In memory - George Chamberlain

 

George was a veteran of World War II. He rarely spoke of his time in the war. After the war, he came back home on the aircraft carrier, the USS North Carolina. He visited the ship in 1996 with his son, Jim. The USS North Carolina is docked in Wilmington, NC and is a museum. 

After the war, George returned to Arkansas. He married June Andrews on Christmas Eve 1946 in Benton, Georgia. They eventually moved to Hardin county, Iowa. George farmed for Jesse and Martha North, living on a farm near Whitten, IA. They raised 4 children. 

George was eventually adopted by Jesse and Martha North and upon their death they left the farms to George. George and June moved to the farm in New Providence in the 1980s. He bought a truck in the mid 1980s and drove from coast to coast. In 1991, the US was in the midst of Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Iraq. George had a contract with the US government, carrying nuclear warheads from California to North Carolina. As you can imagine, he was tracked by satelite, the FBI and he could travel only secondary roads from coast to coast. And at every town he had to radio ahead and wait for police, firetrucks and haz-mat crews to escort him through town. It took 2 weeks to travel from sea to shining sea.

He was a great father-in-law and grandpa.  We will miss him very much.

ByAnnie patterns

 I made my second Running with Scissors and Take a Stand totes this past week.  There are many ByAnnie patterns.  Annie makes all kinds of patterns for totes, bags and duffels.  The first set I made a couple years ago and sold them to a customer who wanted them really, really bad.  LOL  So of course I needed to make another set!  

Running with Scissors is a bit challenging to make but if you take your time and take breaks in between steps it's manageable. Take a Stand is easier.  I would recommend cutting the binding for the tote body at 2-1/2" rather than 2-1/4" though.

Unexpected time off

 I have a couple weeks off from longarming due to an error code I was getting on my robotics.  I had to ship the motor to Utah for repair.  I have 15 quilt tops waiting for me when it gets shipped back though so I hope they fix it quickly!!

In the meantime, I'm using this time to sew for my grandchildren, ages 5, 2 and 10 months.  I haven't made clothing in over 20 years, since my son was little, and I'm a little rusty at it!  I made pajamas using this pattern and decided to use flannel.  

Flower Girl

I made this quilt top using my Featherweight and had it hanging on my design wall for months waiting for me to find the time to longarm it. It's done now! This was a Jolly Bar quilt kit from the Fat Quarter Shop, the fabric collection is called Flower Girl.

Difference in Thread Weights

 I don't remember where I found this photo, but it's a great visual of the various thread weights available today.  50 wt is what I use on my long arm.  40 wt is usually used on embroidery machines as well as quilt piecing and sewing garments.  I use 70 wt thread for bobbin thread on my embroidery machine.

How to get perfect longarm tension

 Jamie Wallen shared a video 12 years ago about how to get perfectly balanced tension and it's been watched by over a quarter million longarmers.  It's the best instruction I've seen that explains how to fix problems you might be having with your stitching.

Latest quilt on my frame

 It's been beautiful in NC the last few days!  I've had my windows open every day and the breeze is wonderful as I work on my longarm machine.  This is the latest quilt on the frame.  It's 110"x110" and it belongs to a customer.  

Ode to Sewing Machines #48

 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!  

Just when I think I've made enough Ode to Sewing Machine posts, I see another "can't believe this one" and I have to share it with you. Here's installment #48!  

This is the only photo!  

A new kind of rotary cutter!

 There is a new type of rotary cutter available and it is wonderful!  Much different than the usual rotary cutter, it has ball bearings in it that make it so much easier to cut.  You don't have to press nearly as hard to get the blade to cut.  And the best thing is our cutting mats will last longer! 

Another benefit is for people who have arthritis in their hands or shoulders.  With less pressure placed on the cutter there is a bit of relief from pain while using a cutter.

It's sold only at Missouri Star Quilt Company.  

UPDATE:  They have introduced a 60 mm and a 28 mm rotary cutter with ball bearings in it!  

