It is Well

 There is a story behind the hymn "It is Well with my Soul".  Listen to this true story!

My first videos

 I started a facebook group for owners of the King Quilter II longarm machine.  There isn't much in the way of help for those of us learning how to use the monitor with all the different settings so I thought I'd make some videos to help with that.

Did you know?

For all the fans of “It’s A Wonderful Life” and Jimmy Stewart. Just months after winning his

1941 Academy Award for best actor in “The Philadelphia Story,” Jimmy Stewart, one of the

best-known actors of the day, left Hollywood and joined the US Army. He was the first big-name

movie star to enlist in World War II.

An accomplished private pilot, the 33-year-old Hollywood icon became a US Army Air Force aviator, earning his 2nd Lieutenant commission in early 1942. With his celebrity status and huge popularity with the American public, he was assigned to starring in recruiting films, attending rallies, and training younger pilots.

Stewart, however, wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to fly combat missions in Europe, not spend time in a stateside training command. By 1944, frustrated and feeling the war was passing him by, he asked his commanding officer to transfer him to a unit deploying to Europe. His request was reluctantly granted.

Stewart, now a Captain, was sent to England, where he spent the next 18 months flying B-24 Liberator bombers over Germany. Throughout his time overseas, the US Army Air Corps' top brass had tried to keep the popular movie star from flying over enemy territory. But Stewart would hear nothing of it.

Determined to lead by example, he bucked the system, assigning himself to every combat mission he could. By the end of the war he was one of the most respected and decorated pilots in his unit.

But his wartime service came at a high personal price.

In the final months of WWII he was grounded for being “flak happy,” today called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

When he returned to the US in August 1945, Stewart was a changed man. He had lost so much weight that he looked sickly. He rarely slept, and when he did he had nightmares of planes exploding and men falling through the air screaming (in one mission alone his unit had lost 13 planes and 130 men, most of whom he knew personally).

He was depressed, couldn’t focus, and refused to talk to anyone about his war experiences. His acting career was all but over.

As one of Stewart's biographers put it, "Every decision he made [during the war] was going to preserve life or cost lives. He took back to Hollywood all the stress that he had built up.”

In 1946 he got his break. He took the role of George Bailey, the suicidal father in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The rest is history.

Actors and crew of the set realized that in many of the disturbing scenes of George Bailey unraveling in front of his family, Stewart wasn’t acting. His PTSD was being captured on filmed for potentially millions to see.

But despite Stewart's inner turmoil, making the movie was therapeutic for the combat veteran. He would go on to become one of the most accomplished and loved actors in American history.

When asked in 1941 why he wanted to leave his acting career to fly combat missions over Nazi Germany, he said, "This country's conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we'll have to fight.”

This holiday season, as many of us watch the classic Christmas film, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” it’s also a fitting time to remember the sacrifices of Jimmy Stewart and all the men who gave up so much to serve their country during wartime. We will always remember you!

Postscript:

While fighting in Europe, Stewart's Oscar statue was proudly displayed in his father’s Pennsylvania hardware store. Throughout his life, the beloved actor always said his father, a World War I veteran, was the person who had made the biggest impact on him.

Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and died in 1997 at the age of 89.

-- Ned Forney, Writer, Saluting America's Veterans

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Ruler work

I have a quilt top on my frame this weekend that belongs to me. It was a UFO for over a year and I finally put the borders on it.  I haven't been able to do my own for a couple months but I'm caught up on my customer quilts so I thought I'd take some "me" time.  It's so much fun doing ruler work, very relaxing as it stitches.  Here's a photo of the quilt top, the 2nd photo is my progress so far. 

This quilt is called Diamonds & Pearls.   The top is made using a ruler called the Split-Rects and it really makes a nice quilt.  Fons & Porter made a tutorial on how to use the ruler to make this quilt.  The video is on YouTube:

Great day to be quilting!

