What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

(Below, a brand-new human on a recently finished quilt. Eyes are covered to protect anonymity.) 

Is romance in the air? For whatever reason, in my world, babies are a-poppin! Fortunately, I am prepared! Here's my neonatal kit: An oversized shoebox full of maybe 200 4" squares, some of them sewn into 9-patch blocks.

Unpacked, below, you'll find stacks of squares, many tourniqueted with torn white fabric strips, and the category name scribbled in pencil on torn-paper labels, in handwriting so terrible (mine) that I can barely read them. 

In the photo above, the categories, starting on the top ...

Remember this? I needed to remove the entire hook assembly, and work at the rust. I have to say, I wasn’t sure how this would turn out in the end. There was more rust between the layers than I anticipated. It required several rounds of soaking in kerosene, some scrubbing, then some buffing. I needed to get it to the point that everything could move smoothly and thread wouldn’t get caught on rust or burrs when stitching.

This is a quick video of the first “movement” test. Keep in mind, at this point, the machine has not been ...

Now we get to the meat of the machine.  Some of the most important areas to look at on a machine you want to refurbish / repair are interior mechanics and the exterior bobbin case and hook assembly.  A cosmetic finish can be replaced. But the mechanical components must be functional to make it worth it. A machine can look beautiful on the outside, but be a hot mess inside.  Let’s look inside of this cutie.

After removing the oil drip cover, there is some evidence of rusting, but nothing that concerns me. Those mechanics ...

On Tuesday, a friend, and previous colleague texted and asked me if he could drop off a recent find. Lucky for me, it wasn’t a kitten, and light as a feather!  He was able to purchase it at a reasonable price, but it would need some tune-up and repair (see the picture, complete with mood lighting!). I hope we can get her running!

I couldn’t resist diving right in. The machine is a Singer 221K Featherweight, circa 1964 and manufactured in Great Britain. My mom has one like it and loves that it runs so quiet! Here are ...

Recently, Mary Alice, a commenter on my 2017 post, Just.In.Case, wondered how the singer featherweight case handle was sewn. I’m not sure if she wanted to know how the handle itself was made, or how it was attached to the case.

The D-ring handle on my case was really damaged beyond repair.

If you want to replace the handle with one that is as close to vintage as possible, try picking up a replica replacement handle like they carry at The Featherweight Shop. As I was not maintaining the “vintage” replica feel ...

Last week, I showed off some of my favorite quilts from Road to California 2020 show. Now let's get to the fun stuff: Shopping! Disclaimer: If you click on these links, I don't make any money. But you might lose money, because this merchandise is (often) thrilling!

If there's one attribute that unites Road to California quilts - whether the top is pieced, appliqued, embroidered, fused, stapled, and/or mutilated - it's this: dazzling, immaculate, professional-grade quilting - the stuff that holds the three layers together.

That's why, every year, I walk out of juried show. and into ...

My year was not as productive as some, but it was enjoyable. It is the process, not the progress that I now focus on.  There was still a lot of thread used! Each year I post a pic of my empty spools.  Not as many as last year, but I also had less partial spools when the year began.  It continues to amaze me how much thread quilters go through!

What are my plans for 2020? I will continue to minimize the contents of my studio.  I have been cleaning out my craft bins, tossing, gifting and rearranging as I ...