Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Pink and Brown Quilts

Reilly's quilt is one of my pink and brown quilts, but I have recently finished another one that I haven't mentioned here. Awhile back the Senior Center quilting group that I lead started making some lap-size quilts using strips and the quilt-as-you-go technique. It took me longer to finish mine than it did the rest of the ladies, but I finally got mine finished and gave it to the Center to put in their shop to sell. Here it is finished Calico Stripe Finished and here is a close-up of one corner Corner of the Calico Stripe Here is photo of the back of the quilt Calico Stripe with Backine . It is always good to learn at least one thing with each project - one of the things I learned with this one is how to make rounded corners. That required me to review how to do a continuous bias binding. I especially like the way a stripe fabric looks in a bias binding, so was pleased with the way this turned out. I cut many more strips than needed however, so could probably make another one without cutting any more fabric. Instead I will just add them to my collection of strips of different widths for another project. This was the same process that we used for the table runners we were taught at Retreat this year, just a different size, and with sashing added. I really like it as a quick to do quilt.
Working on this project also prompted me to investigate walking feet. I have never been happy with the one that came with my Brother CS6000i, so just didn't use it much, but these seams were pretty thick so I contacted a Brother dealer to see if there was a different foot I could get. He said that if my foot did not say "Brother" on it then it probably wasn't a Brother one, and my original one did not, so I ordered one from him, and it seems to be doing much better.
Yesterday I started quilting Reilly's quilt - my first pink and brown quilt. Here are the 4 blocks I've done so far.First 4 Blocks of Reilly's Quilt Now Quilted On the right you can still see the marking pen I use to trace the stencil design, but I will spray it tonight with some water and it will go away. I am outlining the individual sections of the pink and brown sections, and will be alternating the two stencil designs for the cream sections.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Decision on Reilly's Quilt

I am GA still tonight - I'll be driving back home from McDonough tomorrow - about 9 hours if I don't make any wrong turns!! Tonight Kristi and Micheal and I decided that we like the one border on Reilly's quilt Reilly's quilt with one wide border I brought several possible fabrics, including the one they thought they wanted as the outside border, but when I laid it out in Reilly's room we all agreed on this - just one wide border of the brown polka dots; I'll use that as the backing too. I also had some stencils for the cream sections that I showed Kristi, she is leaving it up to me to pick between 4 of the 7 I showed her. Knowing me, I will probably practice with a couple of them at least before I decide. I think in the pink/brown areas I will just outline the sections. I did more of a quilting design in Lillian's but you can't really tell what it is, so I think I will do something more simple for this one.

I have had a great time visiting with all our GA kids and all of our grandkids. I left home last Wednesday afternoon, went to Johnson City, TN to stay with my mom that night, then on to McDonough on Thursday. Friday afternoon I went to Marietta, stayed there Friday and Saturday nights, then Sunday afternoon came back to McDonough. I really miss hubby though, and hope that he can come with me on my next visit here. We'll be here for Christmas, but I hope we'll be back before then.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Yoyo Bunnies, Fabric Baskets and a Sudoku Board

I have been working on making some yoyo bunnies - this one is completed and ready to give to Reba, our oldest granddaughter, later this week. Reba's bunny and basket I made a quilt for her out of some of these fabrics about 2 years ago. Reba's quilt The fabric basket is one of the 6 fabric baskets I have made so far - here it is with some of the others. 5 baskets Starting on the left, #'s 1, 2, and 4 are for granddaughters and they all coordinate with quilts I have made or am making. The one in the middle coordinates with a table runner that I am giving to one of my daughters this week. I had given two of these baskets to the granddaughters earlier this year, but then I agreed to do a workshop on them for the guild, so I borrowed them back to use in the workshop. I am hoping to have the second bunny done by the time I see them on Friday. They take about 60 yoyos each, so not a real quick project!

