Merry Christmas and Stuff

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a lovely holiday and got to spend time with loved ones and friends.

We spent our Christmas quietly - which is my favorite - playing games and watching movies and Dr. Who "It's smaller on the outside."  So Much Fun!

I caught up on sewing Easy Street - Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt.  I am enjoying the one step at a time process as it isn't overwhelming.  More information about the mystery quilt and each of the steps is found HERE.  The Link-up to see others' progress is HERE.  There are some lovely color choices and fun blogs to be discovered on the linky page.

Easy Street Step 4 part 1

Easy Street Step 4 Part 2

Easy Street Step 5

THIS:

1937 Loveliness

is my Christmas gift!  It's a 1937 Singer Featherweight and we got a SWEET deal on it - even when you factor the 4 hour round trip for pick up in Eatonton, GA (though Casey might do that math a bit differently).

I love it!

There is much sewing happening in these parts, some of which I still can't show here and the rest of which is still in progress.  I hope to have more finishes and pictures soon, but Casey's home for several more days and we're having so much fun goofing off and playing board games that I'm not worrying too much about 'progress.'  There will be time for progress later - right now it's time for fun.

Ahsoka Tano driving the Roush Mustang Supercar

I'll keep you posted!
AmyDe

Maybe It's Me?

Since I cannot sew on my Pfaff with tension issues I tried my vintage Singer 15-91.



Isn't it pretty?  It was made in 1956.  Please ignore the fact that I sew in my mostly finished garage which still holds 'garagey' things like tool boxes, ladders, and furnaces.

Besides having trouble with the bobbin winder, which I knew would be troublesome due to newly manufactured bobbins and metal gauge differences, etc...  It also have tension issues.  ARRGGHHH!

This is a machine that must be tinkered with for tension adjustments.  This I know - no automatic tensioner in 1956 - Got it.  But even after tinkering, I cannot get things balanced.  Alas, this machine will also go to the repair shop (a different repair shop) which is a bummer because it's about 175 pounds (ok maybe 40) of cast iron.

Two machines in as many days - maybe it IS me?

Casey says I should try pouring some alcohol into the machines as that always works on me when I have tension issues.

I'll keep you posted!

AmyDe

Trouble in Paradise...

So you know my sewing machine that I was SEW in love with just YESTERDAY?  Yeah, well...  Today it's doing this:



Not good, that's my needle thread looping on the underside of the fabric.

We are NOT friends today, my sewing machine and I.

I've done all the regular troubleshooting things, rethread, change needles, dust out bobbin casing, rethread bobbin, change thread, etc... To no avail.

Great, another trip to the sewing machine store.  No.  Really. GREAT another trip to the sewing machine store!  I need more feet (and I promise I'll buy the feet and not another machine) and some thread, but that must wait until Friday.

I've reorganized my list with all the non-sewing machine items at the top.  Though this may be the perfect opportunity to setup my vintage Singer 15-91 and learn to use it.  Argh, I'm still annoyed.

I'll keep you posted!
AmyDe

And Sew it Goes...

I went to my local sewing center to pick up a new walking foot for my Janome Memory Craft 4000 and to perhaps pet and try NOT to drool on the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0.  THEN... the service technician told me about a honey of a deal he had on a fully warranted used machine, so...



I love it!

So needless to say I've been binge sewing.  I was sewing BEFORE I bought the machine as well.

I joined Bonnie Hunter's Easy street Mystery Quilt Along and have completed all 3 of the current clues.  Sewing along with Bonnie during her 'quiltcam' sessions helps keep me company and motivated.

These are the units so far:





I also made a fleece blanket for my brother, a table runner, 8 pillow cases, a flannel/chenille baby blanket, a drawstring bag to carry my sock knitting, and about a billion more hexies for a handsewn king sized quilt I've worked on for a year (so far).

Oh yeah, and today I made a dinosaur quilt top and backing for a small friend of mine who LOVES dinosaurs.


My task list for this week is that of an insane person, but I am having fun.  The timing is funny.  I'm not making Christmas gifts specifically for anyone so it's not a deadline or holiday rush.  Maybe its an avoidance of holidays though busy-ness?  I don't know.  I DO know I am going to enjoy the burst of energy and productivity while it lasts.

In the past on December 10 I always declared holiday deadline making OVER and I was no longer behind for this year, but ahead for the next.

What are you making this holiday season?  Are you knitting or sewing last minute gifts?  Are you one of those people who was finished before Thanksgiving (I used to be one of those)?  Do you make things mostly for others or mostly for yourself?  Please share with me in the comments, I'd love to hear from you.

I'll keep you posted!
AmyDe