Clara in colour

 I have not done much drawing for ages, but on the weekend I decided to try a sketch of my 66K singer, Clara. 

First attempt, sketched with my Copic sketch fineliner. 

Second attempt - coloured with watercolour markers, blended with water. Still struggling with watercolours!

Third version - copic fineliner, coloured with my art markers, highlighted with fineliner & white posca pen. Pretty happy with this one, getting the proportions more accurate now. 

Rone - Time exhibition

 Luckily I booked tickets ages ago to go to the RoneTime exhibition at Flinders Street station; the exhibition is sold out and closes next Sunday. 

It was absolutely magical! Thanks to Vireya for the tip about the newspapers - I had fun looking at some of  the old advertising, & loved spotting the clothes ads, sewing tips, and a classic Singer advertisement!

“ The workroom” was full of sewing machines, and although there were lots of Singer  accessory boxes, none of the industrial machines were actually Singers!

 I do like this “homemade” bobbin holder, I should go out to the shed & knock one together!

 

In the typist’s room we had fun reading the crazy little stories on some of the typewriters - one said something like “ you are a lifeless rabbit, and I do not need another lifeless rabbit in my life”.

I also peeked in all the shelves under the desks, they all had interesting treasures, including some knitting in one, and a sewing kit in another. An absolute delight! I have always loved dolls houses and dioramas - this was rather like walking into an old, abandoned dolls house - with a touch of Alice in Wonderland and Miss Havisham’s decaying mansion  all rolled in to one! 

2023 Melbourne Quilt and Craft Show

I had a great  day out at the Quilt and Craft show today - sitting on the couch now 

after walking around all day!

So many spectacular and inspiring quilts. Love the fabulous funky bright colours in the top quilt here.

Denim circles - want to try this one!

Reminds me of a Klimt painting. Close up below, I like the rows of different coloured quilting stitches.

 

I always love checking out the gadgets on sale! Bought some bobbin huggers at the show a couple of years ago, so it was on my list to get some more today.

I have clips in 3 sizes but had not seen these super mini ones before! I use them for nearly all my sewing projects - hardly ever use pins.

I have never really used a needle threader, but all of my machines thread differently. The Janome is front-to- back, the 201K threads right to left, and  my 66k is left to right. No guessing which one is the trickiest to thread…will be keeping this new threader handy to the 66K for sure!

Gorgeous Waratah quilt.

Not a quilt - and apologies for the crappy photo snapped in a hurry in the bathroom at the quilt show - had to make the most of the full length mirror! Another  vest- bodice top - I have three now with plans for more ( fabric from the upholstery section in Spotlight); op shop shirt ( the one I unpicked a gazillion tiny beads off); and a new skirt finished last night. My own pattern - trying to clone my favourite op shop skirt. 8 panels, lining/petticoat, and rows of decorative top stitching near the hem. Completely forgot to factor in that there is only 30m of top stitch thread on the same sized reel as a 100m regular reel, and the bobbin used nearly half the reel! And it is a wide skirt - had to do a  dash to my local Statewide store late yesterday afternoon to buy another reel so I could finish it! 

Used all 4 machines - stitched together on the Janome; edges finished with the overlocker; tacked together on the 66k so I could try it on & adjust the size; top stitching done on the 201K.

Fascinating quilt made with a Cyanotype prints - Morgan Donner has a great video of YouTube about cyanotype botanical printing.

Inspired by some wonderful free motion embroidery seen today, I will definitely be trying some more - and using lots of colour. I saw these boxes of Wonderfil at the craft show for $32, but I knew I had spotted them at Lincraft for $10 a box - and everything is 40% this week. So I made a quick detour to Northcote on the way home to buy these -$6 each, bargain of the year. Hmmm I got a $10 voucher, maybe I should use it to buy another box!

 

First hand crank machine sewn project finished!

Finally finished my cover for the 66K - sewn on the 66K! 

I hunted out every piece of sewing- themed fabric I had, patched them together and made this!

 

Vintage sewing update

 Gosh where has the time gone? Between moving house, going back to work, & life in general - there has not been a lot of crafting going on around here of late! 

But I did finally get to visit the new Anne Bonney’s Locker vintage sewing machine store in Hawthorn last week, where I bought a hand crank for Clara, my 66K. ( There may have been a detour via GJ’s Fabrics in Fairfield on the way too…)

Fitting the crank was super easy - I was so fortunate that my machine already had a spoked wheel, so I did not need to change the wheel over. One bolt, tightened with an adjustable wrench, make sure everything is lined up ok and ta-dah! She sews about 4-6 stitches - or about 1 cm - for each turn of the wheel with the crank. Much faster than just turning the wheel with my hand!

Clara does not have a cover - nor a proper timber base yet - so I pulled out all my sewing themed fabrics, and sewed up a cover. Quilting the layers together now old sheets for the backing, and some wadding scraps inside for a bit of structure) before I turn & shape it into the cover. All done with the hand crank. There is no  reverse on a 66k, so when I put the pieces together I turned them to stitch back the other way. Now I am just leaving long tails and knotting them. 

So much quicker to make a bobbin now with the handcrank fitted too! 

When I finish the cover I will post a photo of it in place. A nice cosy blanket to keep her warm, now the weather has turned.