Freeing Up The Action On A Singer 99K

Looking at these first test stitches made by a 1918 Singer 99K, you would not be able to tell that two days previously I was hardly able to turn the wheel.  This is the machine which has the improvised repair, the thread guide made from a safety pin.

The next big problem was that the mechanism was well and truly gummed up; in fact, so stiff that I was nervous of turning the handle too much in case I suddenly discovered a bit of hidden metal fatigue.  The last thing I wanted was a snapped handle, so much of the time I was turning the wheel by hand.

First I cleared all the accumulated fluff from underneath the bobbin plate and needle plate and from behind the face plate.  Next I cleaned up the stop motion screw and checked that the wheel was able to move freely.  Then I gave the machine a very liberal oiling, and found that the movement was still very stiff, even after leaving the machine for hours to give the oil time to penetrate.

After a few turns the machine would start labouring.  Somewhere there was a gummed up joint, but it wasn't obvious where just by looking.  I could hear it creaking, and decided that the sound was coming from the bobbin mechanism underneath the machine.

One or more of these joints was objecting.  The answer was paraffin, which I have used before to unstick stubborn parts.  I wrapped a piece of old cotton rag around the entire bobbin mechanism, tied it with string, and soaked it with paraffin.  Then I left it in place overnight, and this is how it looked the next morning - clean and very dry.  The paraffin had removed all the fresh oil and all the old oil residue that was causing the problem.  Once I had re-oiled underneath the machine, it turned freely.

Now that I was able to turn the handle, it was obvious that the handcrank needed more oil than I had already given it.  Essentially, the handcrank is made up of two cogs, which both need oiling.

The lower cog is oiled next to the large central screw, just behind the handle.  The cocktail stick shows the oil hole.  Note mug of tea lurking in the background.  It helps.

The upper cog is oiled at the top of the arm that connects the handcrank with the wheel.

The machine was then left overnight, and next morning all I needed to do was wipe off the excess oil, especially from behind the handle, where it oozes out, bringing out black muck that has been hiding there for years.  If you are too enthusiastic, and turn the handle before dabbing off around it, you can end up getting splattered.

And finally I had the thrill of getting this machine sewing for the first time in decades.  Beautiful stitches, every bit as good as I had hoped. 

Linking up with Connie's blog Freemotion by the River for Linky Tuesday

A Picture for Sunday - Wild Pansy

Red in the picture is provided by a tiny photobomber.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 71 - Pink and Blue

Union Jacks again, this time with blue as well as pink.

There are even daisies on blue to go with the daisies on pink.

And the pink binding has just the right shade of blue to go with the border.

Yes I know, life is getting repetitive around here.  Yet another cradle quilt much like the last one.  Life has been busy, and rather than get nothing done I am happier getting a little quilt finished, even if I am working to a formula and using nil imagination.  It's the wrong time of year for that.  It's well and truly dark by 5 o'clock, for goodness sake.  Why aren't I hibernating?

So, if you are tempted to throw together a quick project for a baby, here are the measurements for the top: a 9 inch square in the centre, framed by three strips of 2 and a half inches, with a 4 inch border to finish.  Sandwich, quilt, bind.  Job done.  Told you it was quick.
   

Here goes for week 71...

The project in Week 70 that really caught my eye was Katy's pieced top quilted with swirls, which she decided on after doing three wonderful FMQ practice pieces.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France and Macau have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

A Picture for Sunday - St. Elizabeth

One of the windows in a church near here, this one depicting St. Elizabeth of Hungary holding a basket of roses - just a few feet away is St. Patrick.

Flights of Fancy - Exhibition at Midsomer Quilting

Last week I visited Flights of Fancy, the exhibition of Angela Knapp's work at Midsomer Quilting, and was totally bowled over by her work.  She has combined her fascination with birds, her artistry, and her skills with needle and thread to produce a beautiful collection of pictures.  As depictions of birds they are incredibly accurate - I identified this peregrine falcon straight away.

This one foxed me, though, because I was thinking of British birds and I was thrown by the scale.  It is a humming bird, with subtle shades of blue, turquoise and rusty reds and browns.

Next to the visitors' book Angela had left her scrap book open, so as well as enjoying all the pictures, visitors could read facts about the birds and see how she had prepared each piece.  Also, Angela was on hand, working on her exhibit for the forthcoming 12 x 12 exhibition, so she showed me how she achieves such amazingly realistic effects. 

It was an absolute delight meeting Angela and seeing her work.  If you want to find out more about the exhibition, and read about her techniques, visit her blog at The Cary Made.  Or, better still, if you are able, visit the exhibition!

