October goings on

Wow, it's been 5 weeks since I posted last.  It's been a busy 5 weeks.  We left town for over 2 weeks just a few minutes after my last blog post.  Our grandkids and their parents flew down from Alaska, and we met up with them in Texas.  Hubby's parents live a few blocks from my mother, so we got to have 4 generations together from both sides of my family.

4 generations of Parker's

We finally got to meet our youngest grandchild.

Me with Declan, our youngest grandchild

We got to spend a whole week in Texas, making memories with family.  Here are just a few photos.

cousins together with their kids

my best friend of 40+ years

Gwendolynn's Tea Party

Declan at the Tea Party (he's loving his cinnamon toast strips)

sister-in law

Korin & Gwendolynn helping make cinnamon toast

I also got some photos of Gwendolynn in her new ruffled pants that I made her.

She loved modeling her new ruffled pants

I also got photos of Declan (and me) with his new Harry Potter Castle quilt.

Declan in his Harry Potter outfit

the Harry Potter Castle quilt

After a week in Texas, our son's family and hubby and I drove to Oklahoma for another fun filled week.  We used to live in Tulsa, so it was fun going back and seeing friends and places we took our sons when they were little.  We went to the Tulsa Zoo and to the Oklahoma Aquarium.

son's family at the Zoo

in the elephant house

on the Zoo train

underwater at the aquarium

Declan loved the fish

we'd just finished feeding these fish

with Grandpa, checking out more fish

Korin getting to ride the pony at the ice cream shop in Nowata, OK

When I got home, there was a pin cushion waiting for me from the Treadle On Pin Cushion exchange.

pin cushion, phone holder and scissors I received

I also weighed myself after being gone for over 2 weeks (scary).  Well, I did great!  After 9 months of dieting, I've lost 70 lbs. 

70 lbs lighter, in some of my new clothes

Since we got home, we've been busy.  We were witness's at friends renewal of vows.  We had Trunk or Treat at our church, and we helped with a retirement party for our pastor.

oldest son and hubby at Trunk or Treat

I also bought a new sewing machine off the Salvation Army website.

1913 Willcox & Gibbs treadle

great decals

Unfortunately, the treadle is in California.  I'm trying to find it rides here.  I can get it part way here, but there are 'gaps' in the trip.  Hopefully those gaps will get filled so that I can play with this new machine.  The lady who picked it up for me is having fun checking out all the attachments that came with the machine.  

I got mostly caught up with all my blog reading.  I'm only a few days behind now.  

To leave you with a photo of the fall color in  my neighborhood.

my neighborhood's fall colors

Now to get back into my sewing room.  I haven't sewn almost anything since we left on the trip.  

Some Finishes, a Gift and Getting Ready

 Yipee!  I finished both Harry Potter Castle quilt tops this weekend!  The long arm quilter has them now.  I started the blocks for these quilts back in February.  I didn't get a chance to work on them over the summer, but I finally got time to get the blocks in the Castle setting this past week.

Harry Potter Castle quilt

2nd quilt top is folded on the cutting table

Yes, I made 2 identical quilt tops.  My newest grandson will get the first quilt, and I'll keep the 2nd quilt to put in my large quilt guild's quilt show.  

These quilt tops are much larger than I was expecting.  The directions don't mention sizes, other than the paper piece block sizes.  I didn't care enough to stop and graph it out to pre-determine the finished sizes.  The quilt tops are 58" x 82.5".  Way too large for a baby quilt, but, the paper pieced quilt tops I make for my grandkids are usually hung on a wall, not slept under.  I always make them plenty of quilts to sleep under and throw on the floor.  

Monday night was my little quilt guild's Annual Tea.  One of the members made gifts for everyone in the guild.  She made us all sewing kits.  Each kit was made using different fabrics.

closed sewing kit

open sewing kit

continuous threaded needle & thread holder
(each holder has 10 threaded needles) 

finger pin cushion, pop-up thread catcher and pip

each pip had a rubber thimble and 2 Clover clips

Much of each of these items is hand stitched.  She made around 24 kits.  Everyone loved their kits and have asked her to do some demo's on how to make each part.  

This weekend is the Annual Kendall County Historical Society's Lyon's Farm Fall Festival.  Last year the festival was cancelled due to Covid (like everything else).  This year the festival is happening. I've had a booth at the festival since 2012.  It's always fun.  Well, this is the first year that I have to set up by myself.  I usually have my husband or son help set up, but they can't help me this year.  It will take me 2 trips to get everything to the festival this time.  I've already loaded my car, even though I can't set up until Friday afternoon.  I'm bring fewer machines this year than I normally bring.  I'm only taking 12 machines this time.

three machines on the floor of my car

four machines on the back seat of my car (room for one more machine on the seat)

four machines, 3 chairs, several quilts, a Featherweight table and a 401/301 short bed table

I'll have to come back to get the treadle base and the projects that I'll be sewing on during the festival.  I expect that the crowds will be much smaller than normal this year, due to Covid.  Illinois' numbers are getting smaller each day (less than 4% now).  

