Get Those Machines Up and Running

I’m going to set up one of my sewing machines—probably the Rocketeer—to make nothing but half-square triangles. Normally, I piece on Vittorio, my Necchi BF. I don’t want to put Diagonal Seam Tape on the bed of that machine, though, because the finish is delicate. If I sew HSTs on the Necchi, I’ll have to draw lines on my squares. I really like the Diagonal Seam Tape and prefer to use that if at all possible. I’ve been using it on the Janome, which is fine, but I like to use that machine for other tasks, too. I have plenty of machines. I could dedicate one to making nothing but HSTs.

[“I have plenty of machines” = understatement of the century.]

The Rocketeer is in a convenient spot and deserves to be used more often. This is what that machine looked like when I brought it home from the thrift store: filthy, missing the nose door, and being held in the cabinet by a piece of clothesline:

I cleaned the poor thing thoroughly, replaced the missing parts, and brought it back from the dead. It makes a lovely stitch and would be a great piecing machine.

I got one pillow sham made yesterday, but I want to check with my neighbor and make sure it’s the right size before I make the second one. It’s a simple envelope design and didn’t take long. After that, I ate more potato chips—er, made more O blocks:

I decided that the blocks with the pumpkin-colored units were yelling a bit too loudly. That’s always a risk with yellows and oranges. A little goes a long way. I took those fabrics out of the rotation and made some quieter blocks without them to tone down the quilt. I’ll spread the brighter ones out even more once I get all the blocks made. The overall effect is much better now, although the blocks still look funny on that white design wall. I plan to separate the blocks with a narrow sashing. They need the breathing room.

I was trying to remember when I first started quilting. It had to be around 2013, because there was a quilt store near the Pacific Lutheran campus, and I shopped there when DD#1 was in college. Part of the reason I wanted to learn to quilt was to make a wall hanging for the blank area over our staircase.

It’s now almost a decade later. Have I made a quilt for that spot? Nope. It’s still bare. I’m thinking, though, that this one might be a good candidate. The walls are a neutral beige color (a Sherwin-Williams paint color called “Bagel,” which is on several walls of my house) and this would look nice against that backdrop. I need to measure the area and do some calculations.

I love making these blocks. I have some screamingly bright Tim Holtz fabric with a coordinating Grunge-like blender—all from the same line—that is marinating in the stash because I haven’t yet decided what to do with it. These blocks would be a good way to use that fabric. I’d also like to try an on-point setting with them, which would give the design a completely different look.

I have no trouble coming up with projects. I do have trouble, sometimes, remembering that I have other responsibilities besides sewing all day.

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A travel video about Fortnum and Mason, the London department store, popped up in my YouTube feed the other day, so I watched it. We visited the store when we were in London two years ago. They have a whole department dedicated to nothing but tea, as well as a gorgeous specialty food market on the lower level. My sister said that if there is a heaven, it looks like the F&M food market and she wants to go there when she dies. I’d be content to end up in the tea department. The British know how to do tea. Williams-Sonoma carries a few varieties of Fortnum and Mason teas, including Countess Grey, which is one of my favorites. I drink a lot of tea during the winter, although I have to confine myself to the decaf varieties. Anything more than one cup of coffee in the morning and one cup of regular tea in the afternoon and I don’t sleep at night.

One of my plans for next summer is to do better about harvesting and drying some of my plants for herbal teas. I have mints and lemon balm, echinacea, raspberry leaves, mullein, lavender (of course), and I think the currants could also be added to a dried tea blend. Lots of possibilities there.