Remembering Clara and her Treadle Sewing machine

One thing leads to another. You know how it is, you go to get something, get side tracked and before you know it, you are one the opposite track.







That is just what happened this morning. I received an email regarding the Noah's Ark quilt. A fellow blogger Jacqui told me about her and her husband restoring antique treadle sewing machines. So BT and I went an opened the one we bought from his cousin Clara Lueckenotte about 1992.




After quite a bit of dusting we could read that it was a Franklin Model. The wood had dried out and it needs a little repair before we can even attempt to sew with it. I'm thinking with the increasing cost of electricity and the need for some physical exercise for me, sewing with a treadle might just be a good thing!


Here is a quilt that Clara had sewn the blocks just before she died, I completed the quilt and my MIL hand quilted it for me. Clara was a very unique lady, very generous in her giving and was the second born of 13 children. Clara was born 1898 and died in 1994, her mother Aunt Katie lived to be 102 years old.







Here is the machine after we dusted it off today!

The sunbonnet Alphabet Quilt

Noah's Ark

I have this crazy addiction to Noah's Ark things...........I have a cabinet full of figurines, plates, clocks, books, puzzles, a watch, candle holders, water globes, salt and pepper shakers, games, and even playing cards. Of course I made this awesome quilt with 50 different animals on it.

Did you know the Ark was built by amateurs? Yet the Titanic was built by professionals?

Progress on Dear Patti Quilt

Here is what we wore up to today. SNOW. It's March 4th, and I love the stuff. Especially since I get to stay at home and work on my sewing.

I laid out the 160 blocks (or 2130 pieces of little fabric) that I have made so far. Now I am going to paper piece some alphabet blocks to spell out the title of the quilt and I will also piece a block with the year. I've been playing with a computer program I have and I think I have it worked out to paper piece a block that is 8 inches tall, 4 inches wide to make a border, unfortunately I don't have the finishing fabric to piece a block today.

Time to get busy, more later.

In like a lamb?

The last time I blogged was 6 days ago and we were sleigh riding, the temperatures were around the high 20's.

Today it was in the high 60's. Sunny and beautiful. So BT and I along with neighbor Eric burned brush piles. Here's a few pictures.

After the fire had died down enough to leave it, BT and I wash both Jeeps. Bentley played in brush piles and at one point got trapped and was howling. BT had to free his back leg to get him out. I hope the dog learned his lesson, but probably not.

By this time was was 3:30 and all our energy was zapped. We had a snack of our freshly made smoked deer sausage and cheese.

We made church by 5:15. Afterwards we had a message to call Jeremy. They were running behind to meet us for dinner, so we killed some time at the Ace Hardware Store.

Out of the mouth of babes: While eating dinner, the waitress was cleaning off a table and walked by with some dirty dishes and two happy meal boxes. Alex Perked up, his eyes got real big and he said in his deep voice, "I didn't know they had Happy Meals in here". It was so funny, us adults were laughing so hard!

We stopped at Jeremy and Lori's on the way home to see their new floor in the basement. They tore out the old carpet and put an epoxy treatment on that makes it look like tile. Looks really sharp.

Now it's tea time and a little R & R in the recliner.

9:30 60 degrees.

Great sewing weather!

Yesterday and today, it's been nasty here in mid-Missouri. Yesterday we woke to several inches of sleet on the ground.

I spent the day between sewing and looking at it spit outside. About 1:30 Bentley and I went to try to shovel it from the sidewalk. We were only out there about 10 minutes when BT came home. His office was told they could leave at 1:00. He changed clothes and got the tractor to push the ice pellets around. It was a nice break to get out, as I had been sewing most of the day. I'm still sewing on the Dear Patti Quilt.

These two blocks are being sent to a blogger friend as a house warming present. She moved to Winston-Salem North Carolina. Visit Bonnie at her blog for details on how you too can send her a house warming block.

Let me tell you about the house block I made. The red flower fabric is very, very old. I was given several yards of this fabric that came out of my Grandfather Hammer's General store. This is the only picture that I have of the store, and I love it!

So today, guess I will sew again, unless I get brave enough to venture out of the slick stuff!

Bad luck replaced with Good Luck

Well strike #3 never hit today. (I know the day isn't over yet).

However today I had good luck! We are planning a trip (business/pleasure) to Nashville the first of April. Today I called the Crook and Chase show and got tickets to attend a live show!

Oh and Happy Valentine's Day. AKA National chocolate Day. Of course my sweetie gave me a big heart shaped box of Russell Stover chocolates. As Forrest would say "Life is like a box of Chocolates".



*Won't we be glad when blogspot gets spell check fixed!!!!!