Sewing Caddy

Seems I'm always making something to give away, but

this week my focus was to complete a sewing caddy for personal use.

The pincushion is made with an enclosed bag of uncooked rice,

and polyester fiberfill. The pincushion includes several

vintage fabrics given to me by my grandmother, and two

antique buttons inherited from my great-grandmother.

This makes me smile.

It features a detachable waste basket.

 Best of all, the pattern was based on a free tutorial designed by 

Elizabeth Hartman for Sew, Mama, Sew.

Wouldn't you enjoy one for yourself?

Linking up with:
 Finish is up Friday
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?

where you can see other awesome projects that were finished this week.

May you always Sew in Peace!

Grandmother's Flower Garden - Literally!

In the past, quilters gathered in churches accross this nation to raise support those on the mission field.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in such a church. In fact, the above photo was taken for an article which appeared in our county newspaper back in the 1960's. The lady in the center was my great-grandmother.

She had a loving personality and devoted herself to caring for her family and those around her. If you look closely, you can see a white handkerchief laying on her lap under the quilt. I cannot ever remember seeing her without one of those handkerchiefs. However, I'm not sure what is up with that large white collar on her dress...lol. Being the thrifty person that she was, she was probably covering a hole or a stain on her dress.

The lady on the far right is her daughter, my grandmother. It is hard for me to express how deeply I love this woman, for she is in many ways my inspiration. She was smiling in this photo which was characteristic of her personality, and always looked at the drinking glass as being half-full. She was also my neighbor and I credit much of my early skills in sewing to the patience she extended toward teaching me. You may be interested to know that I was also present when the above photo was taken. I was pretty young at the time and spending the day with my grandmother. When the photo was taken I was on the floor under the quilt!

Recently, I had the opportunity at auction to purchase several quilts from my great-grandparents estate.

This Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt top was among the collection. I'm not certain when it was made, but my guess is that my grandmother and her sisters pieced it together during the 1930's when they were young girls. I can picture the three girls toting around these blocks to local sewing bees and proudly adding their blocks to the quilt. Some of the fabrics are most certainly original 1930's fabrics and my mother believes feed sack fabrics were used as well.

Here is a close up a few of the blocks.

Some are nicely pieced...

...and others not.

Sadly, at one time this top was washed and the edges are frayed.

It looks as if muslin was used for the pathway and it is pretty thin.

I guess I should fill in one more piece of information and tell you that this is one of 13 quilts I was able to acquire from my great-grandmother's collection.

The the awesome thing is...I didn't pay much for them, but that is a story in itself for another day.

So given the condition of this quilt top and the sentimental value to me personally, what would you do? Would you quilt it? Would you open up some of those ugly seams and correct them?

I'd love to gain some insight from others! 

                         Oh and I almost forgot! Here are my flowers for One Flower Wednesday.

I was able to finish two this week.

May you always Sew in Peace:)

Sandra

New to Me - Singer 201

I've been searching for the "ideal" sewing machine for

machine quilting. I'm not sure this is it...but I'm willing

to give it a try.

Over the holidays I test drove this model...a Bernina 830.

It has all the bells and whistles and a 12 inch throat space.

 It also has the ability to be mounted on a frame for machine

quiliting. Sweet! This machine has it all!

The only draw-back is the price...$12,000!

Yes, you are reading it right. Twelve grand for a sewing machine?

Are you serious? Several reviews I researched stated that

it takes a certified technician to repair it.

 So keep that in mind if you buy one.

 

Another machine I looked at was the Juki 98Q. It has

alot of nice features including the needle up/down button

and a knee lift to control the presser foot. It also has the

ablility to be mounted and used with a quilting frame.

It only features a straight stitch but for the price of

 about $1,000 it definitely was a contender

in my list of options.

The throat space on this machine measures 9" x 6".

While gathering information online, I ran across the Singer 201.

This gear driven machine was first made in the 1930's and

was the top of the line model during that time period.

The production line ran for about twenty years,

and was marketed as an "industrial" strength

machine for the home. It has a  throat space

measuring 8 1/4" x 5 3/4".

 It only offers a straight stitch like other

Singers made during that time period, but attachments

can be added to enable button holes and zig-zag stitches.

