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.  

Lyon's Farm and Stitching

 Lyon's Farm Fall Festival was last weekend.  I've had a booth at their festival every year except one since 2012.

This year, one of the projects that I worked on at the festival was 2 pairs of ruffled pants for my granddaughter.  

sewing on a Singer 301A at the festival

I don't sew clothes.  I did make my granddaughter some T-shirt dresses earlier this year.  Those were my first clothing I've made since Home Ec in 9th grade.  My shirt in Home Ec turned out looking like a maternity top (despite the teacher checking every step).

Well, I bit the bullet and decided to try this pattern (found at Goodwill).

ruffled pants pattern

The pattern suggests either surging all the seams or using a zig zag stitch.  Well, all the machines at the festival were straight stitch machines.  Because of the straight stitch issue, I decided to do rolled hems on each seam.

Pinning each rolled hem takes LOTS of time.  I didn't get much sewing done at the festival.  Once I started, I had to keep going, so that all the seams were the same.  After the festival, I stitched on my purple Featherweight.

stitching the hem

I made lots of mistakes, but I learned from each mistake.  I did use the serger on the inside leg seams, and on the ruffles.  I finally finished both pairs of ruffled pants late last night. 

If you look close at both pairs of pants, you can see one of my mistakes.  I decided that that mistake was going to stay.

I also made a satin and flannel blanket for my newest grandson.  His big sister and big brother both have one, and I was told he needed one, too.

I also got the binding stitched onto one of the Harry Potter Castle quilts.  I haven't had time to take photos yet.  The quilter did a great job on both quilts.

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.

   

A Little Bit of a Lot of Things

    I never showed the completed pin cushion I made for the Treadle On Pin Cushion exchange.  I made a cute little mouse pin cushion.  I made a 2nd one for me to keep.

1st Mouse pin cushion

2nd Mouse pin cushion

Both  Mouse pin cushions

These are the only mice I ever want to see in my sewing room.

On Monday, I finished the embroidery on my Olde Treadleonia map.

map of Olde Treadleonia

    This map is from the early days of Treadle On, back when Captain Dick had lots of fun and games on the website.  I'll use this map as the center of a quilt.  I have lots of blocks from previous Treadle On Block Exchanges that I've participated in, that I've never sewn up into quilts.  

    I ordered a special tool kit designed for vintage sewing machines.  All of the bits in this kit are for the screws in most vintage machines.  The kit arrived yesterday.

Chapman set #9600

    I ordered this screwdriver kit from Sew Purty Workshops.  These kits are made in the USA.  I'm looking forward to using the kit the next time I clean a vintage sewing machine (several are waiting their turn to be cleaned).

    I started the Castle layout for my latest grandson's Harry Potter quilt.  Parts of the layout are paper pieced and parts are traditional pieced.  I'm making the paper pieced parts first.  These are the largest paper pieced blocks I've ever made before.

tops of Castle

    The Castle layout is from the Fandom in Stitches Disney Princess Quilt Along.  The layout uses the same size blocks as I was making (10" finished).

Castle layout

 

    I didn't want the roof of my Castle to be purple, and I also wanted my Castle to be made of gray stone, not wood, so I'm making several other changes, too.  Yes, I'm making two of this quilt.  One for my new grandson, and one that I can show at my quilt guild's quilt show (whenever we get to have quilt shows again).  Eventually my grandson will get the 2nd quilt, when the first quilt wears out.

    The end of August I visited a thrift store that I don't get to very often.  I found this quilt there for $10.  Of course I couldn't pass it up.

thrift store quilt

    I don't know if this quilt had even been used before.  It hadn't been washed.  It washed up nicely.  It may become a charity quilt.  Both of my quilt guilds are always needing charity quilts for different organizations.  

    

Now to go finish the Castle doors and the rest of the Castle layout.