Wednesday, September 23, 2015

I Scored a Ribbon ... and More!

I won a third place ribbon in the seasonal category at my guild's quilt show this weekend for my quilt Simple Gifts!


These are viewer's choice awards decided by quilt show attendees voting for their favorites. They are not juried or judged ribbons.


This is the placard attached to my entry. There are more details about its completion in my DianeLoves2Quilt post for June 10, 2015.


I was surprised and pleased. I had struggled with making the presents stand out, given the scrappiness of the pattern and my fabric choices. I had fretted over my FMQ lines on this quilt being crooked and of uneven stitch length. I guess the overall effect was OK because folks liked it enough to vote for it. So yay! I am excited and encouraged.

But there is more. There is a vendor, Twice Nice Shoppe, who is present at many of the quilt shows and sewing festivals in the area. This business specializes in Singer Featherweight sewing machines, refurbishing them, leaving some with their original finish, painting others snazzy colors, and then selling them. I have been drooling over the machines in this booth for several years, since each has been rejuvenated so flamboyantly. This show my husband and I agreed I should finally buy one of the machines. "Consider it a 40th wedding anniversary present," he added. Seeing the machines on Saturday, I thought about it over night, the color-loving quilter in me pouring over the many paint options in my dreams... Candy Apple Red, Lipstick Red, Harley Blue, Purple... but never really able to be decisive about which was my favorite.


When I returned to the booth Sunday and looked at the machines again I just knew. I opted for a shiny brightly repainted model, spiffed up but not deviating from the original Singer. I chose classic black. It was a gut feeling that seemed atypical for me and my love of color, but the sewing machine is a personal item in a way. The classic black reminded me of my mother and her machine and what a Singer should be. It was made in New Jersey near where I was born and it is only one year older than I am. As my husband put it in his own inimitable way, "It was manufactured in the year you were conceived." It weighs only 11 pounds. I test drove it at the show and it is whisper smooth and quiet. My husband even commented on the gentle hum it produced. I intend to use it as a light weight, convenient option when I take classes, and for travel, when visiting my son's or my daughter's home. I can sew with my daughter in Oklahoma and sew for my daughter-in-law in Southern California. Here is my most recent addition to my sewing machine family. See how bright and shiny new she looks, reflecting her surroundings?


The gold scrollwork around the edges and in the center of the throat is just gorgeous.


Even her foot pedal glows. I don't look that good and I am a year younger!


She needed a name. Singer Featherweights are a stable, reliable workhorse machine, representative of an era. They are pretty special, but they are not rare. I realized that anyone, for a fee, can own a Singer Featherweight machine. I like alliteration so I decided to name my featherweight Fiona. Here is my trio of machines, my Handiquilter Heidi, my Featherweight Fiona, and my trusty Pfaff.


Hmmm, I never named my Pfaff. I never assigned a gender either. For some reason, being made in Germany, I think had I picked a name, it would have been a boy's name. Well, now the two lovely ladies, Heidi and Fiona, can keep him company in my sewing room.

This has been a busy week, prepping for, attending, and helping with take down of the Diablo Valley Quilters Show. One of my volunteer jobs was security at one of the exit doors. I had to sit for two hours, a very difficult task indeed, during which time I started to crochet a sweater for my granddaughter. That is my only active work in progress for this week and I have no photos of it yet. For now, I will see what others are up to at this week's Cooking Up Quilts Main Crush Monday and Freshly Pieced's Works in Progress.

20 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your ribbon!!! The quilt is wonderful - it's so funny how we notice all the little things when we are working on it that other people simply don't see. Rather envious of Fiona too - she is gorgeous!

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    1. Thank you! Yes, if only those "little things" did not seem so huge while we are creating, then we would all be happier quilters.

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  2. Congratulations on your ribbon! The quilt is lovely and your quilting does set off the gift boxes nicely. I really like the backing fabric that you chose. Fiona is a very pretty little sewing machine. Congrats on your wedding anniversary!

