Irish Chain Baby Quilt

Hello

My lovely customer Cyndi, who I garden for, asked me if I would make a baby quilt to send to America for her niece's baby. Its a little girl due in the summer so I got some lovely girly pink fabric with sweet little teddies on it.  Decided on Irish chain pattern, it is so simple but very effective.

Made a tote bag for it with the spare fabric.

I hand quilted it on the diagonal using masking tape as a guide and appliqued an embroidered label on it, my American friend Julie said that I must put England on it, I was going to put North Yorkshire but she said that many Americans would never had heard of it!  Can't believe that.

Have a double quilt to make for a wedding present for next year but couldn't decide on a pattern but now I think that I have found the perfect one.

Cheers
Sharon

Restored Singer 201

Hello

Things have moved on with the Singer 201K.

I gave her a 'wash and brush up', alright an 'oil and clean'.  The best thing to get grime and muck off the lovely black paintwork is Singer Machine Oil, just wipe it on with a soft cloth taking care not to rub when wiping over the decals.  Then polish it with a clean dry lint free cloth.

 The knee bar arrived from ebay and I was dying to try it out but I hadn't sorted out the problem with the dodgy old wire coming out of the motor.  My partner took the motor off and took it apart to find that the old wiring had started to break up, it is covered in cotton which rots with age.  So I ordered a replacement along with a light fitting which was also missing. Got them from the lovely Judy at http://www.singersewinginfo.co.uk/  Her website is a gold mine of Singer information.  She also sells some spares and donates the proceeds to a charity (www.tfsr.org) which refurbishes sewing machines and other tools to send as aid to training schools in Africa so that youngsters there can be taught practical skills to earn a living

I have been busy over the weekend, I bought a lovely old desk from Ebay to as a computer/office so spent the first part of the weekend, doing that up.  The bonus of this rash purchase was the original sweet table we were using for the computer was now going spare so made room in the conservatory to use it for the 201.  The machine is soooooo heavy, they're originally known as the 'back breakers' so don't want to have to lug it in and out of its case.

Here she is, fully restored, doesn't she look splendid.

Here is the mechanism for the leg control, I haven't used one of these before and wondered how sensitive it would be and more importantly, could I use one? Apart from forgetting and looking for the foot control! Its great, very controllable much easier to use than I thought.

The damage to the hinge isn't noticeable at all, thanks to Julie and Randal at http://www.theturnersinthechurch.com/ 

'New motor and Singer Light' they work a treat.

I am going to enjoy sewing in the conservatory on my new machine, it nice to think that something that wouldn't work is now fully refurbished and if I look after it properly and more importantly, use it, will go on for years and years.

First project for it will be a cozy cover to protect it from the sun, don't want the paint to fade.

Till next time.

Singer Sewing Machine 201K Case Refurbishment

Hello

Still on with the Singer 201 restoration.  Got the motor and light, just waiting for them to be fitted.  So got on with tidying up the Case.

Singer 201K - has rather a large case, its not solid oak like the Featherweight. It's covered in fake crocodile skin, which is a woven fabric with the fake pattern on the outside.  The case was looking tired so I stuck down all the peeling edges, polished it with a wax polish but it still looked a bit dull and it had a white mark on the top which wouldn't come out, initially, I thought it was mould but now I am not sure, more likely a water mark.  So I reckoned that I couldn't make it any worse so polished it with Briwax, the dark one.  which made a huge different but the white mark still showed through.  Then I had a lightbulb moment and dug out a furniture touch up pen I have had in a drawer for the last 15 years, thank goodness I didn't chuck it out.  I simply coloured in the white marks.

Here is the before

Tad daaaaa

One of the locks was stuck in the lock position so the case wouldn't close properly and of course, no keys with it but the tiny key that came with my featherweight case opened the lock, yipeee.

Well off to enjoy the sunshine while I can


Cheers
Sharon

Singer 201K

Hello

Ooops, was playing on Ebay and my finger slipped!  Wonder how many times that excuse has been tried, take my word for it, no one believes it.

Ok, I had a go with my friend Sarah's Singer 201K and it sewed beautifully, totally straight, fast and smooth.  I had sewing machine envy so had a peek on Ebay.

Found a 201 with knee control advertised by a house clearance company, they didn't know what they had.  It had a problem that the knee control was missing so they couldn't try it.  Not totally sure if I believed that, there is a special place in the case for it to go securely, I suspect that it was more like, they would have to electrical test it and it was unlikely to pass so legally they shouldn't sell it.  So it can be a regular thing for sellers to claim their machine were untested cos "they don't know how to operate it", "the plug was missing (often the case if got from a tip, they cut plugs off)", "foot controller and plug leads are missing"  all to get round the laws on selling electrical equipment.  Anyway, the machine was cheap enough so put a best offer on it and got it.  At the same time, found a knee bar on Ebay and ordered that.  But when the machine arrived, they hadn't packed it properly, it had rocked in the case and pulled one of the hinges out splitting the wood.  So rang the company, and to be fair to them, they gave me an instant partial refund so the machine was even  more of a bargain.

