Retreating with a CLEAN MACHINE!!

As I was packing up for my retreat, I decided it was a good time to give my machine a quick clean!!

It wasn’t horrible, but it WAS time….

I pulled out my favorite cleaning tool….. a makeup brush….

I bought this one on Amazon…..here is the LINK

You gently insert this brush into the machine assembly….

….and it comes out with all of the dust and grime firmly attached…..

It DEFINITELY did the job….

I used it again to clean out under the needle….

….with the same result….

I used a soft piece of cheesecloth to wipe down the cabinet…..

A Swifter Duster works well, too.

Because my machine is not computerized, it requires oil. I once heard it described as a “thirsty machine,” so I try to remember to oil it regularly……

I always find it hard to oil the bobbin hook…..

….but do my best to get some oil up in there.

Then I run the machine like crazy for about a minute. Without a thread or a bobbin, I assume that it helps to distribute the oil where it needs to go!!

To get ready to pack the machine, I put the foot back on and lowered the presser foot. Final act was to place the needle in the down position…..

I placed it in the case and added the accouterments…

I SURE don’t want to arrive without these!!

Finally, this machine came with a knee lift, but since I would have had to drill a hole in my table, I had never tried it.

But, what better place than a retreat to see if I truly like it…..

How about you…..do you use a knee lift?

I can’t wait to get on the road and get some SERIOUS stitching done!!

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A Scottish baby quilt

Yesterday, we looked at the first quilt that I plan to make on my upcoming quilt retreat. Today, let’s talk about the second one.

A few years ago, my daughter, Jenny, commissioned me to make an ocean quilt for her friend’s new baby. I had SO much fun making this one…..

Now, this friend’s sister is expecting and Jenny once again commissioned me to make a quilt for her. But, this family travels a lot and currently lives in Scotland, so the request has been for Highland Cows!!

I am SO EXCITED!!!

I found this fun pattern…..

Don’t you love the tams??

My plan is to make this a row quilt… one tall row with 3 cows, and then other rows above and below to be the sky and land.

The full pattern is 36 pages long, so I printed it, hole-punched it, and put it into a binder…..

It is an intricate pattern, with each stripe less than 1 inch finished!!

I think that having more fabrics will add much interest to them. So….off to the brown shelves I went.

These will be a great start, and I grabbed a handful of scrap strips to add to them…..

I pulled sky and ground fabrics that match the color scheme….

I am thinking about adding one strip of thistle blocks from the pattern, and these fabrics will add the perfect pop of color….

And….we can’t forget the tams……

It is all packed up and ready to go……

This is going to be so much fun to work on!!

Some fabrics deserve more than a tiny square.

Woodland Walk gives your favorite prints room to shine with larger blocks and an easy layout that showcases every detail.

No overcutting. No overthinking. Just beautiful fabric on display.

👉 Get the pattern here

Can’t believe she is graduating!!

Back in 2017, I started quilting with my Pastor’s young daughter, Claire….

I would pick her up from school one day each week. We would arrive at the house, have a tortilla or two with spicy pimento cheese, and head upstairs to pick fabrics and sew!! We continued this tradition until life fell apart in 2020….you remember that don’t you?

Well, amazingly, that young woman is graduating from high school next month…..

and….she NEEDS A QUILT!!

I wanted to make something with bright colors and big daisy flowers and was originally thinking about only using scraps. Maybe an Irish chain with flowers in the alternating blocks. This was what I came up with in Electric Quilt…

But the more I thought about it, the more I decided I didn’t want to use only scraps… at least not colored ones.

THEN I started wondering about making the chain in Black and White with the flowers being bright colors….

Since she is a soccer player with a college scholarship, the black and white will be reminiscent of the balls!!

So, I leave for my guild retreat next week, and this is the first project on my list.

As I looked at my 2.5-inch scrap squares, I realized that there were TONS of black and white ones, along with a number of these 3-patches already pieced….

When I got ready to pack the project up, I started with all of the squares in one box….

….a stack of white fabrics for backgrounds on the flower blocks, a stack of black and white fabrics and a stack of other neutral black/greys….

And, of course, a nice stack of BRIGHT fabrcis for the flowers…..

It all went into a large tote….

…along with a bolt of Wonder Under for the appliqued flowers.

SO…..project number 1 READY TO GO!!

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Check out the pattern HERE

My Retreat Projects!

Yesterday I showed some of the projects that other retreat goers worked on but didn’t talk about mine at all……

Here goes!!

I had planned to only work on scrap quilts while I was gone, but on the day before I left, I realized that the Cherrywood challenge was NOT due on June 15th but on May 15th…..YIKES!!!

So I quickly added the fabrics for the challenge to my projects!!

When I arrived, I decided to spend a bit of time on a scrap quilt, just as a way to “clear my palate”. I will post more about the project later but this is where I got to……

This is SUCH a fun quilt and was a breeze to work on!!

Next was the challenge…..

Since it is a challenge, I don’t want to give everything away until closer to the deadline date, but here is a sneak peek….

Unfortunately, I ran out of the dark fabric so ended up ordering another 1/2-yard. I was excited that it would arrive on Friday, just after I got home, but sadly UPS changed the delivery date until Monday.

Don’t they KNOW that I am on a deadline!!!

Next I turned to the large box of hand-dyed off-cuts that I had been given and I started PLAYING. After the first two blocks, I started making EACH block different and this was my ending point…..

I can’t WAIT to work on this further!!

Although there is nothing to show for it, I spent a bit of time in my “sit spot” at the lake, thinking and planning. More to come about that!!

And yes, there were THREE projects that I took and NEVER touched!! That’s what happens when you are an eternal optimist!!!

Fun plans for this upcoming week include……

finishing up the LAST category from QuiltCon on the blog

MADLY working on the challenge

Practicing with my new camera (need to learn how to use it before our Canada trip in June)!!

Thanks for joining me!!

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Retreat Update

Well, I arrived home about 3 hours ago after spending a marvelous 4 days at my local guild retreat.

I have shown pictures from previous retreats, but our spot is MAGNIFICENT. There is a large, lots-of-light room where all of the sewing, talking and ripping out happens…

….a cafeteria for all of our meals and motel style rooms for sleeping…..not that we did much of that!!

The April/May retreat is always special for me because it marks the end of tax season and the start of my “time for quilting” season!

We had 18 participants this year…..

…and I was excited to see that a number of newer members attended as well. It was a sweet time to meet new people and get to know some of the “older” ones better.

When someone finished a project (or came to a good stopping point), there was immediate Show-And-Tell and lots of clapping for the maker. Here are a few…..

Several people are involved in Quilts Of Valor so there were a few red, white and blue quilts….