Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Interior activites. The Marvel Quilt.

A beautiful day today, it's very spring-like. A perfect day to run outside! I walked to drop off an application at one of whoville's optical retailers and envied the runners I saw go by. The sun came out and there was just a bit of a cool breeze. It was definitely above zero because I didn't need a hat and on my way home even went without gloves. The park must have been lovely to run in. I just can't risk it. Any pain and I need to stop.

So it's on to interior activities, knitting, quilting/sewing, and baking. A few weeks ago, D. rescued this beautiful little sewing machine from the side of the road that had been ditched by someone. It was just sitting there outside of his workplace. He brought it in and plugged it in and it worked! D. doesn't know much about sewing machines so he thought it best to bring it home for me to check out. I don't know much about sewing machines, but everything looked okay. I did a few test stitches and saw smoke. D. took the wheel and the motor started to spark so we decided to see how much it would cost to refurbish it.



Here it is! That's our dear 17 year old Svetlana in behind it on the table. One of D's sweaters I made him is on the table waiting for a seam repair (hey, I can knit but I'm still learning the finer points of finishing). It has zig zag, buttonholes, and reverse which is a big step forward from the old singer that sis and I have been using. I'm pretty excited.

This machine gave me a chance to finish my quilt. Of course I've been using the quilt on the bed anyway, but the borders were not quite right so I re-did them on the Marvel sewing machine and now I can sleep more peacefully.



And here's the quilt. It's made from donated fabric that a kind friend gave to me. I went through the scraps, collecting until I decided to make a quilt. It took me a year to complete (just because I'd put it aside and come back to it again and again). My only expense was the cotton filling and the thread! Not bad.



I'd like to hang it outside and take a photo for better lighting, but it's a little chilly and I've really nothing to hang it on. I'll wait until the summer before I put it away during the inevitable heatwave.

4 comments:

Wandering Coyote said...

Sometimes the universe just sends you exactly what you need, when you need it, eh?

It's a cool machine! Nice colour. And the quilt looks beautiful, too. (And so, of course, does the kitty!)

redjane Stephanie Belding said...

I'm with WC on this one- I love that quilt! Now, did D. fix the machine or did you get it done somewhere else? What a find.

sp said...

I love the colour of the machine. It's in the same tones as my quilt. What luck.

D. did not fix the machine this time because it needed a new motor, a few small parts worked on and a major retuning. We took it to that repair place on Queen west that looks like it's been there for 40 years. It was well worth it and the guy showed me how all the dials and buttons worked so that helped too.

At least it's not sitting in landfill somewhere.

redjane Stephanie Belding said...

That'a amazing! What a story- the gut in the store that fixes old sewing machines- there's a short film...