Here it is with the split case.

On inspection, the wire to the plug needed the damaged bit chopping off it, the wire to the motor was looking very secondhand. The motor wire is covered with a cotton coating which rots with age so despite me wanting to try it out, I have to wait until the knee lever arrives, I will buy a reconditioned motor and get the case fixed.  So a little work require but I think it will be worth it, the actual machine itself is in good condition, the paint work is especially good.

Will let you know how I get on.  Never used a knee lever control before, wonder how I will get on with it?

Cheers
Sharon

Rainy Day Singer Featherweight Makes

Hello

Rain stopped play or rather rain stopped gardening so I could play!  Yippeee a guilt free day off.

Been playing with my Featherweight

Made a sweet little needlecase for my quilting needles.  Used some of my old, probably antique mother of pearl buttons on the front.  It matches another needlecase I made a little while ago.

Then started a cot quilt but ran out of wadding so have to wait for it to be delivered.  With the left over printed fabric, I made a dear little tote bag to go with the quilt.  It should have been slightly larger but I made an error with my measurements.  Last time I made this bag, I must have used 2.5 ins squares for the nine patch but wrote down 2 ins in my notes so following the incorrect instructions made the bag smaller DOH!

Cheers
Sharon

Weekend Away - Sylko Bobbin Love

Hello

Had a weekend away, stayed at Ribblehead in the Yorkshire Dales which is famous for its viaduct.  There isn't much there building wise, apart from the pub which allows you to stay in your motorhome in the car park for free!  I like free.  We went on Thurs afternoon, I worked in the morning so it was all systems go to pack everything before we set off.  I forgot to pack my camera!  So I will have to rely on the internet for images.

http://www.thestationinn.net/



The Station is a great place to visit, super food and reasonable prices, really friendly staff, Buzz was made welcome.  It was really busy over the weekend with people walking/running the Three Peaks.  It snowed on Sat morning but it didn't stop the group of University Students staying at the bunk house, attempting the peaks, off they set at 7 a.m., 6 were still out at 8 p.m. with some completing the peaks, some having to call it a day after getting lost in the low cloud. The 6 were picked up safe and sound later in the evening.  I thought they were totally mad going out in that weather!

The advantage of staying at Ribblehead is that you can catch a train on the lovely Settle to Carlisle Railway.  We choose to visit Settle and Skipton.  I had a look around a lovely craft shop in Settle called Cottontail Crafts where I bought some fabric to make a bag.

www.cottontailcrafts.co.uk

I also bit of a look round a vintage shop and bought this jar of Sylko cotton reels, I just loved the colours.  My featherweight loves sylko thread, its sews beautifully with it.

We enjoyed our trip to Skipton and on the way back to the station I stumbled upon the most wonderful fabric shop called Fent Shop.  Unfortunately, I was very pressed for time so had a very quick look in, I will be back soon, its fabulous.  Wall to wall fabrics.  I got some Liberty fat quarters for £2 each.  Not sure what I am going to do with them.

http://www.fentshopskipton.co.uk/

Their website is in the process of being built but it does have a map to find it, it is easily missed as it is tucked away.  It looks small from the outside but is huge inside.

So a great break, it was good to get away. The Yorkshire Dales are so pretty even if the weather unsettled, we had sunshine, rain, hail, snow, more torrential rain while on the way back to the train! oh, I forgot wind!

Cheers
Sharon

Sew Tidy aka Thread Catchers

Hello

Got carried away making these.

They are called Thread Catchers but I think that Sew Tidy is a much better name for them.  They are "sew" handy.  I have two now, one next to my Singer for when I am snipping cottons ends off my sewing, note the pile of threads etc in the picture below, once over all this would have ended up on the floor as I am a rotten shot when aiming for the waste bin.  While I was on, I made a new ironing pad as my old one was getting tatty, I just loved this hedgehog material.  Its got the heat resistant wadding inside to protect the table.

My other Sew Tidy resides on the arm of my sofa in the living room, I keep my scissors, thimble, thread, reading glasses in it for when I am hand sewing, it stops me loosing stuff down the side of the sofa.  The pin cushion part is packed with organic wheat and some home grow lavender out of my garden so it smells nice.  Here it is on my Lloyd Loom Chair arm, the wheat weighs it down and keeps it stable when stabbing your pins in.

I have made a few for friends and family and they have been delighted with them so made these extra ones to go in my Folksy Shop http://folksy.com/shops/GrannysButtonBox

Cheers
Sharon