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I've been working on a rail fence quilt for a while now.  Piecing the top went okay, but quilting it has just been rough.  It's the first time I've done free-motion quilting on anything larger than a mini-quilt and it's surprisingly tough.  At first I was plagued by needles and thread breaking, but I got into the rhythm eventually.  I'm doing eight columns of free-motion quilting, and tonight I finished the third.  It was tough, and I had to stop and start several times.  I wasn't really happy with the quality of sewing, but by the end it was going much better and I was relieved to have it done.

I decided to flip the quilt over so I could check out the back.  And that's when I saw it.  I had somehow let the edge turn under, and had sewn over it.  I had sewn the quilt to itself.  The edge of my quilt is now firmly sewn in place, about twelve inches into my quilt. 

A cursory inspection showed that there would be no way to fix it except to rip out almost all of my quilting in that section.  In a way, it's a blessing, because I wasn't happy with my sewing but I couldn't bring myself to undo it all just because it wasn't pretty.

And yet, I still put it off until tomorrow.  I just can't face it tonight. 

I've often said that I don't have the patience for hand quilting, but I bet this stuff wouldn't happen if I quilted by hand.  Maybe I should consider it.

A break from our usual programming

I don't spend all of my time quilting and chasing after my kids.  I'm a full-time speech pathologist working at a few schools in the area.  I use an iPad extensively in my therapy as well as with my own kids.

I adore a site called Smart Apps for Kids.  Right now they're giving away four (!) iPads that are loaded up with educational games.  But the better thing is that every day they highlight a free app that is not only educational, but AWESOME.  I don't always download the apps (I don't have a lot of use for math ones, for example) but I check the site daily to see what's there.

So, check it out if you have an iPad or an iPod and some kids that need to be educated.

It's been forever since I've posted.  I think that most people say they have a million reasons for not doing something, but I only have two.  And they're three and one-and-a-half years old. 

Anyway, last weekend I bought this little beauty.

And, subsequently, sold this one.

I think the Spartan will be better for quilting because of the size of its harp...so much bigger t Han the Brother. Also, it's three-quarter sized, so it'll be easier to take to sewing events than my big vintage kenmore would be. The Spartan is over fifty years old, works really well, and is just so cool. Not bad for twenty bucks!

Craft Exchange

A while ago a website that I frequent organized a craft exchange among some of its members.  Anyone who was interested put their name in and described which crafts they do, and they were matched up with a recipient.  I figured I'd sew a mug rug and maybe make some homemade chocolate candy.

When I got the email about my recipient, though, I found that they like muted colors and simple designs.  That is so not what I do.  I considered buying some different fabric and putting something together, but I wasn't sure that I'd be able to make something that my recipient would like.

Fortunately, my recipient also mentioned that they like black-and-white photographs of urban scenes.  Score!  My husband and I are amateur photographers.  We did it more before we had kids, when we had time to walk around the city and take photos, but we still like taking pictures.  I looked through my old photos, found some that fit the bill, and edited them with an app called Snapseed. 

This is the old Gallun tannery that was on Milwaukee's East Side, near the river.  It's been torn down now.

This is the marsupial bridge that runs under Van Buren St.  I'd never heard that term before I moved to Milwaukee, so in case you're sheltered like I was, it's a pedestrian bridge that runs directly underneath a car bridge. 

This is another picture of the chained-up Gallun doors.  It's kind of sad.  There were two Gallun tannery buildings, one across the street from the other, so it was obviously a big business at one time.

I need to take photos more.  I'd forgotten how much fun it is.

My machine

I work at an urban high school, and it's a pretty stressful job.  My husband is a stay-at-home dad and also works part-time at a bookstore, so there are nights that he's not home.  On those nights, when I'm stressed out and frazzled, this is the most relaxing sight I can see.

I took a leap and put my modern sewing machine up on a shelf.  I've been using my vintage machine exclusively for a couple of weeks.  I adore everything about it.

I adore its power.  I love how it powers through layers of quilting cotton, denim, or anything else I can throw at it.  I love the complicated path the upper thread takes through the machine.

I marvel at its tight, tiny, perfect stitches.  I love how I can drop the feed dogs and let up the tension on the foot and do free motion quilting.  I appreciate its quiet motor...especially when I'm sewing at 9 PM since my sewing area is right under my son's bedroom.  And I adore how I can do simple repairs and parts replacements.

And I really love the fact that someone else used and loved this machine before me, and now I'm continuing to take care of something that mattered to someone.  I wish I could know who she was and what she made.

I still want to keep my modern sewing machine...someday I'll get over my shyness and attend one of the sew days for my local modern quilt guild, and this machine is too heavy to lug around.  But at home I love using this machine.

Early Valentine's Day gift

This year for Valentine's Day my husband wanted the ultimate gift.

For the Brooklyn Zoo to name a cockroach after him.

The zoo was naming their Madagascar hissing cockroaches after people for the low, low price of $10 per roach.  And it was what Mike really wanted.  So now there's a cockroach in New York named after my husband.  Romantic, huh?

Of course, I had nothing to show for it except for the lovely email from the zoo informing my husband of the gift.  I wanted to hand him something tangible for Valentine's Day.  So I made him this.

I actually went through a lot to do this.  I tried and failed (mostly due to my kids' desire to "help") at both fabric stamping and screen printing before finally just drawing the bugs on with a Tee Juice fabric marker.  The heart was painted on with screen printing ink.  It's a tote bag, which I hope will be handy, even if it's just to organize project parts in the basement. 

The kids made Valentines too.  My 19 month old daughter scribbled enthusiastically.  My three and a half year old son decided to maintain the bug theme for Valentine's Day, and drew a bedbug saying, "Hi Daddy!"  I'm sure we'll cherish it.

Spider web mini-quilt

I finished four spider web blocks and sewed them together into a mini quilt.  I kind of adore it!

I used my vintage Kenmore model 52 to do some free motion quilting on it.  The quilting isn't that great, but it was so fun!  And that machine is a BEAST, sewing through multiple layers of fabric like it was nothing. 

I'm learning.  This is definitely something that I want to do again.

Now I'm going to concentrate on finishing my rail fence quilt and then move on to my 1930s quilt.  I'll have to post pictures of that fabric soon!