Treadle On

We had a BLAST. It was cold in there but we managed to have a few folks actually try out the machines.  I wish I had taken more photos.  I just was too busy sewing and chatting with people.  I could retire if I had a thousand bucks for all the people who said"I wonder whatever happened to that old machine we had?"  or "My grandmother had a machine like that."    We even had some kids try out the hand crank and the treadles.  A.  actually made a tote bag on the hand crank.  Here she is winding the bobbin  She loved that little hand crank.

Two darling sisters made tote bags as well.  I helped Z  and Betsy helped L.  Z. ran the hand crank as she sat on my lap and L. guided the fabric as she sat on Betsy's lap.  I would post their photos, but I don't have permission.  They are adorable girls and so into sewing.  L. kept saying she wanted to buy a machine.  Let's hope she gets a vintage one.  Not a Wal mart special.

Looks like we could go back for another demo.  But in the warmer months.  Just the same, it was fun to be there showing folks these great old machines. 

In the photo above.  A Hand crank VS 28,  Betsy's "new" Red Head treadle and my VS 27.  All these machines are older than dirt and still stitching.

Singer Vibrating Shuttle 27

This is Winnie.  I bought this machine on Christmas eve morning 2010.  I was just a baby when it came to sewing machine acquisition and I fell for this machine.  It had a really nice base and a beautiful coffin top.  But no irons.  I am an idiot.  I paid too much and brought her home.

I found a set of irons and thought they would fit the cabinet.  Nope.  So I asked Steven to help me make a plain top for the irons so that I could more easily transport machine and  base to the Farmer's Market tomorrow.  Betsy and I are on display showing off treadling. 

Steve did a great job cutting out the hole for the machine but I forgot all about the belt.  Tonight we had to figure that out.  "We" didn't have the right tools, since the jigsaw was at the job site.  But "We" used the drill and just made do.  The machine works but the belt does rub at the front.  "We" can fix that once this demonstration is over.

I love this machine.  It's serial number dates it to 1898.  Grampa was 10 when this machine was made.  It makes a lovely stitch now that I finally have then tension right.  I do love the little dance a Vibrating shuttle makes.  Bobbin winding is quite satisfying, I might add.  All in all, I think this will be a fun demonstration.  The treadle base is light enough so that I could move it myself.  I do wish that I could have put a second coat of varnish on the top.  Just ran out of time.  Its that FTJ (full time job) that gets in the way.

Sewing

I am still trying to figure out how to teach a class on constructing a quilted, nine patch tote bag.  I am a trial and error kind of creator.  So the first attempt was too complex.  So was the second.  This third attempt seems pretty straight forward but the end product was smaller than I wanted.  So I am in process of creating a larger one.   The quilting on this is totally bogus.  I just used the Featherweight with the presser foot down and just moved the piece around in the free form pattern.  I should have just quilted in the ditch.  The iPad fits perfectly in this. 

My sister loves this pink fabric.  She selected it to go in a Texas star quilt I made for her years ago.  I could not work with it so I found something else to go in the quilt.  This fabric has been kickking around for a while, then.  I think I will send this little bag to her.  I have a lot of the fabric left so I think I will make an Irish chain quilt out of the rest of it.  It will be a little lap quilt, but at least Alice will have something from that fabric.

I have used the Featherweight for all of the piecing on these projects.  I do like it. I find that my seams are straighter and the stitches are very uniform.  Such precision requires less "squaring up" at the end.  Gotta love that.

This larger tote is ready to quilt.  While I would love to do some free form quilting, I think I will stick to ditch stitching.  It is a demonstration project, after all.  Once it is quilted, I will stitch it up the sides and gusset the bottom to give it some shape.  These are my colors. 

201 Centennial

Yesterday after Betsy and I worked on the lesson plans some,  we checked Craigslist.  Sometimes checking Craigslist is just plain tedious.  I had been seeing the same machines listed and re-listed over and over again.  But yesterday we saw  a new listing.  I knew right away that it was a 201.  So I responded and made arrangements to fetch it tonight.  Betsy had to work and I had to work but we met on the way and drove over in Cherry the Sewing Machine Chariot.

I have surprised more than one seller at the number of machines I can fit into this little VW  Jetta Sportwagon.  I name all my cars.  I always have.  When I was a kid and did not have a lot of money I believed that if I named my cars, they would treat me well.  It has worked so far.  Today though, Cherry did not look this sleek.  It snowed last night, just enough to warrant salt spreading.   She now has a blanket of salt on her nice red paint. It probably prevented that cop in Cobleskill form nailing me for 45 in the 30 zone.  

