Looking forward to Christmas!

I said I was going to try and post more often and that's what I'm hoping to do.  This past week it was Thanksgiving, a time to think of all the wonderful blessings we've all received.   My first big holiday dinner ran a little late.  After checking my oven temps with an oven thermometer the next day, I discovered my oven is running a little too low..... about 25 degrees.  Now that I know I'll be more diligent and plan ahead.

We got our first big snow last night, about 5 inches here.  I don't have a snow blower or even a snow shovel so my efforts to clear my driveway wasn't easy.  A neighbor saw me and he's the guy that clears the snow off our private road.  It took him about 10 minutes to clear things off so now I can get in and out with no problems.  Again, I feel blessed.  I live in a friendly neighborhood.

What about sewing?  I got ask to make a bag for my great grandson so I've been working on that.  I should say, I'm slowing working on that.  Guess I need to put it in gear and get that going more quickly.  Christmas day will be here before I know it.  Great grandson's bag won't have FW Club on it.  He's getting trucks and tools!

It will be good to wrap up this year.  It's been a difficult one for me but things are falling in line.   I'm looking forward to more relaxing days soon.  I hope you all have your Christmas shopping under control and will be ready for the FW spa day  between Christmas and New Year's day.  I'll stop by and remind you.

Cha-Cha-Cha-CHANGES!

 

Wow!  I look at my last post and see that it's been nearly a year since I've been here, chatting about life and sharing things going on with me.  Well, so much has changed in one year.  Whether we like it or not, CHANGE does happen when we least expect it.  Where do I begin?

Since my Big Guy passed, I've sold our home, bought a new home, moved from the lake and woods to a place closer to people and stores and now I'm enjoying setting things up and settling in.

JDquilts has kept me busy with retreats, classes, and lots of FWs to repair and get going again.  Those things kept my days full and me out of trouble.  We're still doing the FW Club Sew-in-Days but like everything there will probably be some changes happening ahead with those.  Last month there were only 3 at our gathering so I'm looking to hear from you all about what changes should happen.  The Quilt Patch owner and I met and a few suggestions were brought up.  Should we meet during the week (it would probably be a Tuesday), or would you all prefer our get togethers be on a Sunday each month?  The store would open at 10am for us if we decide to do that and everything else would be the same.  I do like having the same day of the month planned for our gatherings.  I think it makes it easier for all of us to remember we have that day planned.  But, it's possible the dates could be different days each month.  What do you think?  Do contact me and let me know what you would like.  These gatherings are for all of you after all.  You know my email but here it is just so it's easier for you to send a message:  jdquilts123@yahoo.com.

In the meantime,  I'll keep getting my house organized, bring more sewing stuff into my amazing sewing studio and keep you posted of FW and other stuff happening.  Stay tuned.  Let's get moving on this blog once again.  I'm ready and hope to be a bit more regular in the future.

It's that time again!

It's been awhile.  Life got crazy and here we are, the day after Christmas already.  It's the week that I'm supposed to remind all of you to do your spa day on those beautiful featherweight machines.  So, even if you don't get the machines done this week before New Year's, it's okay.  Do it when you can and I'll try to remind you the end of June to do it again.

2024 has been a difficult year and I'll be happy to see it go.  My dear husband of 59 years passed in November from cancer and I'm working hard to reinvent my life without him.  I hope to wrap myself up in sewing, quilting, knitting, spinning, lace making, basket making, whatever to keep me busy.  

I have so much to do as I reinvent myself.  What do I keep?  What do I get rid of?  It's a time in my life where I need to downsize a bit.  My kids sure don't need to have to deal with all the stuff we have accumulated over the years.  I'm planning on spending 3 mornings a week working of that.  The other parts of the days I will try to be doing things I love to do.

I will try to do better at posting this year.  And, I'll try to remind you all of upcoming featherweight opportunities.  On Saturday, 12/28/24, we'll have a Sew-in-Day at the Quilt Patch in Tecumseh.  You can sign up at the Quilt Patch website,   https://www.thequiltpatch.com/.

I'll be teaching a FW maintenance class on January 11, 2025 at the Quilt Patch as well.  Go to the website to sign up if you want to learn all about how to take care of that precious machine that you have.

May 2025 bring all of us good things this year.  I look forward to closing the 2024 door and steppi  ng into my new life this time.  I hope each day brings a new beginning, new adventures, new friends.  Happy New Year!

Jean

Oops, I think I missed my spa day!

 The 4th of July is over and done with and I didn't post a reminder about spa day for your featherweights.  I'm so sorry but I don't think it's too late.  If you follow my suggestion, I tell people the best way to remember when to do your 6-month oil/grease and lube day is to do it between Christmas and New Year's day and then again between my birthday and the 4th of July.  Those two times are just about 6 months apart.  So, go ahead and do that spa day if you haven't done it already.

It's really been nice up here in the woods this summer.  We didn't get to come last year so that makes it even more special this time.  But, not doing all the things that need to be done last year has meant there is more to do now.  The flower beds were pretty grown over and they all need a boost with some good manure added to feed those plants.  Our neighborhood doe really likes petunias and tomatoes.  She just about devoured those when we had to go back to AA for the dr check up.  I think they will come back.  I hope they will come back.

It's so quiet up here and that means I can catch some sewing time on rainy days and early in the mornings.  I started a Judy Niemeyer quilt, Carnival Flower, back in the winter and took a class.  Nancy Kloster is a great teacher but I was only able to participate in 3 of the 6 monthly classes.  She told me not to worry.  She'd answer any questions I had and she did that.  The quilt top is done now and I really do love it.  I don't know how I'm going to quilt it yet but I'll figure it out, I'm sure.

