Ready For A Reset

Happy New Year, everyone!

Taking a look back at 2023, it seems I was a busy lady with lots going on. After checking my lists and inventory, here's a summary of last year's work:

• Quilts & projects finished: 54
• Quilts donated or gifted: 21
• Fabric acquired: 647 yards (purchases + gifts)
• Fabric used: 253 yards
• Fabric left (not including scrap boxes): 2651 yards

So, I have plenty left to stitch. It's difficult to turn down free or low cost quilting material. I'm thankful for my friends who generously share fabric and sewing machines with me, and for my sweet husband, who actively encourages me to get whatever I want, from fabric to sewing machines and quilting supplies.

Quilting is my passion! I design and sew for pleasure and to keep my brain active. I don't take custom orders, publish or sell quilt patterns. I know I could earn money selling, but that would take the fun out of it and cut into my sewing time. I just want to enjoy my hobby, not run a business. Been there, done that.

Thanks for reading and sharing my blog. Although people have asked for videos and more content, it will remain the same weekly post for now. That takes up quite a bit of time already and I don't want to expand.  

So, I've reset the counters, made a few resolutions, cleaned my studio, and started off the year sewing.

Hope you all have a fabulous 2024. Take time for yourself, and do what makes you happy!

 

Sweet Tradition

This little quilt is similar to some made by Granny Hill and Granny Rose. In keeping with their tradition, I sewed it all on Rockette, my 1960's era Singer 500-A Rocketeer machine. She's a beauty and still sews like a dream. I do have to get used to trimming my own thread and manually raising/lowering the presser foot, but that doesn't take long. I may be a little spoiled by modern conveniences.

Pretty vintage style prints emphasize the old fashioned feel of time-honored kaleidoscope or kite blocks. I combined sections of two Accuquilt dies to give me fewer seams. These didn't take long at all to cut and stitch. I alternated pastel and medium toned blocks to balance the colors.

Sweet Tradition is 40” square, perfect baby or child size. I quilted with cream thread in a straight stitch alongside each block seam and across the triangles.

Recreating old patterns is one of my passions.  Seeing antique blocks made by the grannies inspires me. I love making them come to life in retro style or modern quilts. I have a list a mile long that of ideas I want to try. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

Accuquilt dies used:
55409 Triangle in square 4” finished (triangle)
55254 Kite 4” finished (kite)
55017 2 ½” strip (binding)

At the heart of every

family tradition

is a meaningful

experience

To see blog posts about my Rocketeer or other vintage quilts from Granny Rose and Granny Hill, click on their label below:

Singer Slant-O-Matic 500 Rocketeer

Singer Slant-O-Matic 500
Rocketeer

Do you know what sometimes happens when you're just browsing around, not intending to buy anything? Yep, that item catches your eye and you are hooked.

I've been bad. I certainly didn't need another sewing machine, especially a vintage one from the early 1960's. But this Singer Slant-O-Matic 500 is so cool looking, so space age and interesting that it is commonly known as the Rocketeer. Price was only $49, including the original manual and accessory box, so I figured why not.

My sweet husband and I cleaned, degunked lint and grease out of the gears, replaced a worn bobbin winder tire, broken spring, and a few other parts. We polished this well built gem to a shine. I love working on projects with my guy.

She sewed beautifully, even before we cleaned her up. But now, what lovely stitches! I had attachments from my Athena 2000 that fit, but ordered some cams and bobbins. My investment is around $100 so far; I call that a bargain!

Rockette won't be my primary machine, but I will use her often enough to keep everything running smoothly. I tested her out by quilting and binding a small project and she sewed a dream.

Rockette at work

I've got to stay away from antique malls, thrift stores, yard sales, and online marketplaces. I'm too easily tempted! I don't have space or funds to go crazy collecting sewing machines. But, if I win the lottery...

Blue Streak

This little quilt has motion, don't you think?

Four Lemoyne star blocks in blue paisley and plaid are framed with blue dots, adding plaid for the outside border. Blue Streak is 32” square, bound and backed with a blue ticking stripe. It's quilted with cream thread in a serpentine stitch.

Accuquilt dies made quick work of cutting and sewing, so I had time to whip up a few small mats in different blocks to coordinate the look. Another pretty kitchen set done!

She's normally a quiet person,

but she'll talk a blue streak about sewing,

if you let her.

--------

By the way, I entered a new quilt block design in Accuquilt's contest.  If you'd like to vote, link here.  Thanks.

Thrift Shop

Economy block

What a fun quilt this was to design! I used up some of my smaller scrap pieces in a rainbow of colors. I started by cutting triangles and 2 1/2” squares at random whenever I got the chance. I cut leftovers immediately after working on other projects. I stacked them all in a plastic dish until it got full. 

