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I think my DH wants to quilt with me!

I think my DH wants to quilt with me!

Old 10-30-2009, 10:43 AM
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We live in Ohio, near Holmes County, which is largely populated by the Amish. Last Saturday we drove there to get DH an Amish hat and suspenders so he could dress as an Amishman today at school for Halloween. (My hubby has a beard, but no mustache, so he already looks the part.) He used to drive the Amish, so he knows where all their little out-of-the-way shops are located, and while we were there he took me to some of their fabric shops.

The first store we went to had a small, but nice, selection of quilting cotton for only $3.25 a yard. This was the regular price, not a sale price. I want to make quilts for my two granddaughters for Christmas and hadn't gotten the fabric yet, so I was thrilled to be able to find what I wanted at that great price. We went to a few more stores; one had a wider selection, but it was kind of a bulk type store and I didn't like it as well. The third we went to was really nice; it had a large selection including several name brands such as Thimbleberries and Andover. Alas, I'd run out of money so couldn't get anything there. But I plan to go back. :wink: Also, Paul told me he knows of several more stores we didn't have time to get to.

I hadn't decided what pattern to use, so Tuesday I laid all the material out and worked out how I wanted to make the quilts. Paul came home while I was doing this and expressed interest in the entire process. I explained what needed to be done and he said he'd like to help me machine quilt. He's always fixed my sewing machines and has a growing interest in old machines. He bought a Singer 99K at a sale and I bought a Singer 15-91 off Ebay and he's got both in his workshop playing with them. I showed him the thread in Pictures of Lostn51's studio and the before and after pics of his older machines and Paul was really interested. We're moving soon and I explained how I want to set up my (our?) sewing room and he started planning how to make a cutting table, etc. Then a few days later he was online looking for some kind of motor and ran across a longarm setup for sale. He'd never seen one before and got all excited and called me to look. I didn't get quite so excited because I know we can't afford anything like that, but as Paul studied it, he said he could make a frame. I know he could; he's the type of guy who can do and make just about anything, especially out of metal. Among other things, he's built several trailers (to haul cars), all the playground equipment for our kids including a jungle gym, swing set, and merry-go-round, and he designed and built a 10-foot, four-seat, working electric ferris wheel for our older granddaughter's first birthday. Our granddaughters and the neighbor kids love it!

Anyway, Paul has continued to express interest in quilting with me. I think it's great. I'm the type of person who's a perfectionist. I have difficulty finishing projects if they're not perfect. Paul, on the other hand, gets things done, using whatever's at hand, and finishing his projects even if what he's working on isn't absolutely perfect. I think if he helps me we'll be more apt to finish than if I work alone, especially since I'm having a lot of neck pain recently and might not be able to machine quilt for very long. I'll just have to watch him. When I was explaining the entire quilting process to him and got to where you sandwich the quilt top, batting, and backing and pin it together to prepare for quilting, he asked why you couldn't use a spray adhesive. I know very well he doesn't have a clue that there are actually quilting adhesives and that he was thinking about using something from the garage. :roll: I'm sure I'll have to keep an eye on him. I can just hear him say not to buy that expensive spray, what he has in the garage will work just as well!

I'm just about ready to start cutting the fabric for the girls' quilts, so we'll see what happens.

Oh, by the way, I told Paul there are several male quilters on this site, but I haven't had a chance to show him pics of their quilts yet. I plan to do that. Oh yeah, I should probably also show him Eddie's new machine, shouldn't I? After all, Christmas is coming and a nice machine like that could be for both of us. :mrgreen:

Sandy
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Old 10-30-2009, 10:56 AM
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I think that is awesome he wants to quilt with you. Something wonderful for you to share. Definitely keep an eye on him though. NO GARAGE STUFF! LOL He sounds like my husband.

I would, for sure, show him Eddies stuff (and his new machine, hint, hint) Show him men can be just as creative in this field as women.

Have fun, keep us posted and don't forget to show us pictures. We love pictures. :D :D :D
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Old 10-30-2009, 10:58 AM
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Wow are you lucky...a handyman, a future quilter, a repairman and someone who knows all the good spots in Holmes. I live in Zanesville and my daughter and I plus friends come up several times during the year. My quilt guild also has a yearly weekend in the area. Just wondering where are the inexpensive, or cheap, stores? Other then Zinks.
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Old 10-30-2009, 11:13 AM
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Congratulations! What a wonderful gift, to have him so interested. And doubly, to have him do the parts you aren't particularly interested in! WTG!
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Old 10-30-2009, 11:14 AM
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I think it is wonderful to see so many men interested in quilting. My dad made many over his retirement years, and my DH wants to help with one I am making for his son and new bride. However, I am not prepared to let him anywhere near my one and only machine!!!! (He is like Paul...need a fix for something? check the garage for parts!!!) The top is done, and we will sandwich it together. After I do some machine quilting around the larger blocks, we will hand quilt hearts in the centres of the blocks. I have two large hoops so we can each hoop onto a different part of the quilt and work side by side.

