...Bob Bob Bobbin Along

 

 

 

 

Click HERE for a happy tune! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in April, at the AQS Paducah Quilt show, I purchased prewound bobbins.  
Well, I'm here to tell you THEY ARE A GAME CHANGER!!  
So far I LOVE THEM!!

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the time I sew on a Janome 5200.  These bobbins work perfectly!  I've been told not all machines can use prewound bobbins, so, you'll have to decide whether or not to try them.  This package was $30 and that is not an insignificant amount of money for a TRY.   Honestly though, I'm glad I took the chance.

But Wait, there's MORE!!! (This line is from a song I used to sing with my kids, "Bats in my Belfry."  HERE)

Prewound bobbins for Miss Ellie!  YES!!  Purchased from The Featherweight Shop, they are flawless in my 1951 Featherweight!   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I'm about to make a blasphemous statement... This Wonderfil Efina Cotton thread is so, SEW nice!  (Sorry, Auntie Nyla.)

My Quilting Auntie, Nyla had her ideas about quilting.  As far as she was concerned HER ideas were the ONLY way to do things.  And, in her mind Aurifil thread was THE ONLY thread to use when quilting.

Well, I think Wonderfil just might give Aurifil a run for their money. 

As any Featherweight owner will tell you, as cute as these machines are, the bobbin area can be temperamental.  This thread - prewound bobbin combination was absolutely PURRRRRFFFECT!

Miss Ellie hummed along with NO bobbin thread tangles or breaks or skipped stitches.  I'm in LOVE!!

I took a chance on these Featherweight prewound bobbins because I trust The Featherweight Shop.
Find them HERE.  Had I seen these "in the wild" I may have passed them by.  But, I'm hooked now!

My only niggling thought is the waste....the empty bobbin....you just toss 'em in the trash.  I was told that the bobbins are good quality and can be reused, but if I jump over to the prewound side, why would I need so many empty bobbins?  I would like to send them back to Wonderfil to be reused.  (I know it's a teeny, tiny piece going to the landfill....but it all adds up...) 

 Give prewound bobbins a try!  You just might fall in Love!! 

And Sew It Begins

 

Hard to believe, but here it is .... The Beginning of the End of 2025!  It is just a couple of weeks to Halloween 👻, followed very quickly by Thanksgiving 🦃and right on November's heals is CHRISTMAS 🎅!!!

And, October is getting off to a slow start.

While I've lost some momentum in completing UFOs, I am still plugging away.
Here is the lineup for October.

The APQ  UFO Number is 2 and the
River's Edge UFO Letter is "F" 

APQ's:  October's number is 9.

Cat Panels:  I have three cat panels, per se and a set of six cat blocks.

 

 

I remember buying this book and making these blocks.  What I don't remember is what year that was.
I remember I was with Aunt Nyla and we were at a quilt show.... 

 

Uncle Neil (Auntie's Husband) painted the faces.

 

 

 

I also have these three CAT panels...wonder if I can combine them into one something??? 

Lou is checking them out.

We shall see how the month progresses.  I have two quilt tops done now that need quilting and binding.  
Two finished is better than one more started, right? 

River's Edge:  October's Letter is " F ".

A Box-O-Random Blocks.  Left over blocks from past projects or "just because."   They could be assembled into a quilt.  I saw a video on this quite a while back....Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts.  Click HERE to watch the video.

 

Again, I would not bet the farm that this will happen NOW, so late in the year.  I'd rather go back and "mop up" some of the others started this year and not yet finished.  This would be a good one to start with in January! 

 AND the Prototype for Ana's pull-over shirt is done....finally.

It does not hang well on the hanger.

 

     I'm really happy I made a "draft" of the 
     real thing....I'm rusty in clothes construction. 

     I do now feel more confident cutting into 
     the "expensive" piece of fabric we bought
     LAST Thanksgiving.

     One Year, that's not too long to be on a UFO list. 

     It was mailed off to her today to try on and
     give me feed back as to what should be changed. 

 There you have it....October has begun. 

That's All Folks

 

 

One way to finish the month with a smile.....

A trip to Hamilton, Missouri!   

 

YES !!!  THAT Hamilton, Missouri!!! 

 

 

 

Every year (most every year) about this time I go to Lincoln, Nebraska for a software conference.  (Look back through the posts and you'll see.)  This year I decided to drive rather than fly...it just made sense.

