As I have mentioned in a prior post, I use the first Monday of the month to mend. This maintenance keeps the clothing in good repair and prolongs its life. Most of our clothing is cotton/cotton blend fabric. The cost of cotton has risen and will likely continue to rise, therefore, this is a practical exercise for me. A new purchased shirt, not inexpensive, has a separation on a side seam! How can this occur when several "inspected by..." tags are attached and packed with the item? In a closet clean up I found a pair of navy blue pants I had forgotten, the hem is down on one leg, probably why it got tucked away at some point. The largest collection of mending will be done during after dinner TV time, dog toys. Polyfil innards were scattered last evening by a large yellow gentleman. Of course, when questioned, he denies the abuse of his toys. His wiskers betrayed him:)
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| multiple bite marks, closure works best using a hand-quilting thread. |
There are probably 10 toys with little bite holes, legs, tails etc hanging by a thread. Quilting thread works well because it is strong and when waxed, glides through the poly and varied fabrics these toys are made from.
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| hopeless |
This little gator is rubber. He has lost the lower half of his body, all his stuffing is gone, he is loved despite these flaws. No stitching required here.
The pinned Patriot quilt will go into the machine today. Looks like the dining room table will be volunteering yet again. My favorite machine for this is the reliable Viking 990. An early version of the computerized and programmable machines, it is a workhorse. Solid and reliable, it produces even stitching and consistant feed-dog movement with and without a walking foot. Hopefully, I will have some photo's of friends quilting method I want to use for this piece. What I find to be a great challenge with machine quilting, other than regulating the stitch itself, is balancing the weight of the quilt. Folding and refolding, moving and shifting all while not putting any tension the area being stitched.
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| Meet Hannah Grace |
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| her walking, not running, shoe |
A little history, this machine, The Viking 990, was the top of the line in its day. I had seen the machine in action a couple years before I acquired it. I mooned over this machine, I know, geez! I do have a total passion for sewing machines, notions, books. That said, Husband presented her to me on my birthday in 1986, this is my Birthday week, that makes this machine 25 years old. I remember having a long week-end off from work and spent the first day and night playing with the machine. Didn't sleep, had so much fun. I have never had one problem with her in all this time. I did burn out the original foot pedal though. I wonder why? When I got passionate about quilting I plunged in and bought the walking foot. I keep receipts and notes on everything. I bought the foot on February 30, 2001 for $56.75. I have used it for small and large projects and she is interchangeable with my other Viking machine, a #!+. At a Martha Pullen fan message board, years ago, we named our machines. That is how she ended up being Hannah Grace. Friend suggested using rayon thread for this quilting process, here are a few that I plan to try. I have lots. Of course:)
So, hopefully I will have some new info in a day or two. Sew well dear friends.
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| rayon thread assortment |
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