Under my needle

 I had the privilege of working on an antique quilt today and had to share it with you. This quilt is from the 1930s or 1940s and is made with feed sack fabrics. My customer chose a floral design to be stitched on it and I think it looks wonderful!

Fly Away Tablerunner

I had the power cord replaced on my foot controller by sending it the Featherweight Shop.  It was worth every penny!  I've been sewing on my Featherweight this week.  I finished this table runner on it.  The pattern is from Villa Rosa and it's called Fly Away.

Triangle Star Ribbon Winner

 I entered my Triangle Star quilt in the Capital Quilters Guild Quilt Show which is open today and tomorrow in Raleigh at the NC State Fairgrounds.  It won an honorable mention ribbon.

This quilt has 560 HSTs and I'm proud to say every point is perfect!

Under my needle

 Today's quilt top is on my frame and I'm stitching a design called Hickory Dickory.  This is a client's quilt and I'm having fun quilting it!

A great set up

 I thought I'd share the way I iron seams when I'm piecing small pieces.  I've done this for years and it saves from having to get up and down going to the ironing board.  This Dritz mini iron is 19 years old.  I bought a new one 3 years ago thinking this one would conk out eventually.  But this one keeps working!  

I found a June Taylor mini press n' cut that fits nicely next to my machine.  I love this set up!  Unfortunately, they stopped making the mini press n' cut.  I found one on ebay and that's about the only place where you can find one now.

Mini Dresden Spool Pin Doily

 I made this doily for my Singer Featherweight.  I used a free pattern from The Featherweight Shop website.  It's a $10 pattern but if you sign up for their newsletter they will send an email with a link so you can download it for free.

The pattern is well written and it was fairly easy to make.  The pieces are tiny though.  Of course I used my Featherweight to make it!

I also made a pad to protect the bed from being damaged by the face plate screw.

I gave my machine a tune up as well.  It has been lubed, oiled, cleaned and waxed.  I bought a new power cord for it as well as a new oil drip pad and new LED bulb.  I highly recommend the Featherweight Shop for anything you might need for your Featherweight.  Their service is excellent and the website is a wealth of information.

Triangle Star Quilt

 I'm busy working on a quilt top that I made. I'm doing custom stitching on it and I've been working on it for 2 days and I hope to finish it tomorrow night. I have about 7 hours work left on it, not counting breaks. I'll start early tomorrow morning!

The pattern is called Triangle Star and it was created by Edyta Sitar.  

Found a Featherweight!

You never know what you'll find at a quilt guild meeting.  Last night was the Durham Orange Quilters Guild meeting and one of the members was selling a Centennial Featherweight!  It wasn't used very much from the looks of it, it's in excellent condition and all the gilding is completely intact.  Here's a photo of the Centennial badge.

The case is in near mint condition and it had 2 keys with it!  The power cord has quite a few cracks in it and I will need to do a little work on it to replace the power cord.  It's a repair  I'll do myself.  Another plus:  all the accessories came with it, including one rare item, a Singer needle threader/seam ripper.  

Featherweight sewing machines are highly sought after by quilters because they have a beautiful straight stitch.  The machines are fairly easy to come by if you look online.  I snapped this one up because it was in such fine condition and the price was lower than what these go for in this condition.

Under my needle

 I'm working on a client's quilt on this rainy, cold winter day.  It's a great day to be quilting!  The quilt on the frame today is a big one, king size and it's a beautiful quilt.

One Nation Under God

 Built into our constitution, our founding fathers built a foundation of freedom. From the beginning, Christianity was not the law of the land.  Christianity was the principle behind the law of the land. One undeniable fact: At its core, the United States of America is a Christian nation.  A noble and significant quality embedded in the Christian faith is freedom for the religions to compete in the public arena of ideas. Americans have the freedom to change their nation from a Christian nation to any other type of their choosing. The majority will decide. While giving us this freedom, there were warnings given by our founding fathers.

Ode to Sewing Machines #47

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!  Just when I think I've made enough Ode to Sewing Machine posts, I see another "can't believe this one" and I have to share it with you. Here's installment #47!  

If you give this to your Mother you better run!

This one isn't even worth $20!!