Stopped in Kansas City to fetch Arita, another conferee.

 

While in Lincoln Arita and I visited the National Quilt Museum, which is always a pleasure.  Arita is a knitter but she enjoyed the Museum.

 

Driving back home, I dropped Arita off in Kansas City (Thank you, my friend, for the lovely lunch) and it was off to Hamilton!  After all, I was only one-hour-and-a-bit from Kansas City, so why not?!

 

 

And, it was a "Special Weekend".... I think it was the Birthday weekend?  I honestly don't remember.  It wasn't too crowded, though, and that was nice.  I visited every single store. There was a lot to see. (There are about 30 store fronts in Hamilton....I'll bet 20 of them are MSQC.  There WAS a Dollar General!)

One "store" was dedicated to the husbands....

 

 

 

 

AND, I did acquire a few Flat Chucks with my purchases.** 

  

I've said it many times and I'll say it again...MSQC has a GREAT marketing person!  I hope they are well compensated because they deserve it! 

 

 

Even with all the wonderful shops and give-aways, I must say my favorite site was the Quilt Museum and the Giant Spool.

I did add my little piece to the Giant Spool.

This was not so much a Quilt Museum as it was

a museum of all things sewing.  I enjoyed it sew, sew much.  
(See what I did there....)

Especially all the old sewing  machines!   
I am a sucker for old sewing machines....
If I had more room..... 

 

 

 

 

 

AND the miniatures!  Just, WOW!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was such an enjoyable weekend.  This trip sparked my interest in small, regional museums.  
My next trip will be searching for and visiting the various museums in Kentucky.

 

**You would have thought I'd go crazy with the credit card....there was A LOT of beautiful fabric and SO MUCH inspiration!  But, it can be a bit overwhelming, too.  I only spent about $50.  My recommendation:  when you visit, have a plan...what do you need to finish a project, or what quilt idea do you have floating around in your head? 

 

 

Progress

 

I remember playing with Barbie when I was young.  I wanted to BE Barbie!!
I had dresses and shoes AND the Barbie Dream House ... The Original Dream House.

(Photo plucked off eBay)

Now I have a Barbie Quilt and the top is done.

65 X 73

 

 

 

Three borders and binding will be added which will make this quilt 94 X 103  
...big enough for a bed quilt. 

 

I'm preparing to take a short road trip to Nebraska so it will have to wait until I return. 

 

And, I will have a BIG surprise when I return!! 

And Here We Are

 First Fall

The weather has been beautiful....warm days, cool nights....but we have not heard the last of Summer, I'm sure of it. 
Even so, I love Fall and I will take what has been handed to me!

I'm taking a break from the UFO clubs for September.  There are two things I just MUST do THIS month.

Finish Barbie 

I did start the  Falling Charm quilt using Barbie Fabrics....sewing on Miss Ellie.

It has been a pleasure the past few days.

 

Designed in EQ8...I even imported the fabrics from Riley Blake's website.

 I've numbered each of the blocks and will follow this layout....

As simple as this pattern looks, it can get confusing, especially if you're using directional fabrics, as I am.  

I'll admit, I'm only a few blocks in and Jack and I have already had a date. But, you know the saying...It isn't really a quilt until Jack shows up.

 I'm taking it one-diagonal row at a time.

 

The other item I want to finish for September is Ana's Pullover. 

Ana asked for this a year ago when I was in Seattle at Thanksgiving....It's going to be pretty easy.  My hesitation has been cutting such a beautiful piece of fabric...and messing it up.

I will do a "practice piece" first...using some inexpensive fleece, which I've already purchased...so no excuses.

 

I've been wanting to get back into garment construction....have been following a couple YouTubers, and purchasing vintage patterns from Etsy and eBay. 

 

Did you know the four big pattern companies, Simplicity, McCalls, Vogue and Butterick will no longer be producing clothing patterns?  Here is the latest scoop.  While sad, it kind of makes sense....with fast fashion being as cheap as it is and fabric being as expensive as it is....not as many people are actually sewing their own clothes...too bad.  It will certainly be a lost art if it dies out.

 

 

How Do You Spell R E L I E F ?

 

 

 

The Hot, Humid days have finally turned to
cooler, less-humid days...what a R E L I E F !! 

