Did some cutting for my next quilt, till the light got to dim. Have a small generator to power frig/freezer and a few lights but of course not the plugs in my sewing room. Think that has got to be changed but husband out of town, this always happens when he is away. Wind is quieting down some so hopefully power will be back on soon. I am in the process of quilting my mystery quilt and really want to get back to it.......think maybe I need some cheese with the whine......

I did a little hand piecing by flashlight last time, but today I chucked it and went for a crossword puzzle by the window. It's quieter here, too, finally and my power is back on. I hope your power is back ASAP!

I pull out my treadle and oil lamp and keep on keeping on! LOL

we rented a movie & watched it. Had a generator that helped out with lights & tv. kept warm by the burners on my stove thank goodness. don't like doing without power

When we lose power, i read by candlelight. So far we have been Very lucky this winter.

In winter with snow = climb iton bed with all my quilts for a long winter's nap!

In winter with no snow = take my book and/or laptop and go to a restaurant and have long, quiet dinner/lunch/breakfast/dessert/whatever

In warmer months = sit outside and hand quilt or play with the fur babies.

Jan in VA

The power is back on, yeah.... Will be back to quilting soon. Have to go give my mother her supper.

Did you get a big storm in VA/MD today? We're lucky to have a generator which would allow me to keep sewing!

We lost power many times for anywhere from 10 minutes to 40 minutes. Luckily it was sunny out, but very windy. I sat and played with my Ipad. I was going to open up the treadle if the power stayed off for very long. Seems every time I got the clocks reset, the power would go off again. Must have taken me over 3 hours to get the dishwasher finished.

I hope the weather changes soon for you.

We had a really windy day with gusts 40+mph. blew the Christmas tree over in DC!! We didn't lose any trees but lots of twigs etc in the yard now. back to quilting now:-)

If we loose power, which is not very often, I have lots of candles and have some hand sewing and listening to my Ipod to one of the podcast I have. I always keep my Ipod charged up. Or I read...cuddled up in my quilts.

Philly was sooo windy today ....My power kept going off, so I just waited until recently to reset the clocks...I just played some solitaire and backgammon on my computer, then read and nap....

Gosh, doesn't everyone have a treadle machine or two (or 10) around to use if the lights are out?

When the power goes out, I pull out the oil lamps and candles and sew on my people-powered sewing machine. :)

I always have a quilt on the frame that I am hand quilting so I just work on that for a while. As soon as i finish one, I start another.

Cute!! :lol:

A couple weeks ago we were out of electric 45 hours. The first day, I couldn'tdo anything as it was so dark and the house was cold, so I just sat with my battery radio and listened to that. Every time I got an idea of what to do, I realized I needed electricity for that. The second day it was bright and sunny so I got out Wonder Under and drew applique patterns on it. When I got done, I thought, "Now, I'll press it on and then cut it out while I can't sew." Well,I got it drawn on and that was the end of it. We are such creatures of habit and take so much for granted, we are paralyzed when we don't have what we need to do what we want to do.

Oh, so many times done that. If you take a clay (ceremic) planting pot, make sure it has a hole in the bottom, place it upside down (hole at the top) on the burner it will radiate heat like a pot bellied stove. Make sure the planting pot is a bit larger than the burner so it will fit over it.

that is exactly what I was going to say!

We lost power for 5 hrs after a nite of hard freeze so pipes froze and burst. So I just sat and cried. That's what I did! LOL

Get out the hand crank machine or the treadle to do sewing on until power is back.

I have a backup rechargable battery for my computer. I don't know if the battery is large enough for you to get a significant amount work done. You may want to check online.

Use your treadle machine. Our power goes out all the time. We live very rural. It can be fun sewing in all the quiet. MNM

yes! this is the reason I bought my treadle machine. I can put it in front of the window and if it is still too dark, i get out the kerosene lamp.

I have a treadle machine but it needs a new belt. My mother has one that I think it in working order, might need to get that from her as she isn't using it.....

Go to a hotel! LOL. I've done that before in the summer when the power was out.


We have one of the generator systems hooked to the house, looks like a compressor unit outside. It comes on when the power goes out. It's very quiet. After two weeks with no power some years ago it taught us how much work and money it took to not have power. We did have heat with the fireplace insert, but if no power in the summer we'd be miserable. Check out the system if you lose power a lot. I never know the difference when the power goes out. It hooks to the house gas line or can use LP fuel.

One time I was in the studio working on a quilt and my wife ran out there and asked me if I knew the power was off. She noticed that I was still sewing away and was wondering if I had power out there. All I did was point under the table and never missed a beat. :roll:

Billy

If it is dark, first thing I do is to get the big battery powered shop light always kept charged and in a basket next to the couch. Then I run around and unplug everything that is electronic in case of a power surge when the electricity is restored. OMG that is everything nowdays! Fridge, sewing machine, microwave, computer, pellet stove, etc., all the mother boards can be ruined by a power surge.

We had a power outage last month and I discovered that out of 13 oil lamps that I have, only one had old oil and a semi usable wick. So I have made sure that my lamps have new wicks and have put new oil into one so that I can fill the others if I need to.

Next thing I do is to enjoy the piece and quiet, throw an extra quilt on the bed and invite the dogs to share their warmth (remember the group Three Dog Night?) with me.

We seldom lose power, but when we do I read. DH, however, goes nuts without the TV. :lol:

Last time the power went out for over 24 hours, had battery lantern could use when dark to still page through quilting magazines and jot down some designs or techniques want to add to my already lenghty wish list! Another time did the sorting and cutting of scraps. Hoping the ice storm having today doesn't create havoc on the power lines! Mmmm, maybe should get some hand sewing ready!!!

I wish I could say I had a treadle machine but lacking one I baste some hexies or sew some together for a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.

We have lots of windstorms and power outages here. I decided to take up english paper piecing and now I do the hexagons even when the power isn't out! Also it is great for my frequent ferry trips (live on an island) and my dh just got out of the hospital (he was in 2 weeks) and the paper piecing is a great portable project.

Iusually loght candles and have a glass of wine

I have a few battery lanterns -a fireplace and my treadle so being w/o lites is manageable and with the deep freezer food stays safe and I can still heat tea water :thumbup:

I'm so happy to have a great treadle Singer so I can keep piecing when the power is out. I put it in front of a window where there is great natural lighting.

Otherwise, I can always knit! I love lo-tech!

We lost power last night due to the high winds. Our son has 3G on his ipad, so we played trivial pursiut by candlelight. I LOVE a blackout - just so it doesn't last long enough to melt my ice cream!

I put some of the pieces together by hand to be sewn over later. By flash light and kerosine lamp of course.

Long ago around WWII time, if a belt broke on somebodys treadle machine, the ladies twisted old nylon stockings together, and used it for a temporary belt, which lasted surprisingly long...Now,maybe cut up some old panty hose?

.....and when the power goes out and the inside of my house is 50* I roll up in a couple of feather comforters and snooze the time away!
If it is warm enough, I make lots and lots of 3D bowtie blocks, and sew them into tops...those are fast handsewing quilt projects! I made 49 of them, and handsewed them all together into a top in three afternoons (using 5" squares).

We lost power for about an hour yesterday. My husband and I sat in our favorite chairs and had a wonderful visit! That was nice! Sorta of sad when the power came back on and it was back to our normal routine! LOL