Sep 8, 2012

Saturday check-in

Today is 2nd Saturday so that means Friendship Quilters guild day in the next county over.  As I think I posted last time, they had planned an rather "impromptu" 3 day sit and sew session.   We decided to just go on Saturday, more or less for the regular meeting but take our machines.  I rode over with Jane and Terry but they had a conflict in their schedule and knew they would have to cut out early for the quilt shop's Block of the Month day.  Aline hung with me to sew for a bit and I rode back with her.

So what's with the sewing machine??  Well, we have big sew-in date coming up in November.  One way that the Ways and Means committee pays for the food for the sew-in's is having raffle tables so we do this about 4 or 5 times a year.  The more money we raise, the better we eat!  Today's choices were a big surprise bag stuffed with various goodies, a q-snap floor quilting frame and this Kenmore 17921.  Judging by the styles of the sketches on the manual cover,  it is probably 70's vintage??  For a $7.00 buck investment I won the machine.   It looks like it came with a single hole needle plate which is nice.  I accidentally broke off the spool pin getting it in the sewing room (no case!)  but I don't use those ordinarily anyway since I sew with cone thread.  I'll look thru the manual later and figure out how to use it later.

I was too busy chatting with various groups prior to the  meeting that I didn't quite get over to Janice at the raffle table fast enough.  The next thing I knew the VP was off and running with show and tell (at warp speed!)  and I was supposed to be taking notes!!!  I messed up and put all of my tickets in the baskets and neglected to save the other half.  When they called out the number it hit me what I had done-----and had to go help Janice find the string of numbers I had from the "Keep this Ticket".  I swear if I had not been in such a hurry I would not have been so silly!!  BUT I was not the only one who did it either---there were about 10 other tickets in the basket that someone may or may not have kept the other half.  Sheeesh!!


I got very little production done though.  Actually 40 minutes before I was supposed to be at our meeting place to car pool (about 10-15 mins away from here)  I was still in my pj's rough cutting 8 different pink fabrics for the block you see at right.  I guess that is how you tell you are "quilt bit".

I finished cutting the wedges for the pointy blades and made the circle piece.  19 blocks are now prepped----one more and I will start sewing FWIS.








And, this is all I got done of Fun & Done!  One little block.  Could I have done it without the windowed acrylic tool?  Yes, of course, I could.    I've got rulers.  I know how to use them.   It was on the quilt group library cart and I didn't have to shell out the bucks for it.  Actually I am a hair off on one side even WITH the tool.  Not much maybe but I can see it with my naked eye.

My bloggy buddy alefthanded quilter/BOB even talked about this on her "something new" post today.  It deserves the quotes.   This is not a NEW technique at all---she did something just like it back in 95 and without the fancy-dancy (and pricey!)  windowed templates.   I remember doing a sew and flip log cabin block to some thermolam back in 88 or 89 maybe?  For a pillow top as I recall----Mom would know since she had the fabric kitted up.   Yeah, it quilts it when you sew stuff to batting.  I can also add some quilting lines if I care to.  Then I just fold the extra seam allowances once the block is joined to the one next to it to make the sashing.  It has been done.  Nothing new to see here.

She quotes me as saying "nothing is truly ever new".  Yep, I say that...... a lot.  Here is the rest of my statement on this subject.   Fabrics are often inspired by past eras.  Tools are made to make the piecing easier, tweaked, if you will.  A quilter figures out a better way and has a marketing plan.  It is still the same geometric shapes driving it all. 

I will finish this project though---pro bono quilt, after all.  Do it once and don't have to repeat it ever again if I don't want to, right?  Demo it on Tuesday to Bama Belles.  Maybe I'll more than one done that way??

Oh, I should also point out that alefthandquilter/BOB was right when she pointed out that I had flipped one of the segments of the block components in my last post.   Yep, not only was the too blendy fabric choice wrong but I had flopped the template over as well and that reversed the shape.  THX again before that became a block BOO-BOO!!  Not everyone would be willing to tell you to take a closer look but I appreciate the heads up!

And sew it goes---------thanks for stopping by!



1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the shout out - ;)) Let me know what you think of the "Fun and Done" method when you get to the part where you have to sew the long rows together - ;))

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