Ryan Hall Y'all, weather man extraordinaire 
says 6 to 10 days of this lovely weather! 
We're not finished with summer, but this is a nice respite. 

 

These lovely, cool mornings are perfect for yard work. And, Let me tell you....my yard needs some T.LC.!  After unprecedented Spring rains, and a flooded back yard, then grubs and moles, and unprecedented heat, and another flood in the back yard, and then moles AGAIN....it's been like a mole family reunion!  My yard looks like "H-E-double toothpicks!! "

So, I'm taking this opportunity to pull out all the perennials, use my pick ax to loosen up the soil in the beds, change the positions of the stepping stones, etc. and prepare everything for a better looking yard
down the road, I hope.

 

 

 

After a morning of all this physical work, when evening comes I'm pretty-much done for the day....

 

 ... I want to sew, but I don't want to think....
Just put pedal to the metal and listen to the hum.

 

 

 

 

 

I resurrected an old project, Scrap Crazy 6  not even included as a UFO on any of my lists, 
just sitting in a box on the shelf.

 

As a "Thank You" gift quite a few years ago, Miss Mary Mello gave me a set of acrylic Templates. From these templates you cut left-over fabric and assemble a scrappy quilt.

You can still get these on Amazon.  HERE 

 

 I had cut some fabric scraps way back then... not many....didn't do anything with them...So, out they came!

 

 

 

Laid out on the design board.

 

 

 

 

 

I have to admit....it was relaxing and kind of fun.  

Looking at each of these fabrics brings back pleasant memories of past projects.  

I think I'll do this again tonight.

Scrappy or Not Scrappy:  
Look what you can do with these Templates:  Click HERE
 

  

 

 

Notice, too, I'm sewing on Miss Ellie right now.  (Millie is at the Spa.)  Miss Ellie is so dependable and easy to sew on.  

I want to remodel and rearrange my studio so Miss Ellie can be out all the time. Ready to sew on when the mood strikes.

 

 

 

 

I'm auditioning pre-wound bobbins from The Featherweight Shop.  I like them!  No skipped stitches or thread jams... Certainly worth the money.  (Which really isn't much.)  I like the thread, too, Wonderfil.  

If you have a Featherweight, check out The Featherweight Shop! They do tutorials on YouTube and they'll even answer questions via email.  All their materials and tutorials are FREE!

 

 

 

 Finally, happy birthday to my mom...she would have been 91 today.  I still miss her.

 

 

Flying By....

 

 

 

Wave, bye-bye !!!

 

 I will admin, I'm not sorry to see these DOG DAYS go away...man, has it been hot and humid !!!  😰

 

 

 

 

 

My goal for the remainder of August is to finish up bits and pieces and re-group. 
 

I'll start with tidying up the studio.  It's a bit out of control.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've not been totally distracted from the UFO groups...  
UFO's I'm SUPPOSED to be working on for the month of August are:

River's Edge:  August's Letter is " I " 

 

 

Years ago I was going to make a quilt for one of my dearest friends, Hank.  
I ordered these panels because I thought they were so pretty.  
Sadly, Hank passed away in 2013. 

These panels have been in the queue for at least 14 years? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They're beautiful and hand-painted and a bit intimidating, I don't really know where to start, and I don't want to mess them up.  But, might as well jump right in and do something....better than having them in a box on the shelf !

 

 

Companion fabrics purchased over the years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APQ's:  August number is 10.  Barbie Fat Quarters!   

I'm probably not going to even think about Hank's quilt for now and focus on the Barbie Fat Quarters because it will be easier.  

I don't know what I want to do with the "Hank" panels  and Barbie will be a no-brainer... or mostly a no-brainer.

The Barbie Fat Quarter bundle was purchased in 2023 while I was in Las Vegas visiting my quilting Niece, Desiree.   An impulse buy from Sew Yeah Quilting.

Not sure where I picked up the black fabrics, but I think they complement the Barbie fabrics, don't you agree?

 

 

 

Maybe use the same pattern I used for the Halloween Fabrics, 
Falling Charms?

 

 

 

 

 

 

By-the-way the Halloween-Fabric quilt is finished.  
Needs to go to the LAQ*. 

Update:

You're Invited has been received by my Great Niece, JayCee...and she loves it!

 

Peanut, the puppy, is checking out the points...seeing if they line up. (Don't look too close, pup.)

*LAQ - Long Arm Quilter.