Coming Soon - The Middle of Summer

Welcome to the UP, home of the monster mosquitoes and black flies that take a chunk of your hide if they get the chance.  They have been brutal this summer.  The Indian will still welcome you but he seems to remain unscathed through the whole ordeal of bugs, rain, and more bugs.  That's me and my dear great granddaughter giving you the Indian welcome sign at the top of the driveway as you get to our cabin.  Do you see those mosquito repellent contraptions hooked on our clothes?  They did help a little.  My sweet great granddaughter was here for a few days during my birthday week.  They came as a surprise and I sure was..... SURPRISED!  We were headed off to the Porcupines State Park on the morning this picture was taken.  We had to check out my favorite waterfalls.

I haven't taught any classes up here this summer but that's okay.  I've had a bit more time to work in my little flower garden and I've gotten some sewing done.  I'm working on using a bunch of scraps to make Preemie Pals baby quilts for donation and I've been doing some applique on my Little Brown Bird quilt that I've been working on for years and years.  Here's a couple of the baby quilt tops that I've gotten done so far.  I'm hoping to get more made but I'm in RETREAT mode at the moment.

Retreat time is sneaking up on us quickly.  I'm busy getting favors made and putting kits together for the FW dust covers.  There will be a few of those made at the retreats along with everything else that people do while we're together.  I do plan on checking a few things out on everyone's machines that I learned at the FW shop during my class.  These are things that you'll only get if you come to a retreat.  One item can only be done when it's dark.... okay, I bet you're all curious about that one now, right?

Speaking of the retreats, there are still 2 spots open for the August 15-18 retreat so if you were thinking you'd like to come or invite a friend and come, send me an email and I can probably still fit you in.  Those spots will be filled on a first come, first served basis so don't hesitate too long.

Are you ready to learn something new about your FW?  This is something I learned at the FW shop class and it's really a good thing to know.

We are always wanting to try and get the best looking finish on our FWs and we've talked about using the zymol cleaner and then the zymol wax to bring back the shine.  The black FWs are the only ones that have the shellac protective coat over the decals.  The white machines don't have a shellac finish.  They don't have any decals to protect.  Shellac is dissolved by so many things, like rubbing alcohol, fingernail polish, many soaps and cleaners.  So what do you use to clean off the black machines?  The FW shop told me that you should only use the zymol cleaner one time.  It takes all the wax off and cleans any scratches and such.  That's why those scratches will show up more after a zymol cleaning.  While the scratches were once full of whatever dust, dirt or gunk got collected in them, once that is cleaned off, scratches will show up more than before.  You HAVE to put a few coats of wax on your finish to shine things up and fill in those scratches after you've cleaned with zymol cleaner.

If you have a lot of scratches or even a few scratches, it's possible for things to work their way under the shellac and cause a bubble of cloudy finish.  So having that protective layer of wax or a few protective layers is really important.  Once you get those cloudy bubbles or cracks in the surface there's really not much that can be done to fix that.  A costly paint job is the only solution and you really have to be careful who you have do a paint job.  That's another story!

After you have the protective wax on the machine it's only a matter of wiping dust off with a dry cloth or perhaps a cloth with a bit of oil on it.  You'll want to wipe off any excess oil with a dry cloth but the shine will come back and last for a few days.  It would also be a good thing to cover your sweet FW when you're not using it.  Put a towel over it or make one of the FW dust covers.  Okay, I plugged the FW dust cover.  Those were fun to make.

Before I forget, the FW maintenance and Club classes have been scheduled for this fall now.  You can go over to the Class Schedule page and find that information.  Get those Club dates on your calendar so you don't forget.  I'm already thinking about what to do at our fall classes.  And, if you know someone that's been wanting to take a maintenance class or you want a refresher class, those dates are set and you can call the Quilt Patch and sign up.

Okay, the day is calling.  I need to get back to some sewing and maybe go out and catch a fish for supper.  Hope you all are having a grand summer.  Do shout out and say, hi!  I miss ya' all.