So, so, sorry

Between my husband having to have emergency heart surgery and then me going to Israel, I've been rather late on getting out a post. So.. for right now I am at least putting this out there so that you won't think that I vanished in thin air. Until later....

Elf Apron

This is for all of you moms out there who have little ones (little elves) who long to help you in the kitchen while you're making those wonderful Christmas yummies! In my last post I shared a picture of an adult apron with a santa pocket near the top with two lower pockets showing his mittens. It was made as a sample for the shop that I am now working in. Well.... along with the adult apron pattern, there was a child's apron pattern to match... This one had a smiling elf on the upper pocket, an it's cute little mittens on the lower pockets. I decided to make the child's apron reversible, (I should have done the same thing with the adult apron!) just in case there are any little messes (or large ones). I thought the patterns were pretty cute and thought you might too! Any questions? Just ask...... Have fun!

Pillowcases!

I forgot to share just a few of the flannel pillowcases I have made for the grandkids. There is a million pillowcase challenge going on right now for our soldiers and for kids who are in the hospital. Such a worthy cause. Cozy Quilt Shop alone has made nearly 3000 so far.





Behind the Christmas pillowcases, you can barely see a little girl's apron that I am finishing up. Time is nearly running out!!!!

Berninas!

Here is what I have been working on since the last time I blogged.

The top picture is of my own Bernina, the 730. These machines run for about $7300.00 plus tax. (Machines have gone up just a little since the machines of long ago that I shared on my last post.) This Bernina can do just about anything. Not only does it sew beautifully but it also embroiders. I use my laptop to get things set up embroidery wise..... send it over to my machine by way of usb cable and voila... I stitch it out. The new Berninas, simply put, are merely computers that just happen to sew.



This next picture is of the new Bernina, which will replace the 730. I thought my machine did everything.... but then the new 830 came out and this machine truly DOES do everything and more. For one, it is much larger than the 730. The lighting system is out of this world! It also is a dual feed, which I have been waiting for forever, twice the size bobbins, (Yippee! I hate stopping to refill a bobbin!) plus has a touch screen.... incredible!! You will also notice a much larger sewing space, for those who like to do their own quilting. This machine is phenomenal... but so is the price..... $10,000.00... plus tax! (When it first hit the market is was $13,000.) Check it out:



For those of you who are wondering why this incredible machine is in my home....... no... I did not purchase one! Cozy Quilt Shop had me bring it home to get to know it. (Do I have to bring it back Daneila??)

Since the shop asked me to make a sample apron, I decided to make it on this fabulous machine. Here it is:




Now don't knock yourselves out running to your nearest dealer to purchase this machine.... I'm sure that they can hold one for you... just in time for Christmas. Are you reading my blog honey? ;-)

Happy Holidays!

The Machine.

I have posted on various occasions about sewing machines that I use, but with this post I want you to become a little more familiar with the machine itself. I happen to own several machines..... not new ones necessarily, but certainly ones that I have grown to appreciate over the years. Over those same years, I have also taken the time to research some of the history involving the machines that have made their way into my home as well as my heart.
A very small history lesson is needed here, to help you understand the reason that I own the machines that I do. Before the 1900's, not too many women even owned a sewing machine (much less afford one!) and the ones who did were pretty confined to the type of machine that was available. Besides making clothing, women also made the quilts for their families' beds. The log cabin design was one of several popular patterns back then with the center squares being either red (to represent hearth or heart) or yellow (to represent a candle in the window). Two-color quilts were also quite popular, that is, if you could afford the fabric. Crazy quilts were popular due to the irregular pieces of fabric that were used. Once these quilts were sewn together, you could embellish over those worn pieces of scraps. Those who had more money, along with more time, made more elaborate crazy quilts in honor of Queen Victoria. The fabric used on the fancier crazy quilts included, rich satins, wools, velvets, brocades, linen, and more. The main purpose of those crazy quilts was to show off one's hand work and wealth. Most had a spider web embroidered on it somewhere believing it to bring good luck or good fortune. Many of the quilts were made solely by hand back then, but as time marched on, the sewing machine became more popular and much more available. It took far less time to make that valuable addition to one's home and more women were able to purchase them.
The first machine that I'm going to share with you is a Minnesota A treadle sewing machine and it's a beauty! Made in 1910 by the Davis Sewing Machine Company, it was sold exclusively by Sears & Roebuck. My mom first learned to sew on one of these machines and states quite proudly that she could get going pretty fast on one of these. How wonderful it must have been to have the availability of such a fabulous machine!






The second machine that I'm going to share is a Singer hand-crank machine. This machine is a little tricky as you have to crank the machine while maneuvering the fabric through all at the same time. I have a friend who owns a couple of these machines and has made several quilts on them. She does demos all over the country and I myself have had the wonderful privilege of demoing mine as well and have always marveled at how beautifully it sews! This machine was made in 1923 in Clydebank, Scotland and manufactured in Great Britain. It's also in excellent condition!