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 70 - Union Jacks and Pink

It was time for a hefty dose of pink this week, after having made so many quilts for baby boys in recent months.  This cradle quilt measures just a fraction less than 27 inches square, and was very quick to make.  The top was pieced on Monday, the quilting done on Tuesday, and the binding put on on Wednesday.

After banning myself from using anything pink or with flowers in the boy quilts, I was all of a quiver when I was working with these daisies.

The Union Jack fabric in the centre isn't short of pink, either.

I decided that hearts had to be a theme...

...so there is a line of hearts running along the binding.

Meanwhile, on the back, there are rabbits with pink ears and pink ribbons.  How girly can you get?

Here goes for week 70...

The project in Week 69 that really caught my eye was Cynthia's bold red and grey quilt, made using scraps.  She used a wiggly swirl for the FMQ pattern - I must try it some time!   If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France and Macau have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Michelle's Romantic Tangle for Let's Make Baby Quilts
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

A Picture for Sunday - Holywell

A quiet day at St Winefride's Well In Holywell, North Wales.

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 69 - Cushion Cover

Have you ever had the feeling that you have inadvertently made a fancy truss?  Or a bodice for the woman with the cylindrical figure? 

This is the quilted panel that I started last week, cut to size, bound at one end and with a buttonhole band stitched to the other.  It was a great excuse to play with one of my favourite gadgets, the buttonholer.

And here it is transformed into a cushion cover.  I used up fat quarters that I originally intended to use for bindings, but the fabric was a touch thick and frayed too readily.  Brown isn't a colour that looks particularly marvellous in our house, but I know someone who loves brown, and it will be just right for her settee.

There was no real plan for the arrangement of the bands of colour or the free motion quilting.  I decided to see how it looked once quilted, and then I settled on how to fold it.  In the end I went for a symmetrical look on the front... 

... and all the pale grey-brown went to the back.  The pieced buttonhole band was made from an offcut from the main pieced panel, and the three dark brown buttons I found lurking in an old button tin in a charity shop.  I think I prefer the back to the front.

Here goes for week 69...

The project in Week 68 that really caught my eye was LeeAnna's demonstration piece, a free motion quilted sketch made with paint sticks. So colourful!  (Especially after working with brown.)  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France and Macau have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up with Kelly's blog My Quilt Infatuation for Needle and Thread Thursday
and Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday
and Amanda Jean's blog Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

A Picture for Sunday - Porto

You can't escape port in Porto.  It's everywhere. 

Free Motion Mavericks - Week 68 - Best Seen From The Back

Cushion covers are fairly quick to make as presents, and I have got half the quilting done on a cover I started earlier this week.  This is the backing, calico, and the dark brown bobbin thread shows up well in today's poor light.  The front is wide bands of different shades of brown, and the poor old camera just can't cope with it.  Likewise, when sewing, I am having a bit of difficulty seeing where I am going.  I am trying out different threads, using one shade for the main part of the leaves and another for the serrations all round them.  This means I am going back and forth along the stems twice.  It doesn't look too bad from a distance...

... but when looking closely you can see that the stems have four lines of stitching, which is a bit scruffy.  This leafs looks particularly slapdash where it joins the stem...

...but on the right side the slightly scribbly bits hardly show up.  I suppose that if I can't see where I am going off course it follows that the wobbles won't show up too badly.

As well as working in poor light (blame the rain), the calico is stiffer than the usual stuff I buy.  It was so loaded with stiffener that it smelt of wallpaper paste, so rather than just adding water and using it to decorate an alcove, I washed it.

Not that you would think so, seeing this.  This is what you get when your work creeps round the back of the machine and has a brief skirmish with the treadle belt.  It is nothing drastic, it will come off easily enough, but it is on the inside and a shade of brown to match.  If it weren't a present I would probably leave it.

Here goes for week 68...

The project in Week 67 that really caught my eye was Gwyned's Deconstructed Sunrise - version 3!  She has put together a winning combination of subtle colours with a sunray free motion quilting design.  If you haven't seen her blog post yet, nip over now and see more photos.

If you love free motion quilting, whether you are a beginner just taking the plunge, or you have reached the stage where you can do ostrich feathers with your eyes shut and still achieve perfect symmetry, then please link up.

Remember, FMQ is FMQ, whether your machine was made last week, or it is older than your granny.

Here are the very easy and slightly elastic rules:-

1.  Link up with any recent post, ideally from the last week but within the last month, which features a free motion quilting project, whether it is a work in progress or a finish.

