This plan and post segment is an occasional statement of hope. I make plans on Sundays to map out my week. Sometimes I can get everything done, sometimes I cannot. That is just the way it is. This week I am thinking positive for the sewing room. Why? Because we are supposed to have a week of rain that means the yard and garden work will be on hold so I should have a little more time. So lets look back... then ahead.
First looking back. The Patriot quilt is done, good, I am rather tired of it. Remember the popped rayon thread, I did run two close lines of stitches on the ends where the meandering stitches begin and end. We will see how that works out with wear and washing.
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| done |
I will likely not use this particular batting again. It is 100% cotton and very linty. I tossed the packaging, sorry, can't remember. It is the only batting a certain shop sold and they are no longer in business. My workspace for quilting is my dining room table. I didn't realize HOW linty the batting was until the family sat down for Mother's Day dinner and I looked up. There was enough lint on the chandelier to plant tomatoes up there. Fortunately no one seemed to notice. I kept the lights down low.
On to cleaning the machine. Of course a wipe down with a very slightly moistened microfibre cloth. I then clean out the bobbin chamber. I remove the bobbin housing and clean behind the bobbin case then replace all the parts. It only takes a few minutes with a small brush and needle-nosed tweezers.
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| bobbin housing removed, this was left behind after the brushing out of the bobbin chamber |
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| after and reassembled |
With the needle-nosed tweezers I was able to get little bits stuck under the feed-dogs. Every machine is different. Study your manual.
Of course, I put a new needle in with each project and on quilts I change the needle two or three times. Learn the sounds of your machine with a new needle. You will recognize a dull needle by the sounds it makes as it pierces the fabric.
OK, now looking ahead. I have plenty of things in the pipeline so I need to focus. No quilting this week, I need to cut and set up garment projects. I will, I will, I will
- finish that darn T shirt that has been sitting on my desk for a month
- if I like the fit, etc. will cut another in navy blue jersey
- remember the white cotton/poly from ages ago that I was going to use for a drop cloth? It is crinkle/wrinkle after washing. Looks like I may use it for muslin for a pair of cargo capri's.
- summer skirts, several patterns in contention. pick one, cut one, sew one.
Now I am being conservative here because I have a bathroom remodel going on, a large TV that is giving us the green blinking light of death, 17 months old, expensive, I am not happy. Neither are the men who live here. Looks like a service call will be required. All these things tend to eat up much time. So, if I get this far, I will be happy.
I did set up the work box to finish the next quilt. I like to use the little utility boxes I get from IKEA. That way I have what I need to start and finish each project, in one place. I will show Studio A (the sewing closet) in a future post.
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| small box, two compartments. pins, binding clips, extra bobbins, scissors, snips, markers |
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| these are garden gloves. woven fabric on top, nubby rubber on palms. $4.49 in garden supply, similar items at quilting stores and sewing shops at least twice that price. The gloves help me grip and move the fabric and avoid distorting stitches while quilting. On particularly large projects it increases my control of the fabric. |
Ok, lets quit talking and get to work!
Gratuity Moment: friends who offer great quilting advice
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