of the row unless I want to mess up. I'm getting faster though :)

My dad is a farmers market manager and so I get to go there on Saturdays. It is really fun - the people are nice and the food is awesome! Good place to work on a project, am debating on yarn or quilting this week!

Hope you all have a good day,

Emily

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Not much quilting

Hi!

I have not been doing a lot of quilting or blogging lately. The days seem to rush by and I don't get anything done!!

My current project is a doll quilt, then a twin size I have to finish quilting, and then a king size quilt for my mom. My goal is to use the bargello center, and put a 50 inch border around it using sampler blocks in varying shades. My hope is to have a common color though.
I also hope to enter it in the Sisters Oregon quilt show, that is my goal.

My newest hobby is knitting. A few posts back, I said I hated it(removed said post) and that it was frustrating. I have a new look on it now, and I just hope I can keep doing it. Somebody showed me that was a teacher, and that helped a lot. I am having fun with it :)

Emily

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Back from Camp!

Hi!

I got back from camp, and it was really fun! I did not have anybody I knew in my cabin this year, which was frustrating, but I had a really cool Jc, which made up for it. I also knew the cabin mom!

I didn't do very well on my certification, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it was. I was actually able to start a fire without matches(battery and steel wool)

In all, it was a good week.

On another note, the week before we had a big project. We helped a library that had lost it's lease. We ended up with 18 truck loads of items, and about 200 shelf units! It was a lot of hard work, but some of it was fun. Camp was a nice break after it..

Emily


Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Camp!!!

Hi!

I am going to girls camp today, and I am really looking forward to it. I will post later this week when I get back :)

My family had a shelving project they were doing - 20 truckloads, so I haven't posted. More on that at the end of the week...
Emily

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Quilt for a friend...

Hi!
I got the bargello even further finished( I added more onto it) and I am going to put borders around to make it a king sized quilt. I am think I need a 50 inch border, not sure what I am going to do with that yet!

I am making a signature quilt, and I'm starting to work on that right now. I have a charm pack, and thus am laying out the sqaures. It's going to be very simple, just squares solids and white alternating. I have until the 12th to get it finished, so I need to hurry!

Today I talked to a women I have known for quite a few years. She used to quilt, but has not done so for a while. I'm going to make her a lap quilt in blues. I am thinking maybe a Jacobs Ladder pattern but I am not sure.

Yesterday we picked up from a booksale - Manzinita. It was fairly nice, and we got about a truck load and a half(maybe around 2 tons) from them. They are the nicest sale we pick up from, so it's well worth the 4 hour driving time! We took two trucks, and one broke down sadly, so we were able to call AAA, and get it towed back to salem. Luckily it was under 100 miles!

I had a eventful day, at any rate, and I am hoping to make tons of progress on the signature quilt.
Emily

Monday, May 24, 2010

Bargello




Hi!
I got the top done, sort of for my Bargello. I am debating whether or not to add the strips to make it bigger. What do you think, add it or use it for something else?
I had a lot of fun with it. What I'd like to do, is make it into a king size quilt, maybe add borders or something. My mom wants a blue quilt for her bed, and she sort of likes this..
It was sewn on my riccar treadle, and will be quilted on my davis VF.

On another note, I am hosting a swap on another board. I think I talked about it a bit a while ago. I am having fun with it, and have opened the swap for the next month :) I got my package(it was great) and it seems like other people are having fun with it too!
Emily

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Getting the blues - bargello wise





Hi!
The above pictures are what I have done so far. I'm having some problems with it - I have to resew what is on the machine, but other then that, it is coming nicely. Currently I have over half of my strips cut, and I hope to start arranging and sewing fairly soon.

Will post a longer post later, when I have it done!!
Emily

Saturday, May 15, 2010

More Bargello...

Hi!
I've made some good progress on my Bargello. I have 20 different strips of fabric, 3 1/2 inches wide. They are light to dark blues, and are very pretty in my opinion ;)

I've been sewing them on my faithful Riccar. It's a circa 1962 Green Class 15 clone, in a Singer Straight leg base. It is a awesome machine!