For some time now I have had in the back of my head the idea that I wanted to make a Sudoku board using fabric pieces in some way that could actually be played. Eventually I came up with this idea finished board I've used Velcro in each square, on the back of each fabric square and as strips on the sides to hold the pieces I've not used yet. I wanted some way to make "pencil marks" - and finally came up with the idea of just cutting out little pieces of each of the 9 fabrics. I made this on muslin with 1/4" fusible bias tape for the major lines. Each of the playing pieces is 2 squares of fabric sewn together with a piece of batting in the middle and frayed edges all around. It remains to be seen how long the playing pieces last, but I could always make more. The 9 fabrics I used are all from quilts I've made. In the middle is a 20" x 40" display board, so it can be folded up if I want. I set up the board by using any Sudoku puzzle, then see how far I can get.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Reilly's quilt and some table runners

As usual when I start a new blog entry, I wonder where to start. I have been working on several projects since my last posting. My newest granddaughter Reilly's quilt - the Squarin' Around that I mentioned in my last entry - is now ready for some borders. Here is the center - Center of Reilly's quilt and a couple of possible borders - Reilly's quilt with 2 possible borders Reilly's quilt with one wide border I am going to GA again next week and will take the center and the possible borders with me for her parents to help me decide what to use for the borders. I think the brown with cream dots will be the backing. I'm sure I have thought this before, but I really do think this was the hardest quilt to piece that I have ever done. I like the way it turned out -- but not sure I would want to try it again!

Last spring our guild had a workshop on quilt-as-you-go table runners. I have finally finished 2 - one I started in the workshop and one that I did while helping the Senior Center ladies learn how. Here are the two of them First 2 tablerunners and here they are with the backing showing.First 2 tablerunners showing backings When the piecing is finished all you have to do is add the binding. These have been very popular at our guild recently - one lady recently showed 13 she had made!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Honorable Mention

Our guild had a show July 14-18 and I entered 4 of my quilts - Fallen Leaves Fallen Leaves finished , BargelloBowl BargelloBowl finished , Simplified Log Cabin Simplified Log Cabin on our bed and Say it With Flowers Say it With Flowers and the ribbon. Much to my surprise I got an Honorable Mention ribbon for the Say it With Flowers. I entered it in the handquilted category - I made it for my mom in '06-'07. I think it was the second handquilted one that I have finished. The comments from the judge were interesting. She thought my triangle points need improvement, and that my handquilting needed to be more consistent in size and space between - I thought the points were pretty darn good, and it was only my 2nd handquilted piece so I thought it was pretty good. She did like the theme fabric and felt the colors were well coordinated - I should give all credit to the fabric designer -- this was a kit that I bought so all the fabrics were in one collection from Northcott I think. She did like the checkerboard border - I was pleased with the way it turned out, and it was easier than I thought it would be. She also said "Excellent handling of difficult binding fabric choice - very good binding corners." That was satisfying because it was hard to do - the binding is a strip of the fabric that has a rope design that I used as the top of the binding and right beside that are some strips that show up on the binding on the back - so it was nice that she noticed that. It is instructive to get the judge's comments, but you need a bit of a thick skin. The important thing for me remains to be that I make quilts that I like, in fabrics that I like, that suit the person I am making them for if that is the purpose. My mom says she likes this quilt - and it will shortly be back in her living room - although this morning I was wrapped up in it a bit while working on this blog entry. It was a cool and foggy morning in central VA - a typical August morning that reminds us that summer is fading.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Recent Encounters with Quilters

In the last 6 weeks or so I have been out of town 4 times - Beach Week for our family the 2nd week in June, a 5-day cruise with DH's brother's family the last week in June, a great-nephew's christening July 11-12, and now I am in GA to help middle daughter with her new baby daughter. I am feeling like I will never get caught up on email, blogs, Yahoo groups, etc. However, I have a quilting friend who is way busier than I am and she posts blog entries much more frequently (EH, you know who you are), so I am finally posting a contribution to Blogland.

