Vintage Singer 99

Sometimes when your friends find out you sew, they gift you with sewing machines. This is a Singer 99 that a friend of mine inherited and gave to me (thanks Brad!). We converted it to hand crank a couple of years ago because it was missing the knee control (this one was operated with a knee lever rather than a foot pedal) and the wiring was scary (original cloth-wrapped cords). This machine dates to 1926. The machine is actually in reasonably good condition, despite a few nicks the decals and paint are in good shape, there is minimal rust, and the needle goes up and down when you turn the wheel. However, life got in the way, and the machine got put in a closet for a couple of years. But I wanted to play with the sewing machine again, so I pulled her out for a good cleaning and oiling.


And boy, did this machine need cleaning! Years of lint had collected in all sorts of spots. Apparently, we forgot to clean the machine before putting it away, and so did the previous owner. I've been taking everything apart, clearing out as much lint as I can, and dribbling oil everywhere two moving metal parts meet up. The machine is now reasonably clean, and I tested the stitch and it is perfect. The only issue is the bobbin winder, which does not work. The rubber tire on it that rests against the hand wheel doesn't actually touch the hand wheel, so it can't operate. I located the adjustment screw and tried adjusting it, but it won't adjust far enough to work. My husband can't remember if he changed the hand wheel when he converted it to hand crank, but I think he must have, and the replacement hand wheel must be a slightly different size. I have ordered a set of 3 replacement tires in 3 different sizes. With luck, one will fit. In the meantime, I successfully wound a bobbin for the machine on the Megasaurus (my MegaQuilter), which takes a different bobbin, but one of a similar size.

Riding the Pony

I've been getting used to the Pony, my HQ Sweet 16 sit-down quilting machine. The only way to get comfortable with a new machine is to use it, so I quilted two quilts on it during the past month. I've been saving up quilt tops to finish on the machine for the past several months. I also purchased a couple of quilt tops on eBay to practice on--a nice low-risk place to start. I started with a scrappy vintage bow-tie quilt top that probably dates from the 1930s-1950s. I quilted diagonal lines of flowers on it using beige/gold Aurifil cotton thread.

What I didn't fully realize when I got the Pony was that it only takes cone thread. You have to order a horizontal spool pin separately in order to use spools of thread on the machine. What I also realized, after reading info on the internet, is that a lot of long-arm quilters don't like to use cotton thread. They prefer poly thread because it is less linty and stronger. I've never used poly thread before, but after using cotton on the first quilt, I understand what they mean when they say cotton is linty. I did have one thread break incident, so I reduced the tension a bit and had no more problems after that. Anyhow, I've ordered cones of a variety of different poly threads to experiment with, as well as some extra bobbins and an extra bobbin case. I'm going to hold off on getting a horizontal spool pin for now.


The bow-tie quilt is nearly finished. Here it is, quilted and trimmed and with the binding pinned on prior to sewing it down. I also prepared a hanging sleeve for it.


The second quilt I finished using the Pony is one of my scrappy 1/4-log cabins. I used a smoky gray Superior SoFine 50wt poly thread. It seemed to slide through the machine easier than the cotton thread. I quilted this using an overall maze pattern.


I call this layout 'dragon scales.' I sewed the first half of the binding down this morning and prepared a hanging sleeve for it.

Overall, the Pony is working well. After finishing one or two more quilts, I'll post a review of the quilting machine.

Look, a Pony!

Guess what arrived at my doorstep late last week?

Yep, the Pony has arrived (if I were a guy, this would be the equivalent to getting a motorcycle). I waited a day to unbox it because I needed time to rearrange and clean the sewing room to make way.

And this is the Pony, a HandiQuilter Sweet Sixteen quilting machine, all unboxed and ready to go. I found some My Little Pony decals for it on the internet, but I haven't decided if they will fit. I watched YouTube videos from the manufacturer that showed how to set the machine up and get started. I was able to begin to play on a practice quilt sandwich almost immediately after getting it set up.

This is the current studio layout. It's a tight fit having three machines in a room this size, but I'm making it work. I'm going to have to cut the table in the front shorter so it will fit the space better. And put some real legs on it. I didn't get as much time to play with the Pony as I wanted this past weekend (we had family in town), but I took some time this evening to start working on quilting a vintage top that I got on eBay a few months ago.

