Zippered Pouch

 I have an abundance of fabric scraps.  It seriously pains me to throw away fabric. I remember visiting a friend who did home decor and she threw away scraps that were huge! I mean three inches by thirty inches. WTAF?

Consequently I have bins of fabric scraps. Admittedly, I get anxious when I look at all these scraps. I am approaching my eighth decade (that means that I am almost 70) and I don't exercise daily. You figure it out.  I simply cannot bring myself to discard perfectly good fabric that I paid 7 dollars a yard for. Yes, my fabric scraps are that old. There are others that are much more pricey, so there is NFW they are going into the bin. 

Today I pressed and cut some 1 1/4 inch strips. Alternating dark and light appeals to me. I had an abundance of dark and not so much light. I dug out some lights, cut them into strips and proceeded to QAYG (Quilt AS You Go) a couple of zipper pouches.

I finished one. We got ten inches of snow last night and I had to clear the deck and the gate. Steven ran the snow blower and cleared the drive. I snowshoed (that is one weird looking word) a path around the yard so the dogs could pee and poop. 

At this rate, if all I did was make QAYG zipper pouches I could stay busy for the rest of my life. I have that much fabric. 

It might be time to destash. 

Fixed it (DeLonghi steam iron)

Today the part arrived to fix the De Longhi Steam Ironing System. Shipping cost more than the part but the total layout was only fifteen bucks. The machine retails for close to 200 bucks so I thought it was worth it. 

It was a bit tricky putting the new tube/hose on. I don't even have a photo! It works. I am psyched. 

What looks like an overexposed photo is actually seam. The iron no longer leaks. If I get another year out of it, excellent. Even if I get a few months out of it, great. When it fails next time, I am gonna spring for a new iron. I'll probably get a Rowenta. 

When I called Ingrid (yes, she answered the phone) she asked what I was up to. I told her I fixed my iron. This time she congratulated me on my ingenuity.  

"Use it up, Make it do, Wear it out, do without," she said. 

"I think it's Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Do without, Mom." 

"No, you're wrong. "

OK. 

She's proud of me and that's good enough for me. 

Thwarted

I know that I was only supposed to buy one yard of fabric for the border for OBW 6. I found a suitable fabric within minutes of entering A Quilter's Garden.  I wandered around while Molly looked for her fabrics.  I wandered upstairs and found the sale items. I was doing very well until I saw this Philip Jacobs fabric. That was it. I bought all that was left on the bolt. Yes, almost 12 yards. Of course I will use it for another OBW.  I just won't be able to get to it right away. 
 

 I have a quilt ready to go and Molly will have one ready in less than a week.  Had I been able to start OBW 5 yesterday I might have been able to finish it by the time Molly is ready with hers. Alas, I could not. I ordered the perfect color thread from Linda's Electric Quilters, my go to for Signature Cotton Thread. The thread arrived last week but I had no occasion to use it until yesterday. When I removed the plastic sheathing from the cone (I did not use a sharp instrument to get that stuff off) I noticed that the perforations on the sheathing left residue on the thread and the thread was damaged. I tried to find some useable thread on that spool but the thread was deeply damaged. 

F#ck. I spent a few minutes looking for another source for the thread because I wanted it in a hurry. Once I calmed down and realized that no one could get me the thread quicker than LEQ could, I  emailed them and sent along this photo. Within an hour they had replied. "Dear Elizabeth, That is bad for sure."  I was offered credit or a replacement. The replacement is on its way.  10/10 I recommend them. 

I used zipper leaders on the Grace Frame I had eight years ago.  I decided it was time to install  zipper leaders on the Nolting. I have used Red Snappers and I have used pins to attach the backing to the frame. Red Snappers take up a bit of room in the throat, pinning takes up less.  Zippers will enable Molly and me (sounds wrong, doesn't it?) to switch out our quilts.  Brilliant (that's what the Brits say, innit? Oh I have been watching too much Graham Norton.)  

How does one attach the quilt back to the leaders? Yes, we could use pins. Why not use a chain stitch? It is no more cumbersome than pinning and certainly less dangerous. Simply stitch one side of the zipper to each end of the quilt back and Voila!

I did stitch a 6 inch wide leader to the zipper that attaches to the take up bar.  I suppose I could have stitched the zipper directly to the OEM canvas leader but I think that would have been tricky. I stitched a 6 inch wide leader to the zipper that attaches to the backing bar as well. That one is held to the OEM canvas leader with Red Snappers. I likely will stitch it in place eventually. 

 I don't know if the newer machines have chain stitch capability. I think it is a useful tool.  True, the chain stitch uses a lot of thread, but it is a good way to use up old thread. Maybe you don't have a lot of old spools lying around. I do. They came with all those machines I "rescued" during my SMAD phase. I haven't thrown out that old thread. Now I have a perfectly respectful use for it. 

For more about chain stitch adaptor for this machine check this out: http://mysewingmachineobsession.blogspot.com/search?q=chain+stitch. I had pilfered a Youtube of Aretha Franklin Singing Chain of Fools for the aforementioned post. That was not allowed and it has been removed by the authorities. I am sorry.