In the last few weeks I have had two encounters with Quilters - Capital "Q" because both of them have published patterns that I have used or had some relationship to. First of all, a few weeks back I had a whole Friday all to myself - doesn't seem like such a big deal for a retiree, but trust me, it is! I wanted to get some serious work done on new granddaughter's quilt. Her parents picked out
Squarin' Around after looking at hundreds of patterns that I showed them in books, magazines, and my stash of singles. We finally settled on some of the fabrics from the "Backporch Bouquet" collection from Maywood Studios, with other fabrics added in. I made a few blocks, which don't look anything like I thought they would when I looked at the pattern, and took them to the beach with us so they could see what I had done so far. We tweaked the fabric selection a bit so I was ready to roll the Friday after the beach trip. I cut out enough pieces to get started on and began sewing them together, did the trimming of the blocks, etc -- and had real trouble getting them to come out right. Such trouble that I felt like I could only use about 10 of the first 20 blocks I made. By the afternoon I was wondering what my problem was, and what I could do differently and was getting pretty frustrated and worried. In desparation I googled the designer of the pattern - Karla Alexander - to see if I could find a link or email address for her. I did find her listed on a webpage with a place to send her an email message. So I did that, describing my problem. As I was thinking about which of my MANY UFO's I wanted to work on while I waited to hear from her in the next few days my phone rings - and it is Karla!! This was not more than 5 minutes after I pressed "Send!!" She said she had just turned on her computer and saw my message so thought she would just give me a call. She gave me some good advice about the situation and encouraged me to continue. I am still amazed that she responded so quickly. Too bad she lives in Oregon and I live in VA - I am the Program Co-chair for my guild and I'd suggest her in a heartbeat for a program but I don't think our program budget could swing airfare for a trip from Oregon!

A couple of weeks ago I had a message from Christine Thresh, who designed the Going Around in Circles Again quilt that our daughter Allie made for the niece of her employers. She was very complimentary of Allie's work on the quilt and we emailed back and forth a couple of times. I was happy to hear the compliments, and gladly forwarded her messages to Allie. Pretty cool!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Catching Up for the Last Two Months!

I HAVE been quilting during the last 2 months, just not blogging about it. I finished the "Simplified Log Cabin" a few weeks back and last week I went to GA to see our kids and grands and also to take a class in using the Handiquilter at A Scarlet Thread in McDonough. After taking the class I rented time on the machine for the rest of that day and most of the next day. During that time I was able to get a comfort quilt done that I started 2 years ago - Comfort Quilt for my guild as well as my "Simplified Log Cabin" Simplified Log Cabin on the long-arm machine at A Scarlet Thread Simplified Log Cabin on the long-arm machine at A Scarlet Thread and the "BargelloBowl" that I pieced on Super Bowl Sunday 2008 (a Bonnie Hunter project) Bargello Bowl quilt on the long-arm machine at A Scarlet Thread Bargello Bowl quilt on the long-arm machine at A Scarlet Thread These last 2 will stay at our house - I am hoping to get them bound and labelled in time to put them in the quilt show our guild has in July. I learned a lot from Kathy, the Handiquilter teacher at A Scarlet Thread, and had fun using the machine. Thanks so much to Wendy for helping me out when I had little boo-boos! I am not planning to buy one anytime soon as I have no room for it, but it sure does allow this hand-quilter to get some tops done more quickly!

Our guild had a retreat 2 weeks ago. It was held at the Virginia Horse Center in town, but it still felt like a get-away with 20+ quilting friends. Friday we had a class taught by Augusta Cole about making what she called Batik Beauty. We made 9-patch blocks to look like half-square triangles and saw various ways to assemble them. I have 9 blocks made so far and am thinking that I will put them together like this - Batik Beauty workshop blocks The picture of the red and white quilt is in Karen Combs' Combing Through Your Scraps - called Star Puzzle. I took a class from Karen Combs thru Quilt University 4 years ago when I first got back into quilting - it was called Combing Through Your Scraps, but at that time I didn't realize she had a book by that name. I never finished that quilt, but I did learn a lot from her. We all enjoyed Augusta's class, as well as her lecture on tips the following morning, and hope she will come back for a guild meeting next year. One of the most helpful things she showed us was how to use Eleanor Burns' Triangle Square Up Ruler - a great ruler for squaring up HST's! And most of us bought one from her too!

Saturday afternoon at our retreat one of our members showed us how to make a folded log cabin square using iron-on templates from Foldy Stuff. Here are the two I have done so far - Folded Log Cabin blocks It is fun to do, and goes pretty fast once you have your strips cut. Of course it took me longer than most of the others because I was trying to use different fabrics in each block, or at least putting the fabrics in different places - typical of the way I seem to do things -- making them more difficult than is wise! A few of my quilting friends were surprised that I was using colors that were not blue and yellow, but I have lots of black/white and white/black fabrics left from the quilt I made for Lillian.

