Discoveries of the Week

Nothing "finished" this week but at least I got things set up so I could proceed with the quilting on this fat quarter quilt. After clearing the ironing board and deciding to let the wool pressing mat remain, it was easy to slide the board next to the machine I use for machine quilting and plop the folded quilt on it to see if it would rest there and make quilting on those borders less of the push and pull that I remembered. The wool pressing mat has more grip to it than the smoother ironing board cover which I hoped would help keep the bulk of the quilt on the board.

And oh my goodness, this is working like a charm! The border area is totally free to be moved around as I quilt the paisleys in the fabric print. It's still slow going, as slow as I remember it, which puzzles me, but I think it is partly because of quilting around the many shapes in the fabric rather than choosing a larger overall motif to quilt. I may switch when I get to the side borders. As for why the ironing board is working better than I remember, I think it is because before I lowered it to be even with the table surround of the machine. Leaving it up higher is definitely giving more freedom of movement. And I am so glad I have not had to move the machine with all the unhooking of cords and removing of the table surround required to set it up where my other machine resides as you see in the first photo.

I doubt that I've mentioned that, after I'd pin basted the baby quilt, my screwdriver that I use exclusively to loosen and tighten screws holding needles and feet on my machines disappeared. I don't remember where it originally came from but I have had it for decades and through many machine changes. Those short ones that come with your machine are more irritating than useful, I've found. Just not enough length to hold on to it well and give leverage like a full size screwdriver. And now mine was no where to be found. And I looked everywhere I could think of, be it logical or not. I finally decided that perhaps it fell from the spot near the machine where I always keep it into the wastebasket next to the table and thus had gone out with the trash. Sigh and much angst over this as I struggled changing needles and feet with the little screwdriver.

And then, as I was setting up to start quilting on this quilt, I got out the Almond Roca tin where I keep my basting safety pins to set by the machine. I popped the lid and was stunned to see my screwdriver in there! I really have no recollection of putting it there, would have no reason to put it there. It's a mystery but I am so happy to have my screwdriver back!

I can't remember the last quilt book I bought but it's been awhile; I think it was one on a certain type of machine quilting. I'm at that point where there's not much new out there that I don't already have a book on or a magazine article that covers it. Instead, I've veered off into the lesser known region of handmade books, seeing how-to book recommendations popping up on the club Facebook page. One title in particular keeps getting mentioned, and I knew my library had it, in fact, I'd copied a few things out of it at one time. I decided with my new-found knowledge, it was time to check out all the books on the subject my library has and peruse. I decided that the two books above were ones with enough info in them that I wanted to add them to the two I already own. The great discovery while tracking down used copies was an alternate site to the Better World Books which I use often because they do more than just sell books; they have raised millions of dollars for literacy and donate a book to someone in need for every book you purchase. But this time they didn't have these books. The alternate site I discovered during a google search is Alibris and I was thrilled to find both books and at prices under $10 dollars. And they look brand new. I really do try to stay off Amazon and buy more directly from other sources.

Final discovery of the week - that there is a book about dyeing using Hawaiian plants! My well-traveled cousin who likes to pick up souvenirs for me found this one and thought I might find it interesting. I honestly thought, who knew???

Will I actually try out any of these recipes, provided I could source the plant material needed? Probably not, but it is a lovely book to page through. I'm so taken with the illustrations within, so many of the plants unknown to me. A whole new world!