baby quilt, and sail repair

 

In the midst of weighty and momentous world events which are always somewhere on my mind.... my own little domestic world is starting to normalize and hum along.  I have more or less set up my sewing room, but most of my stuff is still in Japan.  I have two machines here - my Grandma's old Bernina 830 Record, and my giant Bernina 740.  

My cousin and her wife are having a baby girl soon and it's been fun to work on a simple baby quilt on the 830 Record.  Using that machine always makes me feel connected to my Grandma Mary Lou.   First things first, a nice cleaning and oiling.  

These old machines are so beautiful. 

I thought I'd do four patches alternating with this teal Kaffe Fassett shot cotton (SO soft), but once I started laying the four patches out.... 

My goal is a "not too sweet" baby quilt, and I also found after laying these blocks out, that I wanted to tone down the teal...  and so decided to make more four patches and just set them side by side. 

 I'm pleased with it although the fact that I started out with four patches sort of limited my placement choices.  

And on to the simple machine quilting, just a relaxed grid with the walking foot.  I will show the finished quilt once I've bound it! 

David visited last week from Japan and it was wonderful to have him here.  Now, all the kids, and David, have been to the townhouse and so it officially feels like home now.  He unpacked the last of the boxes and set up his home office downstairs.  

Some of the boxes held surprises.... like I'd forgotten that we had a waffle maker, lol.  We hung some things on the walls, and saw family and friends in the area.  

We got roadside barbeque.... and I have no idea what "pig pickin' cake" is... but homemade banana pudding is standard here and so yummy (my Mom was from West Virginia and made it all the time when I was a little kid).   

And we tried "Cheerwine" - a Southern thing - which turns out to be cherry soda! 

Now David is back in Tokyo.  He has been triple vaxxed and would not have been required to quarantine, but after 24 hours at home, he got word that someone seated near him on the plane had tested positive upon arrival in Tokyo... and so he does need to quarantine in the apartment after all, for 7 days and possibly 14.  Travel continues to be so daunting!  He has 35 days left in Tokyo - yes we are both counting the days!   

Meanwhile here in NC a few days ago I helped my brother (also named David) repair his sailboat sail, in several places, with a wide zig zag stitch and using the strongest thread I've ever encountered. 

David folding the sail and identifying exactly what needed repairing or reinforcing.  It stretched the entire length of the room, from dining area, past the kitchen and stairs, and into the living room area! 

As I sewed, oh so slowly, my brother and Janette ensured that no part of the sail got hung up.  I need to do more research and investigate needles because I broke two in the process and the machine had a hard time over the bulky seams.  Did you know that there are sewing machines made specifically for sails??   My brother is considering buying a "Sailrite" machine. 

In any case the whole process was an interesting challenge.  Now I'm getting ready for a weekend visit from my niece and her boyfriend.  It is such a pleasure to live within driving distance of extended family! 

xo

Cynthia 

Bernina 740 Stitch Book

I've had my Bernina 740 (which I call "my desktop" or even "the behometh") for three years but only recently did I finally make a stitch book.  I just really wanted to better know/appreciate my machine.  I saw a good tutorial here on Bernina's We All Sew blog, and I did something very similar - just simpler.

It was the kind of busy work that I actually find quite satisfying and relaxing.  Just stitch after stitch, methodically trying them all out and arranging them into a binder.   I was the kid who would rewrite my notes after school, so, ya.

I used a lightweight stabilizer, and sheet protectors designed for playing cards - I like the vertical layout.  I inserted between the back-to-back samples, to eliminate show-through.  This way, I could put 18 samples in each sheet protector.

I cut the stabilizer and the cardstock 3.5x2.5 inches.  I cut the fabric pieces narrower, so that some stabilizer was visible.   I used 40 weight thread, and just whatever solids I had around.

I wrote the stitch numbers directly onto the stabilizer.

BERNINA LOVERS aside:  My machine (740) is the base model of the 7 series - so I don't have as many stitches as the 770QE or 790, but, this is plenty machine for me, and I didn't pay for features I don't want (I have no interest in the embroidery module, and don't need the stitch regulator, having learned free motion quilting back in the 90's, the old days.)  Do I like the 9mm?  Sure.  However, I will get birds' nests if I'm not careful to use a leader, or hold my threads, and this is something I never ever had to worry about with my 5 mm 153QE.  I would just pick up and sew and didn't even know the concept of a "leader" or "holding threads."  So I'm not crazy about piecing on the 9mm (even with the 97D foot, it bugs me that part of the feed dogs aren't engaged - and yet, on the other hand, isn't the dual feed wonderful?)... pros and cons.  On balance this is such a gorgeous workhorse and I love it.   It's a dream for machine quilting, for sure, with the large harp space.  I am saving my $ to buy a second, small, portable machine, because this thing is a beast.  Maybe a 330, or one of the new 4 series coming out soon.  I have my grandma's 830 Record which is a thing of beauty... and I will piece on it sometimes, but I'd love a little 3 series for portability.  OK, end of aside!  I could talk Bernina all day long, ha ha. 

Anyway, stitch book finished and I highly recommend this exercise!

And, I used some of these awesome decorative stitches to mend a pair of my brother's jeans.  He's a carpenter and hard on his jeans.

Talk about fun and fast!

A stitch book on denim!

I used a pair of my own old jeans for the patches.

And how often does this happen???  Finished just under the wire - weirdly satisfying:

x
Cynthia