Almost finishes

I have to admit I take my time finishing stuff.  I don't love the process of all the little tasks that finish a quilt. Binding, labeling, sleeve making.... such fuss!

This past month I've been scurrying a bit.  I wanted to finish up a few small things - and I have ALMOST finished the following three.  I decided to show them to you anyway, lest I am unable to blog between now and when we leave for Maine.

International Liberated Medallion is quilted, bound and labeled -- just needs a sleeve. Joes, Isabeau and their friends in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, made this around  my center start.  I told you about it here.

International Liberated Medallion

Buoys and Shadows is quilted and faced.  The facing needs hemming, the quilting threads need to be buried, and I need to make a sleeve and label.   This is the first piece on which I have done "serious" machine quilting.  That took a bit of gumption on my part, but I am pleased with how it came out.  No bubbles of fabric. I decided to leave some small spaces un-quilted - as place to rest one's eyes.

Buoys and Shadows

Caught at Low Tide is quilted and bound. Again, I need to hem the binding, make a sleeve and a label.  Ah well, that will get done... I'm taking both buoy quilts with me to Maine.
This little quilt was made by piecing different scraps together to make the background . Then I appliqued the buoys and the "seaweed and rocks".  I am imagining that one is looking from pretty far away- maybe from a boat , hence the small size of all featured parts.

Caught at Low Tide

Getting ready for Maine

As some of you know, the island in Maine, where we spend a good part of the summer, has no electricity. You can read about it here.

This year I am taking a sewing machine! I converted a Singer Spartan from electric to hand crank.  That was really easy to do.  I purchased (on line) a hand crank attachment , which simply screws on to the spot that held the motor.  This is not an authentic Singer hand crank. It is clearly not up to snuff quality- wise with its metal work and paint job, but heck.  I'm not trying to be a purist.  I want a machine that works.  The crank turns the wheel and the machine sews fine, so who am I to complain?

The Spartan is a heavy little bugger.  It isn't much bigger than the featherweight, but it sure weighs a lot more.  I am rigging up a transport / storage box for it.  Over the winter it will stay on the Island, sealed in its box with some silica gel or other absorbent crystals. Hopefully it won't rust.  That is my biggest concern.

Blue foam board will be cut to make a cradle to hold the machine while in transport

Why not take a treadle instead of a hand crank?  Treadle machines are awkward and heavy to transport. I cannot imagine clambering over the side of a lobster boat into a  rocking skiff and then trying to handle the transfer of such a machine. I can barely hold myself steady.  I'm sure somewhere someone has done it, but I don't want that experience!  Then, I'd have to cart it quite a distance to my place from the beach.  How could I keep the whole thing as dry as possible over the winter?  Already three counts against the treadle.

What are my big plans for using this machine this year?  Making curtains for the bedroom. I have six windows in the bedroom! I've cut some muslin lengths and will sew the sleeves and hems once the final measurements are determined.

After that project is done, I will be concentrating on hand quilting a large quilt.  When I take breaks, I'll play on the machine with scraps.  Already I'm looking forward to NEXT summer, when I can concentrate on creating with this new toy.