Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Evapo-Rust & Vintage Sewing Machine Feet

Just over a week ago I shared my wonderful vintage Singer Zigzagger attachment and mentioned there was a bit of rust on the foot. While it doesn't impact the excellent functionality of the zigzagger, I was a bit concerned that the rust might rub off on my fabric or get worse if left unattended. I didn't know if it had to be mechanically filed off or if there was a remedy but the wonderful folks at The Singer Featherweight Shop suggest a product called Evapo-Rust.

This solution sounds too good to be true! It's non-toxic, safe to use, contains no acids, is environmentally safe, reusable, and easily disposed. The videos on their website show it working on really rusty items and auto parts and it actually seems to perform very well. While I couldn't find it locally at the hardware stores I did source it at Lee Valley. I asked my husband to pick some up for me while he was out of town and the quart-sized jug was about $13. Since I have very small sewing machine feet and attachments to clean, and it's reusable on about 300 pounds of parts, I know I won't be needing another container for quite some time.

I couldn't wait to see if it would work. I added a bit to a small dish and inserted the foot portion of my zigzagger attachment into the solution. I left it overnight, checking periodically before I went to bed. In the morning the rust was gone! There is residual pitting and a black mark where it was but the damaging rust is absolutely removed.

The process of how it works is described on their website HERE and it is pretty ingenious. I have a couple more rusty machine feet to clean up and then I'm pretty sure hubby is taking it out of my workshop and into his. He has some garden tools and other items I think he'd like to restore. I am very pleased with my results and feel better knowing my vintage zigzagger is rust free and still going strong after all these years.

Irish Beef Stew with Stout

I was a little late for St. Patrick's Day but the Irish Stew with Stout I made last night in the Instant Pot was a hit anyway. The recipe is from the One Pot cookbook and although uses a stovetop pressure cooker I adapted it to the IP by using the Meat/Stew smart button and then reducing the cook time by ten minutes. I have enough experience and reference sources now that I'm feeling confident in making small changes to a recipe.

The stew was pretty standard compared to my usual crockpot version other than replacing red wine with a cup of stout beer. I also added some other vegetables - celery, carrot, and mushrooms - to increase the health benefits, add colour and flavour, and stretch the meal even further. We also love those ingredients in our stew!

A can of tomato paste was something I don't usually use but it was good addition, making the stew more tomato-y (obviously), and delicious. After sautéing the meat and veggies first, I added the beer, some beef broth, and then the paste. I cooked the stew under high pressure for twenty minutes and did a ten minute natural release (wait ten minutes, then release pressure manually). I prefer a thick stew broth (great for soaking up with bread, biscuits, or polenta!) so after releasing the pressure I removed the lid, added frozen peas, and then a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in cold water. I used the sauté feature to bring it to a boil and it thickened up nicely.

Although it was different than my traditional beef stew, hubby and I loved it! It's so quick to make and I really liked the beer substitution. The flavour was wonderful and I will be making this version again soon. Of course, you can make this recipe in a slow cooker or in a Dutch oven just as easily - it will just need a bit more simmering time.

More Walking Foot Quilting

I may have spoken too soon about my success with painter's tape. Although it performed perfectly with the Circle quilt, I didn't have any luck at all with the Piece of Cake II quilt. The whole exercise proved to be futile, including rearranging my workshop in order to use my small Bernina for the quilting as well as the painter's tape.

What went wrong? Well, I chose the Bernina because the guide bar attaches with a screw and is very secure in its place. While my Horizon 7700 has a guide bar it only slides into the walking foot and it's a loose fit. When I start to quilt and the fabric nudges the bar, the alignment is thrown off and my quilting isn't even. I'd love to use the 1600P but it doesn't come with a guide bar and there isn't even a place to attach one to the walking foot.