2.  Link back to this post in your own post and/or grab the linky button for your blog's sidebar.
  
3.  Visit as many of the other participants as possible and say hello in the comments box.

4.  The link up will remain open for four days, from midnight to midnight GMT for the long weekend, Friday to Monday.

So far quilters from the USA, England, Wales, Australia, Canada, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, France and Macau have taken part.  The first participant from each new country will get a special mention the following week.

Linking up to Sarah's blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop Friday.
 

Vintage Book Review 3 - Complete Home Knitting Illustrated

Reprinted in 1946, Complete Home Knitting Illustrated, by Margaret Murray and Jane Koster, gives a fascinating glimpse of wartime Britain.

The summary on the title page states the book will show how to combine knitting with fabric, and to make new clothes from old, two very useful skills in times of shortage.

The trim lines of wartime fashion are shown to best advantage in this bouclé ribbed frock and neatly waisted moss stitch cardigan, which quite frankly would have taken me the entire duration to knit.

Quicker to knit are these short sleeved jerseys, knitted on size 8 and 10 needles in 3 ply wool, and teamed up here with tweed suits and lace up boots.

The illustrations are extremely clear, with plenty of drawings showing different methods of casting on and off, increasing and decreasing, making buttons and buttonholes, and everything a knitter needs to know to make the most of the patterns in the book.

These illustrations, showing how to carry the wool at the back of the work for Fair Isle knitting, are quite exceptional. 

Also of interest is the section about continental knitting, which concedes that "it is much quicker than the English way."  This was a method I hadn't even heard of when I encountered a German girl doing her knitting at a bus stop in Ireland in 1982.  When I expressed amazement at the fact that she had the wool in her left hand and hardly moved her needles, she unhesitatingly informed me that the German way was much more efficient.  Perhaps it is, but anyone who learnt to knit the English way at the age of six isn't going to change.  Old habits die hard.

The book shows numerous different stitches, from lacy and delicate patterns for babies' and children's clothes, to stitches specifically recommended for men's garments.  Feather rib is evidently the ideal stitch for the man who has the casual approach to digging.

This waistcoat is very smart and practical...

... with a pocket each for a packet of 10 Woodbines and a box of Swan Vestas.

The children's section includes all the itchy vests and knickers in 2 ply wool, babies' shawls, pilches and matinée jackets that are to be expected (and possibly dreaded) in old knitting books.  This little jacket, however, could be made reasonably quickly, as it is knitted across the body and the ribbed effect is achieved with knit rows alternating with bands of stocking stitch.

Equally ingenious are these gloves, also knitted across the usual direction of work.  Gloves figure large in the book, with patterns for gauntlets, open work gloves in cotton or wool, fingerless gloves and mittens.  Keeping warm in the years of fuel shortages was a priority, and this photograph shows that staying warm in layers of wool could be achieved with some elegance.  

Another preoccupation was making clothes last.  This little girl is wearing a dress made from fabric from an old dress, and which has been enlarged with knitted inserts in the sides and a new knitted yoke and sleeves.  Somehow she doesn't look too enamoured with the result.  Perhaps it is a bit too hot and itchy around the shoulders to let her go tearing around after a tennis ball.

Possibly the most fascinating picture is this one, taken on a gloriously traffic-free corner in London.  The outfit isn't much different from those worn by girls when I was a child.  In fact, I could swear she has nicked my ankle socks and brown leather Start Rites.  The truly fascinating feature of this picture is the white painted kerb, no doubt to prevent people from breaking their necks in the blackout.

By far the barmiest pattern in the book is this one, described as a helmet with ear flaps.  Just an ordinary balaclava, (passé enough in itself unless you are knitting for a hearty outdoors type or a bank robber) but with the added feature of ear holes through which the wearer can pull his ears.  It really doesn't bear thinking about.  This man deserved a beer bonus for modelling this creation.  He would have been ribbed something rotten next time he went down the pub.

Complete Home Knitting Illustrated is a truly marvellous book, but perhaps not for the faint hearted who baulk at the prospect of casting on 183 stitches in 3 ply wool on size 10 needles.  It is packed with plenty of technical information, and patterns that can be adapted and updated, and it deserves a place on the bookshelf of every experienced and truly intrepid knitter.

Linking up with Connie's blog Freemotion by the River for Linky Tuesday 

A Picture for Sunday - Distant Rain

Ever-changing clouds over the Bristol Channel, photographed at the same time and from the same spot as this photo.