I am the program co-chair for the guild for the next two years. We are planning a challenge for our ladies that will begin in June. I don't want to give anything away in case some of them are reading this - but here is a picture of the pieces of a block that is involved in the challenge - Pieces for my block for the guild challenge More to follow in mid-June!



Friday, March 27, 2009

Allie's "Going Around in Circles Again," the Final ALA Biblioquilters Block and Progress on the Simplified Log Cabin

Allie has now finished her "Going Around in Circles Again" quilt and it is probably on its way to the recipients. Going Around in Circles finished This photo shows her quilting really well. I don't see how she does all those lines so evenly spaced, even with using the walking foot, on her domestic sewing machine!
Here is another picture showing the quilting up closer
Going Around in Circles finished and closer still Going Around in Circles Again - closeup of the quilting I wish I could see the quilt in person, but she made it for the niece of the family that she works for, and it is probably on the way to her and her new hubby now.

I finished the last of the 5 ALA Bilbioquilter blocks a couple of days ago. ALA Biblioquilters Red/White/Blue block I like the design, and I like the look of stars, but I don't think I can do them very well. I can add the flying geese pieces on the sides OK, but sewing the blocks together so that my seams don't eat the points is frequently a problem. I always have to sew at least one seam again to get it better. If anyone has suggestions for that problem I'm all ears!
I've also been working on the Simplified Log Cabin and now have 9 rows pieced Simplified Log Cabin - 9 rows It is 11 blocks wide; I'm thinking I will make it 13-14 blocks long and hope to be working on it some more today. I love the fact that the border is a part of the piecing, so when I'm thru it is ready to sandwich. I' m thinking I will use a batik for the back - maybe see what I can find in a wide piece so that I don't have to piece it. I think I want to learn how to use a Handi-quilter at some shop where I can then rent time on the machine to do some quilting myself. There is a shop about an hour from here that does that, but you have to buy a set of leaders. There also at least 2 shops in the Atlanta area that have Handi-quilters so I might be able to work in a day or two of lessons and practice with an extended trip to see kids and grands there.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Cabin Branch and Stone House Quilters 2009 Show

Today we took a roadtrip to Northern Virginia - DH attended a sports card show in Chantilly and he dropped me at the Cabin Branch and Stone House Quilters Show in Manassas. This is only the 2nd quilt show I have attended that had vendors. It was not nearly as big as the Hampton Show, which I have only heard about, but certainly bigger than my guild's show. I took pictures of some of the 225+ quilts and loaded them into an album on my Webshots page. This was one of my favorites P3210197 The woman who made this quilt was there as one of the "white glove" ladies, so I was able to hear about the making of this quilt - and it made entirely from batiks, which I love to use. Check out my Webshots album to see more of my favorites. I also took pictures of most of the labels, so if you are particularly interested in some of them let me know and I can maybe tell you more about them.

Two of the things that I was specifically looking for there was some fabric sheets for the printer and some Civil War era reproductions for the final ALA Biblioquilters block. I was able to find all of those things, plus some fat quarters, patterns, books and 1/2 yd cuts that just jumped into my hands! I was there from 11:00 - 4:30, so it was a long day of walking and standing, but also quite an inspirational day!

Friday, March 13, 2009

This Pattern Kept Calling My Name!

A couple of days ago I bought a pattern online called Simplified Log Cabin from e-PatternsCentral. I printed it and it has been sitting by my computer calling my name - over and over again! Tonight I finally gave in to it and pulled a bunch of colorful batiks to use in it. I have now cut 21 blocks, and positioned them where I think I want them to go, and have sewn 3 of the blocks together. Here is the layout for the upper left corner - Simplified Log Cabin layout and further to the right Simplified Log Cabin layout Here are two of the blocks sewn together and a third ready to sew to the first two. 3 blocks of Simplified Log Cabin I think one of the reasons this pattern appeals to me, besides the bright batik fabrics, is that it is a tessellating design. The pattern calls for 42 blocks, but I think I will make it bigger. Since the border is part of the blocks I will need to decide on the size I want before I can finish the top row. I think the thing that will decide it for me is how much more of the border material I have.

