Scrap Catcher

This project makes a nice gift for a sewing friend. You can find the instructions for the project if you join the following Yahoo list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SGOTs_SewingBeeSite/files/

The project instructions are in: Thread Catcher Sewing Bee

Here are my notes on the changes I made:

Jane's Thread Catcher

Can use 2 fat quarters but a third accent color can be used for a band around top of bag.

One tab to attach scrap bag with a button: 3" by 6" sewn in seam of cover for tile (fold strip into quarters with right sides out, topstitch and make a pointed tab, may zigzag stitch part of tab together to form a smaller opening for the button.)

For heart pincushion, trace heart shape on one of two fabrics. Make a buttonhole in heart that will be on the bottom (interface for more stability). Cut open. Sew around heart shapes with a 1.5 stitch length. Trim seam allowance with pinking shears. Stuff firmly. Whip stitch buttonhole closed. Hot glue or Velcro on covered tile. I have been told the new heat fusible Velcro is very good.

I got 4 6-inch square tiles for 1.96 at Home Depot. I also tried the 4 inch tiles but made my bag smaller, too.

Here is a tip: If you can't slide the padded tile in the fabric cover easily, cut a piece of plastic wrap or shopping bag just big enough to go around the covered tile and then slide it in. Pull the plastic out after you have the tile in the cover.

Another from a friend: Use fusible vinyl to line inside of bag. Your threads and scraps will fall to the bottom more easily.

What Kind of Flower are You?

Okay, so I am not much into gardening but I took this quiz and I am a daffodil. The flower is me! So what are you?

I am a Daffodil What Flower Are You?

Operation: Machine Rescue

Meet Minnie: A 99K from Kilbowie, Scotland

Minnie joined the fleet from Kennewick, WA, on November 17. She was outside in an open trailer with a sheet of plastic for protection from the weather. It was pouring down rain and she was keeping company with a Free brand treadle in an oak #5 cabinet. If I had the space for both machines and was sure I could restore the Free, I would have taken both machines. The lady who listed them on craigslist did not have room to store them inside. But, my Subaru could only hold one cabinet and I knew this sweet 99K would easily clean up to make a nice hand-crank for sewing blocks for the 2008 TOGA in Seattle.

Below, you can see some of the dust and rust that had accumulated on Minnie. I still need to do a bit more cleaning but Minnie is sewing smoothly and handwheel operates easily. I just need to order a hand-crank and spoked wheel plus a spool pin from Cindy Peters.

Meet the 4-H Forum Fleet

Since we sponsored Ray White's sewing machine repair class, I have been busy collecting old zigzag machines in need of tender loving care for one of the 4-H Forum classes I will be teaching in Pasco, WA, in October. These machines were all in need of a thorough cleaning and lubing at the least, but some truly had repair issues. I picked up parts from e-bay stores and machines that came without other necessary part. Tips and encouragement came from the wonderful folks on the sewing machine repair lists at Yahoo.

The first machine I found came from one of our thrift stores. I was looking at it and the manager saw me. He said it had been in the store too long. He wanted it gone for $10. I figured it was a deal because the machine was an older Singer and looked to be functioning just fine. I only had to lube and clean up this fine simple zigzagger and he was ready to run. Meet King Leo, The Spartan (aka Singer 327K):

The next two machines came from two other thrift stores in town. I wanted to find older machines that had zigzag capabilities. This would make them more versatile for 4-H because they could be used for seam finishing and applique. I tried to stay away from the machines that I knew had non-metal gears but I couldn't resist this Singer because it ran so quietly and came with everything including the instruction manual, a rare find when buying old machines at yard sales and thrift stores. Meet Vinnie, a Singer Stylist 513.

Andy, a Singer 401A, was hiding out in a cabinet at the third thrift store. He had no cords or foot control plus the stitch selector was jammed and a thread guide was broken. The cabinet was optional so I offered 5 dollars for him and left the cabinet. I knew I had some work ahead of me but I figured parts and cords were somewhere on the internet. A fine lady, who also hosts Ray White's classes in Lake City, MN, had just what I needed to get this guy in shape to sew. I have yet to put on the thread guide but he has cords and a foot control and even a brown suitcase for travel.

Andy has a twin sister that I found at a yard sale. I paid more for Carrie but she had some decorative disks and a foot control that works fine despite a crack in the exterior. Cindy provided the cord for her, too.

Another lucky break came at a yard sale. I found a Singer 600, aka Eddy. Eddy needed some work on the bobbin winder, his one design flaw. Someone had not replaced the bracket properly that holds the bobbin in place as it fills in the machine. The bobbin would jump and the machine would jam if I forgot to wind the bobbin a very slow speed. I shamelessly gleaned a tip from the Singer man with a booth at our fair. Also, Terry's TnT site offered some vital information, too. Here is Eddy showing off his working parts:

Stay tuned! There are 5 more great machines ready to go to 4-H Forum.

Sewing Tutorials

Blogs and Flickr are great places to post tutorials on quick projects. Kerri has a great lined pouch with an easy exposed zipper up at Flickr. She has a contest going at her blog for anyone who completes one of these easy bags. I couldn't resist making one but I just had to try putting the zipper off to the side. I think this style would make a great pencil case with grommets so it could be inserted in a notebook. If you try one with grommets, be sure to use interfacing to reinforce the area where the grommets will be.

Sewing in the News

I like to see sewing in the news. It brings honor to our art and craft when some see little value with what can be accomplished with the most humble of sewing machines.

See what this young man does with a treadle sewing machine in a needy community:

ABC7 Salutes Michael Swaine

Great pictures here:

Michael and his machine at work

Sewing Machine Repair

I just had the opportunity to take one of Ray White's 3-day Sewing Machine Repair classes. We had a small class of extension volunteers and one costume maker (engineer?) from California. Ray is a fantastic teacher and the class was well worth the fee. We had the opportunity to learn basic cleaning and maintenance procedures such as timing and feed dog adjustments that will allow us to keep any mechanical or computerized machine in good running order. Some of our class members were able to complete some challenging repairs that would have given even experienced technicians a run for their money.