 Back to longarming! I have a Quilt of Valor on today. On the wall behind the frame you see my current quilt top in progress. It's the Circa 1880 quilt I've been working on since last January.

Jelly Roll Project

 I took a break from sewing rows for my Circa 1880 quilt to make something for my quilting studio. I found a pattern for a valance on the modabakeshop site way back in 2013. I bought a jelly roll and some yardage at the time and then it sat on my shelf all this time.  And I decided today was the day it was going to get started!   You can find the pattern by clicking here!  

I made a few changes to the pattern but I think it came out great! I used a jelly roll by 3 sisters called Oasis and some yardage.  It hangs over vertical blinds.

Perfect day to spend time quilting!

 My first quilt on the new longarm is a customer quilt.  I used a basting stitch for the first time and it was a dream!  I'm going to love using this machine.  This weekend it is cold and rainy in NC, a perfect day to quilt!

King Quilter Elite is set up and ready to go

 My new longarm is set up and running.  It took 10 hours total to assemble and level the frame, mount the machine and get it ready to sew.  The shipment weighed 440 lbs and now I know why!  The frame is all steel and is extremely well built.  It is a very heavy frame.  

I bought furniture sliders to place under the frame to make it glide over my wood floor.  If you are buying a new frame I would recommend furniture sliders over the heavy duty casters.  You'll save about $200 and the frame will glide effortlessly across the floor.  Mine does and it is extremely heavy!

The only thing left to do is to attach the cloth leaders to the rails and I'll get that done today.  After that, I'll load a quilt and be off running!

Update:  All set and ready to go!  

King Quilter II Elite longarm is here

 I am happy to say 700 blocks are finished!  If you've been reading my blog you'll know I've been making 2-1/2" blocks for quite some time.  They will be assembled into the Circa 1880 quilt but not for a few more months.  I'll need to assemble the frame and then get to know my new longarm machine that was delivered today.  After that, I have 7 quilt tops from customers waiting for me so it will be awhile before I can piece the 1880 quilt together.

Circa 1880 quilt progress

 I've been filling my time by piecing while I wait for my new longarm machine to be delivered.  It comes this Monday!  I've been working on the Circa 1880 quilt and here are some fussy cut blocks I made during the last 2 days.  I'll place these randomly as I sew the rows together.  I have a total of 600 blocks finished, I need 700 to make a queen size quilt.  Each block measures 2-1/2" and when sewn will be 2" blocks.

Here's a photo of what the finished quilt will look like!  2 friends of mine have finished their quilt!  This is a photo of Pam Buda's quilt, the author of the Circa 1880 quilt pattern.

Ron Archer awesome testimony

 I was floored by this man's testimony, I know you'll enjoy it as well.

Gideon Testimony - Ron Archer from CCF Siloam on Vimeo.

Going into withdrawal

 

My longarm isn't working and rather than put money in to fixing it I decided to get a new longarm.  I bought a King Quilter II Elite made by Handi Quilter.  The day after I paid for it they told me it would be backordered until sometime in November.  So I'm out of work for a few weeks.  I'm going into withdrawal!  The good news is I've been able to spend time piecing quilt tops, something I haven't had time to do in a few months.

I'm working on my Circa 1880 quilt.  This is a quilt with 2-1/2" blocks when sewn are 2".  It a beautiful quilt made with reproduction fabrics.  2 friends of mine from online groups finished their quilts and had them appraised.  One appraised for $5,700 and the other one was $7,000.  Both quilts had custom longarm designs and that's what I plan on doing to my quilt when I get it finished.  

I started the quilt in January.  The pattern designer said if you work an hour a day, 5 days a week, the quilt will be done in a year.  I'm making a queen size, which will need over 700 blocks and I have 375 finished now!

How to clean your iron using vinegar

It's just like using vinegar to clean a coffee maker or a steam humidifier. It softens the calcium deposits that can gunk up the vents or cause particles to break loose and cause leaks where once water was kept tight.

