To see the old year out, here is the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Quilt, made entirely on two vintage machines, my 1927 99K hand machine and 1945 15K treadle, with hand stitched blanket stitch around the appliqué. I finished it a few days before Christmas. So far this is the best photograph I have been able to take. Big quilt, small house, poor light...
Soon enough I hope to have better photos and will tell you a bit more about it, but we are expecting visitors today so I can't linger.
So whether your plans are for a quiet time or a riotous one tonight
Happy New Year!
Love,
Muv xxx
Specially for the winner of the Christmas quiz. I love hollyhocks too.
Well done Alcea Rosea for spotting him!
Here he is later on in the same book. Doesn't he look a poppet in his fair isle scarf and gloves. Knitted on size 007 needles, of course. Thank goodness he's cheered up a bit. Karen Black thought he was smouldering on the last picture. Probably dangerously near to igniting if he knew how many of you thought he had a girl's body. Scary girl, that's all I can say.
You might enjoy the snippet I cut from the Daily Telegraph in 2003.
If I ever come across him again I will let you know.
This is my Singer 99K. Other models have the same bobbin winder, the Singer 66 and some class 15s.
Recently the tyre hasn't been making good contact with the wheel when I have been winding bobbins. I have been being lazy and just pressing it rather than walking across the room to get the screwdriver. I have finally fixed it today and it took me all of twelve seconds.
It is the big screw at the top left of the picture that needs to be loosened and the metal bracket it holds in place needs to be repositioned by a fraction. To find the right position, press the bobbin winder so that the tyre makes good contact with the wheel, then tighten the screw.
The irritating part of this job is that the screw is tucked into a fairly tight space, not giving an awful lot of room for your screwdriver to get at it. This shouldn't be too much of a problem if the screw isn't gummed up or jammed too tight.
If you can't get the screw to move, you can take off the belt guard, to which the bobbin winder is attached. To do this you take out the screw on the left in the picture above, and the whole component can be taken off. Once the adjustment screw is freed up, put the belt guard back on and make the adjustment with the bobbin winder in place.
It really is that simple.
A little while before Christmas Sew Scrumptious Louise nipped round here with a big bag of material. I chose these four lengths so I can play mix and match for the next dresses I make for Dress a Girl. I think I will start with the turquoise batik. There is a pattern on the LBG Studio website which I printed out last night. Somewhere I have elastic, it's still hiding, but soon enough I will be all set to start.
Don't get distracted by the giant sized strawberries. My husband got me a new ironing board cover for Christmas, a last minute purchase on impulse. Very loud, very girly, very funny that he chose it, I just had to show you.
A big welcome to Samantha, Alcea Rosea 31, Elizabeth Johnson and Karen Black. Thank you for following!
Karen is my latest doll quilt swap partner... while I am making the little dress I will be dreaming up a little quilt for her...
My husband came home from shopping on Christmas Eve with three bunches of flowers, which led to a flower arranging session, and then a rummage for something to stand the jugs on. I came across this beautiful little knitted lace doily.
Often people glance at knitted lace and assume it is crochet. I have seen at least one mislabelled item in a museum.
The only lace knitting I have done was in cream coloured double knitting wool for a cot blanket. I can't imagine ever settling down and working on tiny doilies - I'm content to admire the work that some patient and skilled lady did many years ago.