Currently I have all the stirips sewn together, now.... I just need to cut. This project has really consumed me, I am not like this on a project - usually. I don't think I have ever been. My constant thought process is: Bargello Bargello etc etc etc....

I am looking for a Davis Vertical Feed - as I posted, I recently got a base for one, now I have an excuse to get another one ;)
I was watching one on Ebay, but I asked the seller how many watchers, and she said 18. Yikes!!

I'm off to sew, and obsess over The Bargello... Will be posting pictures pretty soon, maybe later today.
Emily

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

New - sort of Treadle!


Hi!
I need to start the Bargello soon - I'm thinking about it more.. In the meanwhile, yesterday I got a treadle! It worked out very nicely for me and getting it, the seller was very nice. It was funny. I thought it was a White FR head, with a base that the machine(White FR) would fit. I got the White FR of which I now have 2 - though the one I got yesterday looks a lot nicer then my other one.

So, we were driving home, and I looked back at it. The irons didn't look particularly white like...
It looked like my Davis NVF base, only nicer. Sure enough, I compared it, and they are for the same machine. While I was hoping to get a base for my White FR, this is even better! I love my Davis NVF - and now I have a excuse, I call it "bait" to get another one :) I put my Davis NVF in it, and it works so nicely.

It was really neat, the cabinet's sliding chain had come apart(all parts aside from a few screws were there) and I was able to get it to work again! I've never done anything like that!

Now, for this to be quilt -ish, and not just me going on and on about a new treadle ;)
I signed up for a Round Robin yesterday. It sounds like it'll be fun - I already have a center for it, and I think I'll learn a lot. I've been postponing joining one, because I felt like I wasn't good enough. I hope I've learned enough to be good enough, but the rules didn't appear to say "you work has to be perfect" it was more do the best you can...

Wow, this got long! Shows you how long I can go on and on and on about treadles...

Emily

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Bargello Challenge

Hi!
I currently don't have any sewing swaps(that I can think of) but I do have 3 secret pals I need to send this month! I am going to be doing it early, so I can focus on other things the rest of the month!

One of the swaps I am hosting, and it's a lot of work. I had to match everyone up(I wrote names twice on slips of paper and put in a box and pull randomly) but that was fun - especially seeing who I'll get ;)

It'll be interesting to see how it works out, as this is really my first time doing a swap - aside from the white elephants.

In my quilting group, that meets every week, I've been doing a baby quilt for the past month or so. I was really hoping to get it done last week, but I had to leave too early :(

There was a box of fabric where the print was the same, but the colors different. I got an idea - a bargello! I've not been the best piecer, and I'd just brought in a quilt I made about a year ago, it was a really bad quilt. I asked the top quilter if I could do a Bargello, but I can tell she isn't too happy about me doing it - considering my previous history with piecing. However, something she doesn't take into account, is I have just done flannel, I am a lot better with cottons, then I am with flannels, as that is what I work with mostly.

So, I need to make a little sample to prove I can do Bargello. Any cool Bargello patterns you know about?

Hope all of you have a great day!
Emily

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Running out of room!

Hi!
I've counted up my machines. I have(are you ready) 19 of them. 10 are treadles. I got two treadles from a TO member last week, a Wheeler & Wilson D-9 and a Two Spool :D
Then, on Thursday I gave two machine heads - a new home and a white vs III to them, and they did a drawing - I'm finding out who won this week!

The same day I did a trade with someone for the quilt I pictured on the last post for two treadles. That brought me back to 19. Would it count for 21 if I got and gave in the same day, do you think?
I'm happy about the treadles, as while the cabinets aren't in the best shape, both sets of irons are wonderful!
They were a straight leg singer, and a typical singer. A 66 in the typical, and a 15-88 in the other!

On my quilting projects I am doing 6 blocks for a BOM swap. Then I am done with my sewing for the month, and can finally do what I want without deadlines. My next project is a signature quilt with 180 spaces...
Emily

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Treadles Galore!!!


