Busy times

It's been chilly these last few days, so whenever I get a chance, I've been sewing.  I finished quilting the zigzag quilt (must come up with a name) but now need to sew the binding to the back.  I'm not exactly sure if I am really finished quilting.  Will have to look at it for a while.

Now I'm putting together a purple row robin, and it is many shades of soft purple with some turquoise here and there. I am waiting for a round robin that is also in purples to return home.  Thought perhaps they could be sandwiched together to end up with a reversible quilt.  Will have to wait and see.  I still love my new Elna!  It feels so comfortable to just sit and sew, and I love the 1/4" foot.  With older eyesight, this seems important.

Cindy is still in the rehab facility in Northfield so I try to get over a few afternoons a week.  She is hoping to go home sometime next week (it has been 6 weeks between the hospital and rehab), and I will be glad, too.  I'm planning to make her some meals but need to get to the dollar store for containers.   Meanwhile, she's gobbling up all the books I bring and playing solitaire on Chris' tablet.  She is so ready to go home.

Community events are keeping me hopping, too.  Sunday, I was a "celebrity judge" at the Will It Waffle? cookoff at the library.  It was fun, but a little chaotic.  The tastes were good, though, and the little girl (age 10-11?) who won did a great job.  Tonight I'm helping with a public forum on homelessness, so I have made a batch of handouts and a batch of cookies.  If everyone who has responded to the publicity shows up, we will have a packed house.  I think the speakers will be good, and people in town are really concerned about the issue.  Perhaps we relate more because it's so cold for so long here.

And now for the Elna

I had a horrible week getting used to the Juki which I concluded is not for me.  Even though it sewed two layers of fabric together beautifully, I had to go back to the shop twice for help with the walking foot.   Last weekend, I used Juki to quilt a  36" x 36" quilt with a large cross hatch and also to sew the binding on.  It worked pretty well although it made a lot of noise going over seam intersections.   It just wasn't that smooth a "drive."  Toward the end, there was a lot of noise coming from the tension knob.  Thinking it maybe needed oiling, I did so and that noise went away.  The quilt is for the Parkinson's Comfort Project and looked pretty good after washing.

Monday, I decided to pin baste the zigzag quilt (I had had four piled up since my Rose died).  When it came time to start quilting, it was a disaster.  Quilting in the ditch was next to impossible as the walking foot didn't like not being on the level.  I had to tighten it a couple of times.  Using the free motion foot was no problem, so I took a break and used it for a while.

But I really needed to use the walking foot to anchor the quilt since it's 60" by 60".  Now it would stitch a few stitches and come to a grinding halt.  I rethreaded, changed the needle, cleaned everything I could, and rewound and reseated the bobbin.  Nothing helped, and on Tuesday morning, I threw in the towel and packed everything up.

When I walked into the shop with the machine, Carl (so kind and patient!) agreed Juki isn't for me.  He offered me an Elna Excellence 720 that they've had in the shop for demo purposes for a while, and encouraged me to take it home to put it through its paces.  So far it's great.  I love the dual feed foot, the start/stop and stitch lock feature, and the visible bobbin.  The quilt is almost completely anchored in the ditch, and I've even used the walking foot to quilt a few curves.  I will probably never use all of the embroidery/special stitch features, but at this point it looks like Elna will be staying with me.  I'll take the weekend to decide, but I'm happy to be able to sleep more soundly now.

The Merci Train

We went over to Winooski today to tour the VT Military Museum with friends Pauline and Bob.  Paul wanted to see the Merci Train there.  After World War II, the people of France filled 50 boxcars, one for every state, DC and Hawaii, as a form of thanks for the US' help in ending the war.  Americans had also filled several boxcars with supplies for the French.  We first learned about the boxcars in Georgia at a Civil War and train museum in Kennesaw, and Paul wondered where Vermont's ended up.  The boxcar, which the French had used to move 40 men or 8 horses at a time during World Wars I and II, has been restored and houses an exhibit about World War I.  Here were are on the steps.

I imagine Paul's article will be in our local paper sometime soon, now that he has all the facts and some good photos.

It was a fun day despite chilly winds.  The museum had a lot to see, albeit a bit disorganized, and it is always good to see Pauline and Bob.  Lunch in a renovated woolen mill along the Winooski River was delicious, too.  It's so nice to be retired and just take off for a day of fun!

The new machine

After some testing in person and reading online, I settled on the Juki TL2010Q, and ordered it and a table from our local sewing machine shop.   I like the owners of the shop, Carl and Betty, and feel it's important to deal locally, not just for service and questions as they come up, but also to help our community.  Carl and Betty have vended at our local quilt show, and Betty belongs to one of my guilds.

On Monday, I had cleaned the room and rearranged things - exhausting work!   Paul and I picked the machine and table up yesterday, and then I set about learning how to use it.  What fun!  What frustration!  After learning to wind the bobbin and thread the machine (similar to the Mega Quilter I borrowed last fall), I tested all the feet.  Mostly, the machine runs smoothly and truly straight.  When you take your foot off the pedal, it stops immediately.  The automatic thread cutter is a dream, and the controls are easy to adjust.  But the walking foot goes ka-thunk, ka-thunk and I think there's something not quite right with it.  So I'll be visiting Carl either this afternoon or tomorrow to test it on his machine.  I also left the knee lifter thingie there by accident, so will pick that up.