This was not the best time to be starting another quilt top - I still have Lillian's quilt to bind and label (but I have finished the quilting on it), another block to make for the ALA quilts, fabric to cut for a table runner class at our guild meeting on Saturday, and tomorrow, well, actually today, I need to start taking the wallpaper off the bathroom walls so the contractor can start on our renovation project. Oh, and I also need to make some of the refreshments for the guild meeting. So around all these things I wonder how many blocks I could get sewn together this weekend??

Friday, March 6, 2009

Blocks for ALA Quilts

One of the online quilting groups I belong to is the ALABiblioquilters. We are all librarians and library-related folks. For the past several years this group has been making 2 or 3 quilts to be auctioned at the annual ALA meeting held each summer. The proceeds of the silent auction go to ALA's scholarship fund. I just heard about the group and joined last year, and contributed blocks for 2 of the quilts last year - shown here. This year I volunteered to make 2 blocks for "Chicago BLT" Chicago BLT Blocks and 2 for "Star Struck"(a Bonnie Hunter gem) Star Struck Blocks For "Chicago BLT" (Chicago because it is the home of ALA, and the site of this year's conference) the organizer sent us the brown and red fabrics and we are to supply the yellow and green. For "Star Struck" the organizer sent us the more solid red, which we could use for some or all of our sections, and were are to supply the black and white prints. For this one we are to send the 8 quarters back to her and she will arrange them. I have lots of black/white prints left from Lillian's quilt and would love to do a bigger one of these. As usual, Bonnie has come up with a great quilt pattern! I have one block to make for the 3rd quilt, then I'll mail them all off to the "Quilt Mamas." It is a version of a 4 patch with 2 parts being smaller 4 patches and the other 2 being stars. I still need to select my fabrics to go with what was sent to me for this one.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Allie's Quilt Top is Finished

DD Allie just sent me more pictures of her "Going Around in Circles Again" quilt. Going Around in Circles Top is done! Close-up of the Completed Going Around in Circles She has now finished appliquing the circles and has it sandwiched, and will start the machine quilting on it in a couple of days. Tomorrow is market day for her - she goes to the Greenmarket in Union Square in NYC for Hawthorne Valley Farm, where she was an intern during the summer of 2007. On some Saturdays she goes to the Inwood Greenmarket too. In between these times she will be quilting away. I think she will be outlining the circles but don't know what else she will come up with. I think she has done a great job with adapting the double wedding ring pattern to make it her own.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Senior Center Gift Quilts Finished

Last Friday the quilting group that I lead at the Senior Center presented the two quilts we have been working on for months to the director and associate director of the Center. Both are the Turning Twenty pattern, one in blues - the Front of Ray's Quilt with a large lighthouse panel on the back - The Back of Ray's Quilt because the assoc. director likes blue, and reminds us of that every day we are there, and he likes lighthouses. We made this one for the director - The front of Jeri's Quilt I used some large pieces of sunflower print on the back - The back of Jeri's Quilt At the time we were making this one the director was involved in getting a raised garden going behind the building, so we thought lots of floral prints would be appropriate. These were both made out of fabrics donated to the Center. One of the members of our group has a long-arm, and though she didn't want to volunteer to quilt them both she was willing to show me how to use a pantograph so I quilted both of them. The quality of the quilting does not stand up to hers, but we got them done - and the recipients seemed to like them. If they suspected anything during those months we were working on them they were kind enough not to say so. I am hoping that the woman who took some pictures will send them to me so I can add them to my collection. Here are the labels -the is Ray's Ray's Quilt Label and this is Jeri's Jeri's Quilt Label I was finishing up the labels about 2 hours before their monthly musical program at the Center! I had quilted Jeri's the previous Friday, and though the other ladies said they would help me bind it at our meeting on Wednesday, I decided I didn't want to ruin the surprise by having one of them ask who it was for at that late date, so I just did the binding - and the labels - myself.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Allie's "Going Around in Circles Again" Quilt

Allie is working on a new quilt - this one as a belated wedding gift for the niece of the family she works for in New York. She wanted to do a version of the double wedding ring, but different. Here is what she has so far. Going Around in Circles Layout She is using a pattern called "Going Around in Circles Again" using scraps of blues and greens. The circles are paper-pieced, then machine-appliqued onto the background fabric. Here is a closer view - Going Around in Circles with some of the pins in. Here Going Around in Circles - close-up and here Circles are sewn down you can see the design even closer. I believe I recognize some of my fabrics! When Allie comes to Virginia she stays in our guest/sewing room and sometimes some of my fabrics make their way into her bags. She has been having more time to work on it recently since it is very definitely winter still in the Hudson Valley. I'm hoping she sends more photos soon!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Mid-January Update

