Back after a long vacation

... though it wasn't much of a vacation.  Since Dec 2011, I've said goodbye to the church I was a member at for 32 years and transferred back to the church I spent my first 5 years at.  Really, it was a no-brain decision to leave, and the fact the paperwork went through and was delivered by mail in under 48 hours says so, doesn't it?  I did enjoy a bit of a laugh about the speed since NOTHING travels that quickly in the mail.  OK, so apparently something *can* travel that fast.  Who knew?

Much of last year was also spent helping take care of my grandpa, who passed away December 1st, 2012.  While I miss him greatly, I wouldn't wish him back for anything.  He is taken care of, safe from whatever the future brings. 

I managed to save some seed for this year's garden, but not enough to where I could list in the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook.  That was the biggest disappointment for the year, besides losing 95% of my Hidatsa Red beans.  God willing, this will be a better growing year.

Speaking of which, it's seed ordering time.  The 2013 SSE Yearbook came today, and it's great reading.  God willing, this year I'll have enough to offer seed for 2014.  That's one thing about a garden.  It forces one to be optimistic.  No matter how bad the previous year was, there's always next year!  Just make sure you save a few seeds, just in case......   
   

Quote of the Day

Since it is forbidden to discuss what is going on at my church, I shall merely post this:

"For this you should always bear in mind, that God’s word and grace are a passing shower that goes, never to return. And do not, my German brothers, indulge in the delusive dream that it will abide with you forever. For an ungrateful and a scornful spirit will drive it away."

--- Martin Luther,

“To the Councilmen of All Cities of the German Nation, That They Establish and Maintain Christian Schools"

New Sewing Machines!

... OK, so they're new to me.

Yes, it's been a long time since I posted, but it's hard to post when there's no new machines to talk about!

A couple weeks ago, another Onion and I headed off to the wilds of northern Illinois to do a little treadle shopping. (And it was a beautiful trip, in spite of the rain.) This is what I came home with:


This is a ca 1880 New Home, made by Gold Medal (according to the patent), in a Home cabinet. It's a lovely machine and was signed on a drawer by Chesley T. Sabine of Maine in 1887.

This dates to 1883-1885 and is only the 2nd mother of pearl New Home machine I've ever seen. It was a "package deal" so I couldn't say no..... OK, so that's not totally honest. I couldn't say no because it was so lovely!!
This lovely New National by New Home sews as well as she looks! She's not as perfect as the picture makes her look, but I prefer a machine with dings and scratches because then I'm not afraid to use it.
This lovely little gal wasn't what I thought she was, but that's OK. She turns out to be an Elsa made in Germany for the English market. At first a kind Onion ID'd her as a Gladys A, but then the man I got her from looked in his notes and had her as an Elsa. They're the same machine, either way. Ca 1890. I have the base which has to be repaired, but she's still a sweet gal. One of the boys has taken a shine to her. The other boy decided he wants a black Singer 301 (thanks Michelle!)

Now this lovely New Home came from nearby a month ago. Ca 1885. Her former owner told me that it was his great-Aunt Clara's, and so she just had to come home with me. This makes 3 sewing machines I have that I know were owned by ladies named Clara. She also was tempting because of her attachments.

And that should be enough to keep me busy for a while, you'd think! But oh, no, I've got one coming from next door to live with me. I never posted about the two machines I got from the Treadle Fairy one Sunday, either, or the Davis NVF that I saved from the barn. However, the green beans are in and can't wait any longer, so I'm headed off to freeze some beans.

I'm off the Island!!!

...Triangle Island, that is.

Yup, that's right, I finally finished Triangle Island Feb 5th.

These are the two quilts I ended up with:

These were a joint effort between my ca 1915 Davis New Vertical Feed, 1893 White VS III, and 1906 Singer 15-30. Oddly enough, it was the Singer 15-30 which gave me the most problems. I don't blame the machine, it's me. For some reason, I seem to get along better with my vibrating shuttle machines. I had a much easier time doing free-motion quilting on my White than with the Singer.

