Baby Maddox is Here!

Baby Maddox finally made his appearance yesterday! Baby and Mom are doing fine, after being confined to a hospital bed for almost a month. He will finally be able to use his Jungle Babies quilt.

Baby Maddox's quilt:



The baby shower was postponed to September 26th, so it looks like the delivery took place just in time!

Friday Night Sew In

Are you tired of seeing this quilt yet? I finished the machine quilting last night. I only need to bind it now, so I promise just one more post of the FINISH, hopefully this weekend!



Tomorrow night is Friday night sew in for September. Go HERE for details on how to sign up.

I can't decide if I will work on binding the quilt, or if I will tackle one of my "sewing to do list" items HERE.

Summer is winding down at the farmhouse....

I know that Fall is coming, even though it will be in the nineties again today. How do I know this?

My hubby brought home two pumpkins yesterday which I added to the early autumn theme I am working toward in our yard. I replaced the dead Petunias in the flower pot at the end of the driveway wth ornamental Kale and a Mum. One pumpkin sits beside this pot and the other sits beside my tin sunflower. The days are getting shorter, so its not light enough this morning to take a picture.

One early morning recently we opened the kitchen windows and it was down right chilly for about an hour. Of course, then we had to close up those windows and let the air conditioning work its magic on the end of summer weather in the South!

Pumpkin spice and other Fall scented candles are on sale every where.



Last week the farm workers dug all the sweet potatoes surrounding our home. We "gleaned" these after the workers finished their harvesting!



I am finding myself cooking more cooler weather type foods, such as soups, chili, and stews. Most recently I made Ernest T. Bass's Chicken Thief Stew. I will make clam chowder this weekend, if we aren't having too much of a heat wave.

Have a nice Late Summer day!

The quilting continues...

The machine quilting of the Nine Patch quilt is going well! I have completed three fourths of it and hope to quilt a little each night this week to complete it. This weekend I plan to make and sew on the binding, for a quilt finish. It takes me a while, but if I persevere, it does happen eventually.



I am also pleased with how the hand quilting is coming along on Grandma's old quilt top. I have built up the skin on my finger tips! The fabric in the quilt top is very old, woven and not consistent in its thread count. Some areas are easy to quilt and others will only let me load one stitch at a time on the needle. Baptist fans are easy to quilt, especially when one is watching football with one's hubby. I am on auto-pilot when quilting them and don't have to think about it too much.

I have been trying to concentrate on using my stash and scraps, but I did go to Joann's in a "sort of" big city about 30 miles away over Labor Day Weekend. I love that place! Every thing was on sale the day I was there. I could spend hours just browsing and it wouldn't hurt to have a little spending money while there either. Here are some things I bought to help me finish some projects and to start some new ones, of course.

From the remnant bin. My favorite place in a fabric store or the fabric department at Walmart is the remnant bin. These were 50 % off the day I was there. I see the combinations for all kinds of bags here. (lunch bags, clothespin bags, fabric grocery bags, purses)



Some Debbie Mumm fabric in a coffee theme, on sale also.



Some blue fat quarters.



Beige and tan fat quarters.



Red fat quarters and quarter yard cuts.

Free Motion Quilting Jitters

I always get nervous when I begin to machine quilt a project that I have worked on for months! I'm still learning and gaining experience as I go, so I wanted to get started on the right foot with my Summer of 2010 Nine Patch Quilt, which is only the second bed size quilt I have free motion quilted.

When I got home last night I cleaned and oiled my old Singer machine, replaced the needle and filled up 3 bobbins with the machine quilting thread I am trying for the first time.

Then I moved the machine so that it backed up to my cutting table and placed an old card table to the left of it to support the extra bulk of the quilt. This is essential to keep the weight of the quilt from dragging it away from the quilting area. Its also helpful to be able to spread out the quilted portions as you go.

So far, so good. I about to go make that first stitch! Pray for me!

In the Sewing Room

Organizing and setting up my sewing room is an on going process. I spent a little time Monday organizing everything and hanging a few things on the wall. Most of the walls in the farmhouse are made of plaster and you can't just use push pins to hang things! I know because I tried. Hanging things require the help of my hubby and his trusty rechargeable drill.

I haven't done any sewing since Monday, but have enjoyed just walking in there this week. Its a peaceful cheerful place.



