Dear Jane D-2 Progress - Wordless Wednesday

D-2  Mouse in a Mirror

Tatting Tuesday - Running out of Thread

For my latest tatting project, I was working on a border out of one of my Grandma's books (Orkis, by Nikolajsen and Nikolajsen). The pattern is for a handkerchief border (in 70 weight), but I decided to try it in a much larger multicolored thread, and make it into a picture frame.

Border/Frame

Unfortunately, at this point, I have run out of thread.  And, of course, this was all of this weight and color pattern of thread that I had. So now the question is, what can I make this into?

I'm thinking the best option will be a different shaped frame, something like this.

Curve the two long sides into an arc, and join the short side to make a base.

Any other ideas come to anybody's mind?

Larry

Weekend with Grandma in Blooming Shreveport

I did not get much quilting done over the weekend, we visited with Grandma in Shreveport instead.  She was a little gloomy when we arrived.  They had put up a construction wall that covered up the windows she loved near the dining room in her assisted living facility.  Bless her heart, she thought it was going to be permanent. We got the full story and set her straight.  It is just a two month project to enlarge the activity room.  Oh happy day!  lol

To make up for the ugly construction wall, we showed Grandma pictures of the azaleas blooming at the old house.

We managed to visit while they are near their peak, and they are pretty spectacular.

It was such a mild day that we took Grandma for a short spin outside, and sat for a spell in the gazebo.  She lives in a lovely, park-like setting, with manicured gardens and a beautiful small lake, but Grandma rarely wants to go outside.  She is more of an indoor girl.

What a kidder.  Doesn't she look terrific for 103?  We should all be so fortunate.

We had a very nice visit!

Happy quilting!

Singer Restoration Saturday - Model 127 #2

As Susan mentioned in yesterday's post, I have been working on refurbishing a second Model 127, this time with a white pearl paint job.  It really is beginning to look pretty!

Model 127 #2

Of course, it started out looking very sad -- rusted and missing parts.

Only one slide plate

No back cover plate

And full of lint

Also, it was so thoroughly stuck that I had to soak it in kerosene for a couple of weeks before I could get the main shaft to turn.  But once I got the insides freed up, I started working on the paint job.

Stripped to the bare metal

You can see in the picture below the result of one of my lessons learned from the first restoration I did.  I painted the bed slots where the slide and foot plates go, not realizing that they would no longer fit with paint in the grooves where they go in.   And in digging the paint out of those grooves, I damaged the paint on the bed nearby.  Below you can see the cardboard shield I constructed to keep the paint out of these areas.

Primed for beautification

And next the base coat.  We weren't entirely sure about this color by itself.  It seemed awfully....white.

Base coat white

But when I added the pearl mid-coat, it really added a beautiful golden sheen to the white.

Pearl mid-coat on arm

Pearl mid-coat on bed.

Next step will be to stencil in the details, and protect it all with clearcoat.  

Larry

Dear Jane C-2 Streak of Lightning

I got the applique for C-2, Streak of Lightning, basted just this morning.  This block makes three prepared "vacation" appliques.  I think I will continue with D-2, Mouse in a Mirror, which is paper-piecing combined with inset seams, and E-2, Merry May, which is applique on a simple  paper-pieced ground.  (Note to self: you are NOT afraid of inset seams, you're not, you're not, you're not!)

After E-2 I will definitely start working on clue 4 of Grand Illusion. 
  
By the way, Larry has started working on the second Singer 127 restoration.   This one is going to be pearl white, and the paint job already looks AWESOME!  I have to start working on creating some stencils; we going the airbrush route instead of decals this time.

Spring is blooming at the Botanic Gardens and a Start on Dear Jane C2 - Streak of Lightning

We had fun on Easter at the Fort Worth Botanical Garden, even though the rain threatened us the entire time we were there.  Here is my dear husband, Larry, tatter extraordinaire, and resurrecter of Singers, peeking through a beautiful blossoming cherry.  We are so lucky to have such a wonderful (and free!) place to enjoy nature right in the heart of Fort Worth.

I got started on my Dear Jane block, C2-Streak of Lightning, though only the center section is completed.  Instead of having four inset seams, I think I will just applique the center to a single piece of muslin, then applique the purple diamonds to the muslin.  Easy peasy, and more handwork to take along on vacation.

It still has the papers on, so it will barely stick to my design wall, and every edge insists on curling, but this part of the block actually turned out really well.  I had to fussy cut the purple like mad to eliminate the crazy wild pink in this batik.  You can see a hint of the pink in the lower diamond.  You just never really know how a lively batik like this will make up in a block.