We both have treadle machines...I am trying to convince him that we could set them up side by side and piece together. :D
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Old 10-30-2009, 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Ybridgegal
Wow are you lucky...a handyman, a future quilter, a repairman and someone who knows all the good spots in Holmes. I live in Zanesville and my daughter and I plus friends come up several times during the year. My quilt guild also has a yearly weekend in the area. Just wondering where are the inexpensive, or cheap, stores? Other then Zinks.
Zinks is the one I didn't like. The quilting section was okay, but the section with all the bins was really dirty, I thought. The first store we went to was Spectors. It's a small shop located in downtown Berlin, but it's tucked away off Rt. 39 in a large building that also holds a hardware store. I think if you're going east, you turn right at the grocery store and then turn right again. The flea market was back in that area. It didn't have a large selection, but I liked what they had. Even though Berlin itself was packed with tourists, the only people shopping in Spectors were Amish or Mennonite.

I don't remember the name of the third shop we went to, but it was in Mt. Hope. It might have been Mt. Hope Fabric Store or something similar. We didn't spend a lot of time there since we'd spent most of our money and we were getting tired and hungry, but some of the quilting fabric was $3+ and the Thimbleberries and Andover fabric I saw was only $4.29. I think they had a much larger selection than Spectors. I would have really liked to have spent more time there, but Mrs. Yoder's Restaurant was calling to us. :)

Paul said the other shops are out in the country on back roads. I hope we can get to them next trip. I'll check them out and if they're also inexpensive and have nice fabric I'll get directions and give them to you.

We live in Loudonville, so we're right next door. In fact, part of Loudonville is in Holmes County. We have quite a large community of Amish just north of town. Paul really enjoyed driving them for a few years after he lost his job, but he's pretty much gotten away from it now. They really liked Paul, too. He was always willing to watch babies so their mothers could shop and he always helped the women carry stuff, which Amish men rarely do. Plus he has a truck and trailer so he could haul heavy loads. One family wanted him to drive them on vacation last spring. They rented an RV and wanted Paul to drive them out west through all the western states on a two-week trip. They said I could come too and we could have the largest bedroom. I'm not sure where their 14 kids were going to sleep. (I'm not kidding!) Paul couldn't get off work though, so they had to hire someone else. They've expressed regret several times that Paul couldn't go.

Paul is a pretty good hubby. We've been married 39 years.
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Old 10-30-2009, 11:35 AM
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Who knows, he could be the next Eddie!
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Old 10-30-2009, 11:45 AM
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Originally Posted by Pzazz
I think it is wonderful to see so many men interested in quilting. My dad made many over his retirement years, and my DH wants to help with one I am making for his son and new bride. However, I am not prepared to let him anywhere near my one and only machine!!!! (He is like Paul...need a fix for something? check the garage for parts!!!) The top is done, and we will sandwich it together. After I do some machine quilting around the larger blocks, we will hand quilt hearts in the centres of the blocks. I have two large hoops so we can each hoop onto a different part of the quilt and work side by side.

We both have treadle machines...I am trying to convince him that we could set them up side by side and piece together. :D
I definitely think you should piece together! :D

I think it's great, too, that so many men are interested in quilting. The quilt for your son and his bride will be even more special to them because your DH helped with it.

I think Paul is also interested in collecting old machines. He saw an old treadle machine in an Amish shop that had the fancy colored scrollwork and called me on his cell to tell me about it. He was so excited and really wanted to buy it, but we just didn't have the $ right then. When he saw the pic of Lostn51's treadle and the cabinet he built for it, he immediately decided to make something similar.

Who knows, maybe before long Paul will be posting on this site, too. I can just hear him, "Well, I finished another quilt last night, but I can't get Sandy to help me anymore. Guess I'll have to do them all." :lol:
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Old 10-30-2009, 11:47 AM
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Originally Posted by hokieappmom
Who knows, he could be the next Eddie!
That would be a lot to live up to! I'm so impressed with not only how beautiful Eddie's quilts are, but how prolific he is. But who knows? Maybe!
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Old 10-30-2009, 11:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Sandy1951
Originally Posted by hokieappmom
Who knows, he could be the next Eddie!
That would be a lot to live up to! I'm so impressed with not only how beautiful Eddie's quilts are, but how prolific he is. But who knows? Maybe!
You are so right! I cannot believe how quickly Eddie whips out a quilt, and they are all blue ribbon quality!
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