I use a Garmin to help me find my way.  I thought I knew right where I was going tonight, but let the Garmin lead me astray.  If we had been crows we would have been fine following the more or less straight line that the Garmin determined to be the quickest route.  We are not crows and so we ended up a bit lost and a bit late to our destination.  Next time, I will just ignore the blasted thing.  

I have no idea if these Centennials have more value than others.  The machine is in good shape.  The wires, THANKFULLY, are still intact and there does not appear to be any melting of the insultation.  the foot controller and power cord are not original.  The light works and the motor runs.  And  as my friend Andrea says , "The stabby thing goes up and down."   I am very pleased with this.  It came with some bobbins and in a library cabinet.  We looked at a treadle cabinet that was for sale.  It is a project and I am not into more projects.  Though it is lovely.  I think that we convinced the seller that she could, indeed, refinish it and enjoy it without much worry about devaluing it.  After all, it really is not a priceless antique.  

Betsy picked up a red head.  Not me.  A Singer 66 Red Head.  It is lovely and will, hopefully, fit into her orphan treadle base.  I would have bought it if she hadn't.  I love love love the Singer 66.  But it looks as if the 201 is my logo.  Not that there is anything wrong that. 

Sewing some more

I know that yesterday I promised that I would describe how I finished the nine patch quilt rows with the borders and the sashing.  I did not finish that project.  Betsy came over and we decided to go with an Irish chain.  My camera was out of juice so no photos.  But we did build a design wall (she built it I supervised).  I sewed and sewed.  I got the featherweight out to piece the strips and squares for the Irish chain project.  I love that machine.  It does make a very nice straight stitch.  I used the piecing foot I bought from Delores Pickens (see my blog list) and I want to get more.  I have used a quarter inch foot on my viking with some success.  But I have NEVER sewn such straight seams in my life.  Now I totally understand the appeal of the featherweight and I know it was worth every penny I paid for it. 

I think that we are going to go with teaching a nine patch square with corresponding setting squares to create an Irish chain.  We will have our learners make a tote bag.  This way they can quilt it on the machine if they would like.  It may be an ambitious project, but what the heck.  it will be fun.

Oh and I may be out of the dry spell.  I hope to go fetch a lovely Singer  tomorrow after work.  We shall see if no one else grabs it before I do.

Sewing

I started this bag last weekend at Betsy's.  She got the fabric   in a box lot at an auction.  I was trying to figure out a lesson for our class.  I got distracted by this.  It is a print of a quilt design.  I don't like it but I had to finish it.   On Wednesday I "quilted it" on the Singer 66 treadle.  I just followed the lines of the pattern.  It was tedium defined.  The lining fabric is an old bedspread and so it did not have much loft at all.  The quilting improved it only a little.  Today I attached the straps after I zig zagged them on the Kenmore 18031.  Then I tried stitching the straps to the bag with that machine and it just would not handle it.  And the motor is growling at me.  It is not at all quiet the way my 158.1760 is.  I found sewing with the 18031 an altogether unsatisfactory experience.  So I turned around in my chair and tried the 31-15.  Magic.  It sailed right through everything.  I had some trouble getting the knack of the needle lifter but I love that feature.  Now THAT was an altogether satisfactory experience.  So I finished the stupid thing and now I have another odd shaped bag.

Betsy is teaching triangle construction  She assigned me the task of teaching how to make a nine patch square.   I made a nine patch block quilt several years ago.  I got that pattern out and played with it a bit today.

Of course I don't want to make the whole quilt......  But I did want to review the process.  This is what I have so far.

I started with the purple print.  It was a scrap from my very firt quilt and I LOVE this fabric.

 I had an odd shaped piece so I cut   21/2 inch strips out of the biggest part of that scrap which yielded six 32 inch long strips.

I cut six 2 1/2 inch strips out of the lighter green

and sewed them together in strip sets.  One strip was purple/green/purple.  The other was green/purple/green

Each strip set is then cut into smaller strips 2  1/2 inches wide.  Then you can place them in blocks and determine which design you like the best.

MY CHOICE

Next I stitched the strips together to create the block.  I like to preserve time and thread so I sewed them in a chain.

 Paying careful attention to matching the seams.

 Tomorrow I will show you how I connected the squares.

Launched!!!! GoDaddy!!

http://vintagesewingmachinemagic.com/

I did it.  I bought a .com.  That is what happens when Betsy puts a bee in my Bonnet and I have some spare time.  For under 50 bucks I own this domain for the next two years.  So far I have been very pleased with the technical support from  Go Daddy.  Now I need a drink.