"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times..." begins the opening line of Charles Dickens' classic novel, The Tale Of Two Cities. And so it was yesterday as I went through a hectic day of errands with my dear friend and neighbor, Ilse.
We were almost completed with our busy list, when, after having picked up my sewing machine from repairs, my car refused to start and needed to be towed!
But it was not snowing, not raining, not dark yet, and with temps as mild as could be, the adventure was pleasant. I made the tow truck guy let me bring my machine with me in the cab and I did not leave it in the car. Too precious to me! Yippee, she's home!!!!
I'm so excited to be able to sew again on my favorite machine!! And she's purring like the proverbial kitten, too. The best $98 I ever spent! I even got a lesson on the particulars of cleaning debris out of the bobbin race for this circa 1930's vintage White Sewing Machine.
As for my regular routines, they may be disrupted for a while as both our cars are temporarily out of service. But I can sew!
Tuesday, at the Alton, New Hampshire, Senior Center, we had a continuation of my MAM Log Cabin workshops. The "Mile-A-Minute" Log Cabin blocks are constructed just the same as the regular cut logs but a long strip is placed face-up on the machine bed and then the blocks are dropped face-down onto that strip. The complete details are here from Mary Johnson's website. Link.
Sue was ahead of the group as usual and her blocks are making a beautiful table runner. This first photo does have one block turned wrong, though. Do you see it? Try squinting at it.
It was exciting to everybody to see Sue's progress.
We all helped her to try different arrangements but the "Sunshine & Shadows" setting was the best!
Sue carefully pressed each block and began to sew the blocks together.
They sure are pretty! By the time that our class was over, she had them all sewn but I missed that picture as I was packing up to go.
Marjorie, below, was also making great progress with her log cabin blocks, as she borrowed my little "Scottie" Scotland-made Featherweight to stitch some more blocks. We are making 16 blocks because that is the amount of 2½" sized "chimneys" or centers that will comfortably fit upon the first light strip.
One of our newer ladies, Joyce, below, brought in a partially sewn depression-era quilt top. Just look at those authentic 1930's fabrics!
We did spread it out on the floor to get some measurements and a photo. As I recall, it was a wee bit over 60" square and it only had a slight "poofiness" in the center of it, considering that it is all hand pieced!
So I am grounded by car troubles but very happy to be home, safe, and with my machine! God, what will I sew first??? LOL!
Happy sewing!
We were almost completed with our busy list, when, after having picked up my sewing machine from repairs, my car refused to start and needed to be towed!
But it was not snowing, not raining, not dark yet, and with temps as mild as could be, the adventure was pleasant. I made the tow truck guy let me bring my machine with me in the cab and I did not leave it in the car. Too precious to me! Yippee, she's home!!!!
I'm so excited to be able to sew again on my favorite machine!! And she's purring like the proverbial kitten, too. The best $98 I ever spent! I even got a lesson on the particulars of cleaning debris out of the bobbin race for this circa 1930's vintage White Sewing Machine.
As for my regular routines, they may be disrupted for a while as both our cars are temporarily out of service. But I can sew!
Tuesday, at the Alton, New Hampshire, Senior Center, we had a continuation of my MAM Log Cabin workshops. The "Mile-A-Minute" Log Cabin blocks are constructed just the same as the regular cut logs but a long strip is placed face-up on the machine bed and then the blocks are dropped face-down onto that strip. The complete details are here from Mary Johnson's website. Link.
Sue was ahead of the group as usual and her blocks are making a beautiful table runner. This first photo does have one block turned wrong, though. Do you see it? Try squinting at it.
It was exciting to everybody to see Sue's progress.
We all helped her to try different arrangements but the "Sunshine & Shadows" setting was the best!
Sue carefully pressed each block and began to sew the blocks together.
They sure are pretty! By the time that our class was over, she had them all sewn but I missed that picture as I was packing up to go.
Marjorie, below, was also making great progress with her log cabin blocks, as she borrowed my little "Scottie" Scotland-made Featherweight to stitch some more blocks. We are making 16 blocks because that is the amount of 2½" sized "chimneys" or centers that will comfortably fit upon the first light strip.
One of our newer ladies, Joyce, below, brought in a partially sewn depression-era quilt top. Just look at those authentic 1930's fabrics!
We did spread it out on the floor to get some measurements and a photo. As I recall, it was a wee bit over 60" square and it only had a slight "poofiness" in the center of it, considering that it is all hand pieced!
So I am grounded by car troubles but very happy to be home, safe, and with my machine! God, what will I sew first??? LOL!
Happy sewing!
9 comments:
WOW! These ladies are lean mean sewing machines! Beautiful quilts and progress. Hope your car issues are resolved.
So glad that the machine is providing you with fun times while the car is not!
Those log blocks are beautiful.
I hope your car woes end soon!
Those log cabins are beautiful. It's such a fun block to make, isn't it?
And happy sewing! Glad your machine is finally home where it belongs!
crikey vic! was just telling mom you had your wheels again...so awful! but glad your machine is back and up to the challenge of some serious sewing!
Yay! return of the sewing machine!
Boo! your car!...perfect blog post name!
What a fun day -- some sewing sunshine to lessen the pain of the car trouble!
Yuck! Car trouble is the pits! Hope it was minor and I'm happy to hear you have your machine up and running smoothly. Have a Merry Christmas with all your quilting friends.
Well, at least the weather was cooperative and you had daylight!
And now your machine is home and you can keep busy even if you can't be about your usual routine.
Hope you aren't housebound for too long.
The log cabin blocks look great. One of these days I will make more log cabin blocks--I keep telling myself. : )
The trip around the world quilt is fabulous! What a treasure. I have one my great grandmother made and I just love it.
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