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    1. Thanks for visiting and for all the congratulations. I too really like the deer fabric. It was from BasicGrey's Jovial fabric line from Moda. I am looking forward to putting Fiona through her paces.

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  3. Love the little Singer!!! She's gorgeous! And congrats on the ribbon. Your little present quilt is adorable!

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    1. Thanks for visiting and giving me such upbeat comments!

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  4. Don't you also have a 4th antique sewing machine that you recently bought?

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    1. Thanks for the reminder. I do have a fourth machine that someone gave to me several years ago knowing my love of sewing. It had belonged to someone special to them. Yes, it too is a black Singer and I hope to display that in the family room when we redecorate in there. I just bought a better beautiful refurbished cabinet for it at an antique fair a few months ago.

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    2. Ah! I must be remembering the recent cabinet purchase, not the original acquisition of the Singer. Does that one still work, too?

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    3. Yes you are remembering the cabinet purchase and my very cozy ride home squeezed with it in the back seat. My post on the Petaluma Antique Fair was at the beginning of the summer in May. See

      http://wanderorponder.blogspot.com/2015/05/petaluma-antique-fair.html

      When the vintage Singer was given to me the women told me that it did work. I have not tested it out other than to merely turn it on. But at least now I have found a shop that can tune it up for me if needed. Twice Nice Shoppe specializes in vintage sewing machines.

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  5. Congrats on your ribbon - it's really a fun quilt! What a sweet hubby you have.

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    1. Yes my hubby really does support my hobby! When I worked the quilt show he kept me company for my two hour volunteer shift on door duty on the first day and on the second day he stayed late to help with the quilt take down and overall show dismantlement. I am pretty lucky. Thanks for visiting and commenting.

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  6. Congratulations on your ribbon. You are right. The wrapped presents really do stand out. It is so noticeable in the photo of you with your ribbon and the quilt. You sew so beautifully! I love your new sewing machine. Fiona is a beauty. It is good to know that someone refurbishes machines. They do such hard work. They deserve to be spiffed up, loved, and used again. Good thinking about being able to take it to classes, etc. Tell Frank he done good in treating you for your anniversary!

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    1. Thanks for visiting and for all the kind compliments in your comment. Yup, I sure have told Frank he done good.

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  7. This is just an adorable Christmas quilt! Your colors and backgrounds are just great - I especially love that they are so scrappy.

    I just adore vintage sewing notions and such. I'm a total color girl too, but when it comes to some things, I just prefer simple and classic. But it looks like the purple one would have made me debate back and forth for quite some time.

    P.S. if you need a some nice German name suggestions, I could send you a few! Greetings from Germany!

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    1. While I was working door duty at the show I sat very close to the featherweight booth and some one did buy a purple one then. They are very flamboyant. Her husband claimed she wanted shock and wow value when she took it out a quilt classes. The vendor told me that Purple and Candy Apple Red are the most popular color choices. I love many many colors but I am also pretty fickle about which are my favorites over time. I did not want to pick something way off the wall and regret it later. Henry Ford told people they could have a Model T car in any color they wanted as long as it was black. I think a classic Singer is not that different from a classic Ford. I talked to one staff member at my local quilt shop who is also a long arm quilter and she owns two or three feather weights in different colors. Now that is a bit extreme! As to those German name suggestions... bring 'em on! I welcome suggestions. Thank you for visiting and commenting all the way from Germany!

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  8. Congratulations on your win! And also congratulations on acquiring that beautiful Featherweight. I'm sure you'll love sewing with her. I sew almost exclusively on my vintage Singer 15-91 and I love her. She brought the joy back to sewing for me after struggling with one of the more modern machines.

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    1. When I test drove her at the show she sure was quiet... much more so than a Bernina. I am optimistic this will be a happy purchase for me. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

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  9. Congrats on the ribbon, you present quilt is super! What a lovely present for your anniversary and love the story behind your color choice. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks for visiting and commenting. I am quite happy with my classic choice the more I live with it. Sometimes life just wants us to be simple... simple color choice, Simple Gifts (quilt name)! Love your name too- the same as my HQ-16 though she spells it Heidi.

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