Still no sewing going on around here

Yesterday I tried to do a little, and my machine started doing that locking up thing.  I had just settled down with a new spool of thread and a Sean Connery movie on the TV, and every 3rd stitch the machine locks up.  It was time for a servicing, so I took out the bobbin, took off the throat plate, dropped the feed dogs and went to work.  As much thread and dust as was in that machine, it's a wonder the thing was working at all.  I took a tweezers and extracted all the thread I could see, blew out the fluff, put everything back in place, still locking up.  I began to wonder if I would have to be like all those other people who don't sew at all.  What in the world would I do? I went to bed and started back to work on the machine this morning when I got up, re-threaded six or eight times, played with the tension and it is working fine now.  Whew!

Friday night sew in results

My Friday night sew in is continuing to this morning, I had to stop last night and to go a play, On Golden Pond.  It was fun!  I just love plays.  Nothing like live entertainment.  This Town Square quilt is really starting to come together.

Bird of Paradise

Since Rochelle has her block now, I can share a pic of it on my blog.  This is the one I sent to Rochelle in Australia.  It is called Bird of Paradise, and I found it on Quilter's Cache.  I did two examples, my DH and I agreed the brighter colors looked like somethng Rochelle would like better.  The darker one will be kept for me. Part of the block was paper pieced, which helps me with accracy, and the rest was four-patches, which I have been working hard to perfect lately.  I'm so glad she likes it!

My first block arrived from Rochelle!

I was so happy to see this in the mail yesterday!  I had to open it right away and take pictures.  It is beautifully done.  The little gold lines look like embroidery stitches, and the fabric has an almost brocade look to it.  I just love it.  The colors are so vivid and pretty.  The block is the perfect one to showcase the prints.  I love the way the leaf pattern moves around it.  I've been carrying it around the house looking at different views of it, how the light hits it affects the color so much.

PUPS January BOMs

finished these over the weekend

First block mailed and a fabulous giveaway

I sent the first completed block of the 2011 Block Swap Adventure off to Rochelle yesterday! It's going all the way to Australia. I kept the receipt with the destination on it, it's in my journal now along with my record of what happened today. My kids will read it sometime in the future and know what Mommy did on Jan 7 and Jan 8, 2011. In one year's time, I will have 12 lovely blocks I can put together in a quilt just for me and my family to snuggle under. All the ladies in the swap will have 12 blocks of their own, as well. That's pretty awesome when you stop to think about it.

This is also pretty awesome--a giveaway by Stray Stitches!  http://straystitches1.blogspot.com/2010/12/lets-celebrate-2011-with-giveaway.html.  Check it out!

Block Swap Adventure

I'm so glad I signed up for this swap. From looking for new colors, to getting a new friend it has been fun fun fun. Rochelle, my first swap partner, has really exciting tastes in colors. I think she likes purple a little bit. I do too! I have lots of purple fat quarters I bought for a mystery quilt that I decided not to do, so those came in handy. She also likes aqua and green, I did not have any aqua in my stash, but I do now. And it looks great with purple! Who knew. I've been really hesitant about putting colors together, and she has really helped me gain confidence with that. Thanks Rochelle!

Exploring her blog gave me an idea of what I wanted to create for her, and it's something I would like for myself also, it is finished and ready to mail tomorrow. After I finished her block, she posted a list on her blog of blocks she would like to have. I looked through the list to see if what I had chosen was listed, it wasn't but the one I selected is very similar to one of them. I hope she is pleasantly surprised.

If you have not visited her blog, you should. She is a very gifted artist, and does the most amazing embroidery.

Machine sewing vs hand sewing

Rochelle mentioned the other day that she only hand sews and doesn't use a machine. I started out learning how to sew by hand, then progressed to using an ancient singer that once belonged to one of my sisters. I bought my own machine years ago. I purchased a Pfaff from The Fabric Source in Jackson, Tennessee, back around 1992, I'm not sure of the year. I was in college at the time and needed a machine to do piece work and make extra money. It was the best investment I've ever made. The store is still there, and I still go back occasionally for muslin and batting, and to see what is on sale. The store started out with just upholstery and some twill remnants, over the years adding sewing machines and sergers, French hand sewing supplies and classes. I learned how to smock, make French seams, quilt and insert lace there. It's a pretty neat place that I love to go back to when I pass through Jackson.

Happy New Year

Christmas is officially over and the New Year has begun, we've celebrated with my sisters. A new thing we shared this year: fabric fortune cookies. The children wrote the fortunes, DH got the one "don't eat broccoli." One of my sisters' lucky fortune was "no one will hurt you FOREVER."