And no, the cat wasn't helping.

New Look for the Blog, & Why I Haven't Been Finishing Any Quilts Lately

The blog has a new look, and a new title. Just because. I hadn't changed things up for a couple of years and I wanted to look at something new. I'd still like to put some quilt blocks in a banner across it, but I'm not sure how to do that, maybe I'll fiddle around a bit more and run a few more google searches to see if I can figure it out. In the meantime, the friendly bookshelf blog wallpaper makes me happy (I love books! Even though this is mostly a blog about quilting). I changed the title from 'Nene Quilts' because no one is sure how to pronounce that (it rhymes with teenie). So I'm ready to quilt with a shiny new blog look.


So this is my temporary studio layout, soon to be changed when the new quilting machine arrives. Although it isn't supremely messy, pretty much every horizontal surface has something on it. I've mostly been sewing on Red Dot (the Bernina with all the red buttons) for the past couple of months. Red Dot is set up on the temporary table in the center of the room (why yes, that IS laminated pine boards set on top of two TV trays). Red Dot is going to have to move for the new machine, but I haven't figured out where yet.


And this is why I haven't been getting any quilts finished lately. These are the 3 projects that I am simultaneously working on. I still haven't run out of either red and yellow squares or scrap fabric strips, so the 1/4-log cabin blocks continue to be stitched. I started stitching 4" tumblers together--these sew up fast, I love one-patch quilts. I have been alternating lights & darks, but I haven't decided if I will offset the rows or not. I've also started stitching on my 'Tree Everlasting' quilt, although I still have a fair bit of cutting left on that one. The 'Tree Everlasting' pattern would actually make a really good leader/ender project. It utilizes all 2 1/2" strips (if you use the Easy Angle ruler to cut the half-square triangles), which is a really common size, and there are really only two pieces to cut--rectangles and half-square triangles. I guess I've been using all 3 projects as leaders/enders, since I am switching back and forth between them. Of course, if I'd just stuck to one project, I'd probably be finished by now.

Quiltfest 2015

Yesterday DH and I drove over to Jacksonville for the annual quilt show--this one seems to be the biggest in Florida. The local quilt guild organizes a bus trip to the show every year, but DH likes to see the quilts & doesn't care to ride the bus, so we drive over on our own. I picked up a bolt of batting and some teal fabric, since my fabric collection doesn't have much of that color.

I took a few pictures at the show, but I don't want to post them here because I didn't take time to write down the quilters' names, and I don't want to post them unattributed. I guess what struck me about the show was how very precise and ordered the piecing/applique work was on some of the quilts. This is mainly noticeable when only a few fabrics are used and when sashing is used, since it tends to emphasize the grid in block-based quilts (I rarely use sashing because of this, and I like to either set quilts on point or offset the blocks or otherwise try to de-emphasize the grid--there is a part of me that rebels against too much regimentation). There were also art quilts at the show that didn't utilize any grid, but traditional, grid based quilts were pretty common. The idea of order vs. chaos interested me. I think it would be interesting to play with that and design a quilt that started out with a perfect, traditional pattern, and then morphed into something more chaotic. You could do it with applique or with a pieced quilt. Another idea for the file...I think I have too many quilts in my head.

While I was at the show, I took the plunge and ordered an HQ16 sit-down quilting machine--it's like a long-arm machine, but it is set stationary in a table rather than on a frame. I've been researching this type of machine for quite a while, and I think it will work out well. More on that at a later date, I don't know how long it will take to get it shipped and set up.

As far as what quilty projects I've been working on goes, for the past week, nothing. I was out in the field, looking at wetland restoration projects, and although I considered packing a sewing machine, in the end it just seemed like too much additional luggage--I already had a suitcase, 2 backpacks, a cooler & a crate of field gear. It was a long, hot week. We haven't cooled down noticeably this far south, even though autumn has begun.

This morning I worked on cutting fabric for a Tumbler quilt--this is a traditional pattern that Bonnie Hunter has been using as a leader/ender project. Bonnie didn't give specific measurements for the tumbler, but she is cutting hers from 2 1/2" squares using a wedge-shaped ruler. I wanted mine to be a bit bigger and to taper more, so I drafted one on graph paper that is 4" tall and 1" wide at one end and 3" at the other. To me these look like stretched half-hexagons. I like Bonnie's idea of "self-bordering" the quilt by using all dark value tumblers at the edges. I've cut quite a few but haven't sewn any together yet. I still have more 1/4-log cabin blocks to work on and I have also been cutting fabric for a "Tree Everlasting" quilt.