Hi
Wow! It's been a while since I posted. My family did our booksale that we do every 6 months, and that went fairly well. Not as good as some, but part of that was it was easter weekend!

I was able to get enough money from it to buy 2 treadles. I am getting a Two Spool and a Wheeler & Wilson D-9. I am very happy about both! Will be picking them up next week! :)

As far as quilting goes, here is my latest project. It's a queen, and was quilted on my Davis VF. It was a lot of fun to do!!

My dad has said for sure we are going to get goats, and I am happy about that - we've been getting goat cheese and have really been enjoying it...

I sold a Serger last week. I had 2 of them, a singer & a babylock and I sold the babylock. I also gave the person who bought it a treadle as I needed the space ;)

Emily

Monday, March 15, 2010

project...

I have been working on a BOM in the QHP yahoo group. I signed up for 2 groups, meaning I'd have to send out 10 blocks a month. I am done with this months, and am very happy!

Now, I am going to start working on a doll quilt for a swap. I am thinking 30s, and perhaps a Dresden plate or something!! I am looking forward to working on something else, without the BOM hanging over me. Last month I was the last to get done..

I am taking on a big project. Every summer I go to a camp, (ages 12-18, I have 3 years left) and this year I asked the person in charge, if she would like a quilt that was signed by everyone. She said yes.

So now, I need to make a quilt that will have aprox 180 squares for people to sign - and it needs to have yellow in it! Any thoughts on a pattern?

I am currently doing research on goats. My family is thinking about it(well, I am at least) and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about them! It is really fun to learn.
" )
Emily

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Quilting....

Well, I got the baby quilt done. It is going out in the mail tomorrow. I'm happy I got it down before he is too old for it :)

The person that I gave my treadle to, was very happy about it, and I am happy to have the room!

My current projects are - 10 blocks for a swap, one mini quilt that will be 30s themed, and a queen size quilt in reds and browns. I started on the red and brown quilt, and its coming along nicely.

I'm having a lot of fun with the ducks, I"ve been starting to name them, I have so far, Angel, Shadow, Trouble, Sally, Skunk, and Viking. :)
Emily

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Baby Quilt..

Last night I dug out a quilt that needs to be finished big time. It is for my cousins baby. I origanlly was going to make it quite a while ago, but my mom decided the back had to be "just right" and thus prevented me from making it. I dug it out last night, basted and am starting to quilt it. I want to get it done before he grows up!!

I volunteer at a FOL store on Thursdays, and last thursday I was talking with a 92 yr woman that comes in regularly. I showed her a lap quilt that I made, and we started talking about quilts and sewing.

When I mentioned that I sewed on a treadle, and that I had 16 sewing machines, 7 of them treadles, she said that she'd always wanted a treadle. I offered her one.

So, tomorrow, I will have 15 machines, and 6 treadles. I am happy about it, because it gives me the chance to pass it on, as people have given me machines before, and also to clear some space in my sewing room, as it's getting kind of crowded.

Plus, I never really used this one. I like a quiet treadle, not one that thumps and this one does.
Also, leaf tension was hard for me to figure out - I was able to though, thanks to a TO member posting some pictures.

It sounds like she may use it, and I hope she does, that the machine is able to get some use, instead of gathering dust in my sewing room!



Monday, March 1, 2010

Ducks!!!




I've not posted for a while, but am going to try to start up again. I'm just going to post randomly, not every Sunday like I was doing.

A little over two weeks ago, we got ducks! 9 Muscovy ducks to be exact. They are a lot of fun. I enjoy watching them, they make really cute noises. We got them for eggs, but may keep them when they no longer lay, and get other ones as well. Someday I hope to have a 50 duck flock!!


This is not a very good picture, but until we figure out how to have them be free range without being eaten and going in our pond, they are in there.

They love celery, you'll have about 3 of the hens at once trying to grab it!!

On a quilting note, I made this mini quilt for a doll quilt swap on www.quiltingboard.com
It was a lot of fun!!

Emily