The eyesight ain't what it used to be

 I finished setting up the quilting frame this week, loaded a practice sandwich and had at it.  Things seem to be working okay although the machine sounds quite rough, I don't remember it being that noisy before so I'm crossing my fingers.  I did oil the machine as per the manual when I cleaned it but perhaps there are internal bits that need some oil?  Then there was a pause while I waited for my thread to turn up, which arrived yesterday.

So then I loaded my first quilt onto the frame, which is a low-risk disappearing 4-patch made entirely from scraps.  It's probably destined for charity, so the pressure feels low.  I still felt a bit nervous about it, also it took me a little while to remember how to load the rollers with the top/wadding/backing so that they fed correctly in the right order.  I have vivid memories of this machine sewing right through my finger tip with no effort the first time I used this frame combo many years ago, so am being overly careful when I set up the initial basting lines.

I'm not much of a machine quilter, I'm very impressed with the people who can 'draw' with their needle in perfect geometry.  I know from the previous two times I've had the frame up that I will improve as time moves on.  This first top I am just doing a medium-size meander.  My absolute maximum sewing space is six inches deep at the beginning of the quilt - by the end of a queen size quilt this may have shrunk to as little as three inches due to the circumference of the roll of finished quilt passing through the throat of the machine.  So I can't do anything complicated on each pass apart from narrow pantos later on once I am more accustomed to the movement.  I'm slowly getting back into the rhythm but there are some pretty big stitches in the first pass, a few tension niggles that needed sorting, and I needed to fractionally raise up the backing roller as the foot was getting hung up on the seam allowances a bit. This quilt is only a lap size so won't take too many 5-6 inch passes to complete.

A big difference I am noticing this time around is that I can't see what I'm doing without glasses.  I need reading glasses for threading the needle, aligning the top to the initial basting line etc.  but they don't work for the actual quilting as I am then too far from the needle. But I'm not far enough for my distance glasses either.  It's not too bad during the daytime with the light from the two windows, but I tried doing some quilting at night and found the white thread lines virtually invisible against the white fabric even with the task light I have clamped on the machine carriage.  

I sewed together the next row of the Tannenbaum quilt.  Accuracy not being my strong point, some of the points on the small square-in-a-square blocks are floating but there you go.

And I've cut out the next row.  Cutting out is surprisingly time consuming, as the directions are written as if you are only using one background fabric, one green fabric, one red etc. even though the picture clearly shows a scrappy quilt.  So I have to break the quantities down in order to work out how many squares I need for a single whole block or half block and then cut that amount out of all the different fabrics I am using.  And of course I lost one of the light triangles altogether which turned out (after much searching) to be stuck on the back of one of the red squares.

Claudia of Colorway Arts released another free cartonnage workshop.  This one included a fabric-covered thread/ribbon holder, and a scissors case.  So I had a go and  used the glue she recommends, Elmers Glue-All, which I successfully acquired in Paducah on my trip. I found the Elmers disappointingly watery compared to the bookbinding glue I had been using, and didn't grab as well.  Perhaps I need practice. I used my Scan N Cut to cut out the shapes.

I've had a couple of bobbin lace get togethers this week - with friends on Monday and to an organised little lace day today.  I've started the next sampler of Bruge Lace from the book by Edna Sutton that I am following.  I've bodged together two different samples into one pattern so the result is not going to be pretty. But the point is to practice the techniques and stitch patterns so it seems inefficient to do an enormous sample of just one filling, one edging etc.  I started the new pattern on Monday and am getting on well so far.

I finished knitting the second sleeve of the Aldi mint green boucle t-shirt and am wet-blocking the four pieces now.  I wasn't really surprised that my pieces seemed a lot bigger than the measurements as I'm a loose knitter, hopefully the cotton/acrylic yarn is going to shrink up as it dries.

For a few weeks now I've actually been working on another Chinese dollshouse miniatures kit, for a little house that fits in a dome.  These kits come with everything but most of it is raw material: wire, beads, scraps of fabric etc, so there is a lot of assembly from scratch.  The fabric is mostly synthetic and I was having a lot of trouble glueing it. I usually use Aileen's Tacky Glue for almost everything but it wasn't holding the tiny bits of springy fabric even with Decorator strength thick glue.  UHU glue was ok for the beads and things but hard to apply in tiny quantities and of course just stained the fabric.  So I tried a new-to-me glue I had bought for scrapbooking: Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue.  It's a clear glue with the grab of UHU but dries clear like tacky glue and doesn't seem to stain the fabric if I'm careful. It also has a narrow applicator tip and is runnier than UHU, so easier to apply in tiny drops.

The scale of this kit seems a bit all over the place so I don't know if I am going to be happy with the finished result.  Like my friend Anita, my eye is offended by gross inaccuracies in scale when it comes to miniatures.  According to the instructions, the house structure will be built last, after all the furniture and decorations have been constructed.

And other than the above, I have been plodding on with the Month 12 Australian BOM which I am totally sick of now and not enjoying at all.  There has just been too many elements and too much stitching, leading to me getting confused a few times and I'm not happy with some of my work.  But the end is finally in sight, I should finish the block this week so I can get set up to do the next one which looks more straightforward.