Singer 301A Unveiled

Here she is -- meet Laney

Born in 1954 like me, this pretty 301 long bed was purchased on Ebay by my sweet husband as a project for us. 

He chose the Maui Blue and White colors, influenced by a 1956 Ford Fairlane.

Laney ran pretty well from the start and sewed a beautiful seam. We took her completely apart, since she needed a good cleaning...lots of old grease and lint inside. He replaced a motor bearing; polished, plated, and blacked some of the screws.

We set up a makeshift paint booth in our garage. After several coats, I applied all new gold decals before layers of clear coat made Laney shine! Not bad for our first sewing machine refinish.

I polished the badges and waxed her after he put everything back together. She sews so smoothly with perfect stitches. We both enjoyed this project and learned a lot. I guess we have a new hobby since I've already picked up a couple more Singers from Goodwill.  

Wishing everyone a happy and safe New Year!

Christmas Past

This quilt has a story, although I don't know much of it. I found a box of beautiful hand stitched quilt blocks at an estate sale earlier this year. The fabrics are soft and look old, probably feed sacks and repurposed clothing. Each 9” block contains four 4½” LeMoyne Stars around a center square.  I can't imagine hand stitching all those tiny points with such precision!

Interestingly, these lovely blocks had once been in a quilt, then taken apart. There is cotton batting fuzz on the backs and tiny holes around the edges from picked out stitching. I'm guessing that the red material bled onto the original sashing, since a few look slightly faded. I don't know happened to it, but someone took that quilt apart to salvage those blocks, and meant to finish it. I guess now that someone is me.

There were 37 blocks total. I chose sixteen that had some green coloring to make a Christmas wall hanging. I added narrow green sashing after doing a couple of repairs and squaring up blocks. Considering they were hand cut and hand stitched, most were nearly perfect.

Christmas Past vintage quilt rescue, 2021

To keep the vintage look, the backing is natural muslin and binding is a green mini check. I used a machine stitch that looks like handwork for quilting with cream thread. My hand stitches are not that pretty. Christmas Past finished out at 42” square.

I'm so pleased that I rescued vintage blocks that someone felt were important enough to carefully pick a whole quilt apart. Now they'll live on in at least two projects. And that's a happy ending in my book.

Merry Christmas to all,

and to all a good night!

Starry Snowmen

Today I'm unveiling my second Christmas quilt project. The cute snowman print and wine/cream fabric came from this year's estate sale bonanza.

The block, Shooting Star, is a vintage 1934 Nancy Cabot design. Using Blue Wren's Sliced Square die made quick work for cutting and stitching.

Starry Snowmen

Natural muslin sashing frames the blocks. I quilted with cream thread using serpentine stitch. Starry Snowmen is 54“ square.

The backing is a large wine and cream snowflake and feathered star fabric that my mama gave me years ago. Nice memory...today would have been her birthday and I miss her.

Note: Thanks to those who asked if we were affected by Saturday's awful tornadoes and storms. We are fine, only had one small tree down. There was lots of damage in nearby towns, and unbelievable devastation in Kentucky. Please keep those folks in your thoughts.

Dies used:
Blue Wren
6600 Sliced Square 6”
6015 1½” Strips

Accuquilt 
55017 Strip 2½”

Festive Flair

I can't believe it's December! I've just finished decorating for Christmas with simple touches in each room. Nothing fancy, mostly quilts mixed in with our favorite holiday items.

This new quilt is a modern design using red, teal and pale gray colors. The alternating 8” blocks, four-patch and mill wheel, have been around for a long time. I think the same layout done with scraps and white would look more traditional, so I may try that later.

Quick and easy to sew, Festive Flair is 48” square. I quilted in rows 2” apart with light gray thread. Backing is a red on red print. I used the teal squiggle print for binding.

More Christmas quilting is underway, so check back next Monday for additional bits of holiday cheer.

Dies used:
Blue Wren
6865 Mill Wheel 8” finished
Accuquilt
55018 Value die Square 4” finished
55059 Square 2½” multiple
55017 Strip 2½”

Relish every moment