Oops - I bought another Featherweight...

I apparently have officially joined the featherweight addicts club.  Before I owned one I didn't understand why people seemed to amass a collection, but there is just something about them that draws you in!  This machine was made in 1964 in Scotland.  It arrived with all the parts described in the owner's manual.

I found this little cutie for sale online in Nova Scotia.  The price was right for me to take a gamble on it while just seeing a few photos.  I had a good feeling about the sellers and they were willing to ship it.  The first questions that came up was how would I pay for it?  My friend Gail had a genius idea when she bought hers.  She asked the seller to send it C.O.D. through Canada Post.  There is a $7.25 fee for this service, but well worth it for the decreased risk for both buyer and seller. I know Canada Post gets a bad rap sometimes, but I couldn't have been happier. The shipping from Nova Scotia to Manitoba including C.O.D. was $40.72 and it arrived ahead of schedule.

The machine is in very good condition and the case didn't have any odour.  It hardly needed any cleaning, just a good dose of oil as it was dry as a bone.  Her stitch quality is perfect.  The bobbin winds slow at the moment but I think that can be fixed with a little tweaking of the belt.

Here are the two featherweights together.  The black one is a 1952 (you can learn more about her here) and the white a 1964 and  there are a surprising number of differences in how they are constructed. The black machine came with many more feet as standard parts, where they are listed as optional accessories for the white machine. I believe Singer was trying to find some cost saving options to keep the machines affordable and made lots of design changes as well.

 The length of the folding bed is significantly smaller on the white machine.  The side of the machine head definitely resembles more modern machines on the white.  I find the face plate and decals of the black machine more charming.  The white machine are sought after by some because there many, many fewer made.

The spool pin has a spring on the white to help hold the spool in place, and the cord is hard wired instead of being removable with  a plug on the black.  Internally the white has a belt drive and the black is gear driven.  The black one has a metal bottom with a removable felt drip pad, and the white one simply has a piece of Masonite board.

There are many differences in the cases as well besides just the obvious size difference.  The storage tray in the black case is a nice feature.  The green case is more bare bones. The biggest difference is the quality and function of the latches.  The green case is always trying to open up if you carry it just by the handle.

I made this carrying case for my first machine as I was concerned about the age of the handle as I knew I planned to travel with the machine a couple of times a month.  The green case is smaller so fits in it easily and is a necessity for travel.

I put a strap all across the bottom of the carrying case for strength and made the straps long enough to carry on my shoulder.

Quarter Sections - Beautiful Batiks

This Quarter Sections quilt was actually made by me.  Shocking I know!

The batik fabric was a fat quarter bundle of Hoffman Batik in the sparrow colorway.  I love the serene feeling it has.

I made this quilt as a gift for a wedding we attend this last weekend.  I used the Mimosa pantograph and Quilter's Dream Blend batting and a dark taupe So Fine thread.

I have to admit I was a little sad to see this one go as it is my favorite version of Quarter Sections that I have personally made.  Might just have to look for some more fabric that I will like just as well.

Quarter Sections in Plum and Green

Cindy made this beautiful batik Quarter Sections quilt for her mom.  Cindy has made just about every single one of our Highway 10 Designs patterns, some more than once!

We decided on Quilter's Dream Puff batting to keep the quilt nice and light and the Dusty Miller panto.

 Quarter Sections is made from fat quarters and works great with collections or to bust into some of your stash.

Pedal to the Metal - Grad Quilt

This quilt was made by Reneta as a present for a special grad.  She used the Pedal to the Metal pattern by our own Highway 10 Designs.    

  I believe Reneta was just working with the intended recipients favorite colors, but this quilt gave me that "Go Team" feeling.  Using bold colors like this would be the perfect way to honour a favorite sports team or grad with their school colors.

For the quilting we decided on the bayside panto for its nice even texture.

Some news that is very exciting for me to share is that all of our Highway 10 Designs patterns are now available to Canadian and International quilt store through Checker Distributors.  You can share this information with your favorite local quilt store if you think others in your area might enjoy one of our patterns.

Pat's Wallhanging

This wall hanging is a pretty generous 50" x 50" and was made by Pat.  Sometimes it is nice to see the before and after pictures as this one had many places for me to play.

I believe these wall hangings were made as part of a mystery at the Nimble Thimbles Guild in Gilbert Plains as I have seen a few others and had the pleasure of quilting one for Bonnie that you can see here. I wanted to keep a similar feeling to what I quilted on Bonnie's, but also wanted Pat's to be unique so I changed up the border and feather designs.

 Always nice to see the quilting show up on the back!

And I had to include this one with my poppies in the background.  I just love them, but they are usually only nice for a few days as a rain or wind seems to take out the petals too quickly every year!

Two for Sherry

This darling scrappy spool quilt was brought to me by Sherry. Sherry has an eye for colour that I admire, and isn't afraid to put unexpected fabrics together.

I love the variety of fabrics included in the turquoise spool.

I enjoyed adding some light custom quilting.  Loops in the inner frames, a background of stippling, and a feather curl in the border and some Stitch in the Ditch around the spools and between the borders.

I know that this quilt isn't quite finished, it is going to get a little additional applique not that the quilting is complete.

Sherry brought a second small quilt and they were both able to fit on the same backing fabric, so once the spools were complete I added this "Take Two" quilt and kept on quilting.

Sherry selected the Daisy Bounce panto as this quilt is going to be given to a young girl, and I think it will be getting some applique as well.

We used a lavender Magnifico thread and the little bit of shine was just perfect.