Thursday, March 31, 2011

Future Quilt

Last year, I decided to make each of my grandchildren (five and counting) a quilt of their own. Four are done and I am still thinking about what to do for the fifth. I posted photos of these quilts on my facebook page. A friend of mine saw the photos and decided she had to had one too. This is the one she picked. What followed was a discussion about what type of quilting she wanted, and she chose to have it be tied instead of paying a long-arm machine quilter. Of course, I had to remind her that Butch the dog doesn't go with the quilt.

I also told her that she had to wait; I already had other quilts in the queue that needed to be finished before I could begin to work on hers. Well, those other quilts are finished now.

So while I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new quilting machine, I went shopping. I decided to go ahead and get the fabric for Lyn's quilt, even though I won't be able to work on it for at least a week.  Why, you ask? I get to spend Spring Break with three of the grands!  Anyhow, this is what a future quilt looks like.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Starting to Get Excited

My car broke down the other day, just refuses to start. We had to have it towed home. DH has tried to fix it, but can't seem to find the problem. So now he intends to take it to the dealership to have it worked on.  The car is old, and was wrecked last year, although the damage was fixed.  DH has been talking about getting another car, but we have no idea where the $$ would come from.
The other day, I was casually opening the mail, when I got a big surprise: an unexpected check made out to me.  $$ that is not earmarked in the budget! :D So now, we'll be able to fix the car. And get a used second car so I won't be without transportation on days when DH can't ride his bike to work. AND get that long arm quilting machine I've been wanting. :D
There will be a learning curve, no doubt. I've done some FMQ on my vintage Singers and managed to get passable but by no means professional results. One of the problems with vintage Singers is the limited amount of space between the needle and back of the sewing area. This new machine will give me twice as much room to work in and it comes complete with a Grace quilting frame, metal rods (as opposed to wooden ones, which have a larger diameter), laser stylus and quilting patterns, complete instructions, and a Stitch Regulator!
I can't wait to get my hands on this puppy. Unfortunately, I'll be out of town next week, so I won't be able to play with it until I get back. That's okay, though, because I'll be playing with three of the grandkids all week. :D:D:D

Friday, March 18, 2011

FMQ

In quilting terms, FMQ means free motion quilting.  It can be done either on a long arm quilting setup, or on your regular old sewing machine. Since I don't have a long arm quilting setup, I'm using my new-to-me but 90-year-old "Red Head" Singer, model 66, while crossing my fingers hoping that there is a long-arm machine somewhere out there with my name on it. This is a straight stitch only machine, without reverse. Which means no backstitching. When you FMQ, it is necessary to either lower or cover the feed dogs, so they don't interfere with the free movement of the fabric under the needle. This machine didn't come with a feed dog cover, and the feed dogs don't lower. So now the feed dogs are in the drawer of the lovely old cabinet she sits in.
I've begun working on DDIL's t-shirt quilt, the actual quilting (FMQ) of it. Believe it or not, marking the quilting lines takes longer than actually sewing them.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

I Couldn't Help Myself

I blame DH. He's been surfing Craig's List for a long-arm quilting machine to go with the quilting frame we got a couple of weeks ago. The frame is long enough to handle a king sized quilt if I ever get that ambitious. Anyhow, while he was surfing, he ran across an old sewing machine that he knew I wanted, and showed me the listing. It didn't come with a cabinet or other attachments, but the decals are nice. I'm pretty sure the motor isn't the original, because it looks new. It does work fine, although I haven't sewn anything on it yet. The colors are dull because I haven't cleaned it up yet.

This is a machine that could either be a treadle or electric, and it shouldn't be hard to change between the two. According to the serial number, it was probably built in 1920, making it around 90 years old. I hope to look so good (and function so perfectly) when I'm ninety.



If you count the two sergers, my 'new' Singer makes 15 machines.  Does this mean I'm a sewing machine addict?

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

A First (for me)

Last weekend we went to pick up a quilting frame.  We plan to build an add-on to enable using a sewing machine with it instead of hand quilting. The first quilting that will be done on it will be one I picked up at a yard sale. It's nothing fancy, and I don't know what to do with it once it's finished, but it will be my practice quilt.  This way, if it gets messed up, it'll be no big loss.

Right now, we're just waiting for the parts we've ordered previously, the parts to build the sewing machine carriage. So, in the meantime, the frame is assembled, sitting in the den. Today, I finished a quilt top for my youngest son. (Shhh, it's a surprise) So, since it was time to build the quilt sandwich, I decided to give it a try, and use it to pin-baste the top, batting, and back together.  It's going to require some practice to get it all straight, but it worked. It seemed a little better than crawling around on the floor. The t-shirt quilt took hours to pin-baste, hours of crawling around on the floor. I was even forced to lock Ginger and Butch in the bedroom while I did it, because Butch wanted to "help." Here is a photo of the quilt frame in action.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Broghetti

It's an all too common problem these days; I, DH, and SS all need to lose weight. We've all gotten a little too "fluffy" for health and comfort.  DH has finally decided to get serious about it, so I intend to help as much as I can when it comes to preparing meals.  DH, however, isn't wild about veggies, so I've had to get creative.

One of my favorite dishes is fettuccine alfredo with chicken, so I experimented with replacing the fettuccine with zucchini. Oh my, was it good!  I had tried this dish at a Mexican restaurant about a year ago and enjoyed it.  This substitution undoubtedly saved a lot of calories, but alfredo sauce isn't exactly low-cal.  So next, I tried a tomato-based sauce in the zucchini/chicken dish. That worked too; you get your protein and veggies, all in one dish. We all like it, including Ginger and Butch, so it has been added to my repertoire of meals.

Butch and Ginger, riding in the car
Then, more recently, I saw a post on the quilter's forum in the recipe section, about healthy eating for diabetics. The person who posted recommended using shredded broccoli instead of pasta.  That piqued my interest, because DH typically won't eat broccoli. So, the next time I went to the grocery store, I picked up some broccoli slaw. It is mostly shredded broccoli, with some carrots and cabbage. All is cut, cleaned, and ready to use in your favorite recipe. Like the post recommended, I sauteed the broccoli slaw in a tiny bit of oil until it was crisp-tender. Then added my usual spaghetti sauce and served it for dinner. I wish I had thought to take a photo, as it looked almost Christmas-y, with the bright green broccoli shreds topped with the tomato-based sauce. This dish got two thumbs up from DH and SS, and of course, Ginger and Butch, who don't really have thumbs, but who quickly polished off the leftovers. The great thing about shredded broccoli is that it is low-cal. One serving, (three ounces) of broccoli slaw has only 25 calories, according to the package.

Next, I may try a light lime-cilantro sauce, with chicken.