Sunday, February 17, 2019

Show Your Wings Blog Hop





Hello. My name is Heide.

I am a quilter and have bad habits!


I do NOT press my blocks, I iron them


I do Not Service my sewing machine 

in a timely manner



(to name a few)






Ironing vs Pressing
My mother taught me how to iron clothes at a young age. Did such a great job, it became my permanent job growing up. Fast forward 30 some years, I am still ironing . . . Sigh. Clothes, quilt blocks, etc. You get the picture.

My life changed for the better when I watched Karen’s video from Just Get It Done QuiltsFinally, something that I could relate to and it works! I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and watch the video.  

Three easy steps:
Press the seam
Open and finger press
Press
That’s it. 


Been pressing Karen’s way all week and have experienced a huge difference in my blocks!


Now, for the sewing machine…poor thing. I have had my Elna since the late 90’s. 
Never a minute’s trouble until a few months ago. Took it in for service and got the following:

Saleslady: “Ahhh, do you know how long it’s been since you got this machine serviced?“
Me: “No, I don’t.”
Saleslady, after she cleared her throat: “That would be 2003”.
Me, while I was crawling under the carpet: “No way!” Weakly I said in my defense, “Well, I haven’t been sewing since 2011”. That sure didn’t earn me any sympathy. And then the saleslady preceded to lecture me on why sewing machines need to be serviced, blah, blah, blah and then she says I hope we can fix it.  Yikes.

And THEN the service tech calls. If I’m not mistaken, he is a retired school teacher and in his best teacher voice talking to a naughty student, preceded to tell me that that was the worst machine he had seen full of dust, lint and that I have been pulling material through which wears certain parts out, etc. (and I am thinking, how does he know I yank my material through).  He said it would cost $135 to service the machine. Wow, that’s all its going to cost? Please, yes, fix it. I got lucky, I seriously thought I was going to have to buy another machine the way he was going on & on. I put myself on time out and contemplated my bad habits. Got the call that the machine was ready for pick up. Brought her home and she is sewing like a dream again.

To address the dust issue, I decided to make a sewing machine cover, as obviously, I wasn't using the clunky, plastic cover that came with the machine. I found this adorable pattern for a sewing machine cover at Flamingo Toes.

Bev’s flamingo is so darn cute (and has wings), but I decided to do a Fairy with Wings on my sewing machine cover. Since the fairy is in purple, I am calling this "purple work". Used  the stem stitch for this project. The Iris is one of my favorite flowers, so was able to finally use this fabric that has been in the stash for years. 
Can you see the fairy sprinkling the fairy dust? 



I finished the cover last week and am happy to report I am using it every day. There are pockets on the side and one of these days I’ll figure out what to put in them.




Many thanks to Carol, from Just Let Me Quilt, for hosting the Show Your Wings Blog Hop. I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with whether it would be birds, angels, fairies, planes or butterflies.

Check out all the amazing bloggers
who will be participating---


Thank you for visiting and I hope that you all enjoyed what I learned that life is easier when you press those blocks correctly and service the sewing machine regularly.  


Friday, February 1, 2019

Hand Embroidery Enthusiasts. Can you stitch for 30 minutes a day?



For all of you that like to hand embroider, I found this challenge. Who is going to participate?

I copied & pasted the info below in case you were interested (I sure hope they don’t mind). They have a neat prize if you follow all the steps below and stitch at least 30 minutes a day for the month of February.

Donnett says:
We all need motivation to stitch sometimes. I know from personal experience that getting or staying motivated to stitch can sometime be a very real struggle. No matter how much you love stitching, it can be hard to “find the time” or maybe there is just some chaos in your life that is interfering with your stitching mojo. So what better way than a challenge to get us back to loving to stitch!!
Join the Embroidery.com 2019 Love to Stitch Challenge
Starts February 1st and goes through February 28th
Requirements:

At the completion of the challenge, not only will you have your stitching bug all revved up for 2019, but you will have won yourself a customized EZ Stitch Scroll Set with Embroidery.com 2019 Love to Stitch Challenge engraved into the sidebars.



How motivating will it be to not only meet this challenge but to see your trophy and stay motivated by using your Love to Stitch EZ Stitch Scroll Frame every time you stitch. You will be be able to choose your favorite scroll rod type between the EZ Stitch Webbing or the EZ Stitch Tape versions.
So go shout to the world "I Love to Stitch" and let's all get our stitching mojo all pumped up for 2019!!
Happy Stitching – Donnett