SO WHAT'S NEXT?

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So, Summer is bearing down on us with high humidity and scorching temperatures.  We had a strong storm Sunday and our flag pole was bent in half.  I rescued the flag but I have doubts about saving the pole.

Yesterday I got the Plus Sign quilt back from Reggie and this morning I trimmed the edges and made the binding.  I will try to get it sewn on tomorrow and then spend the next several days hemming it by hand.  This is a holdover from my hand quilting days. 

So what's next....Well, I've been piecing some framed square blocks with snowballed corners on opposing sides.  The fabric is Small Talk and the prints are sewing related.  The black, white, gray, tan and orange look nice together.  More on that later...

We have been royally invaded by zillions of millipedes on our front porch.  Each day I sweep up at least a gallon of dead ones.  Sevin Dust kills them but the army hasn't surrendered and there's a new onslaught every day.  I was told that they won't quit coming until the weather turns cold. 

What unexpected things have you been doing this Summer?

MY NON-COLLECTION ADDITION

 

Yesterday was a typical Midwest Summer day, drenched in sunshine and humidity.  Jeff and I decided to take an hour or so and visit a few of the flea markets in town.  Jeff was looking for some old fishing reels and I had my eyes open for any vintage Tupperware in great condition.  I got lucky and found two pieces of Tupperware that look brand new, a celery keeper and a deviled egg container.  I remember these pieces from when I was a young wife and couldn't afford to buy much at the never ending Tupperware parties I attended. 

While we were exiting a flea market I asked the owner if she by chance had any Singer Featherweight machines and she promptly lead me to a glass display case with a nice little Featherweight, but the price was $350 and it had no case.  She wouldn't budge a cent off that price.  I declined and then she asked me to wait a minute and she came back with an old motor oil box she had to dig around to find and in it was the cutest little Featherweight machine.

The machine belonged to her husband, who got it at a yard sale, and he wanted $275 for it and not a penny less.  We checked it out and it ran but it was filthy and needed a bit of TLC.  There was no case, booklet or accessories, so I offered her $75.  She was a little offended but told me to leave my phone number and she would run it by her husband, but she was positive he wouldn't accept anything less than the full price. 

A few hours later the call came and our offer was accepted.  This is a dream of a little machine.  She was cleaned, oiled got a new needle and she runs like a deer and purrs like a kitten.  Her birthday was 1952.
 
I don't consider myself a Featherweight collector ~~~  I just love these little machines and this one is #4 in my non-collection.  Her name is Ruby (after my Mom).

If you are on a quest to find a FW for yourself,  I encourage you to dig when you visit flea markets and ask if they have any.  Don't be afraid to offer considerably less than they are asking.  There just might be one waiting for you in an old box.....!!

A LAZY SUMMER DAY

I believe today is the day Summer has arrived.  I finally took the flannel sheets off our bed and replaced them with thin Summer sheets.  I also changed the top quilt and coverlet ~~~

The new quilt is the one I finished just before the Bee quilt.  I love the soft colors and the different prints.  The shams and coverlet are perfect for warmer weather. 

I have also been servicing my Featherweight machines and have decided to leave one set up for use.  I love the perfect straight stitches these little gems make.  No wonder their popularity has endured for decades. 

 

 

I told Miss Dottie she could help me water flowers and she's ready to get busy!  She's all about running all over the yard with the hose.  Olive is afraid of water, especially when Dottie has the hose, and she hides behind the garage and peeks around the corner at us.  It's time for me to dig out Dottie's water toys, too. 

 

 

 

Have a great day everyone.

Bzzzzzz! Bzzzzzz!

At last the Bee Quilt is finished and we love it!  Eventually it will go to my Granddaughter Bree.  When she was little she called herself Bee.  I hope this will bring back some happy memories for her.

So here's the quilt ~~~~

The fabric line is Tiger Lily Ballerina and I think the colors are lovely.  The squares are 3" finished and since there were so many of them, I decided to make the quilt in quadrants and handle them like a 4-patch.  The quilt measures approximately 50x60 and the backing is the coral butterfly fabric from the front.  Reggie did her micro-mini stippling on the wings ~~~

I also got back a beautifully quilted runner I pieced from strips of fabric from the Asian Legacy line.  This fabric feels just like silk.  Reggie free-motion quilted a different motif in each strip.

That's it for me this time.  I have loads of housework to catch up on today.  It also looks like another storm is headed our way.  I hope the sun is shining on you today!

A DAY OF FRUSTRATION

After almost a full day of trying to make room in my sewing room and organize my supplies I have to admit that I've exhausted the limits of the room.  It seems that all I can do is move everything around.  I'm sure the solution is to get busy and sew up some of the piles of fabric and also to quit buying new fabric ~~~ like that's going to happen!  I'm doomed. 

I managed to fit most of the charm squares into one drawer and create a smidgeon of room in a small cubby for some of my special gray fabrics.  How is it that I need a cubby for the 'special' gray fabric?  What makes this stack more special than the rest of the grays? Here's are pictures of the special grays and the charms in their new homes ~~~~

That was the extent of my success.  Fortunately all of my house is not in this mess.

Today feels like a genuine summer day, hot and very humid.  We are supposed to get more storms tonight and tomorrow but until then we will enjoy the sunshine. 

I hope the sun is shining in your corner of the world.

Thanks for stopping by...............Barb

MOTHER'S DAY 2016

Wishing you a wonderful Mother's Day filled with everything that makes you smile. 

Blessings to you all ~~~  Barb
 

A SLOW SUNDAY

The Girls and I have had a slow weekend while Jeff has been away.  He will get home today and life as usual will resume.

I planned to make the most of my time alone to sew, but Friday an emergency at our apartments called and I had to drop everything and drive for three hours to handle that matter.  Yesterday I sat down to sew and had to shut everything down due to electrical storms.  Today is a gorgeous day to be in the garden. 

My current sewing project is a large scale plus sign quilt.  So far I'm not in love with how it's coming along.  Sometimes you have to wait until the quilting is done to decide if you like a quilt or not.  This one is leaning heavy into the "Don't Like" category. Being all gray isn't adding to my enthusiasm either. 

Dottie and Olive are lined up like little soldiers waiting to go for their morning walk.  I can't ignore those pleading eyes any longer.  Wishing you a great day!