With the advent of the Depression, Singer took a huge risk and made a lightweight sewing machine that women could take with them when their families had to up and move due to job loss, extended families moving away, financial instability, etc., etc. This 'risk' ended up being a huge winner for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The machines were inexpensive, light as a feather, (11 lbs.) and they took up hardly any room in those already crowded cars. The tables that you could purchase to go along with those machines served not only as a sewing machine 'cabinet' for the machine but they also became a nice dinner table or card table to boot. And..... those tables could easily collapse making them quite portable... along with the machine. Genius! The Featherweight was known as the perfect portable and they are still popular today due to their precise stitching ability and ease of taking to class. Most women have affectionately named their machines, me included. I wanted you to see a picture of the table, which was constructed out of wood on top and metal legs. The one that I have is in perfect condition. Just like the machines are numbered, the tables have serial numbers as well. When you remove the insert, your machine fits nicely down into the table top. When it is needed for a dinner table, the insert fits just as nicely back into place!

The machine.....



The table.....




The last machine pictured on this post belonged to my aunt Sybil. She made me several dresses on this machine and I am sure that it cost a small 'fortune' when she purchased this baby back in 1952. It's a Pfaff 130 "Dial-a-Stitch". Talk about a heavy duty sewing machine, this is it. It weighs at least 50 lbs. and can sew anything...... even the canvas on a ship's mast. It is known as an industrial powerhouse and I can see why. When I have something incredibly heavy that needs sewn together, this is the machine I head for because of its durability. This machine was made in West Germany.



The Berninas are next!

Quilts for Dad!

My sweet husband was the first to buy me a sewing machine. With no help from anyone he went out and purchased a brand new, top of the line, Kenmore sewing machine for me, to celebrate our first christmas together as husband and wife. I LOVED it... and him for getting me such a wonderful gift. I sewed many an outfit for my children on that first machine and used every accessory it had to offer. Nearly every spare minute I could scrape together, I used it to sew. With young children, those moments were few and far between, but oh so precious. I knew nothing about quilt making in those days, which was probably a blessing because once the bug bit, I was hooked. The pictures below show the progression of my quilt making abilities, except for the first photo. This is a picture of one of the many t-shirts that I had fun making for my oldest son. I was always making him and my oldest daughter t-shirts to wear. With the left over fabric from my daughter's t-shirts, I made her underwear to match. They had elastic back in those days that looked like frilly lace. It was so sweet looking! When I made this particular t-shirt, I had taken a free-hand embroidery class. It was a great class and I loved moving the fabric all over the machine without any restrictions. With the feed dogs down and no presser foot to hinder me, I could 'draw' any picture that I wanted. I made this lion for James. He wore it every time it came out of the dryer. As you can tell by the many stains, it was one of his favorites. I loved that he loved this shirt.



My dad, bought me my very first Bernina sewing machine. Along with the machine, he bought me a serger, a cutting table and mat, and thread galore. He bought the same for my mom. I still have an ongoing love affair with Bernina to this day. I have upgraded more than once and am still astonished at all that these machines can do. Over the years I have made a few quilts for my dad and these are what I share with you now. The first one can't really be called a quilt. It was just a quick throw that I made for him to take to football games. I know, I know... it is not so attractive, but at the time I thought it was.



The next one was a much smaller quilt and required a little hand-work. My dad happens to like bears a lot, so I thought he would enjoy this one. It has been used and washed more than I can count.... especially by my niece Kathrine.



I got a little more serious about the next quilt that I made for my dad. He had a thing about having his monogram being embroidered on everything back in those days... especially his shirts. Every new shirt he purchased, he had me monogram his initials on the cuff and in the center of the shirt's placket. With this quilt, I not only monogramed his initials, but a few other things that I thought he might like.



He finally let me know that he wanted a much bigger quilt.... one that would completely cover him and one that would keep him warmer than the other quilts had. So I made this quilt out of flannel for not only dad, but for mom as well, and used wool batting between the layers.



And here's the back. As you can see, I ran out of the main fabric that I needed to cover the back. Since none of the shops had any of the fabric left that I was using, I simply pieced all of the fabric that I had left over from the quilt top and made it into one big back. I think it worked out just fine.

Fat Quarters.

Every quilter I know has a gigantic collection of fat quarters. I have collected them myself over the years and own a sizeable amount. (Please don't ever ask to see my closet!) I have asked my children to go into quilt shops on their various travels and purchase a fat quarter for me as a souvenir. Whenever Jim and I have gone anywhere, it is a must to visit the local quilt shops so that I can obtain, you guessed it, a fat quarter. I have even had dear friends bring me fat quarters from their many travels all over the world. Pretty pathetic I know, but I do adore my fat quarters! (I'm talking fabric here.) So in my wonderful stash of fat quarters, I have fabric from Amsterdam, Hawaii, Australia,and more. Since it is an addiction for those of us who are quilters, a plethora of books have been written to help us turn that obession into beautiful quilts. Two of my many favorite authors are Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith from Possibilities. Their books have always been an inspiration and were also best sellers in the quilt shop where I worked and taught. Below, I will share some quilts (some you have already seen) that I made as samples for the shop from one of our favorite books from Possibilities.

Here is a picture of Lynda and Nancy's book, Super Simple Fat Quarter Quilts.



The first quilt pictured is called Sunny Days. I took enough fabric home to not only make this quilt for the shop but enough to kit up for someone else to make the same exact quilt as well. The kit sold instantly.



Here's the label on the back.



Hyde Park was a favorite with our customers due to the fact that the middle of the quilt required one large piece of fabric. Those of us who own a piece of fabric that we hate to cut up, made several of these quilts.



Since so many of us knew someone who was going to have a baby, I decided to downsize Hyde Park and called it, Hyde Park Had A Baby. A lot of our customers made this quilt for the new little one that had been added to their lives and hearts.



The label on the back.



Still more to come....