Step #1
Pour half water, half white vinegar into your iron. (Vinegar will not hurt your iron). Fill the iron, turn it on and let it sit for an hour. The auto-shut off will turn it off eventually, this is ok, just let it sit to soften the crud.

Afterwards, take the iron to the sink, hold it upright and shake it gently to loosen the crud. Then turn the iron upside down and pour the vinegar out of the iron.  Fill with water, shake and pour the water out.  If you've never cleaned your iron before repeat step #1 two more times.

Step #2
Add white vinegar to the iron, fill it to the top. Turn the iron on high, turn the steam to high and hold the iron horizontal over your sink.

Let the steam vent out until the iron is about half empty of vinegar. Then turn the iron upright, shake it gently as before and turn it upside down to pour the remaining vinegar out of the iron.

Fill with plain water, empty, fill with water again and repeat the process of venting steam until you're satisfied all the vinegar is out of the vents.  Now you've just added another few years of service to your iron! 


Note: This is the cutting board my husband made for me.  A tupperware colander fits perfectly.  I place a plastic cutting board on top of the colander and slide the veggies into the bowl of the colander as I go.

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On the frame today

I've been longarming for several days and just realized I haven't posted a photo in awhile so here's the quilt top I'm working on today.  I'm stitching the Pretty Posies pantograph on this king size quilt top.



We took a short trip to the mountains of NC last month.  It's always so cool in the mountains and we had a wonderful time.  We visited the Daniel Boone restaurant in Boone, NC and saw the sights near Grandfather mountain as well as Blowing Rock.

Jolly July stitching

It's Christmas in July and I've started up cross stitching again, after a break of several years.  I made my daughter some Christmas ornaments, a pillow for my mantle and am now working on a piece that has 4 seasons I'll display in my kitchen.

I'm longarming now, after a 2 week shut down due to repair needed on my machine.  The covid delays made it longer than it would have been if times were normal.  But I did get a lot of cross stitch done during that 2 weeks.






I'm working on a customer quilt this weekend and have 3 more customer quilts waiting for me.  After they are finished I need to get busy on the 6 Quilt of Valor tops I've had waiting for me.  I hope your summer is going beautifully and you get in a lot of fun stitching time!

Professional Tote or Diaper Bag

I took a break from quilting to make my daughter and grandson a diaper bag.  I used a pattern called the Professional Tote by Laura Martell from the Creative Thimble.  I'm impressed with the quality of this bag!  It is durable and will last for years to come.  If you are looking to make a tote bag this one is high quality and feels just like a piece of luggage.  The pattern is written very well, it was easy to understand and follow. 

Note:  I didn't use decor bond as the pattern suggests.  Decor Bond didn't 'bond' and shrank when I tried using it.  I used Shape-Flex fusible woven interfacing (Pellon SF101) and it worked much better.  

Ruler work on a baby quilt

I made a baby quilt last summer called Color Therapy and I'm doing ruler work on it today.  Since it will be washed often I'm only doing a simple design on it.  It's a quilt for a baby girl.  I made it when I first heard my daughter was pregnant, not knowing if it was a boy or girl yet.  Wouldn't you know, she had a boy!  So this one is being put in my hope chest when it's finished.

Pocket Prayer Quilts

I found a sweet project tutorial that I had to pass along!  I hope you enjoy watching this tutorial and I hope you make a few for your friends!

I bought the cross charms and pins at Etsy online. I printed out the card on my computer!

Click here to download the prayer print out!

Here are 4 of the 12 I've made so far, they are easy to sew!

True Story

Fun in my Sewing Room today

I had a visitor today who kept me pretty busy.

Ode to Sewing Machines #27

Many of you follow my "Ode to the Sewing Machine" posts.  We've all seen the ads on craigslist, ebay and elsewhere.  The clueless sellers give those of us who sew a belly laugh, or two!

No one in their right minds would continue reading, but who says quilters are in their right minds, so here's installment #27...

