Denim Rag Quilt

This queen size quilt was made for my bed. I have three labrador retrievers who really believe in their comfort. My bed is their first choice for comfort, the couch is second best. Leroy the blond labs sheds like crazy and his hair shows up everywhere. I figured I would make a quilt that was indestructible and this rag quilt fits the bill. I love it for the bed because I actually vacuum it to remove the dog hair. That is Leroy's head on the right top of the picture.

The back of the quilt is flannel that I purchased a long time ago. This quilt is very heavy and was quite a challenge to wrestle it when sewing the block rows together. It has not been to the laudromat as of yet. That chore will have to wait till May or June. My washing machine can't handle a heavy load like this quilt.

Davis Vertical Feed 2

A Davis Vertical Feed treadle sewing machine has been on my wish list for quite awhile. I saw one on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago and sent the seller a message asking if it was available. Yes, it was. I told her I wanted it expressing my love of vintage and antique sewing machines. Best of all was when she told she would sell it to me and tell any other interested parties it was sold.

Whoo Hoo, a clear day and enough sunlight to take a picture. Here she is before cleaning all of the old hardened oil, dirt and dust.

This photo shows the unusual walking foot needle mechanism that feeds the fabric. This machine does not have feeddogs.

Look how nice the imbedded measuring tape has survived an earlier attempted wood restoration.

Sure a lot of mysterious and odd looking attachments in one of her drawers.

Awesome, a very tattered manual, a needle (I hope it is one of those very hard to find Davis VF needles) another odd looking attachment and half of a paid utility bill from 1954. Wonderful, perhaps I can put my genealogy sleuthing skills to work and give this machine a history.

This machine will need a lot of work this summer to restore the veneered wood surfaces. Because there had been an attempt at a restoration I am not worried that she won't have an original finish.

Seminole Pieced Baby Quilt

This is one of my favorite quilts. It was made using the Seminole Piecing method, machine pieced and hand quilted. The quilt was made for my Granddaughter, Tiffany, about 20 years ago. I did not think to make a quilt label then. Even I can't remember the exact year. But I do know that it was made to be a baby quilt. Yep, a very non traditional baby quilt!

This is a Plymouth sewing machine. It is a class 15 Singer clone made in Japan sometime in the 1950s or early 1960s. She was my first vintage sewing machine and cost me $18.99 at Goodwill. She needed a foot controller and belt and only minor cleaning but all is fixed now. This machine was the start of my collection of vintage sewing machines. Eventually I will put her in a cabinet as she came as is, without a case top and broken hinges. Her name is Patience.

Double Wedding Ring Quilt

I started this king sized double wedding ring quilt when I moved to Washington State in 1993 and decided to finish the piecing this last summer. Yep, an eighteen year WIP (work in progress). It is machine pieced. Once the piecing was finished I decided that I wanted to hand quilt each of the centers with a different design motif based on hearts. Guess what? I am still working on it. My color choices are quite different than most Wedding Ring Quilts but I am not a "pastel person".  As of September 2013, it is still a WIP. Silly me, I wanted a different design quilted in the centers. About 1/4 of the centers are hand quilted. Due to rheumatoid arthritis I am no longer able to hand quilt and may ending up machine the remaining centers.

Vintage Sewing Machines

I also am a beginning collector of vintage and antique sewing machines. I love the vintage Japanese sewing machine clones. Most of them are so colorful and remind me of the 50's and 60s American made cars. Here is one of my favorite sewing machines, a Damascus with art deco designs. She was made sometime after October 1920, the last patent date. She came with a neat "foot" controller. I have not powered her up because the foot pedal is on it's way for my brother to repair and restore. Note the  electical connectors on the back of the motor, I think they are called Chicago connectors. This is the second vintage sewing machine that has this type of electrical connection.

Super Bowl Mystery Quilt

This is a quilt top I worked on during the 2012 Super Bowl. The design and instructions were on the Quilting Board. The finished top is approximately 48 x 55 inches. I am going to add more borders to make it bigger. Lonesome our black Labrador thinks more black would be nice. And Tango the "Quilt Inspector" test drove the top before I finished it.