Perhaps the quilt was too large or the angle of feeding the quilt through the machine (which is not set into a table) was too much for the tape. As soon as I got in position the tape popped off the quilt. So frustrating! Also, the narrow harp space available in this particular machine is not adequate for my large quilt. The bulk got caught up and the stitches were not forming correctly since the feed dogs couldn't move the quilt forward. There is no sense in struggling to quilt on this otherwise gorgeous machine when I have other easier and more comfortable options.

So I once again shifted all the tables, prepared another machine (the 7700 with masking tape holding the guide bar in position) and tried again. Things are going smoothly now and I'm quilting a double cross hatch with vertical and horizontal lines (not diagonal). It looks pretty and will give a lovely, fluffy texture to the quilt. I think it's ideal for this particular project and it's going quite quickly since the space between the double lines is 4". Once I'm done I have decided to trim and bind the two finished quilts before starting the third. I need to have some hand stitching to do and securing the binding will be just the ticket.

Circle Quilt Quilting Done & My New Favourite Quilting Tool

I just finished the quilting on the Circle quilt. Not surprisingly, yet kind of cool, it turned out exactly like the mini mock up I made. It was quite fun to do the radiating lines with the walking foot, especially once I got the hang of lining up the painter's tape. I took things slowly (as recommended by Jacquie Gering) and each line came out with beautiful, even stitches in a nice straight line.

Painter's tape is probably my new favourite quilting tool. I never had much success with it before but now I realize it wasn't the tape per se, it was the width of the tape. I have used 1" tape before and I had a lot of trouble with it not sticking and peeling off mid-stitching line. That is totally frustrating and I gave up using it, choosing other designs to quilt instead. With this wider 1-38" tape there were no issues at all and it stuck to the quilt perfectly. I used a dry wall square extended with my quilting ruler to line up the radiating lines 6" apart from the focal point(s) in the corner. I did one side first and then the other. I used a lot of painter's tape but I didn't want to risk any shifting. I will definitely be using the tape for other designs in the future - I just have to buy more to keep in stock!

I'm fortunate to have a patch of floor where I could lay out the quilt after quilting each line in order to reposition the tape. It was a little hard on my knees but I got faster as I went along and although a little tedious, it wasn't so bad. Quilting the lines was easy but I wouldn't want to do it on a quilt too much larger. My 1600P has a pretty large harp space and I rearranged my folding tables so that the quilt had a lot of support on all sides. It worked really well and I'm so happy I can move things around to make the space work for each machine and project.

Now I only need to trim the edges and bind the quilt. Thinking ahead to the washing stage I figured with the Batik fabrics I should test for colour fastness. I have used the fabrics before but on the Lady Liberty Embroidered Quilt, a wall hanging that wasn't ever washed. I started to get out the bins to cut up some swatches when I realized that I had my mini mock up made of the exact fabrics (and white background) of the quilt. That little test piece has really proven to be a valuable project! I immersed it in water and Soak (my intended detergent) and let it sit for half an hour. I was thrilled to see that it didn't run or bleed at all and I'm confident there will be no problems with the real quilt. I'll definitely add some Color Catchers for insurance though.

Although my binding is ready and waiting I think I will go ahead and quilt the next two quilts first (that is, the Piece of Cake II and the Down the Foxhole improv). With the machine and tables set up for quilting it would be a shame to move it all to finish the Circle quilt and then have to put it all back.

It's a little difficult to see in the pictures but here are some photos of the finished walking foot quilting.

WALK by Jacquie Gering

I was excited to see WALK: Master Machine Quilting with Your Walking Foot, a book by Craftsy instructor Jacquie Gering, recently released. Even though I have all three of Jacquie's CRAFTSY CLASSES, I love to have a printed, beautiful book in my hands as well. The topic of walking foot quilting beyond stitching in the ditch is well covered in this awesome publication. It starts with the basics, a primer 101 chapter explaining how the specialty foot works, how to use it properly, and there are some easy exercises so you can become familiar with your particular machine's model and its markings. I'm going to be using my Janome 1600P and I've actually never used the walking foot with it before so it was good to review. There are great tips on preparing your quilt top and setting up your work space for maximum efficiency and comfort. Then it's on to the fun stuff!

