Monday, 2 February 2004

My sewing machine is old and limited -- it doesn't do anything fancy. It doesn't even zig-zag. It sews straight lines forward and straight lines backward and nothing more.

And I love it to pieces.

It's a Featherweight 221. Based on its serial number, it was manufactured on September 16, 1946 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. I've been in love with this sewing machine my whole life -- it once belonged to my great aunt, and then to my Mom. I think it's beautiful, but more than that it is durable, hard working and trustworthy. I don't normally obsess about material objects in this way, but this sewing machine is special. It is very high on the list of things I would try to save if my house were on fire.

I need natural light to photograph it better, but here's a peek at the gorgeous art deco face plate:

I too own a featherweight and really enjoy it-it's birthday is Sept. 10th 1934. I own many different machines and appreciate them all.
However, none came to me through my family-that makes yours extra special. My machine has the same face plate too.

      Quilty comment by Cher on 3 February 2004

I could see myself easily getting carried away with Featherweights -- I would like to have the white British version, and I think the 201 is snazzy (I'd like to have a top-loading bobbin).

I also really, really want a patchwork foot.

      Quilty comment by Katxena on 4 February 2004

I think I'm going to call J&L's quilt "The star-spangled scraptacular" at least for now. Once I decided on a design, I went fabric shopping. Two days and three fabric stores later, I came home with a ton of fat quarters and quarter-yard cuts -- 56 different fabrics in all, in blues, yellows and whites. Here are just a few of them:

So I turned to my quilting friends. Uncorked shared some of her blue scraps with me, as did the fabulous B from my knitting group. B's fabrics are laid out below, on my ironing board.

K- your email link doesn't work-please email me.
Great colors-I can't wait to see your design unfold.

      Quilty comment by Cher on 3 February 2004

The sidebar is fixed now. Thanks for the reminder.

I'm looking forward to seeing this design, too! It scares me to think of making a quilt without a map. :)

I haven't yet done any kind of scrappy quilt -- I don't think my stash is quite up to the task yet, but I'm starting to get some ideas. Hmmmm!

      Quilty comment by Uncorked on 4 February 2004

Thanks for the encouragement! I highly recommend not doing a scrap quilt unless you have a large stash or a lot of true scraps -- I was surprised by how many scraps it takes to make something look truly scrappy.

      Quilty comment by Katxena on 4 February 2004

The quilt I'm making for J&L has gone through many design iterations. Uncorked helped me by working up two early versions of the design in Electric Quilt. Those early designs helped me figure out the central elements of the design: a dramatic center panel and a wide strip-pieced border with a few blocks in it.

I carried those designs around for a while, showed them to people, talked about it (with myself and others), and looked at pictures in books. Then I was in JoAnn's and saw a quilt pattern for sale that had a wide strip-pieced border with sawtooth stars surrounding a center panel of nine double sawtooth stars. I was captivated. I didn't buy the pattern, but worked out one of my own that is almost identical. It contains all the elements Uncorked and I discussed and makes me very happy.

The only problem is that I can't show it to you because it only exists in my head -- you'll have to watch it unfold here. Wish me luck -- I still worry that I've made a mistake somewhere, no matter how many times I check my math.