Wednesday, 8 April 2020

Time slips away...

...is what I am calling this quilt (with a nod of thanks to Mr Springsteen).  It's a name that seems appropriate on all sorts of levels at the moment.

I am managing to sneak in my bits and pieces of sewing time, just enough to keep my hand in and stop my head from exploding.  All I need to do now is the blogging bit, which I am determined to hold on to.  I apologise now to everyone who has waited ages for a response to their comments and also to everyone whose blog I would normally visit  - I will be back on track soon; just one humungous piece of real life work to get over and done and things should be back on a more even keel.

I am still hourglassing and after playing around with various layouts came up with this little block, which I liked a lot.
Then my machine started acting up.  Since it's an old one there aren't many things that can go wrong and in this case it was just the wiring in the bit that plugs the foot pedal into the machine.  That was the good news.  The bad news was that in taking it apart I managed to drop the worlds tiniest nut (and in nuts and bolts) onto the carpet.  Could we find it?  Oh no, not a hope.

Not to be discouraged I pulled this pretty little thing out of its case.
It's a funny thing - a Singer clone with Arabic script, which I bought, to be perfectly honest, because it was a lovely yellow colour (the case is the same shade as the base).  Not the swankiest machine in the world but it does a fair stitch and is seeing me through.

Detour over, I made a few more blocks and joined them together.  Now I have this.
I notice now that I have one deliberate pinwheel in here, but one has happened without any help from me too.  I love it when that sort of thing happens.

Keep well, everyone, and keep sewing.

13 comments:

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

Time definitely slips away. Good name for this project. Oh man, I hope you do find the small nut eventually somehow, but it's good you have a backup machine!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Like the colors in these -- glad you have the second machine to use until a new nut can be found for your regular one.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Loving your progress here, I can see two pinwheels! The purple really pulls me in!

Julierose said...

Time out of mind for sure; some days I awake in what I am calling
a total brain fog...allergies are also kicking in so that doesn't help...
I like your hourglasses, but I'll be darned if I can find the pinwheel??? (I was never good in finding shapes in geometry either --maybe that's where my quilting problems come from?? )

Anyway, I really think the colors reflect :time flying away". Low key and melting one into the other...
Sometimes I think the days are soooo Loong, then others I cannot tell you what I have done even..
I am finding it hard to focus on any projects..;((((.

Hang in there--this too shall pass...
~ ~ ~ waving from my foggy world, Julierose stay safe...

Julierose said...

Oh, P.S. -- Now I see it in the center ;))) right???YAY ;)))

patty a. said...

For me time is more of a blur. I thought it was Friday. I looked at my phone and no, it is Thursday. I love the combination of colors and the plaid gives a subtle vibrancy. The graphics on the sewing machine are beautiful! They certainty don't do that anymore with sewing machines! It is like a piece of art to look at while you make art! I have my grandmother's treadle machine that was converted to electric, but I have not tried to sew on it.

audrey said...

Wonderful that you have a backup machine! Hope you can find what you need eventually to get the other machine back up and running! I love the look of these hourglasses. The colors are very inspirational to me at the moment.:)

Ann said...

Fortunately for me, I'd just had all three of my machines serviced even though I grumbled about doing them at the same time. Two had issues and the third started in, too. My old featherweight needed a spring replaced. I tried doing it myself without luck.
As for the nut, something similar happened to me when my first was quite young. I set her near where it dropped and watched like a hawk. Yes, she immediately picked it up. Just had to get it before she put it in her mouth, of course. Now it's a favorite family story: Everyone works so what job can a baby do?
I see two pinwheels: the checked one in the center and the purple one diagonally down. I'm glad you're letting it go. Interesting how you fill in the gaps with those skinny strips. I've seen you use them before but they are usually longer. At least it seems that way to me.

Robin said...

It's too bad you don't live next door. I'm sure my husband would have the right size nut as he keeps everything out in his shed. His deluxe shed has a sink, a water heater, and a small refrigerator; along with things he has saved since we moved here 20 years ago. He comes from a long line (that stretches from Utah to West Virginia) of pack rats. Glad you're having fun with your sewing - pinwheels and all.

Mystic Quilter said...

I'm pleased you were able to fit in a little sewing time! Your machine is a beauty, is it a full size machine or more like a Singer Featherweight?

LA Paylor said...

I spent the small amount of sewing time this week to making a mask. Needed but it made me so depressed I couldn't move on and sew on projects. Your plaid piece reminds me totally of the things my granny used to sew, and how I loved her quilts

do you have a magnet? I have the long one that extends to find little sewing machine and bobbin bits that fall.
LeeAnna

JustGail said...

It's a pretty machine, I'm glad it's working out OK for you. You've probably gotten lots of advice on finding that missing nut to use a magnet, but sometimes I've had better luck laying a flashlight on the floor and looking for odd shadows. Or putting a nylon stocking over the vacuum cleaner hose.

Mary Marcotte said...

I like all these bits and pieces you have going. What a pretty machine. I'd like to save all the old machines like this. So far I've saved two, and Richard has gotten both to work, though honestly, I love my Bernina. It's such a workhorse and so smooth that I can hear when it needs a drop of oil. So the old ones are mostly for play and so they don't end up in a catastrophic situation. Enjoy your baby and your bits.