There are chapters on lines, gentle curves, marked curves, decorative stitches, reverse, and turning designs. Finally a gallery of gorgeous examples of what stitching with a walking foot can achieve. This all came at a perfect point for me since I had already decided on a couple of these quilting methods for my latest quilts. Even though I had them in mind and have watched my Craftsy classes again, there were a few details that I needed to study and practice before I could begin. The book allowed me to refresh my knowledge of the walking foot particulars and gave me some great tips for the designs I wanted to stitch. Of course, that meant practice sandwiches and they proved to be extremely worthwhile. I have now eliminated some of the choices and made a final decision as to what path I'm going to take. In quilting, figuring out what you desire is (for me) 99% of the challenge of the 'quilt as desired' part of the process!

I spent the day testing yesterday and here are some of my swatches. Keep in mind that I stitched over previous designs to maximize my small quilt sandwich and I definitely won't be using blue thread on my white quilt. I will, however, be using that lime green thread on the blue quilt but it won't be nearly as stark a contrast. The practice stitching is also not a task requiring tidy starts and stops or precision marking so ignore the messy appearance!

Test Drive to determine width btwn needle & edge, puckering problems, pivoting

 

Radiating Lines

 

Gentle Curves & Ribbon Curves

I decided to quilt Opposite Corner Radiating Lines on my Circle quilt because I liked the way they looked galaxy-ish. I needed to make sure though so I took plunge #1 and quilted it on my rough mock-up of the planet quilt. Everyone seemed to like it so that's what I'm going to do. I imagine it will be much more difficult on a large quilt but hey, it's only fabric and if I mess up it's not the end of the universe! (Get it?)

 

Pattern Free Quiltmaking

*** I'VE BEEN MADE AWARE THAT THE LINK TO JOE'S CLASS IS BROKEN. I APOLOGIZE AND AM IN THE PROCESS OF FIXING IT. THANKS!***

I love that you own purchased Craftsy classes forever. Obviously, so you can refer back to them, but also because sometimes you register for a course and discover the timing isn't quite right to work on a class project. PATTERN FREE QUILTMAKING with Joe Cunningham was released a couple years ago and I was so intrigued I signed up right away. It was great to watch the lessons but I never got around to delving deeper into the idea of improv quilting or pattern free design. I took other classes, made many quilts, and really improved my piecing skills and knowledge. Now that I'm a confident quilt MAKER I feel ready to be a confident quilt CREATOR. The Down the Fox Hole improv quilt I shared a couple days ago is my first attempt at designing my own pattern free project and I think I'm smitten with the improvisational process. What did I do next? Buy books, of course, (but more on that in a later post) and check my Craftsy classroom for relevant instructional lessons. Enter Joe the Quilter.

Joe is the perfect teacher for this topic. He's a free-spirited, wacky kind of guy (and I mean that in the most complimentary way) and his style of presentation reflects that. He shares four 'techniques' for beginning the pattern free process but they provide a very loose guideline where any and all desired changes can be made along the way. Basically, he is tricking us into starting. His outlines for making the different types of quilts are jumping off points meant to awaken the improv bug in us. The construction is relaxed and the actual finished projects are unknown at the start of the exercise. I love that this class gives me a way to begin and fresh ideas to expand upon.

Of course, there is no right or wrong when it comes to creating one's own quilt and Joe's Lesson 6, Managing Your Crazy, is a great reminder that you can take what you've learned from a traditional quilting history and make it modern. That means not just figuratively, but also physically taking a previous, perhaps dated, quilt top and reconfiguring it to become something completely modern and different. There is even an exercise Lesson called The Wheel of Pattern where you follow 3 or more 'suggestions' to create an improv quilt step by step. For instance "add two triangles" or "insert a strip" are the ideas to follow and you do those things with the fabrics and units you have. It's a really fun idea and makes the process random yet structured, especially helpful if you have a rule-following personality like I do!

