This is the quilt that I sent to Peggy, showing where I am from. I decided that rather than base a quilt on where I live now, I could make it more interesting if I based it on the town where I grew up. Out of Darkness Cometh Light is the motto on the town's coat of arms. The sunset behind the factories is based on a particular view I would see from the bus on the way home from school.
The button and the quill in the border refer to a fascinating bit of history. Button Gwinnett lived there for a few years when he was a young man and married in the parish church in the centre of town. Later he went to America and settled in Georgia. He signed the Declaration of Independence and for a brief spell he was Governor of Georgia. I wanted this quilt to end up in Georgia, and the swap co-ordinator Chele very kindly paired me with Peggy. So there you have it. A doll quilt for Wolverhampton. For your added enjoyment here is an interesting video to watch. Is there a twist to the tale?
Another swap on Quilting Board, and the theme was "Show us where you're from." Peggy made this lovely Southern Belle gazing out over the landscape. The lines of quilting over the fields converge at a point on the left of the picture, giving the impression that that is where the belle is looking.
Peggy very skilfully worked with the tiny pieces that make up the belle's figure and added decorative stitching to the dress. The whole effect is very whimsical. Peggy said that it reminded her of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind. Thank you Peggy for the lovely doll quilt!
Free motion work is a bit of a leap into the unknown. Not only do you have to get used to the fact that the machine can work in any direction, also, if you use only vintage machines, you have to shake off the notion that only modern fancy machines can do it. It is about three years ago that I started looking on the internet at what was possible with vintage machines. Imagine my delight on realising that I had the right model of treadle sitting in the house all along - it just needed a good clean up. Then I discovered the wonderful Leah Day, the undisputed Queen of Free Motion Quilting. There are too many patterns on her blog for me to try out in the years I have left to me. Leah was wise - she started young. Leah's Youtube videos are fantastic. They show you everything you need to know about how to move your hands and manage the movement of the work through the machine. Leah took care of the hands, but treadling is equally about the feet.
This is the lady to watch, doing free motion embroidery for handbags. Her feet do not stop, she just keeps on going at an even speed. She's so good at it she can take her eyes off her work and look up and smile at people. Leah Day and the anonymous Laga Lady clinched it. Between them they launched me into free motion quilting on the treadle.
If you want to try free motion quilting on a vintage machine you need a Singer 15. There were many minor variations over the years, for example, different stitch length levers, and on some the feed dogs drop. My treadle is a basic Singer 15K (K just means it was manufactured in Scotland, in the factory at Kilbowie). Singer 15s are easily recognisable by the tension discs, which are on the faceplate at the back.
The bobbin is held in the bobbin case directly below the needleplate. This is the central bobbin mechanism, and it is this method of stitch formation which allows the movement of the work necessary for free motion quilting. Many other manufacturers made machines based on Singer 15s, in particular in Japan after the Second World War. These machines are equally suitable for free motion work.
For a good look at this type of machine, you may want to watch the video with the threading instructions. So if you have a treadle or electric Singer 15, or another manufacturer's copy, and want to have a go at free motion quilting, give it a try!
This was the only spare bobbin I had the other day when I needed to fill up with thread. Old machines often come with bobbins that have been holding thread for years. The thread absorbs moisture and the rust is revealed when the thread comes off.
It was time to get busy with the metal polish, which is best applied with strong cotton string or crochet cotton. Loop one end of the string around the back of your chair or anything else that happens to be handy, twist the string into a single strand and put on a splodge of metal polish.
Next, twist the cotton once round the bobbin. If you are cleaning a long bobbin, use the same method, but it is harder to keep a good grip on it. It will go flying across the room at least once.
Then hold the string taut, hold on tight to the bobbin and run it up and down so that the metal polish is rubbed on with the string. It's a vigorous job. All the rust will rub off, the string will turn black and fray and you will end up with a very hot thumb and forefinger from the heat generated by the friction.
Here is the same bobbin, still discoloured and blemished, but free of rust and with a distinct shine to it. I found that the manufacturer's badge was lurking under the rust, with the clearly discernible word "Japan" . I used Peek Metal Polish which I buy from the hardware shop down the road and which can be bought online direct from the manufacturers through their website. It is the only metal polish I use on sewing machines, and my brother in law has been converted to it after I gave him a tube of it so he could clean up a copper kettle.
Yes, it's free motion quilting time. It's a bit like jumping into cold water - you have to brace yourself. Then after a few days' practice you just stroll over to the sewing machine and casually blaze away for ten minutes and another section is completed.
Making the video was fun. I will just let you imagine my feet. My slippers kept slipping off so they were held in place with strips cut off an old pair of tights. Also the lighting is tricky on wet November days and I managed to drop a lamp and smash it. All in a day's work.
This was last month, before the amount of water we had reached unmanageable proportions. Each drop has an inverted image of the trees behind it - best seen if you turn your head upside down.