Thrift Shop

One day in mid-October, I began to sew white triangles with print ones, then put them up on my design wall. I used sixteen different 5” squares for the centers, and sewed economy blocks with black and white print corners. Once I got everything arranged, it reminded me of the riot of colors in a thrift shop. 

Leftover white/print half square triangles made top and bottom accent strips, borders are done in apricot diamond print.  Backing on this 40” x 50” lap quilt features cheerful daisies with black accents on an apricot background. 

I haven't quilted this one yet, being distracted by beach walking and closet catastrophe/sorting/construction. I plan to stitch 1” white vertical lines in a straight stitch when I get back to my sewing machine today.

I know my fabric limits,

I just don't pay attention to them.

As long as I keep sewing,

I'm always need more fabric.  ~me

Barefoot On The Beach

We just got home from a most delightful week in Orange Beach, Alabama. The weather was perfect, lows in the mid 50's and highs in the mid 70's. Our tenth floor suite at the recently renovated Island House Hotel in Orange Beach was super clean and spacious. The view and the beach were beautiful. The waves sounded amazing. There weren't many people around until Saturday and even then it wasn't really crowded.

Pecan Encrusted Grouper - DeSoto's

And, oh my, the seafood! 

Our favorite Gulf Shores restaurants, Mikee's Seafood and DeSoto's Seafood Kitchen, are still providing mouth-watering meals. Mikee's fried shrimp, fried red snapper and pan grilled grouper are so delicious. DeSoto's pecan encrusted flash fried grouper and Parmesan breaded flounder were the best I have ever eaten. We tried a new spot, Doc's Seafood Shack, which claims to have “the best fried shrimp in the entire civilized world” – and I believe they may be correct. Medium tailless shrimp with a light flaky batter were fried to perfection. Several new places looked promising, but there are just too many restaurants and not enough time!

Shopping load from the beach

Of course, there was shopping. Fabrics By The Pound, located in Summerdale, has an outstanding inventory of high quality quilting fabric and batting. What I bought wasn't sold by the pound, but the prices were reasonable at $7.99 per yard and sale prices of $4.99 per yard. Their decorator and upholstery fabric was nice, and the staff was very friendly. I was there for a while; filled a buggy with fabric bolts. Our car was a bit heavier on the way home. At Foley Antique Marketplace, Jerold found a $50 bargain with a Zenith Transoceanic radio, circa 1954.

There's new construction going on with condos and beach houses in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Fort Morgan is still mostly houses, thank goodness. 

To cap our trip, as we were sitting on the balcony on the last evening, we saw some unusual activity on the beach. A guy in khakis set out a blanket, cooler, and a sign of some sort, then left it and hid behind a dune with a girl in a dress who had a huge camera. Got our binoculars, and another well dressed couple was hiding behind another dune nearby. Soon after, a young couple came down the beach and stopped at the blanket. You guessed it, a proposal. They hugged, he dropped down on one knee, and she said yes. How cool is that? I hope they stay married at least as long as we have.

The beach is truly my happy place. I love being there, feeling the breeze, smelling the sea air, and hanging out with my guy. If we had an opportunity to move there, I would have to think about it, but it might not take long to decide. It is a magical, relaxing, calming spot. 

Perdido Pass Bridge, Orange Beach

 

Go Rest High On That Mountain

My feisty little redheaded mama has gone on to her next adventure. This week, just 2 months shy of her 84^th birthday, she left this world to be free of cancer and pain. I will miss her, but I'm happy that I spent most of the past year with her.

“Everything about her was

both unique and complicated.”

~Deborah Moggach 

Sam Hill was the cool mama, Girl Scout leader, and she would do anything for her kids. Never a dull moment with her!  She was an outspoken free spirit with an attitude, who loved mini-skirts, cold beer, tight jeans, motorcycles, Camaros, and bikinis.

If you knew Sam or would like to do something in her honor, please pick one of the things she was most passionate about: plant some flowers, go shopping for cute shoes, or spend a day fishing. She'd like that and it would make me smile!

"You weren't afraid to face the devil
You were no stranger to the rain  
Go rest high on that mountain
‘Cause your work on earth is done"

~Vince Gill

Seek Your Passion

passion [pash-uh n]

: any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling

: strong amorous feeling or desire; love; ardor

: an intense enthusiasm or desire for anything

: the object of such a fondness or desire

Passion is powerful. Passion is the energy that drives us to achieve. It causes our eyes to light up and our faces to glow with anticipation.

Be passionate about life. Find love and revel in it. Indulge in hobbies, activities, people and surroundings that bring joy. Tackle projects with enthusiasm. Seek knowledge, creativity, and beauty in ordinary settings to inspire happiness.

Dare to dream, dare to imagine the possibilities of living a life full of passion.

“Anything that gets your blood racing

 is probably worth doing.” 

~Hunter S. Thompson

“One person with passion 

 is better than forty people merely interested.” 

~Unknown

“Every single day, do something

 that makes your heart sing.” 

~Marcia Wieder