Dear Jane B13 - Four Corner Press

I asked for fabric for Christmas and my niece, Kate, knocked it out of the park.  She gave me a gorgeous selection of fabrics, including the batik centerpiece on this Dear Jane B-13, Four Corner Press.  It is very different from all my other batiks - almost an indigo.  

B-13 differs from all other DJ blocks in that it replaces muslin with another fabric.  I wanted to keep the muslin stand-in very light, with high contrast to the focal fabric. When I saw these two fabrics together I knew I had my Four Corner Press.

Dear Jane B-13 - Four Corner Press

I could not resist fussy cutting the batik to showcase a single flower, but I let the four corners fall where they may.  The light blue is a hand-dyed from Joy's Fabric.  Her hand-dyed pastels have a wonderful texture - very soft and rich.  We run into Joy at virtually every quilt show we attend, and I never make it past her booth without making a purchase; her selection of fabric is top notch.

Is it not great every once in awhile to come across a super-simple Dear Jane block?  I think Four Corner Press certainly fits that description.

Well, who woulda thunk it?  Row B is complete.  Saaaalute!

Happy stitching,
Susan in Texas

Tatting Tuesday - Sewing Machine Spool Doily

This is a little project I made up in an attempt to create more vintage-style accents for the refurbished sewing machines I have been working on.

Tatting Project #5 - Spool Doily

This little doily fits over the spool pin of the sewing machine, and gives the spool of thread something to rest on. Or, if there is no spool, it provides a quaint little decoration for the top of the machine.

I basically started this with the beginning of a snowflake pattern, making sure that the central hole was the right size to fit snugly on the spool pin. Then it was just a question of making enough rings around the first one, until it was big enough to peek out from under a spool of thread.

Larry

Finally Back to Dear Jane - Prepping B-11 Melissa's Cross and B-12 Starflower

I want to have some handwork to take on an upcoming vacation, so prepping the applique is as far as these two blocks will go for now. I paper-pieced the center section of Melissa's Cross, then attached the purple half moons.  It was freezer paper time after that.  

With guidelines drawn on the freezer paper circle to insure proper alignment, I pressed and basted the seam allowance.  The whole thing then got basted to an over-sized piece of muslin.  It will get cut to size after the applique is done.  My handwork has a tendency to draw up the ground fabric quite a bit so I like to leave some extra.

I almost did not have enough fabric to complete this block.  I used a scrap from my recent bargain bin bash in Green Bay, and it was just enough, with barely a crumb left over.  I love this batik!

I was careful this time to make all the melon tips point left on Starflower, so I can applique to the point before having to sweep under the excess fabric.  I was also super careful with placement to avoid having one wonky melon again.  We will just have to see if all my concerned fiddling makes any difference in the final outcome; it is really hard to tell with all the excess at the points in the way right now.

We went to the Botanic Garden yesterday where the wisteria are in full bloom.  The rain held off while we were there.  It was a bit early for the roses, but everything else was really starting to pop.

Singer Restoration Saturday - Wiring

One of the parts of motorized vintage sewing machines that seems to suffer most is the wiring. The insulation is usually dry and crackled, and often the wires have been cut through.  

Foot controller, plug for electric socket, plug for machine.  And a mess of old wires

In this case, I recommend taking it all out and replacing it with modern wiring.  Be careful to note which wire goes to which connection.

You will need two pieces of wire: one about six feet long that runs from the wall plug to the sewing machine plug, and another about four feet long that runs from the foot controller to the sewing machine plug.  Cut the wires near the wall plug, open up the plug, and replace them with the new wire.

Turn over the foot controller case and remove the screws in each of the four feet underneath. Turn it upright and disconnect the two wires there. Replace them with the new wire.

Foot controller underside

Foot Controller disassembled

 Remove the two screws in the sewing machine plug. 

 Lift the three connectors from their slots. Again remembering which wire goes where, cut the wires and pull the old wire out of the plug, and remove the old wires from the connectors.

Sewing machine plug - connectors and old wires

String the ends of the new wires into the plug, and connect them to the connectors. You do remember which wire goes where, don't you?

Sewing Machine plug - connectors and new wires

At this point, you need to put the connectors back in their slots and screw the sewing machine plug back together.  This is a very tight fit, and you may need to adjust the wire-to-connector attachment in order to get it to come together properly.  But, once done, you can plug in your sewing machine, step on the foot controller, and you are in business again!

Larry