I love to sew, mainly quilts and bags. I am 66, married to Fred and have one son, Matthew, who is 27. I enjoy embroidery and applique and prefer to machine piece and quilt my projects. I love my vintage Singer sewing machines especially my Featherweight 222K. I’m enjoying treadling on my 201K Singer and I collect Miniature Sewing Machines and currently have three Essex , one Singer 20, one Singer 40, two Vulcan Miniatures and my latest, a Grain. My love of sewing I believe comes from my Grandmother - I still have the drawings she made for me to embroider on tea towels many many years ago!

Sunday, 13 January 2013

HOW TO SEW ON A HOT DAY




FIRSTLY, THIS MUST BE ON FULL BLAST -  ignore the dirty blades!






SECONDLY, YOU MUST HAVE GOOD MUSIC PLAYING...  yes, I do have quite a selection in my iTunes!    As I am typing this, Dean Martin is singing La Vie En Rose and oh no, now I'm listening to the theme from Dances with Wolves (I still get goose-bumps when I hear this song!)

YOU REALLY MUST HAVE SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE AGES AGO, THAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED...  yes, embarrassed to admit it but this is our little Maisy's Teddy quilt that was supposed to be her Christmas present....  it's coming Maisy!!


Stitching in the ditch.  Using Gutermann Sulky  Cotton 30 in the bobbin (a lovely variegated thread col # 4031) and Gutermann Cotton 50 in needle.
When I sew children's quilts I always backstitch at the beginning
and end of the quilting row.  I feel this adds strength to the row of
quilting (will stand up to endless washing).





 




YOU SHOULD BE IN A HAPPY MOOD ... now this really made me happy - I received a complimentary copy of Barbara Brackman's new book "Civil War Sampler" - this was the weekly quilt- along I participated in back in 2011 ---- and before you ask, NO the quilt top is still not together.  I have a block in the book - Page 26  Blockade (it's the one on the bottom of the page).  How exciting is that!

but wait! there's more......


       

I had my first year of my Blog printed as a Blog2Print book!   Love it!  I'm now working on my second year. (sorry about the flash - if I didn't use it you couldn't see the book).


YOU SHOULD HAVE NOTHING ELSE THAT NEEDS SEWING (THAT WILL ONLY DISTRACT YOU!)...  I finished off this little quilt - I went through all of the scraps and leftover chunks of fabric I used making the Keep Movin' quilt and I put together this little quilt for a friend's new grandson.  It's only a small quilt - perfect for taking out to the shopping mall or the park - something clean and bright to use as a change mat or picnic rug.
I had the binding already made in my stash (it was going to be used on one of the toy twist quilts but I changed colours).  Although not a great colour match, I think it looks quite good and suits the quilt.

YOU SHOULD NOT BE INTERRUPTED BY FAMILY MEMBERS LOOKING FOR FOOD ..
Too easy... it's so darned HOT that nobody feels like eating anyway. Unless you count Frosty Fruits ice blocks:-)

So there you have it... how to sew on a hot day and believe me, we are experiencing terrible heat all over Australia.

I had better get back to the sewing, here's a bit of Dean to make you swoon (all those who do not like Dean Martin, switch off now)........





Happy Sewing!!
Cheers from Helen

 ... warning.. the above video may just make you cry-   better have a box of tissues handy:-)this of course only applies to those of you who love Dean Martin as much as I do.

Update on Fred:-  back to chemo again tomorrow and has had a rough two weeks following the last lot.  This will be # 5, so only one more session to go!   Thanks for all the lovely well wishes you send via my blog and email.


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14 comments :

  1. Anonymous13 January 2013 at 17:58

    we have gone back to winter here Helen we have the wood heater going,its crazy weather,hope Fred is feeling much better,take care.xx

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  2. Susan13 January 2013 at 18:20

    Cold in Melbourne tonight too- the remnants of cyclone Narelle! You are very busy! Congratulations on having a block published! And your very own blog book!

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  3. Mrs Flying Blind...14 January 2013 at 02:59

    Hot? What's that?? about 1'C here today ;(
    Congrats on being published xxx

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  4. Pamela Kieffer14 January 2013 at 03:01

    Wow, you sure are a busy lady. To bad we can't share some of our cold Virginia weather with you. I have a ceiling fan with the blades reversed to distribute the warm air.
    IO am glad to report I am back doing some quilting. Went to the quilt shop last Friday and bought a pattern for a peice I"ll start but not finished. UFO swap. Love and best wishes for hubby. Pam

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  5. Farm Gate Creations Incorporating Hummingbird Quilting14 January 2013 at 07:18

    It was a lot cooler here yesterday Helen, which was a very welcomed relief. You've certainly been very busy, love the blog book and congrats on your block being published.

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  6. Cheryll14 January 2013 at 08:07

    I was just thinking of you and Fred yesterday. Nice to see your blog again... and yes that was a great recipe for sewing on a HOT day!
    Hugs to hubby...and YOU! :)

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  7. Cheryll14 January 2013 at 08:08

    Oh and I LoVe the bear quilt !!!

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  8. Fiona14 January 2013 at 11:04

    You managed to get lots done in the heat.... it's going on a bit too long.. lets hope the cold comes up from down south.... all the best for Fred tommorrow...
    Hguz

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  9. Anonymous14 January 2013 at 22:22

    You posted a lot of good ideas (which I'll use in our snowy, cold weather except for the fan and cold drinks). My daughters had my first year of blogging made into a book back in 2008. It makes a beautiful book,doesn't it?

    Will be thinking of you and Fred going toward the end of his treatments.
    Lillian
    lillianscupboard.wordpress.com

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  10. Raewyn17 January 2013 at 03:07

    It sure is a good recipe for sewing!! The book looks like a goodie - imagine having your block in it!!!! And the blog book - fantastic; I'd love to do this one day. Hope you're staying cool and keeping on sewing. Best wishes to Fred,too.

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  11. Valspierssews18 January 2013 at 18:49

    It sure is hot. We had two cooler days and then back to really hot. It is nearly 7pm here and it is still 28.7 degrees on the patio. A bit cooler round the side with the breeze. You seem to have a lot going on there. I love Maisy's quilt. The blog book looks great. What a good idea.

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  12. Unknown19 January 2013 at 07:21

    Hello I agree with your hot weather sewing instructions we had the hottest temp ever in Sydney yesterday Thank you for the comments on the blog. New to quilting and a new blog life is good!

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  13. Connie Kresin Campbell27 January 2013 at 14:04

    Hope you handle the heat okay, we are having cold, cold weather here in Iowa and expecting ice tomorrow.

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  14. Quilting By Celia31 January 2013 at 20:19

    I didn't know you could have your blog printed. Great idea, do you choose the dates (beginning & end)or is it everything on the blog to date? Is it just the postings or other stuff on the page as well as comments?

    ReplyDelete

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