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[disciplinecottage]

Update: still no forward progress with a mechanical fix BUT we called the local quilting store who recommended someone in town who specializes in repairing and restoring vintage machines! When we described the problem to her she sounded like that guy in the post about the IT worker who was excited about a novel problem to solve. So we are dropping Ruth off to this person's shop this evening and HOPEFULLY she will return to us in three short weeks ready to roll.

my beloved 1910 singer treadle machine has decided to only make problem stitches. It looks like the upper tension is too tight but even with the tension discs loosened all the way the problem persists. It's been cleaned and rethreaded and everything and she is just not sewing the way she did last week. What is going on 😭

[disciplinecottage]

I made this blanket during my online lectures in fall 2020/spring 2021! It is so warm and cozy. I'll work up a pattern from my notes and post it later this week!

after months and a so many rows, the gorgeous granada holmes crochet afghan is done! @missgiven is a wool sorcerer <3

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I started working on a braided rug earlier this month, using some of the quilting cotton that I have too much of. It's inspired by some very old rugs that my grandparents had. I'm tearing the fabric into 4 cm wide strips, double folding it and slipstitching the edges together, then braiding it and whipstitching the edges of the braid together, around and around. I also pressed the fabric strips carefully after tearing them, and have been pressing the rug every time I go around the ends to prevent it from warping. It's coming along slowly and is currently 16 cm wide. I've used up almost one metre of fabric so far, and am about to switch to a different piece of green cotton.

[disciplinecottage]

despite lots of effort and research Ruth the sewing machine remains out of commission.

have tried:

re-threading the machine top and bottom

re-threading while checking the instructions from the manual compulsively just in case I randomly forgot how to thread it (I didn't)

oiling the machine + cleaning it out really well (this is what worked last time it was acting up in a similar way)

changing the needle (currently using a size 11 needle with 50wt thread)

changing around the upper tension

literally changing out the upper tension part

our best guess NOW is the bobbin tension is too loose -- when you pull on the top thread it feels a lot tighter than the bottom thread which feels QUITE loose. but we can't get the bobbin tension screw to budge!! this weekend is for trying a few more fixes to see if we can make head or tail of it and then if that doesn't work seeing if anyone in our area works on vintage machines.

I just want to sew I'm so sad!!!

my beloved 1910 singer treadle machine has decided to only make problem stitches. It looks like the upper tension is too tight but even with the tension discs loosened all the way the problem persists. It's been cleaned and rethreaded and everything and she is just not sewing the way she did last week. What is going on 😭

[disciplinecottage]

You all need to hear this:

1. You probably dont suck at your craft as much as you think you do, I bet a lot of people are amazed at what you can make, and

2. If you actually are the Literal Worst In The Whole Wide World at your craft... who the fuck cares? What are they gonna do, call the police on you? Keep making your shitty little things, youre the boss of you, fuck the haters.

[disciplinecottage]

Daily dose of knitted bagels, Kate Jenkins

[disciplinecottage]

A finished quilt!

This was a Christmas present for my mom and dad. The prompt I gave myself was beachy but a little subtle and I'm happy with the interpretation. I like the way the colors move across the quilt like a wave and I really ended up liking the big stitch quilting I did in a wave pattern over the whole piece.

I used a strip pack from Island Batiks and to use up every last scrap I sewed them into that colorful stripe on the back which became one of my favorite parts of the quilt.

It was my first time working from a quilt pattern and that was fun too!

It washed up so cozy -- the next to last picture of it on my parents' sofa. I was terified about some of those batiks running - up until now I've been an aggressive pre-washer but working with precuts I decided to just hope for the best. The batiks behaved themselves, I washed it with some color catchers and if anything that bright blue back tried to run! But the color catchers worked beautifully and it came out of the wash all very lovely.

Special thanks to my dad for holding the quilt up for pictures. Not the craziest thing his daughter has asked for help with in pursuit of Craft.

My parents love it and hopefully they will get lots of use out of it.

Pattern: Madeline Quilt by Penelope Handmade.

Fabric: Island Batik Favorites Strips, "Attitude" and half an Ikea bedsheet, I believe Dvala in beige. The back is Sew Classic Cotton in Harbor Blue from Joann and the binding is Crazy Crabs on Navy by Quilter's Showcase also at Joann.

Quilting Thread: Wonderfil Spagetti 12wt in Peach.

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[disciplinecottage]

it snowed several times in the last week and we rarely get snow so I strapped the baby on my back, bundled us up, and got some snowy quilt pics! more pics to come.

[disciplinecottage]

my beloved 1910 singer treadle machine has decided to only make problem stitches. It looks like the upper tension is too tight but even with the tension discs loosened all the way the problem persists. It's been cleaned and rethreaded and everything and she is just not sewing the way she did last week. What is going on 😭

[disciplinecottage]

a garland made from dried grapefruit and oranges! it has shiny paper stars, three blue and one pink, for advent.

my new year's resolution is to have a bit of seasonal garland about all year round. I figured I'd start with advent as the new year for this particular goal!

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I love to read tutorial after turorial where people indicate that hand sewing is less sturdy than (or worse, not sturdy when compared to) machine sewing? sorry but that sounds like a skill issue??

[disciplinecottage]

Draw badly. Write nonsensically. Embroider messily. Burn what you bake and cook. Get paint everywhere. Read half a book. Lose your mind for a bit. Plant things. Have faith in the process. Abandon 70 wood-carving projects. Get a kit and do some of it and never return to it. Get comfortable with sucking and losing motivation. Continue to create with reckless abandon.

[disciplinecottage]

[disciplinecottage]

After much deliberation I've decided I'm gonna start making quilts and I'm going to make sloppy messy quilts for everyone I love then slowly but surely I'll be making beautiful quilts for everyone I love and I will have a fucking ball along the way and your homes will all be full of quilts.

[disciplinecottage]

my 5 month old recently began sitting in a high chair and he LOVES books and colorful fabric. I sat and quilted and he sat with me, looking at books or examining the quilt, for the better part of an hour the other day. if that wasn't nice I don't know what is.