I helped Oliver make a Star Wars Quillow [Pattern from Fons & Porter]. I did all the cutting and planning; Oliver picked the fabric theme and did most of the sewing himself. He loves his new quillow. It didn't take very long, and it's really simple sewing. It's a good project for a kid to start out on. I'm amazed at how good he is at operating the sewing machine ... I remember when I was learning to sew in first grade, there were a lot of starts and stops, sewing too fast or slow, and lots of ripping. Oliver seems to have the hang of operating the foot petal and pulling out pins before sewing over them. He sews at a nice even and steady pace. I was impressed. I suppose all the time he spends on the computer contributes to his well-developed sense of hand-eye coordination.My regular sewing machine (Viking Rose) is in the shop, so I've been using the old stand-by Rikkar. It's a basic sewing machine--and I'm amazed at what I can accomplish with just this plain old regular sewing machine. This is the one I learned to do free-motion on.
Slow-but-sure I've been making progress finishing the machine quilted borders on the Kaliedescope quilt. A few more Sundays and it should be complete--only 11 months from start to finish. I tried the quilting in sections method ... It worked in terms of less struggling with the bulk of a whole quilt while trying to manipulate it under a regular domestic sewing machine. But I'm still thinking the answer is a long-arm quilting machine and having the quilt on a frame. Ahhh--some day! In the meantime, stay tuned for the finished quilt!
What else have I been doing? Re-habbing a 100-year-old treadle sewing machine. It is now fully cleaned, oiled, and lubed. It has a new treadle belt, and new long bobbins. Things seems to be in good working order, I even got it to wind a bobbin this afternoon. Still, something's not quite right. When I tried to sew a scrap piece of fabric, the top thread won't catch the bobbin thread--so no stitches. But I'm working on it. I'm sure someone at TreadleOn will know what's going on ...
