tiny stars and more

After counting up the tiny stars I have already made and consulting my notes, it seems I am nearing the finish line!  If I remember right, I think I needed something like 90 more at the start of the week.  The squares I cut from my mom will be a bit more than enough, but that gives me some wiggle room in case I find duplicates or some just don't have enough contrast.

My guild has a Saturday sew-in in a few weeks (the first one in over a year!), and I hope to have all my stars ready so I can work on a layout there.  Arranging over 1000 little blocks (3" finished) is going to take considerable time and space.  The room is large and I can work on it all day if needed.  I'm sure I'll get input from friends, which is more helpful than cats.

So this week, the race is on!  I worked a few days, which cut into my sewing time, but I have a few more batches to share.

I also mentioned in my last post about making star blocks for a charity drive.  I made the effort to cut one to use as a leader-ender project for the stars as I went and completed four!

These are all 12" (finished) blocks, which feels rather large next to the tiny stars, but it's a nice break.

But my sewing machine was getting worse and worse about skipping stitches when sewing through thicker seams.  Like where points match up, particularly those where there are lots of layers, like the inside points of stars.  So I have been kinda looking for a new machine, wanting another Brother so I could be assured my bobbins and attachments and whatnot would all transfer.  And I didn't want a computerized one.  One that cost a bit more, with the expectation that a higher price point than the last one (it was cheap, I'll admit) would solve the problem.

On Wednesday I found this one!

Fresh out of the box, I hadn't even taken off the shipping tapes yet!  It's marketed as "strong and tough," so I expected it would power through those seams like butter.

While it did better, it was still struggling.  It definitely has a louder machine noise, which makes sense if it is going to pull a heavier load.  It has a metal hook, which I thought might be the cause with the older machine having a plastic one (perhaps it wore down?).  But no.  This one also does not much like thicker seams.  Or at least, the transition between thinner to thicker seams.

It was not hugely expensive, but is rather annoying.

Conferencing with a friend, Colette, we thought to try thinner thread.  I've got a good stash of Coats and Clark, as my previous machines have all run well with it, but it was worth a shot.  I tried some thread from my longarm in the top only, just to see how it went, and it did quite a bit better.  It still skips every so often and throws a hissy fit over batiks.  (Thankfully only one tiny star was a batik and that is not a type of fabric I like much...so not likely to be a long-term problem here.)

I'm not happy about this situation, as I do have a stash of threads that I apparently can now only use in the bobbin.  And while I'd like to say the search continues, I'm a little angry that I just spent the money and still don't have what I need, so the search is on hold a little.

But as the bobbin ran out, I noticed a flaw...

If you look closely, you'll notice in this photo, there is no place to wind a bobbin.  The little guide to stop it from over-winding is there, but where is the short spindle for the bobbin?  It is UNDER the thread spindle.  I'm pretty sure the manufacturer intended this spool spindle to fit there (though the instructions that came with it indicate nothing of the sort - and when using a spool, not a cone, that horizontal spindle is useless), but then how does one wind a bobbin?

Well, clearly like this!  Not exactly the best plan and definitely not something I'd be happy about if I was trying to wind multiple spools at a time (something I've never done), but it works for now.

I think I have the spindle from an old machine (the most-recently-retired one had a spindle that pressed down into the machine, or you pulled it up when you wanted it) that has a small shaft and the hubby and I have discussed drilling a small hole in the top of this machine to fit it in.  There is room up there, but we'll have to be careful not to drill too deep!

But I've managed to get this to work well enough to make tiny (and large) stars for now.

I also have a Featherweight machine my mom gave me a few years ago, but I have no idea how to use it.  I'm hoping maybe at the guild sewing day someone will know and offer to help me learn.  I know there are videos and my mom gave me a manual with the machine, but I am much better as a visual in-person learner and quilters being generous with both time and resources, I'm sure someone will be willing to help me.  (It may cost me lunch or a few fat quarters, but that's okay.)  And that may solve the problem altogether.  Except for bobbins.  I have a lot of bobbins for the Brother machine!

No cat photos this week - I'm not sure how that happened, but it did.  Instead may I offer you a red squirrel being naughty?

Not the best photo, as it was being taken through dirty windows (having my hose reeled ALLLLL the way (about 300 feet of it) out to the backyard for the barn guys all sprint and summer meant washing windows was a difficult task).  And while these tilt in, the difficulty doing it that way comes from having to move furniture to wash every single one.  And there are a lot.  Now that the barn is done, the hose is back in place, I can tackle these.  But now the weather has turned ridiculously hot and sticky again, so I guess I'll wait another week?

Anyways, this little cheeky brat has figured out how to climb across the siding and down the chain to get to the suet cake.  (The trick seems to be moving quickly!)  When I ran him off, I also saw him fling himself onto the seed feeder next to it.  He's figured out a work-around to the squirrel baffle I put up over that one.

He IS kinda cute.  And good entertainment for the kitties.  And I suppose he (or she?) is hungry, too.  Just, you know, don't eat it ALL, okay?

Time to go figure out some dinner.  I'm thankful for my air conditioner this week - it makes food prep a lot less troublesome.  As in, I can make whatever I choose and not base my decision on how much hotter it might make the house, as I did just a few years ago.  (I fought the central air for years, being one who is perpetually cold, but I will say it makes the job of cooking less annoying!)

Happy quilting!

Katie