And, our summer FW retreats are coming up so soon now.  I can't wait for all the fun.  If you'd like to get your name on the list for the 2025 retreats, be sure to email me.  jdquilts123@yahoo.com

Okay, guess I'll get back to my FW and try to get things ready for our get together next month.  Do let me know if you have any questions or comment here.  I'll  be sure to post pictures after our retreats.

So, you want to clean up your FW?

 I had a very interesting and challenging issue that came up this past month.  You know,  there are a ton a u-tube videos out there in the deep dark web that can lure you in so quickly.  They promise to give you all the answers to all the questions you might have about your featherweight and many of them will get you in a lot of trouble!  There are a few things you need to know before you get sucked in!

First, if you've not worked on your FW before, don't start trying to fix a bunch of things all at once.  Even those of us that work on these cute little machines all the time know better than to take a bunch of stuff apart at the same time.  And, if I do take a few things apart I always make sure to keep each area of things separate from each other. My general rule is, 'IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT'!  And if you do want to fix it, rely on someone that knows what they are doing!

Next, pay close attention to which screws go where.  There are so many teeny tiny screws in the FW and each one has to go exactly where it goes. The hardware store won't carry a Singer screw.  Use magnetic dishes to hold things and always work over a padded surface.  Those screws get legs and run off everywhere!  Don't let them escape!  Also, if the head of a screw is damaged, DON'T PUT IT BACK IN THE MACHINE!  A damaged screw head is never a good thing.  You can get a replacement screw from me or calling the FW shop.  And, remember that screws are to be tightened just to the snug stage.  Over tightening screws can cause a lot of damage.

And, I hate to say this but really, it's true.  It's best to take your FW to someone that specializes in FWs.  So many times I get  a machine after it's been worked on by a licensed sewing machine repair person.  They often use the wrong grease (like the molykote in this machine), adjust things incorrectly or don't service the motor at all.  BAD STUFF!  You can service your machine if you learn how.  There are people and places that will teach you what you need to know.

You know I love getting your machine back up and running and if I do say so myself, I'm not bad at it.  I just got a machine back to sewing a beautiful stitch after the local repair guy gave up on it.  The machine had been taken apart by the owner following one of those u-tube videos showing how easy it is to take things apart to clean them.  She found it's not so easy.  I even had issues getting it back to sewing the beautiful stitch it wanted to stitch.  You really do need to know a bit more than how to wind a bobbin and thread the machine. 

Take a class.  Follow the Featherweight Shop's great schoolhouse instructions and when you have questions ask before you mess something up.  I will always answer your email questions as quickly as I can and I'm happy to do that.  Contact me!  jdquilts123@yahoo.com.

Okay, that's it!  Let me know if you have questions.  I'll always try to help.

 

How does time get away from us so easily?

Really, I think that I can still do all the things I used to do but, I can't.  I'm getting older and I guess I didn't expect time to fly past me this fast.  What a busy beginning of 2024 we've had here.  I've taught quite a few classes.  I gone to 4 retreats already this year.  We've had some medical issues here with many trips to the hospital and I've been working on FWs like crazy.  I think that accounts for my not getting a chance to do as much as I think I can do.

Our FW Sew-in days have been so much fun.  I've been able to be at most of them and the ladies that come tell me they really LOVE getting together once a month.  There is a change in the date for April and since that's coming up this week, I guess I need to make mention of it.  Usually we meet the 4th Saturday of each month but due to a scheduling conflict, April's Sew-in Day is going to be Thursday, April 25th.  Do go online to the Quilt Patch website, www.thequiltpatch.com, and sign up.  We meet 10am-3pm.  Bring whatever you want to work on and expect a great time with other FW owners.

It's close to time for us to head North for the summer.  If the doctors say that's okay for us to do this year, we'll be heading up sometime within the next month.  If you have a machine you want me to work on or you need to buy a new to you FW, give me a shout out by emailing me, jdquilts123@yahoo.com.  I will try to figure out how we can get all the things done that you need before we leave.

I'll be sending out information about the August retreats pretty soon as well.  Getting the roster set in stone is the first step.  I'm already trying to figure out what fun things to plan for our great get togethers.  I really love all the fun we have.

Do I have any FW tips to pass on this time?  Well, I've had a couple of ladies bring their machines to me because the motor just stopped and there wasn't a hum or any kind of movement of anything.  What's going on with that?  A FW doesn't work just fine and then, all of a sudden it quits.  Well, a dead spot in a motor can do that but you can get things working just fine by giving the hand wheel a bit of a push when you have a dead spot.  Nope, this time, nudging the handwheel didn't work.  So, I had to start doing some investigating.  Why isn't the motor getting any electrical current?  Where is it getting cut off?

After a bit of trial and error hunting through things, I decided to open up the foot controller and that's where I found the problem.  There was a bug wing stuck between 2 electrical connectors where nobody would see them easily.  And, as you can see, it was a pretty big bug wing. How on earth did a bug wing get in that foot controller in the first place?  Well, I'll probably never be able to answer that question.  I used my tweezers to get the bug wing out and then brushed any lint and fluff out that had accumulated.  Everything worked just fine at that point.  You know the FW owner was so embarrased but really, that bug wing could have been there for years and only just that one day worked its way in between the spot where the electricity wanted to flow.  This was a new one to me!  And to have it happen to two foot controllers in the same week was amazing.  Guess I should have bought me a lottery ticket.  Oh well!

Happy Sewing.  Enjoy your Spring while it lasts.  Time will rush it by too soon.