Time goes by

Happy New Year! We are now in the year 2014.
I noticed that my last entry was around Thanksgiving, my bad. I have of course preparing for Christmas, working on 2 donation quilts, and my book which means making another quilt for it.
Oh yes, we also had new granite counter tops put in a couple of weeks ago.   The counter tops were the gift my husband and I gave to ourselves.

Yesterday and today was spent putting away the holiday decorations and fitting in a little sewing.  My husband and daughter went the movies a couple of times. Have to support the 'arts' you know.

Now its back to work and routine.  I wish you a Happy New Year.

Happy Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I wish you all a safe and happy day.

Here in the mid-Atlantic it is windy, cold, and with occasional snow flurries. I am in my warm house with the bread maker humming and the fragrance filling the house. I am truly blessed.

I wish you all the same blessings and may we be grateful for what we have.

Quilted Dinner in Houston

I just returned from the Quilt Market in Houston, Texas. The weather was 10/15 degrees warmer than what I left at home. I prefer warmer tempts, so I was a happy camper to start with. I made note of all the trends (nothing really new) and the upcoming fabric collections (I like the Studio E’s collections).

The real purpose of my trip was to see the Quilt Show – especially the exhibits. As the Quilt Festival has now begun I am able to announce that I have an entry in “What’s for Dinner” exhibit. It is the second time I have enter something in more than my local guild show, which is an excellent way to start showing your quilts, but this is the first time I have been accepted.  It is a real boost for the ego.

The premise of the ‘What’s for Dinner’ is to create a placemat featuring a meal of your choice in fabric. I chose a young child’s meal of Mac & Cheese, green peas, and watermelon slices. Spill milk completes the meal. I made fabric tubes and inserted pipe cleaners so they would bend for the mac & cheese. The peas were made of felted wool balls over dyed to the correct color and the watermelon seeds are beads.

There were many wonderful meals presented. I hope you enjoy the pictures of some of the meals.

 

Rummage Sale

 

The ladies society for the local hospital hosts a rummage sale each year. The proceeds funds various health related items in our hospital and county. The event is free or one can buy the ‘early bird’ ticket for a small fee, which allows entry one hour before the official opening. This event has taken place for 76 years. Each year it seems larger than the last. It currently is held at the Equestrian Center which has a huge arena and several barns.  The large arena hosts the electronics, furniture, kitchen ware, linens, and vintage items. Everyone attends; people do come from an hour or more away.

Of course my husband had a list of tools he wanted to look for. I did not have a list; my job was to limit the number of items my husband would want to bring home.  I was wandering in the vintage area and saw 2 treadle sewing machines. One was a Singer which had a sold sticker on it. The other was a Pfaff.  The Pfaff stand and table looked to be in very good condition but the wood cover was locked so we could not see the machine itself. The key was missing and no could open it with any tools available there; this is likely why it had not yet been sold.

I took a leap of faith and said I would take it as is. The outer appearance looked in such good condition I could only hope the machine would be also.  I paid the $50. and we loaded it in the van.

My husband has placed it in the basement for the time being. He found a tool to open the cover without damaging the wood cover.  My faith was rewarded. The machine can be a treadle; but the machine and cover can be lifted out of the table to be portable. The machine has a hand crank in its portable mode. I did an internet search and the serial number places the machine to have been made in Mannheim Germany in 1905. In the coming months we will clean and polish and place it in a place of honor in our home.

Old time Qulting

A neighboring town is on the National Historic Register. It was founded before the revolutionary war. With such a history it is not surprising that the town is proud to show off each year with a Colonial theme Autumn Fair.  Vendors with handmade crafts fill the open park areas and several historic homes are open for tours.

 

My local quilt guild was founded in this 'village' in 1982. We now meet in another nearby town but the ties to the village are still strong. Each year our quilt guild demonstrates the art of quilting over the 3 day fair. We raffle a quilt especially made for this event.  A large share of the proceeds from this quilt supports a one room school house. The school house has a living history program for 4th graders in our and surrounding counties. Children are encouraged to dress the part of students in the 1900's style and experience lessons on a slate board. No computers in this classroom.

 

The picture is me sitting at the quilt frame demonstrating on a quilt which will be donated later. It is not the raffle quilt.

Fun or Work

My husband and I just returned from Orlando Florida. Yes, we did the Disney World and Universal  Studios thing. It was still very warm/hot there compared to the 70's at home. I thought we were crazy to go then but we had an opportunity arise and decided to go for it.

We enjoyed the theme parks and saw the newest attractions. At the Disney Star Wars attraction I had a picture taken of me with a light saber. I think a caption of it being the largest quilting needle sounds good don't you? Think of how many stitches one could load on that needle.

At Universal Studios I really liked the Despicable Me - Minion Mayhem section. The ride was great fun. All rides , of course, exit into the gift shops. At the exit of the ride we were greeted by 2 Minions who entertain us with disco music and were available for picture opportunities.  I was sorely tempted to 'capture' the minions and put them to work in my sewing room - like the elves in the 'Cobbler's Workshop' story. Perhaps then I would get more projects completed.  In the end I settled for pictures and a stuffed minion doll.  Back to work.

Joys of Homeownership

 

I have a long arm quilting machine in my basement. It is located in a narrow area but it is finished with lights and storage. I have a table against the opposite wall.  Early last week I took a quilt top down to load it on the long arm. I began to set up and pulled out a plastic bin from under the table and my heart sank as I saw the water seeping out from the wall.

 

The table is placed in front of the access panel to the air conditioner/heat unit. So began the joys of homeownership. By the time my husband came home from work I had turned off the unit, moved the storage bins from under the table, cleared the table of my computer and printer, and began the mopping up the water.

 

A common problem is a clogged condensation tube/pipe. We cleaned it and put it back together again but it still leaked. We realized we would not have air conditioning that night. The next day I phoned the repair service and made arrangements for someone to come out, 2 days later.  In the end it cost us the price of the house call to find out that one must replace some water in the tube/pipe to create a suction to drain. We had stopped one step short of success and I lost 4 days before returning to my quilting machine.