Although I did not make it an "official" New Year's resolution, I think I am going to be trying harder to finish up a few more projects this year than in previous years. So I guess my first "finish" would count as one of these, even though I only started it on Dec. 27. A bit of background - our Christmas was protracted this past year since I was sick on Christmas Eve evening and Christmas Day and the next day was just beginning to get better. By that night DH was sick and he ws just beginning to get better by Sunday. During this time we missed the Christmas Day gathering at his mom's house, that we had only missed 2 times until this year in the 33 years we've been married, and we had to postpone the gathering with our kids until New Year's Day. His brother offered us 2 tickets to the Falcons game that Sunday but we had to pass on that too - DH barely felt like watching it from the couch. We were at the home of one of our daughters and her husband - They are newly pregnant and we were all so afraid she would get the stomach bug we both had, but thankfully she didn't. On Saturday I was ready for some retail therapy so I went to A Scarlet Thread, a great quilt shop in McDonough, GA where we were staying. Along with a "few" fat quarters, a Rowenta iron, and 2 pillowcase kits (see the previous post for one of the Spiderman pillowcases) I also got a cutting mat and rotary ruler to leave at their house. That way, when I am there from now on I won't have to worry about bringing a mat from home and have it warp - ask me how I know that happens - and I can work on a greater variety of projects. With the mat and rotary ruler I was able to cut out all the 6" squares for a rag quilt for this daughter and her husband, plus enough to get started on one for us. On my previous post I have pictures of the first 5 rows of it, but now it is finished and UPS will deliver it to them tomorrow. Here it is on our couch Snowman Rag Quilt finished on couch and here is a close-up - Snowman Rag Quilt close-up I did try it out for a few minutes and it is very comfy - hopefully it will help keep them warm in this cold weather that even GA is feeling. I think DH is glad to be rid of all the little "sprigs," as he calls them, that are a necessary by-product of a rag quilt, but I do plan sometime to make one for us too - and next time I will try to clip as I go so i don't have 15 rows to clip at one time! Washing it at a laudromat the first time was a good idea, but I was able to do it a second time in my washer. It is about 60" x 75" and has a square of white flannel in each square so is pretty heavy.

I also made a pillowcase for me last week to demo it to the Senior Center quilting group that I lead - Yellow/Blue Pillowcase Not actually quilting, but since I used some of my quilting fabric I'm considering it a project finished. This pattern is really easy to do. I had not made pillowcases until these, so don't know if the way described in this pattern is typical or not. It has you sewing the border, the body of the pillowcase, a folded strip of accent fabric, and the other edge of the border all at one time (with the body of the pillowcase rolled up so that you can reach the other edge of the border). This makes a tube sort of thing that you turn inside out, then make French seams across the bottom and up the side and Voila!! - done!! You could also serge the seams but since I don't have a serger I'll stick with the French seams.

My next project will be to try to finish Lillian's quilt - 10 blocks to go with the hand quilting, and the rest of the boders. I will be trying to do 2 more this afternoon/evening. If I could do 2/day all next week I might be finished by the end of the weekend, but I'm not sure my wrists and thumbs will hold up to that much quilting.

While in the midst of writing this post I have had a couple of welcome interruptions - youngest DD who is also a quilter has emailed me for advice about where to get some wide backing for a large quilt she is making as a commissioned work for a niece of her employers in the Hudson Valley of NY, and while I was replying to her email my oldest daughter called while on her way to a quilt shop in Marietta, GA. So now oldest daughter is looking for wide backing fabrics for youngest daughter and I've had a nice conversation with both of them! Oldest daughter has recently gotten back into sewing a bit. She made some neat gift bags for Christmas, and is now working on a dress for her middle daughter, and we even discussed how to use some of her scraps to make a kind of crazy quilt looking bibs for her baby. As a mother of 3 under the age of five and a practicing attorney, she is doing well to even find her sewing machine!!