Now coming from a line of fabulous seamstresses and quilters one might believe that I had inherited a gift for sewing. One would be wrong. My grandmother was always able to whip up beautiful dresses, lovely summer outfits, and gorgeous quilts. My mother could take any bolt of material and turn it into a fantastic pageant dress, amazing prom dress or heart stopping wedding gown. She evened owned a custom bridal shop for a while and produced a number of the prom gowns that paraded through my high school prom.She could also pick up a pile of scraps and in a matter of days have a quilt to be cherished for a lifetime. I however had received none of this talent. For one I can't cut a straight line. Never have been able to, even with the use of tools that are guaranteed to produce a straight cut. For another, I have never mastered the sewing machine. I have always had the desire to use one, I even own one but in most cases allowing a monkey to use it would produce about the same results. Nonetheless I always get a stirring for creating some work of art using the sewing machine. ( I can piece and sew by hand but not really an option when you are trying to produce a quilt in less than 15 days.)
And so as soon as I gathered the sweaters I liked best I raced home to felt them. So far all was going well. The next day I cut out patterns for the block sizes I needed and quickly began cutting the sweaters to pieces. Before long a large stack of sweater blocks adorned my table. The quilt would be a mix of large solid blocks and large blocks made of 4 smaller blocks so first I needed to sew the smaller blocks together. So out comes the sewing machine (which by the way had been at my sister-in-laws for 2 years and I can't find the instructions for). In order to sew I first have to fill a bobbin and then thread it. So I pop the bobbin on, the spool of thread goes flying through the air, then the bobbin ends up in a tangle and after about 8 times of trying to get it to wind, finally I'm successful. Then I go to put the bobbin in the little thing that holds it and guess what; It doesn't fit. Somehow there are three bobbins in the my stuff that do not fit the bobbin thingy. Time to wind a new bobbin. Next comes threading the machine. Not as easy as it sounds when you only use a machine every year or so and not having instructions is definitely a handicap, since to thread a machine takes a complicated pattern of up down and round several little metal objects and the correct order is very important. It takes several attempts but I remember just enough that I finally get it. But of course there is still the trial run to be done to ensure that everything is set up correctly. I grab a scrap of material and to my great surprise it all works wonderfully.
So I grab my first two small blocks. Now you might remember that I can not cut a straight line so in fact my squares are not technically squares. And if one can not cut a straight line I'm sure you are wondering how one sews a straight line. She doesn't. But that does not stop me. I quickly sew up 3 large blocks from the smaller blocks but low-and-behold on block number 4 the sweater material in this block is much thicker than in other the other blocks and machine just sticks. By this point it's late a night and I figure it best to head to bed and tackle this problem in the morning.
The next day I sit down at my sewing machine refreshed and ready to go. I grab that block that was giving me problems before and begin working with it. Again the machine just sits there. I'm pressing the foot, the motor is humming but the material is not moving. I jerk on the block and suddenly it pops through under the foot, only when I turn it over, instead of a beautiful nice stitch there is a mess of thread on the back of my block. I pull it all out and try again. Same thing. After a couple of more tries, re-threaded the bobbin a few times and a call to my mother I finally figure out that needle is no longer threaded correctly. I re-thread the needle and try again. A few stitches into the block suddenly I realize there are no stitches happening anywhere. The bobbin has run out. Re-load the bobbin and now I have to try to thread it again and 20 min later we're back in business. I sew a few more squares together and the needle breaks. Replace the needle, start again, the spool runs out. I find a new spool of thread, get it threaded (I'm starting to get pretty good at that) and back to work. Then the foot falls off (if you aren't familiar with a sewing machine this is the little piece that holds the fabric down and pushes it through the machine). I fix the foot, making sure it's tight. Of course by now it's time to get back to the business of running my household, so I put everything away to tackle again later.
The next few attempts go better and I eventually get the top of the quilt finished. Now to put the back on. Now let's review. I can't cut a straight line, I don't really sew a straight line so when I lay the top out on the back it's not anywhere close to straight. When I ask my Mom's advice she says "Just square the back and it will look fine." Yeah right. So I do my best to square the back and attach it. Just in time to bind it on Christmas Eve. I chose a quick closed blanket stitch and by 3 am I'm done. The finished product wasn't too bad, a little crooked and I've got my fingers crossed that it won't fall apart, but finished. All the work and complications were definitely worth it when I received a grateful thank you from my niece.
And now arise the questions, do I have so much trouble with my machine because I only use it once a year or do I only use it once a year because I struggle so much? As of now I think I'll put the machine away, being sure to put the instructions with it which I happened to find as I was cleaning up from Christmas. Maybe I pull it out again soon or maybe next November I'll get the itch to make something new and the fun will start all over again.
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| Finished product - one square has a pocket and a couple have buttons. Not too shabby! |
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