Saturday, March 26, 2016

Making Do

And it's working out

The Main Man and I are keeping an eye on the Arkansas grandkids while their parents are celebrating a belated anniversary in New York City.

Now in their teens (or nearly) AA and CG spend a lot of time with their electronic gadgets so we weren't sure how much of our attention they would require -- not much, as it turns out; therefore, we've been looking for ways to occupy our time when we're not playing tabletop games with the kids.

I had intended to bring a couple quilts that need the binding turned, but somehow they didn't make it into the van.  I did, however, still have my Featherweight in the back of the van, along with a couple of projects that were not unpacked after the last retreat. I decided to pull out Star Gazing, most of which had been cut at the Nuts and Bolts retreat.

Star Gazing block
Design by Margot Languedoc Designs
for The Pattern Basket
The high-top kitchen table is a perfect cutting height, and I set up a makeshift pressing station on the kitchen counter.
 
First I had to familiarize myself with the Featherweight because I have not used it since my friend Nancy did a thorough cleaning for my birthday last year. Threading was a challenge, but muscle memory kicked in and I got that done. Next I had to guess which way the bobbin goes in the case (the manual was not with the machine) and I got that right!  It stitches like a dream.

Now, what to do about the quarter inch? I couldn't get any of the guides in the machine case to work -- screws in the way, screws too long, screws too short, etc. So I decided to search for masking tape (I promise, Nancy, it will come off as soon as I'm through with this project!).


Of course I didn't have a tool box with me, so how could I measure where to put it? I borrowed a knitter's gauge from DIL's stash!



What I discovered is the foot on the machine is pretty much spot on. Jubilation, I could sew! In two days I've gotten all the units made and the blocks partially assembled -- just need to press and stitch the last two seams in the 9-patch construction.

The background is Moda Scrumptious. It reminds me of sweet little girl dresses. I pulled large remnants from my stash in shades of red, pink, and teal to make the stars.

Teals
Reds and Pinks


I'm linking up with Angela's Scrappy Saturday, even though the fabrics don't meet the March RSC colors. I AM using scraps, albeit large ones .....

Also linking with Cynthia for Oh Scrap!




8 comments:

  1. Now that's an interesting star! I don't think I've seen that one before.
    I'm looking forward to seeing how this unfolds!

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  2. I love the way that you didn't allow obstacles to stand in the way of your quilting. Nice work!!!

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  3. I'm glad you got some sewing done, against the odds! The results look good so far. I hope you show again when it's finished.

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  4. Really liking your red,pink, teal, hope I catch it when it's finished!

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  5. Where there is a will, there is always a way. Thanks for sharing all those colorful blocks with Oh Scrap!

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  6. Very pretty blocks, love the colors. Great way to make the best of what you have with you.

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  7. So glad you were ready to sew when the opportunity popped up. Not many people just happen to have an extra machine along for the ride. Great job of making it work with what you had.

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  8. Beautiful blocks. I'm not familiar with your star's pattern.

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