This seller actually misspelled the word twice in this ad

May they rest in peace:

Make a small tote bag

I found a free tote bag pattern and thought I'd mention it so you could download the pattern.  The pattern is a free download, on the ByAnnie website. You have to log into the website in order to download the pattern.  It's found in a download called ByAnnie Basics.

 The pattern uses 3 fat quarters.  There are videos to help as you sew each step.  The pattern calls for a stable interfacing to help stiffen the fabric.  I bought sew in Pellon Thermalam from JoAnn and it works well. One of the fat quarters is used to make bias tape to cover the raw edges on the inside.

The first step has you quilting the outer fabric, Thermalam and the lining fabric together.  I used 505 temporary spray adhesive to hold my pieces together.  I used a walking foot to do the sewing and the quilted fabric turned out perfect.



The pattern was very easy to follow, I hope you'll try making one!  I needed something to carry my sewing supplies when I travel with my machine.










I had so much fun making the first one I made a second one, and I fussy cut the fabrics for that one.

Facebook Marketplace

I have to share my facebook marketplace story! My ironing board is 40 yrs old so I thought I'd retire it and buy a new one. I always check facebook markeplace for things before I buy new so I did a search for Rowenta ironing boards. They are the cadillac of ironing boards costing $200. They are professional grade, built really well, out of steel, are larger and they don't wobble (!). Low and behold there was one for sale in brand new condition for $30! I drove an hour to pick it up and it was so worth it. The man selling it said it was "in his way" and he had never used it in the 8 yrs he had it. I really found a deal didn't I? The ad was up for 4 months! Why another quilter didn't snatch this up I don't know but I'm sure glad I found it.

In Circa 1880 mode today

I just counted the number of different fabrics I have to complete this quilt and it numbers 128. I think that's plenty to make it scrappy! I am interested in seeing how others organize their pieces as they work. I purchased a 3 tier shelf to keep next to me as I sew and it works pretty well. I have my 1" and 1-1/2" strips at hand.





Starching 128 different fabrics was a task made easier with a foldable drying rack.  I have about 95 done, and have 30+ left to go.







Update:  Saturday, Jan. 18   Here are a few of the 2-1/2" blocks, which will finish at 2" when done.  I'm making a queen size quilt which means I'll need more than 700.

Ode to Sewing Machines #26

Many of you follow my "Ode to the Sewing Machine" posts.  We've all seen the ads on craigslist, ebay and elsewhere.  The clueless sellers give those of us who sew a belly laugh, or two!

No one in their right minds would continue reading, but who says quilters are in their right minds, so here's installment #26...

Some people have too much time and paint on their hands.

Check out that description!

These are my first blocks

I'm on my way!  The Circa 1880 quilt blocks measure 2" finished.  It certainly is a challenge getting the piecing exact.  I'm hoping to find a few people to exchange blocks with to make the quilt look more scrappy!  I've decided to make my quilt larger, a queen size, so there will be over 700 blocks in my quilt when it's finished.

Circa 1880 quilt

It's the start of a new year and I wanted a project to give me a challenge.  I found the Circa 1880 quilt and decided this was it!  I'm starting it a year after it was introduced on Pam Buda's website but it's such a great quilt I just had to start it.  Here's the picture ...

You have to open the picture to see the blocks, they are 2" finished!
Over 500 blocks make up the quilt!
Pam recommends spending an hour a day and doing it that way the quilt is finished within a year.



I'm using liquid starch on my fabrics because they will be cut into 1" and 1-1/2" strips to make the blocks.   I've never used liquid starch before.
This is my first batch of fabrics.  I used Retayne on the reds and blues before starching and I'm glad I did.  I put one red in I thought was sure not to bleed and... !

If you are doing the Circa 1880 quilt please leave me a message?  Pam's suggestion of swapping blocks with another quilter helps make the quilt look scrappy and I'd love to swap blocks with you.