I really like Joe and I've followed up on his website to learn more about him. Some students asked about finishing the edges of the quilts and Joe uses a 'facing' instead of a traditional binding. I wanted to give it a try since I'm out of fabric for my Fox Hole quilt and will still need to finish the edges. My scrap of thread play fabric was the perfect way to experiment with the technique and now it is finished (and saved from the scrap bucket). I didn't fuss too much with it and I just glued down the back instead of hand-stitching, but I certainly got a feel for how the procedure would work and how it might look. It's an invisible finish that lends to the infinity of the quilt top but I'm still not sure if that's how I'll proceed on the actual quilt. Here's the video Joe put together to explain how to use a facing to finish a quilt. Don't forget to check out his CRAFTSY CLASS if you'd like to get started with improvisational, PATTERN FREE, quiltmaking.

Vintage Singer Automatic Zigzagger Attachment

When I first started sewing on vintage machines I really enjoyed playing with all the extra specialty feet to see what they could do. Considering that the early machines were straight-stitch only it's pretty amazing what swapping out a foot could offer for changing up the way that plain stitch looked and functioned. I also tried out the old Singer automatic buttonholer and even received a fancy pinking attachment for Christmas. Both were incredibly well engineered and the buttonhole maker is still considered by many as the gold standard in buttonhole formation.

One item I had yet to try was the Singer Automatic Zigzagger. I don't know why I overlooked experimenting with this rather significant accessory since it came with one of my machines and has been sitting in my cabinet ever since. In fact, I realized I actually have two of them: one for the straight needle machines and one for the slant machines, each in excellent condition complete with original box, stitch pattern cams, and instruction booklet. I finally took a breath and took a look at what this attachment could do and boy, was I impressed!

It was super simple to put the zigzagger on the machine (I brought out my Featherweight 221 for the test run) by just removing the presser foot and screwing it on in its place. I did give it a good oiling and lubrication first and other than a bit of rust on the top of the foot, it is in excellent shape. I started with the standard zigzag pattern cam. The zigzagger comes with 4 different designs: the zigzag, the blind stitch pattern (a scallop shape), the domino stitch pattern, and the arrowhead stitch pattern. The cams are made of solid metal and are quite ingenious. The back cover of the attachment pops open and the cams are dropped into place. There is an arrow indicating where to position it in order to start at the beginning of the design. Other decorative cams could be purchased separately.

The zigzag worked pretty well and the arrowhead is beautiful. The domino pattern seemed 'tight' and made ridges between the stitches so I'm not sure why that happens. The blind stitch is very sweet and can really be changed by adjusting the width of the 'bight' (there is a setting for narrow, medium, or wide) and stitch length. I don't sew clothing but I'm definitely going to keep these fun stitches in mind for future projects (pillows, quilt labels, etc.).

Here is a quick video showing the attachment in action on my machine and a rather amusing early ad for the zigzagger - it was only "$14.95"! (skip ahead to the 1:00 minute mark)...

 

 

Down the Fox Hole

     

I had a productive weekend and the improv quilt top is done! It took quite a lot of experimentation to find the layout I liked best but it was an enjoyable process. Once I had my blocks on the design wall I was able to move them around, stand back, take photos (tons of photos!), and consider my options. I ended up using painter's tape to outline a rough perimeter to represent the approximate size of quilt I was aiming for (60"x72") and I just rearranged the blocks until it was pleasing to me. I even did a little paper mock-up of the blocks so I could see how they might look without moving what I'd done (an idea stolen from my quilt designer friend Maureen).

Once I settled on my design I 'simply' constructed panels of background fabric and inserted my wonky log cabin blocks between them. It is like a big puzzle and for the most part, I didn't measure anything precisely or do any math. Keeping with my improvisational method I crudely cut the dark denim cotton to fill in the gaps but I did try to maintain the weird angles of my piecing while keeping the outer edges straight. It worked well and I was amazed that it actually came together in a form I was shooting for - wonky on the inside and even on the outside (kind of like myself!). You can click on any photo to see it larger.

