Look at the position of the felt pad in relation to the feed dogs! eek!
Yesterday I was reunited with my old Brother sewing machine after over three years! I’d lent it to my school’s art department when my sewing mojo departed. As you can see, it was in a filthy dusty filthy rusty filthy state - even the bobbin case was in the wrong position, wedged. #HoHum
This was after 1 hr of cleaning, at this point I had to get the WD40 out!
It took about three hours to get him back to good order (pretty near total dismantle job). When I finally got to the point where I could thread the needle and do some practice stitching, features I’d forgotten were so useful started to reveal themselves - the working needle threader, the bobbin action, the needle up/down doopher and, most excitingly the ability to go commando and not use the foot pedal, just push a button and vroom vroom.
I don’t know why I like this feature so much but I do and I am delighted to have it back in my life.
Considering this is a pretty low-end machine I’m impressed by the welly under the bonnet in comparison to the cheap Aldi machine I inevitably ended up buying to use in the interim! (I only really bought it to embroider rude words on napkins, which was totally worth it, but seriously, sewing over a dark side seam was like attempting the ascent of K2.)
Brother purrs much more, feels reliable, sews like butter and his stitches are straight! #Woohoo
They’ve never met before
He’s now all shiny on a shelf waiting for action. Not long baby, not long ...
After an afternoon supervising a tricky GCSE ICT exam, I am now switching off all the technology.
I walk to work, so I don’t have that lovely snatched journey time to dip into a book. And it annoys me. Because I love to read.
I started the first book Ford Maddox Ford’s Parade’s End trilogy yonks ago, when the BBC version first started. I just haven’t had the time/inclination to sit and disappear into it for a while …
So, I am spending the evening with an old friend.
Hello book, it’s been a while!
This post is brought to you through the power of Blogtoberfest 2012
My Japanese Import Charm Swap package arrived today! Yay!
AND my stamps were all unfranked so I got back all my postage – which almost makes up for being stung for VAT on the import! Winner. Winner. Chicken Dinner.
There are some terrific fabrics in here … thank you to everyone in the Flickr group, it’s a great selection and I love every single square!
You’ll have to forgive the dark photos – Two hailstorms today! … and vay vay dark …
How can the only two things I have booked for the whole of next year be on the same flippin day?
BLOGGY LIFE:
FAMILY LIFE:
For the first five minutes there was weeping. wailing and tearing out of hair at the injustice of it all - but to be completely honest, I am sooo looking forward to this wedding I can hardly contain my wee!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED - THANK YOU! - WINNER TBA SOOOON!
So far you may have seen my wristwatch & mince pie pincushion tutorials earlier this week, and I have some more in the pipeline using the hexie die and loads more with circles.
But that’s for another day.
I really can’t thank you all enough for being such loyal followers and commenters on this little blog. Since the end of the summer I haven’t had the chance to post [or sew] half as much as I’d planned, and I’m sorry about that. I’ve had a tough few months and thanks to the lovely people at Accuquilt, at least I can go some way to paying one lucky winner back!
Well, you didn’t think I was going to keep all that yummy Accuquilt Go! cutting to myself did you?
Would you like to win an AccuQuilt GO! Baby fabric cutter + 3 dies of your choice?
I based my choice of dies on things that I find a real faff to cut, but I’m really regretting not getting the big 1/2 square triangles die, and as soon as I get paid this month, I’ll be investing in that one too.
Go and have a look on the AccuQuilt GO! site. They have some great new dies in stock now. Also they have live online advisers who are sooooo helpful.
Here's how to enter the giveaway - No real hoops here:
1. Go over to the AccuQuilt GO! Shop and choose your 3 favourite dies for the GO! Baby.
The links take you to dies that are compatible with the Baby. Then come back and leave me a comment telling me which ones you would like if you won. Please Note: If you don’t tell me which dies you want, then your entry won’t count. Simple as.
2. For an extra entry, blog about my giveaway - feel free to use the pic on this post.
3. If you'd like a 3rd entry, tweet about the giveaway. Please include @pingsandneedles in your tweet. Then come back and leave me a comment with your twitter @name.
This giveaway is open internationally and will run until midnight UK time Thursday 1st December - leaving you plenty of time to receive your prize and rustle up a few Crimbo gifts … The winner will be announced here on this blog.
Even if you don’t have a Go! Baby, you can still get this great set of 22 patterns free
… some of them are really not half bad you know … I clicked through one of the many many many times I entered giveaways (unsuccessfully LOL) on other blogs and I have actually used a couple of the patterns. You get em when you sign up to their newsletter. Not such a hardship really.