If you want to see my past blog posts about Lyon's Farm Fall Festival, then scroll way down to my post list and look under Lyon's Farm.  

Now to go get my projects and sewing notions together for the weekend.

   

March till now sewing

 Not nearly enough sewing has been going on since I posted in March.  Here is a quick catch-up.

I've had reproduction (Chinese) hand cranks to use on my sewing machines for many years. I found an original hand crank at a quilt store that was going out of business, several years ago, but the handle doesn't lock in place, so I haven't used it. I've been wanting an original hand crank, but hadn't come across another one.  Well, I ordered 2 of them from Helen Howes in England.  Helen is a parts supplier for vintage sewing machines, and also an art quilter.  She is very knowledgeable about vintage sewing machines.  The hand cranks arrived the end of March.

2 hand cranks in great condition

I installed one on my main hand crank.

1927 Singer 15 with an original hand crank

up close of the hand crank

Boy, I didn't know that there would be such a difference between a reproduction hand crank and an original hand crank.  The original hand crank is very quiet, turns easier, and doesn't have any 'loose' feel.  Now to figure out what machine will get the 2nd hand crank.

In April, I taught paper piecing to my little quilt guild, Wego Quiltin'.  I taught it on Zoom.  I clamped my phone so that it would be over my work surface, and tested the whole demonstration for my husband (I wanted to make sure that everyone could see what I was doing).  I could watch what I was doing on my laptop.  

testing my demo

bad lighting

better lighting

When you demo something, you need to make several samples.  I finally finished sewing all the different parts I used, together to make 6 butterfly blocks. 

my 6 finished blocks

I love to participate in block exchanges with my hand cranks and treadles.  Treadle On has several different exchanges each year.  Our Spring Basic exchange was 4 patch blocks.  We always try to have 2 'simple' exchanges each year, so that people who are learning how to use their treadles and hand cranks can participate.  I made 4 sets of 8 blocks each.  I like to use sewing themed fabrics for many of my block exchanges.

Spring Basic exchange blocks

I finished my March Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks (dark green).  I skipped the April blocks (light/bright blue) and started the May blocks (red).  I'll get back to the April blocks sometime this summer.  My dark green blocks look almost black in this photo.  They really are green.

March RSC dark green blocks

I finally finished all the blocks for the Harry Potter Castle quilts for my new grandson.  I've been so distracted lately that I kept making lots of mistakes and had to redo some blocks.  

One block was very frustrating.  The pattern says it makes a 10.5" x10.5" block.  Nope, it makes a 20.5" x 10.5" block.

WAY too big for this quilt

both blocks

I need the wand and quill to fit in a 4.5 x 10.5 window in the Castle.  These blocks will probably be put on the back of the quilts.  (yes, I make 2 matching paper pieced quilts for each grandchild, one for now, and one that I can put in my guild's quilt show, and save for later).

I finished the Hogwarts Crest blocks.

Hogwarts Crest

both blocks

Howler blocks.

Howler

both blocks

Hufflepuff  and Slytherin blocks.

Hufflepuff

both blocks

Slytherin

both blocks

I thought I'd finished the Gryffindor blocks, but they were missing something.

Oops!  Missing something on these blocks

Gryffindor blocks (correct)

both blocks

With the Ravenclaw Crest, I cut one of the corners on one of the blocks wrong.  Another stupid mistake because I was distracted.  You can't add a 1/4" seam allowance back, so I had to rip that block apart (very hard to do when the machine stitches at about 25 stitches to the inch) and re-make 2 parts of that block.  

Ravenclaw

both blocks

Since the wand and quill blocks were way too large to use, I had to make more blocks.  I chose the Elder Wand and Umbridge's quill.

Elder Wand

both blocks

Umbridge's quill

both blocks

Not nearly enough progress for almost 2 months sewing.  I still have the other baby quilt (Fractured Diamonds) to quilt.  I did at least get it basted. 

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Weight update:

I've lost 32 pounds so far, since the end of January.  The weight loss is slowing down now.  The doctor warned me that it would slow down after the first month or two.  It didn't start slowing down until the beginning of the 4th month (May).  I still have a long way to go.