This morning, I decided to work on one of my UFOs, and enjoyed myself immensely.  I decided to do some paper piecing as that is one of my least favorite chores.  With the automatic cutter, however, it goes quite easily, and I finished this pillow cover quickly.
It is my project for the guild gift bag challenge - we each received a gift bag (disguised in a brown paper bag) that is to inspire a project that fits inside.  A pillow is too big, so I just made a cover and will give it to my niece Caroline for her high school graduation this June.  It feels so good to finish something on this snowy day!

Prepping some applique

My sewing machine is still in the shop (which is closed Sun.-Tues.), so I am taking a little time to sit and applique.  This is good after a couple of hectic weeks anyway.  I finished this block over vacation and need to write up the directions for the beginning applique class I'll teach in June.  Thanks to Dee, I'm postponing the classes from April when I have too many activities to squeeze in two Saturdays.  And May was too busy, too.

Besides this block, which is for the second day of the class, I'll be starting the class by teaching a variety of applique methods using a larger melon or orange peel shape from an old book by Ruby McKim.  Her 12" pattern is pieced, but I think it's much easier to applique.  A recent issue of Block magazine showed a similar quilt, and I've found a couple of nice scrappy ones online to show the group.  I have a bunch of 6" blocks to work on, too, in scappy blues on a cream background.  They can be put together in a variety of ways, and I have lots of blues I can use.  This will be an on-going project.  Who knows when I'll stop?

It is week nine of Lori Holt's "Bloom" quilt-along, and I finally started preparing a block yesterday.  I like this simple, cute pattern and will try to catch up eventually.  I have some really wild fabric for it and do have a stack of 9.5" background blocks cut.  I cut out freezer paper shapes and am ready to baste the pieces and the stems today.  If I like it, I'll make 3 more for a block exchange I signed up for.  That's why my blocks are a little larger than the "Bloom" blocks are.  And I'm not sure I'll sash them as Holt suggests either.  I never follow pattern directions completely!  Holt suggests sewing Pellon to the pieces and then turning them right-side out for applique, but this method doesn't work well on points IMHO.  Her plastic template shapes are great, though, and can be used for other projects in the future.

What to do?

For the last few months my purple row robin has been traveling around the continent, from Ontario to Indiana to North Carolina and places in between.  Now it is home and I don't know what I will do to finish it.  I could simply sew all the rows together, add a thin border and leave it at that.  I could create a center medallion and use the rows as different borders, perhaps adding a few blocks or even duplicating a row or two.  For now, I'll let it sit on the bed while I ponder its fate.  I may even have to put it away until I am struck with an idea.  I have plenty of other projects to keep me busy in the meantime!

The other day finished my round on Lynn's round robin.  Mine was the fourth border, but the quilt has already grown quite large.  Marie's quilt comes to me for the final border, and I imagine it will take me the full two months to finish.  I have quite a to-do list, including blocks for two swaps.  One set of blocks is almost finished except for one small bit of machine applique on each block.  For the other swap, I cut out the 9" blocks yesterday and now am ready to choose the applique design.  Think I'm going to make two sets of "Bloom" blocks with some very colorful fabric that just came.  I'm thinking spring here!

Mixed blessings

Returning home from vacation, especially one that's nearly a month, has its up- and down-sides.  It feels awfully good to sleep in one's own bed and drink one's own coffee.   It's really nice to rattle around in more space than our small Alabama apartment or the motel rooms along the way.  And catching up with friends and getting back into familiar routines feel right, too.  We did have an awfully good, carefree time.  We walked a lot, ate well, read quite a few books, and enjoyed the Alabama warmth.  Eating outside in February is really nice!


Our trip home was shorter, partly because we didn't stop to sightsee.  Atlanta traffic was horrible, and I resolved to find a less stressful route next year, even if it's a bit longer.  In mid-Virginia we stopped for gas and ran into a librarian I worked with over my 30 years as a statewide consultant.  What are the odds of doing that 1,000 miles from home?   We were reminded again of what a small, closeknit state we live in.  And while we had planned to stop for the night in New York state, the weather for the next day were threatening - snow, sleet, and freezing rain - so we pushed on, making it home after a 12 hour drive.


But now there's reality to deal with:   the Vermont cold and ice; the need to wear a jacket zipped up and gloves, even to go to the mailbox; the groceries to buy, dinner to cook, seemingly endless mountain of laundry to deal with.  And of course there are projects to get back to:  the library Friends banquet/auction Saturday night, round robins to complete, doctors' appointments to make, and taxes to file.  Mostly, I'm concerned that a dear friend is in the hospital intensive care unit after a fall on the ice.  Besides some broken bones, she has suffered an extreme head injury.  I need to be here to lend support whenever and however I can. 


Today I hope to get back to the yoga routine, start work on one round robin, decide on project(s) for the applique class I'll be teaching in early April, and get some more bird seed.  My son loyally came over to fill the feeders while we were gone.  With temperatures this morning at 5 degrees, those chickadees, pine siskins, and cardinals are very busy keeping warm.