Progress is made!

As some of you know, I'm remodeling a room in our house for a long arm quilting machine I bought in February.  My husband said it would take a week to get the drywall finished, 2 months later this is where we're at!

 That's my husband on the ladder.  You can see drywall dust hanging in the air!

Proud milestone in the life of an 11 year old

Goodwill bargains!!!

Don't you know, I just HAD to stop by the Goodwill store yesterday!   I was thrilled to find 4 (four!) $35.00 12"x12" scrapbooks for $6 each.  

I'm making scrapbooks for each family member to go along with their quilt.  These are perfect!   My great great grandfather fought with Sherman in the Civil War.  He named my great grandfather William Tecumseh after the General he fought with.  I'll include stories of the battles, photos of the battles in which he was wounded.  

My quilting room is coming along!

I'm remodeling a room next to my sewing room so I can set up a long arm quilting machine.  Insulation is going in the walls for sound proofing.  I've been told it'll only take a week for the last month so hopefully it will be finished before the year's out?  rotflol

The view on March 20th

The view on April 20th

This is the view if you're standing in front of the door seen in the photo above.  My sewing room is through the open door.  I'm using the 'formal living room' as my sewing room.

What this means is, everyone who comes over sees a MESS upon entering my home.  Compared to that, the rest of the house looks fabulous!

Long arm quilting machine and frame

I bought a long arm quilting machine and frame from a dealer in Portsmouth, VA yesterday, and I did some pretty significant drooling over the many vintage machines she had. Wow, she had a beautiful New Home treadle with a coffin top on a fabulous table. It wasn't for sale, but it was wonderful seeing one is such fine condition.

I spotted a beautiful 201 for sale! The Singer 201 is in wonderful condition. It's not in a table but the wiring was sound, and the paint looked great.  Look at the throat space!  The 201 is supposed to be the quietest machine available.  The Singer 201 is considered by most collectors to be the best machine Singer ever made. It is gear driven and has an internal motor, which makes it very strong. It is also extremely quiet when sewing.


Once I get my long arm set up I'll be posting about that. We have to finish the ceiling and walls with drywall before I can set it up. Hopefully that will be finished this week.

Ode to the sewing machine # 1

I'm starting a new series called "Ode to the Sewing Machine".  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!  Where do they come up with these dollar amounts???

How can I be expected to cook and clean?

I've been sewing all day!

Not really, but I have been in my sewing room all day.  I decided I HAD to get the piles organized.  And this is what I came up with!  I bought the bins at Lowe's on clearance!  I bought all they had, and still have 8 more ready to be filled.  In another corner I added shelves above my embroidery machine.  Thread went on the wall and I can see it at a glance.

The quilt on the left was made by my great grandmother when I was born.  It's very worn and tattered, it was used for all 4 kids, I'm the oldest.  She used old shirts, aprons, sheets and anything else she could find.  It's entirely hand sewn and tied.

Mid-Atlantic quilt festival

Small wallhanging

small wallhanging

Once again the quilt festival was faaabulous!

Stunning in person, the photo doesn't do it justice

I didn't take as many photos as last time, here are a few! I met some wonderful ladies, ate too much, and spent too much!  We stayed at the Best Western, one of the nicest hotels I've been in!  I was impressed.  I can't wait until next year!

These two are my favorites from this year's festival:

The quilting is stunning, the photo doesn't do it justice. 

There is an antique doily attached at the bottom.