I would get a lot more done if I didn't work on three projects at once.

Improvisational Patchwork...???

I went to a Becky Goldsmith workshop last week. I know Becky is a Master of Applique--but I am not hugely into applique, and her improvisational patchwork workshop sounded more interesting, so that was the one I signed up for. The workshop got off to a bit of a rocky start--working improvisationally isn't easy for everyone, and quilting seems to attract a fair number of people with orderly minds who like having a set pattern to work from and exact measurements to cut, and asking them to just dump all that and start improvising left a few folks struggling a bit with where to start. Once people started cutting though, it started going more smoothly.



I decided to start a beach wallhanging, since I've always wanted to do one but somehow have never got around to it. I pulled all my beachiest fabrics, and a few random ones that weren't so beachy, and packed them up for a day of sewing. I got part of the beach and part of the sky pieced, but didn't even begin on the sea before it was time to go. Mine is the one in the middle. Becky had some interesting ideas about how to transition between the beach and the sea, we'll have to see how it works out when I get going on it again. I must admit that I wrapped it up in a tablecloth at the end of the day and haven't touched it since. I'm still deep in several other projects right now, so I'm not sure when I will get to it.



What intrigued me at the workshop was that one of the other quilters there started working on a 1/4-log cabin wallhanging, which is what I have been working on at home for the past couple of months. I had not consciously considered the 1/4-log cabin blocks that I've been working on as improvisational patchwork. How do you define improvisational patchwork? To me, the 1/4-log cabin blocks that I've been working on are a pattern, albeit a loose one (sew several scrap strips of fabric to two sides of a 2-inch square, trim to 7-1/2 inches square), so I didn't really consider them improvisational. I thought improvisational piecing involved less planning and less regularity, but I guess these blocks straddle the line between improvisational patchwork and regular piecing.

Scraps & Strings

Since my scrap bins have become sort of overwhelming, I decided I needed to do something to reduce the volume (note that I have two other bins just like this one, plus a large basket). I found a set of blocks under my ironing table that I started a few years ago--sort of like log cabin blocks, but with strips sewn on only two sides. The nice thing about the blocks is that they don't require a foundation--you don't have to sew them to paper or muslin--and they don't require any background fabric, unlike some other traditional scrappy patterns. The center squares are actually made from leftovers from other projects. This results in maximum scrap usage.


This is my first layout, on the diagonal. I call this one "Dragon Scales." I did buy some royal blue Kona cotton for the border triangles, but almost all of this quilt is straight from the scrap bin.


This quilt is a twin XL size. The layout in the photo is missing two or three rows on the top. It was so long it was too tall for my design wall--the ceilings are only 8 feet in my studio! However, I quickly realized that an extra-long twin quilt wasn't even beginning to make a dent in the scrap pile, so I continued to make blocks. This is layout number two:


This one is called "Floating Squares." I added blocks with red corner-squares to the yellow-orange ones for variety. I really like this series of quilts, these blocks have a lot of energy and are easy to make. They finish at 7", which seems to be a good size for the scale of my strips. I am continuing to make blocks for layout number three, because I really have a lot of scraps left. In keeping with the goal of using up what I already have, I have pieced a backing of horizontal stripes for the "Dragon Scales" quilt from quilt fabric I had in my fabric stash. I tend to buy lots of smaller cuts of many fabrics rather than large amounts of a single fabric, so I rarely have enough of any single fabric for quilt backings. I was pulling out some possibilities for the backing for the "Floating Squares" quilt and think I found a winner:


This is great! It's a pre-printed craft panel with ducks on it, probably dating from the late 1980s. My Mom gave me a bunch of her fabric last Christmas when she was clearing out the basement in preparation for a move. There are two duck panels that are about to become part of a quilt back, complete with pre-printed instructions for how to construct some kind of goofy craft involving stuffed ducks. I know when I was a teenager I thought these were cheesy and deeply uncool--but now I also think they are funny, so I'm actually looking forward to finding these ducks a new home on the back of a quilt.