They aren't professional work, but I like them, and more importantly, so do my kids. However, I don't want to see another triangle for a long time!

Down in the dumps

Well, here it is January 10th, and I'm still not finished with the Triangle Island quilt. I'm almost done with the quilting, but my brother passed away Nov 28th and I haven't had the heart to pick it back up again. Well, and then there's the church issues.

I've been trying to get myself interested in sewing again, so I spent a day last week at my aunt's "taking" a pattern from my great-grandma's 1915 confirmation dress. I was successful in making a mockup of the bodice so I could fit it to me, and now I'm working on increasing the pattern. If I wanted to, I could really get moving on it, but I'm just having a hard time getting back into anything fun. Maybe if I wasn't watching my church self-destruct I would feel more up to some fun. Anyway, the Mid-Mitten TOGA (Treadle On Gathering and Academy) is Saturday, so D.V., there's no snow and I can see some friends in Ovid. There's a bright spot in this week.

Return to Triangle Island!!

Almost sounds sinister, doesn't it?


Mr. Claraspet and I cleaned and moved around my sewing room so that things are set up better. I love my new setup, and now that the Davis NVF is cleaned and ready to go with a new lift cable, I'm getting ready to start quilting.


This is a Davis New Vertical Feed for those who have never seen one. They're wonderful machines. They have no feed dogs, but feed with the needle and a walking foot. Mine is from around 1914-1915, give or take a couple years. I bought it from a friend, who found a much earlier Vertical Feed (ca 1880s) and who didn't really have room for both (and who took pity on me who wanted one!) The earlier Vertical Feeds seem to be a little bit quieter, but I still love mine, noisy or not! (And yes, that's a piano in the background. I have a whole sitting room in with all 15 or so treadles.)




I would have been quilting the Triangle Island quilts sooner, but I had a small mishap with the lift chain. I found out the hard way that part of it was broken. It took awhile to find a heavier chain that would fit, and I hope this is strong enough.


If you've forgotten about Triangle Island, here's one link
http://www.treadleon.net/quiltshop/triangleisland/triangleisland.html

and I know I posted a few times about it. I think it was last year.

Anyone know what the weather's like on Triangle Island?

My 8 year old gets it

Tonight was the W.O.R.S.H.I.P. experience. NEW!! EXCITING!!!

"Here I am to worship; Here I am to bow down" "...all I am never cease to worship You" "I sing for joy" "I am Yours" "I just want to say Thank You Lord" "I'll praise the Lord"

I, I, I, I, I......

You know, one song wasn't so bad. The "New Doxology." At least there was reference to the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. In church I puzzled over why it was called the "NEW" Doxology.... What's wrong with the old? It just dawned on me that in the OLD Doxology we sing "Praise God from whom all blessing flow/ Praise Him all creatures here below/ Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts/ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." That's it. Finis. In the NEW Doxology we find additions, many of them, and most of them perfectly fine, until we get to "... I'll praise the One..."

See, in this contemporary stuff, there has to be "me." "I" do this, "I" do that, "I am" and so on.

Anyway, back to my 8-year-old. I asked him what church was about tonight. He said "that we should thank God for everything."
"Like what?"
"The world and everything we have and all that."
"What else?
"Hmmm," at this point he's really thinking hard. "Jesus."
"What did you hear about Jesus?"
"Hmmm......"
At this point I showed him the picture of the Crucifixion window at church, and he jumped on it.
"We never heard to thank God for sending Jesus to die for us! Or for His resurrection!"

He got it.

There might be subtle references to Jesus' death and resurrection in this contemporary stuff, but they are so lost in the "I" that they are very easy to miss.

I'll leave alone the Theology of Glory stuff in it for tonight. However, compare this with the "I" stuff:

He brings me to the portal/That leads to bliss untold/ Whereon this rime immortal/
Is found in script of gold:/ "Who there My cross hath shared/Finds here a crown prepared;/
Who there with Me has died/Shall here be glorified." (Paul Gerhardt)

'Nuff said.