Oil cans and rusty bikes don't do it for me, but turn me loose in a thrift store and I'm all about sniffing out the possibilities. Vintage fabric and patterns, mid-century modern stuff, 40's and 50's art pottery, and craptastic paint-by-numbers definitely get my attention. My house isn't that big and I don't like a lot of clutter, so that limits my collecting (which is a good thing), but it sure is fun to look.
I'm between quilt projects at the moment and have been playing with my new Juki sewing machine a bit, trying to learn a little about free-motion quilting (FMQ). Talk about craptastic--that would be my FMQ skills at the moment. But I am determined to improve and will keep practicing. I'll be chronicling my progress, good, bad, or ugly. I'm sure there will be plenty of all three!
So here is the latest quilt top that I finished a week or two ago. It was a free pattern of the month from W@lmart, but I used fabric bought elsewhere or from my stash. I think the pattern is called Stepping Stones. I tend to gravitate toward a bit broader color scheme and scrappy-ness in a quilt, so this was a departure, but it turned out okay, I think. It has soothing nature colors, which I appreciate.
The fun part of this was that it was the first quilt I pieced on a vintage Singer 301, and that baby sewed like a dream! I bought the machine and the 1950s blond wood cabinet it came in at a local thrift store this past fall. Best thirty bucks I've spent in a long time!
I think there's a bit of a treasure seeker or picker in everybody. What's the ultimate find for you?
1 comment:
Others have commented on what great machines those old Singers are. They reall knew how to make them back then. I'm hoping our new Jukis turn out to be the kind of machine that will go the distance. I think they will. :-)
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