Originally Posted by
Mrs. SewNSew
That turquoise bag is Ooh la la! The bases are making me jealous ad what a lovely team of machines! I wish I were as organized as you to weigh in but I am having a hard time even recalling my progress this year!
I know I had a commitment to buy less and work on machines that I already had in the hoard. I had planned to re-home at least 12. One a month seemed reasonable. That went well through July and then life got in the way! I am not even sure how many followed me home this year, but I believe it was less than 10. I am getting choosier so that is good!
My main project is still the #68 Featherweight table and I am moving extremely slowly with it.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...d-t266764.html
It took several tries to find the right stain color and when I finally had it matched in, hubby had an oopsie do and the table top tool damage so I was back to stain again. After several coats of Shellac I tried to rub the shellac out and get a nice smooth coat and it is not as smooth as I want so I have more choices to make. The plan right now is to lightly sand and see just how smooth I can get it without burning through the stain ad then consider more coats? Or can I put poly over shellac? I don't know. I only know that I will continue to work on it until I am happy with it.
The Little Gracie II frame is up in my front room and I eventually decided to give up on the old style carriage and use the upgrade. I bought a 17" Bailey Home Quilter and am learning to do my own quilting.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...i-t269664.html
This isn't the best photo but my son was doing his best to old up my Grand Illusion Mystery Quilt from last year. This is queen sized quilt and I quilted it with the Bailey. The front room is currently the staging area for Christmas decor, but once we have a chance to clean up I am hoping to get another quilt loaded on the frame and try quilt number two!
For 2016, I have many of the same goals, to be choosier abut what machines follow me home.
To clean and re-home and try to reduce the hoard.
To learn more about quilting and to get better at it!
Maybe branch out and try a bag for my Featherweight too! I keep seeing these lovely bags!
LOL! I didn't realize that I'd posted the old photo of the bags.
This is the photo with the smaller pockets.
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I'm not organized. I just went back through the threads that I started.
Choosier is good. I'm finding that I'm doing fewer machines as well but spending more time on each of them - french polishing for instance.
If you watch some of the french polishing videos on YouTube (I think most of the ones I watched were of guitars) you'll see that many of them sand to get a smooth finish. It's not unlike getting the orange peel out of automotive paint jobs. It takes a very light hand and the ability to recognize when there's a risk of going through the clear to the base. Because I did some body work before I french polished - both of the FP machines in my first photo (the 15-91 on the left and the 201) saw sandpaper to level. It's one place that I deviate from Glenn's process. I don't tell people about it often and I don't "teach" it - with video or a post - because I can't support it when people have questions. Glenn is amazing that way - in how he helps anyone who asks on a thread that's been years in the making.
Mmm,... frame quilting.
I think that these frames are basically in their,.. well maybe not infancy but toddlerhood. Whenever there are upgrades for them, I think they are well worth looking at. We're still learning so much about how to move smoother and more easily (which is easier on our bodies) and building longevity. As for quilting ability - doodle. Trace. Dance. Those are my main suggestions.
I'm going to be writing out the pattern for that bag - in both sizes. Once I do, I'll need someone to test it. Did you want to??
Originally Posted by
Pudge
Uh, just wanted to state that I learn a lot from reading your posts, Archaic. And that until I zoomed in and took a good look, I always thought your avatar was Batman in his cape, turned a little sideways. Swear to goodness this is true. I do have to say though that I'm starting to have vision problems in my left eye....keep on posting in the New Year.
I'm glad I can help out!
I giggled when I read your batman comment.
How's this?
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Originally Posted by
Rodney
Tammi you're going to be far happier with even the cheapest hardwood you can find for making bases. Hardwood plywood works well too if you don't mind the edges showing.
Sometimes you can even use pallet wood if you can tell it's a hardwood by looking and the boards aren't too dirty. It doesn't take much ground in dirt to mess up your tools.
Singer's design and even the generic cases from the 50s and 60s before plastic bubbles took over aren't as easy to reproduce as they look. There are a lot of little things that make the original cases so nice.
I'm trying to come up with my own easily produced version too. The biggest issue for me is keeping the weight down on them.
2015: I haven't kept track of the machines I've acquired and when. The Streamliner that Macybaby gifted me is the most memorable though. I do know I've slowed down on purchases since this summer. I've also given a couple machines to kids in our 4 H group and plan to give up a couple more.
The most memorable thing would be the 2 quilts that were given to me when I went in for surgery.
Big Thank Yous again to everyone who participated in those projects for me.
I did build a simple work station for fixing sewing machines. I'm also working on a tutorial for repairing the rubber friction drive wheels that White and National used on their machines. Won't be ready till next year though.
I'm also starting a blog. I hope it's ok to mention it. No content yet but I plan to use it to post some how-to stuff around woodworking and vintage machines. There will also be stuff about our 4 H group and simple sewing projects.
Oh yeah, here's a big one. We finally have our camera situation straightened out so I can start posting pictures again.
It's about time.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all have a safe, healthy and happy 2016!
Rodney
I had it in my head that D Fir was a hardwood. It comes from an old home inspector I knew. He looked at an old house for me and told me that yes, the rafters were a little bowed but they'd never go anywhere because they were fir. Likewise, I'd never be able to brace them back into place because they were fir. I guess I just assumed from that it was a hardwood. Now I find out that it's almost like grass in the way it grows - hence the staining issues. I'm going to look at Windsor plywood in the new year and see what they're carrying that I can use for the boxes and for a bentwood - which is my next project. The last time I was there for the wood for the spool pin thingy - I amused the guy helping me by sniffing the woods I was wanting to buy. I LOVE the smell of maple.
I agree that the Singer cases aren't easy to replicate, especially for someone new to wood working. Eventually, I may get steady enough with the router to do some of the detail but even the basic construction of the box is more complex than it looks at first glance. I spent a couple hundred on tools to even be able to get close to some of the things they did. We should start a thread on reproducing them, or I can start a basic post on my site or you on yours once it's up where we can discuss at will with no restrictions.
The QB allows "passive advertising" - like the link in my signature. I don't think mentioning that you're starting a blog is an issue at all. Of course, I get my hands smacked fairly often even though I'm not selling anything and don't have a funnel page, don't try to get people to sign up for anything, the link is directly relevant to the discussion and would probably solve the issue someone is having, etc so I may not be the best advisor.
I'm not at the stage yet where I can tell one wood from another unless it has a sticker on it saying "D Fir" or "Oak"
I am finding resources though who are teaching me bits here and there.