It has low shank attachments

 that are compatible with the Singer 221.

I actually watched quite a few

machines sell on ebay, but the thing that bothered me about an

online purchase was that I could not see and hear

the machine run. So imagine my delight to find this beauty

for sale on craigslist!

The lady posting the ad was very knowledgeable about

the machine itself and was able to answer all my questions.

 In fact, she has her own little online store specializing in

vintage sewing machines.

(If you are in the market for a vintage machine,

I can highly recommend doing business with Julia!)

The Queen Anne's cabinet features a knee controller

that actually controls the foot pedal.

(I had to stand on my head to get this photo..so look closely! )

It took me awhile to get the hang of it, but I think

I'm going to like using this feature.

When fully opened, this cabinet makes a sizeable workspace.

Although it needs some TLC, this cabinet is a keeper.

 I'm hoping to refinish the top sometime soon to restore it

to it's former glory.

This particular machine was made in 1939 and features

 scroll work on the face plate. The face plate was changed

to a simpler design during WWII. So if you see a model 

with the scroll work,

you will know it was made before the war began.

The paint is in great condition for it's age...other than a few

chips here and there and some wear along the front edge.

The motor sounds great...and actually hums!

The feed dogs drop for free motion quilting.

It came with all these wonderful accessories!

The best part however, is that it makes a beautiful stitch!

Look closely...do you think this stitch looks any

different from the stitch of the $12,000 machine?

Vintage Tin Liner

When I was a little girl, I was blessed to grow up on a farm

down the road from my grandparents.

She was a homemaker, skilled seamstress, and had

compassion for those around her.

Looking back, it seems every time I stopped to see her

she would say, "Let me show you what I'm working on."

and would pull out her latest project to show me.

Perhaps those moments of sharing have influenced

me more than I know. Perhaps she could see my desire to learn.

It definitely created a bond between us.

This vintage tin was where she kept her embroidery floss.

When I was old enough to handle a needle, she taught me to

embroider, beginning with simple projects.

This little doily is the first thing I made.

I do not remember my age, but I was in elementary school.

Can you tell by looking at the back? LOL

So...on to the tin liner. First, trace a line around

the circumference of the tin itself.

Choose a piece of fabric large enough for the size of your tin.

(I pieced together vintage fabric from my treasure box.)

Make a sandwich with muslin on the bottom,

a layer of quilt batting, then the vintage fabric on top.

Pin together with safety pins.

Using painter's tape, I stitched a straight line

 across the length of the fabric.

Then using the painter's tape as a guide, stitch lines

across the entire fabric.

This is a photo of the muslin on the back of the quilted fabric.

After cutting out a second circle,

 put the layers right sides together and sew around the edge

 leaving a small opening.

Pull the fabric right side out through the

opening and press the edges.

Whip stitch the opening, then machine stitch

around the outer edge.

By following these simple steps, you can make a simple

liner for a vintage tin. Before anyone asks...can you guess

what I just bought?

Here's a hint....it goes with the contents of the tin!

Vintage Treasure Box

One of the added benefits of cleaning your sewing room

is finding things you have forgotten about. This box

was given to me years ago by my grandmother. 

It is filled with unfinished projects

 from her childhood.

There are various scraps of vintage fabrics...

and blocks that she pieced together as a young girl...

...most of them by hand. I remember her telling me a
story about how the women in the neighborhood would
gather together for sewing bees.
They would meet in homes and do some type of hand sewing
 in their laps.  As they worked, one particular young girl
was bragging about her sewing skills  and was really
 getting on everyone's nerves.
At the end of the event, when they all stood up to leave,
she had sewed her project to her dress!

This is my favorite block.

I love the kitten in the center block. It appears to be winking.

There are several projects that have been started

but not completed like this nine patch...

...and this dresden plate...

..and this crazy quilt.

Some fabrics are already cut into blocks...

...like these hexagons...

...and squares in various sizes.

For the moment, my intentions are to actually use the fabrics

in various small projects that I can pass on to my children

 and grandchildren. These fabrics would make such

cute little doll quilts or small wall hangings.

What suggestions do you have for these vintage fabrics?