Clean machine

I got the sewing machine back from the shop on Friday. Yay! I've started using it more lately, but stopped and took it in for some TLC once I realized that the poor machine, although infrequently used, has had exactly ZERO minutes of maintenance in at least the last 32 years since I learned to sew on it in the 6th grade.

The report? "It was a little dry, but she purrs like a kitten" says the nice man at the shop. And now it's all clean...



So I had to do a test block last night to assure myself that I can make an hour glass, which I will have to make many, many of for the next project. (Thanks, Megan, for all the cutting help the other night!)

Filmed in JiggleVision

Why why why why are nearly ALL movies these days filmed in that herky-jerky camera shaking business that makes me puke? Most of the time it adds less than nothing to the story. In fact I'd say it detracts, because whenever I see it I don't watch the movie or listen to dialog - I sit there stewing and thinking "JEEZUS I wish they'd make it stop." It's IRRITATING.

We had to walk out of a movie again last night, because if we had stayed, the poor folk at the theater would have been cleaning up second-hand popcorn. This time is was Hancock. Last time it was the latest Bourne movie. Before that it was the Kingdom. Fortunately they cheerfully refund our money at our usual cinema. If there's any silver lining, it's that.

My first quilt top!

I recently became interested in trying out quilting, so I started small and made a baby quilt top for practice. After many mistakes, I now know more than when I started. Lots of things I'll do differently on the next one, but I'll continue with this one to learn the quilting and binding parts.

Many thanks to Megan for the pattern (which I didn't get quite right, but there will be a next time), the encouragement, the bits of her stash, and the lessons in quilting and binding that I'm going to ask for. :)

I call this my "first" quilt top because let's face it, that mother/daughter project in 6th grade was reeeeeally light on the "daughter" participation factor.



All of these fabrics came from Value Village. The purple and the stripes are shirts, and the toads are from an awesome find: 10 yards of the stuff for $7. The shirts were 99 cents each. This is why I love the thrift store.