Give it a go!
(I think if you click using this link I may get bonus brownie points or something … I’m not sure … Either that or they just work out how many clickthroughs I generate … just sayin …)
Good Luck! xx
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED - THANK YOU! - WINNER TBA SOOOON!
Look what I found propped up against my front door when I got home from work the other evening …!!!!
Those jolly lovely people over at Accuquilt have sent me a Go! Baby cutter and three dies to play with review and do some tutorials for!
Accordingly, I’ve got quite a few tutorials lined up for you over the next couple of weeks - a mug rug or two, a pet bed with a twist, a couple of wrist pincushions and some funky Christmas placemats/lap napkins.
One of you lucky people could just find yourself with an early pressie too … but more of that another day …
... Just in time for Christmas too!
This has caused great excitement chez Pings …
I went for the 2.5” strips, Hexagons
(2”, 3” & 5”) and Circles (2”, 3” & 5”).
My reasoning behind this was that I wanted to be able to cut endless binding, 2.5” squares and diamonds from the strip cutter, as well as shapes that I find tricky to cut in multiples.
I have quite a clicky wrist, so hexie cutting with a rotary cutter is a real no no for me. And I’m like a 4 year old when I try to cut circles!
Today’s post is really just a little play and a review of how well it works.
The first thing I wanted to see was how easy it would be to cut squares using the strip cutter. I already had some 2.5” strips in my scrap basket, so I just folded one and laid it at right angles to the strip on the die …
Then I placed the cutting mat on top ….
and rolled the whole kit and kaboodle through the machine … easy peasy …
I only rolled the end part through the mat and then rolled it back (you can roll the sheets forwards and backwards, which is really really useful when you’re cutting multiple layers of thicker fabrics and need a bit more cutting oomph).
You don’t need to use any pressure and the handle is really easy to turn. This is great for anyone who has wrist problems, like me. I know Accuquilt don’t use this as a selling point, but in MY case it really doesn’t put my wrist under anywhere near the same pressure as when I use a rotary cutter.
Voila! 5 perfect little squares! (the edges are a bit raggedy because the strip was in my scrap basket and I didn’t iron my fabric first - I did this within 5 minutes of opening the box - I just couldn’t wait!)
Test one - Tick!
Then I cut some 2.5 strips to use as binding for my Bletchley Quilt (more of that another day).
The great thing about the strip die is that it is open at both short ends, so that you can cut really long lengths. I do recommend ironing your fabric first and taking the time to line it up straight on the die, or you will get the same little kinks you get when you rotary cut folded strips.
The wastage really is minimal if you cut your fabric to size first - just one skinny strip (you could even use this for gift wrapping!)
Test two - Tick!
Then, I couldn’t resist cutting some 2” circles out of one of the strips … I did have to snip one thread that hadn’t cut through all the layers, but that’s not such a hardship really.
Test three - Tick!
My only real criticism of the whole kit is that the cutting mats are not that durable and not remotely self-healing! It would have been nice to have been sent two of the short cutting mats to go with the circle and hexagon dies, rather than only one. Even though you can use both sides, they will wear out pretty fast and they cost about £10.50 to replace. Within the first hour of use and after maybe only 10 or 15 passes, the cutting mat looked like this:
It helps to pull any lint-y thread out of the grooves with some tweezers.
The red circles you can see are from some really thick felt that I cut for my poppy day brooch.
You should also clear the die of any threads too. I use one of those rubbery clothes brushes … works a treat!
That’s really a very small criticism of something that will make cutting sooooo much faster and more accurate. I have to say that I absolutely L-O-V-E it and my only problem now is the number of ideas I have for projects! That’s not a bad problem to have, especially as the cutting is very often what makes me procrastinate more than anything else!
The next couple of posts will be tutorials for really quick and easy to make wrist pincushions!
… here’s a teensie sneaky peek:
What delights have come through your door this week?
Months of crafting and snapping and posting and commenting are over.
The votes are in and have been counted. I was absolutely meticulous about this and discarded a few votes that had been entered more than once and took the total over three ... In kindness, let’s say that was just over enthusiasm on the part of some voters … no vote fixing here, my friends … oh no ...
The Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge gauntlet was enthusiastically and creatively taken up by The Magnificent Nine:
A. Hadley - school tags
B. Emily - sandwich bag
C. Bianca - japanophile muff
D. Beth - Pleat front Sorbetto top
E. Alli - eating out pouch
F. Ella - belly dancing corset and bra trim
G. Sarah - tic tac toe & puzzle
H. Eilidh - diamond scrappy stocking
I. Ali VeryBerry - boy & girl bootees
Only one couple have danced their way to earn the right to lift the mirrorball. (Sorry, seem to be channelling Strictly …)
Goodness me! It was a close run thing … A total of 372 votes !!
It was vay vay exciting checking the spreadsheet to see how things were going - every day the Top 3 changed!
So, in customary style, let’s go in reverse order ….
Congratulations Ali! - you get to wear the crown and sash as 2011 Eternal Pings Scrap Bag Challenge Queen ... you will be receiving a year’s subscription to the Eternal Maker’s Japanese Swatch Club.
Thank you so so much to everyone who took part with such wonderful enthusiasm and creativity. You’re all winners …. man …. Thank you too to Anna at The Eternal Maker for suggesting and sponsoring the challenge! You all rock!
Tomorrow I’ll announce my voter giveaway winner, but for today, let’s just drool over those bootees again … after all, that’s exactly what the babies will be doing! Bwahaha!
Are you joining in with Lynne @Lily’sQuilts Dead Simple Quiltalong?
I am … I love the idea of letting the colour do the talking for a change, instead of fancy schmancy painstaking piecing … I’ve had a bit of an HST glut, so it will be lovely just to sew squares together!
Also, I'll be needing a quilt back for my 4x5 bee, so I chose my Berlin flea market fabric as a jump off point for my palette, as these are the colours I've requested for my blocks …
So I dived in and did a little online palette browsing:
I started with De Graeve because I liked the fact that they give you a choice of ‘dull’ and ‘vibrant’ palettes …
... well, getting there … but not really right either … now no lemon yellow and definitely a lack of vibrancy!
So, in the end I used the most reliable palette picker for me that I know …
Yup … ME! ... my eyes, my brain, my interpretation!
Here are my solid choices from backstitch’s website …
The background of my fabric is actually white, but I like the way the grey mixes so well with the other colours, so I’m keeping it in there. So, the palette picker trial did actually turn up something I wouldn’t have though of after all …
… And here they are in the flesh! I would add that the jade, lime and turquoise are more saturated and closer to the backstitch website pics in real life … this little lot will serve me well.
This is for my god-daughter Frankie's birthday ...
Finished a week early? Gadzooks!
Pingwheels: Happy Mochi Yum Yum (my giveaway winnings from Lily's Quilts ) & Kona white - The Mochi Yum Yum is just wonderful to sew with. It's soft and supple, yet it completely keeps its shape for HSTs. Lovely stuff!
Sashing: lightweight pale blue 100% linen (slippery little sucker!)
Outer Sashing: white Klona cotton - it's a bit stiffer than the Kona ... keeps its shape better, I think ...
Binding: Happy Mochi Yum Yum
Batting/Wadding: Bamboo blend - This is fantastically soft and light and I thoroughly recommend it. Next quilt I'm going to double it up for even more loft but it's just wonderful.
Pieced Backing: Mochi, linen and bright multi polka dot cotton ...
Hand quilted with Anchor Perle no. 8 in toffee, blue, green and white.
Ha Ha! That was like the credits on a boring movie!
I took it into work to photograph ... the college is a modern building with a huge glazed atrium ... duh!! ... light! Not like my gloomy for photography but not living basement.
The students and staff thought I was a bit mad ... Nothing really new there - When someone asked me what I was doing I told them I was photographing my quilt! And he walked off, nodding his head and muttering "As one does ... as one does ..."
This quilt was a delight to make. I made it up as I went along but I had some form of picture in my mind, of which this is a pretty good representation!
I'm entirely converted to using linen as my main solid. I love the feel of it.
I really like some of the prints in this line … I’m planning a little something for my god-daughter, so this could be perfect …
But you don’t wanna know about that …
You want to know which one of you is a winner. And of What …
Well, here’s the story - the wonderful Wandafish, (aka Angela) who won my little ruby star rising giveaway from The Eternal Maker – emailed me immediately to say
"In the spirit of pay it forward (I remember you giving away RSR precious scraps before it was released) and as I don't have a blog myself, I wondered about offering half of my prize for a giveaway?"
How great is this?? – I won a fat quarter bundle of Erin McMorris’ new line ‘Summersault’ from 