The things on this corkboard make me smile.



I'm working on several projects at once and was feeling a little overwhelmed, so I organized them into a more usable system.

The "wedding" quilt is ready for more piecing. I've decided it will be the main project that I am working on right now. I bought some more fabric to go with it and now feel happier with how it is turning out. More on my trip to the "sort of big city" to a real fabric shop in a later post. :o)






The red/white and blue/beige quilts pieces in their own containers. I placed them near the sewing machine so I could continue to work on them as leaders and enders.






I've made much progress on handquilting my grandmother's quilt top. I quilt a few minutes on it most days and slowly, but surely it will get done. This weekend I plan to machine quilt the Summer Nine patch quilt. Maybe I'll be able to show some progress next week!

Practicing Hospitality

Offer Hospitality to one another without grumbling 1 Peter 4:9

Offering hospitality is a part of homemaking and there are references to it throughout the Bible.

Here are some ideas for simple ways to offer hospitality from my home recently.

If someone is having a birthday, its so simple to make it special. A little decorating goes a long way. Imagine how special you would feel if when you came into the room there were streamers, balloons and "Happy Birthday" banners.

Its so easy and inexpensive. I spent exactly $1.25 to make my kitchen look like this. I already had balloons left over from a previous celebration (I think it was a baby shower or wedding shower). I reuse the "Happy Birthday" banner, so already had it. I purchased one roll of "happy birthday" crepe paper (streamers) for $1.25.



I made a list of all the things I needed to do and accomplished as much as I could the day before. For example, I set the table, decorated and planned the menu the day before. The food was served buffet style.



And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers Philemon 1:22

We recently had overnight guests which was such a joy. A little planning ahead is helpful to both you and your guests. Try to anticipate their needs. Ask yourself what kinds of foods do your guests like. What would make their room comfortable? Some ideas for the guest room are: a box of kleenex, a nightlight, of course clean linens, clear a place in the closet for hanging clothes, put out bath towels, hand towels and wash cloths. A basket of trial size toiletries would be a good idea too.

For breakfast we served country ham biscuits and cantaloupe.



It would be nice to invite guests over for dessert and coffee. It's so easy to buy a frozen pie, pop it in the oven and present your guests with a delicious dessert.



I hope to be alert to ways I can offer hospitality to someone. You never know when unexpected guests may show up or you might feel inspired to invite someone over on the spot. So its a good idea to have some ways of showing hospitality in mind ahead of time.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. Matthew 25:35
Hebrews 13:2

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:1-3

What other ideas for practicing hospitality do you have?

A Little Bit of Fall at the Farmhouse

Happy Wednesday everybody!

I'm a sucker for Sunflowers, so I couldn't resist this sparkley Sunflower made of tin. It's blooming right in front of the stepping stone my daughter made for us.



Monday, while off work for Labor Day, I made pillows for the chairs on our front porch. The fabric came from repurposed curtains I bought at a thrift shop a couple of years ago. The sunflower fabric curtains would have been cute in my sewing room, but I needed curtains for 2 sets of windows and had only one curtain. The striped fabric came from heavy lined drapes and is the brand name "Waverly". I was able to use the lining as the back of the pillows. I stuffed the inside of the pillows with thrift store pillows also, along with some polyfil stuffing I have had forever. So these pillows were very, very low cost. This is a good thing because I don't need to worry about how the weather affects them. When they start looking bad... out they go!



I made six pillows in a just a couple of hours. AAAHHH! Instant sewing gratification. After working on the slow process of quilting, its nice to have some finished projects

A Summer Sandwich... Quilt Sandwich that is.

I took advantage of the long Labor Day Weekend to make the Summer of 2010 nine patch challenge quilt sandwich. This is really a lot of work! Friday night I began the process by deciding where I was going to spread out the quilt for basting. I decided to use the sewing room floor so that the quilt wouldn't be in the way of everybody's comings and goings all weekend. I took down the ironing board, pushed everything to the walls and cleaned the floor very well.



The backing fabric and the quilt top must be ironed very well. Then there is lots of crawling around on the floor taping down the backing, spreading out the quilt top and pin basting the whole thing.



So now I am ready to start machine quilting on this one this coming weekend.

