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
