Wednesday, November 17, 2010

reviving littlefeather

My quick fix for the Janome failed and it looks like I'll need a bobbin case too (it got "holed") so I've taken the Singer  Featherweight out to relearn the pleasure of using this machine.  A new needle a little oil and off we go. What a great stitch!  Now to tape off the feed dogs and see if I can get the freemotion going.

As I walked away from this scene, I heard that box of attachments hit the floor.

PS- pictures would have been nice but I forgot to take any! 
I was able to freemotion  some nice swooping spirals all around the border. Washed & dried it which caused it to plump, pucker up and look lived in, just as I wanted it to, and handed it over. Little feather is a dream to work with. Today I'm going to see if she fits down in the table and pack up Big J for a trip to the machine doctor after Holidays.

Monday, November 15, 2010

giftmaking

Nothing like an impending occasion to put an unfinished project to good use. I found this batch of pieced blocks deep in the stash and set them aside along with some fabrics that might complete the project. Then the need popped up and I "whipped it up" as the expression goes.


As I put the very last quilted heart in the last red square my Janome threw a shoe and that loose screw under the throat plate is finally going to call for attention I can't  give it right now.

I'll figure it out. In the meantime there is time to do some hand quilting in the pale blue border.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

old computers must die

...someday, but not today.

 But the warning bells sounded last night. Right in the middle of a nice session of Lexulous, a grunting clank issued from the box and a strange Blue Screen of Death popped up with a dire message about the Nature of the Soul or some such gibberish about the inner workings, both hard and soft, of this computer that I have been abusing since early 2005. 

The fan goes through spells of making sounds like a coffee grinder or guinea pig sex. The heat that comes off this machine makes this corner of the room cozy on a chilly morning.


After a night's rest for both of us, I powered it back up this morning, tinkered with the OS a bit and was able to restore to a few days back but time is running out on this one I fear. The errors are too widespread and diverse for it to be other than a impending motherboard  implosion.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Saturday Afternoon at the Cathouse

We took advantage of another gorgeous fall day to sleep outside while she stitched away on that blue thing.

Friday, November 12, 2010

sun day on a friday

Took myself and Ocean Homes to the park for some sun and fresh air today.  Stitching, solitude and a good book on the ipod. There was not a soul there
but me and the geese who were less than interested after I made it
clear that there would be no snacks.

They  seem to think that everyone who sits at that table will be sharing but I had nothing to offer but bits of thread and they milled about and muttered amongst themselves for a while before they lost interest and moved on. This is at Bethesda Park which is a short three minute ride from my house.