My Sewing To Do List for Fall

I'm tingling with joy that September is here and the cooler weather sewing season along with it! These are a few of the things I would like to work on:

1. Continue hand quilting Grandma's vintage quilt top. This will be an on-going project. I love how the Baptist Fans are looking.

2. Make pajamas for my grandson. I will use fabric I have on hand for the trial pair. If they turn out right and fit well, I will make more. I already bought a pattern and took his measurements, but HERE is a tutorial for making them using a pattern you make yourself. I haven't always gotten good results from store bought patterns, so if my first pair doesn't work, I may try making my own pattern.



3. Quilt and bind my Summer nine patch challenge quilt top.

4. Quilt and bind my Little Boy Blue II Quilt top.

5. Continue working on my red and white Double Nine Patch Irish Chain Quilt.



6. Continue working on my blue and beige Single Nine Patch Irish Chain Quilt.

7. Make a decision as to what to do about the wedding quilt I "sort of" started earlier this year. The couple will be married 1 year in January. The problem is that I really don't like the way it is turning out. Its just not "right". Do you ever feel that way? I will continue working on it, but it may not end up as a gift for this couple. I want the quilt to be very special, so we will see what happens with this.



8. Make the other Camo Pillow case for my son.

9. Make Christmas gifts.



10. Make a quilted table runner. What would be nice is to make it reversible. One side could be Fall/Thanksgiving and the other side could be for Christmas! What a great idea, if I do say so myself. ..... now if I could only find time to do it!

11. Work on cleaning and restoring the antique sewing machine. This will have to wait until the weather gets cooler, since I will be working on it initially in an outside building. Even though September is here, tomorrow our forecast is 100 degrees! Yikes.



Now, before you decide that I'm some kind of superwoman, let me say that most of this will not get done this Fall. Its just a wish list..... and I don't HAVE to do any of it. I'm taking the pressure off myself here and now. I will only do these things if I am enjoying it. No stress.

Angels Looking Over My Shoulder

Quilts contain a certain magic for me. They cover you with the love and work put into them by their creators. A handmade quilt can help your memory live on long after departing this earth. I doubt my two grandmothers ever thought I would be interested in quilting or sewing machines or that their memories would live on through those venues.

After reading this post by Denise at Mountain Quilter, I got to thinking about the antique treadle sewing machine I have had in storage for over 30 years. This machine belonged to my paternal grandmother, "Ma Ma", and to this day I'm not sure why I ended up with it, except that none of the other cousins were interested in sewing. And, lets face it, the machine and the cabinet as they are, are no prize!

You will need to use your imagination to envision how beautiful my machine was at one time and hopefully will be again some day.



I came into possession of it in 1976. I never had room for it, but wanted to keep it, so its been stored for these past 34 years. I do remember that it worked pretty well in 1976.

Even though the machine and the cabinet it is built into are both in very bad condition, when I turned the wheel it turned very smoothly. The belt still felt soft and not brittle like I thought it would be. They don't make em like that anymore! I'm sure if it was oiled and given a little TLC, I could actually sew with it!

All this time I thought it was a Singer sewing machine, but it was actually made by National Sewing Machine Company. I've been doing a little research on the history of these machines and how to clean and restore them. So far my research has revealed that the National Sewing Machine Company made this type machine for Montgomery Ward in the early 1900s.

In my research I found a couple of websites that have inspired me to restore the machine. I don't know when this will happen, but its on my Bucket List! As if I didn't already have enough sewing planned, now I've got a sewing machine to work on too!

There are some pictures on the Antique Quilt Dating site that show really beautiful antique treadle machines that the owner uses for quilt making! She received a National Sewing Machine brand treadle machine, in mint condition, as a gift from her husband, and now uses People Powered Machines (PPM) for most of her sewing.


I bet the designs on the machine were very beautiful when it was new! Another great internet site that gives great information for cleaning up and refurbishing antique sewing machines is found here. at YOUR GRANDMOTHER'S SEWING MACHINE.



With a little elbow grease the dust and cobwebs can be cleaned off the legs of the sewing table.



Wouldn't it be special if this machine were in good enough condition to use for finishing up my maternal grandmother's vintage quilt top that I am currently handquilting? I would be using my feeble quilt making skills, Grandma's quilt top and Ma Ma's old machine to create an heirloom. There are bound to be angels looking over my shoulder as I work on it....

For more sewing machine stories read my prior post HERE.