They just need starching and pressing now.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Power Quilting (of the candle kind)
It is the middle of winter and we had a 5 and half hour power cut last night from 4.30 pm until 10.05 pm. (It gets dark about 5.30 pm at this time of year.) It makes sewing a challenge! I have a new appreciation for how our fore-mothers coped with less than ideal conditions. The machine was out, the iron was out, precision rotary cutting was out, hand sewing ruled. Could I do some hand applique on the raffle quilt? No I could not! The lighting was really bad, my stitches would have been of the frogging type (rip it, rip it, rip it - you get the idea). What could I do while I was sitting in the dim light of a few candles? Aha! I had some berries to prepare for the raffle quilt. I had the cardboard circles already cut out and it only required rough cutting of the fabric. If I held the cardboard circle on top of the fabric I could see well enough to cut a rough circle. Threading the needle was interesting. I abandoned the small needle I usually use and used the longer large-eyed needle that JUST HAPPENED TO BE SITTING IN MY PIN CUSHION by my chair (lucky, eh!) Then I held the needle in the circle of light cast by the candle and voila, I could get it threaded. Doing a running thread wasn't as difficult as threading the needle and I managed to get 21 berries prepared:
They just need starching and pressing now.
They just need starching and pressing now.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Makes us really appreciate all our mod cons, doesnt it! I have my Grandmother's dear old Singer Treadle, should we ever have no power for too long! It still sews beautifully.
Your berries look very nice.
Good for you for your persistence! It is summer time here, and we had thunderstorms, so we had the computers and tv off, so there wasn't a lot we could do here either. I wasn't quite so persistent though, and didn't find anything quilty to do.
I hope you had some heating with out the power!
Jodie
Helen
You've been so good sewing just with candle-light.
ciao ciao
Ouch! Glad to see you were able to have some fun -- but I knew there was a reason I liked my electricity!
Hi again Helen, I have nominated you for a meme. You dont have to do it if you dont want to. I love reading them, but I know it can sometimes be an imposition. I dont usually name people, but well, this time I thought I would, you being a good Kiwi, & all.
Ah "pioneer woman," you did a berry fine job there! We are very reliant on electricity - frighteningly so.
I remember doing playground duty at Patea High School ( on the cliff top by the sea )and having to hold the saucer in one hand and the cup in the other ...if you didn't you would have it blown over.( mugs now make more sense! )
Ali
You are coming up as no reply so I can't email you directly to say:
"Nice pun!
Yes, mugs DO make much more sense, especially when you have a drink in one hand and a yummy piece of food in the other! Remember those tea parties with a cup and saucer AND plate? I never figured out what I was supposed to do with the plate when I took a sip of tea."
Fabulous work during your power outage! The fore-mothers of quilting would be proud!
Post a Comment