This whole project was started to allow me to stitch on my vintage machines without worrying about a bang-on 1/4" seam allowance, to use up scraps and not have to buy anything new, and to venture out of my creative comfort zone and try something new in serendipitous quilt design. I achieved all 3 goals so I found this very satisfying and I'm quite proud. I used 3 different old Singer machines and it was an excellent opportunity to clean, oil, and run each of them. I don't like having them sit idle and unused for too long and I think a good sewing session is just what they needed. I had to familiarize myself again with their quirks and preferences but it didn't take me long to get back in the groove - and rediscover my love for these excellent examples of mid-century machinery. I encountered several issues but was able to solve the problems and make them stitch even more beautifully than before. My machines were curated over a rather short amount of time in a flurry of passion for collecting and restoring so in some cases this was the first proper sewing they had done (at least with me, of course). It was great to get to know them better and have something to show at the end of it.

I sewed some long seams putting the quilt top together and my little Featherweight handled the task extremely well. I also put together a pieced backing since I didn't have enough fabric in the stash for a one-fabric back. As it is, I don't even have enough denim blue for binding and that particular fabric is no longer available so I haven't decided how to approach it yet. I plan on quilting this with bright lime green thread which I think will look fantastic against that dark blue. A modern, wavy, gentle curves design is what I'm considering since it will be in keeping with my improv idea. I'm so excited to get to that part of the process!

Oh, one last thing. The reason I call it Down the Fox Hole is that it seemed to me like the little fox snuggled down in the left-hand side block (the only block of bright colours) had travelled through a meander of forest and sky, earth and water, night and day to get to his den. Represented by the shades of fabric and the woodland animals scattered throughout, the idea of an unsuccessful fox hunt came to mind...where the fox was safe and sound and hidden. :)

Quilty Inspiration

I always want to have projects to look forward to and it seems as soon as I'm close to finishing a quilt, I'm already thinking about the next one. I don't believe I am alone in that mindset. The Fons & Porter Love of Quilting ladies have said many times that quilters are actually impatient people who want to get our creations finished so we can start the next!

There is inspiration everywhere and while watching the movie "Me Before You" I was captivated by the beautiful English paper pieced hexi quilt on Louisa's bed. Of course, I want to duplicate that quilt and I'm already on the way since I discovered English paper piecing last summer and got all the gear to go with it. You can see it all in THIS POST. Even though I've put together quite a few hexagon flowers, I didn't have a goal in mind and it was really a keep busy, portable project for quiet times. Now that I'm inspired and motivated by the pretty flowers on the movie set quilt, I have something to work towards. I can't use the pieces I've joined already because they were just stitched with no set colour scheme. Lou's quilt is made of hexi flowers with different prints but each is fabric is part of the same colour family. I'll have to do some planning and then work through my scrap bins.

While digging around in one of those scrap buckets I found this sample piece. Isn't if funny how time softens our opinions and self-critique. I couldn't believe how good my little test swatch looked and the flowers stitched with hyper-quilting are quite pretty! I think I might even trim this up and find a use for it...and at the very least use it for inspiration when I do some stitching with fancy threads on something else. I don't know why I would have tossed it in the scrap bucket.

I did a couple of other test strips to see how I liked the look of sparkly thread 'stars' (which kind of look like snowflakes). Thinking perhaps this design would suit the circle quilt (which I envision as planets) and represent stars in the galaxy, I took some time to outfit my Janome 1600P for free-motion quilting. I loaded up the embroidery thread (which I have used once before on the 'Frozen' quilt) and tried it out. While it's very pretty, I'm not sure they look enough like stars and working them around the circles of the quilt would be challenging. I only have the one spool of thread and it's quite delicate and temperamental with free-motion. It was a worthwhile exercise because now I know it's not what I'm looking for. I probably saved myself lots of un-sewing had I just started work on the actual quilt.

 

Goodies from the Fat Quarter Shop

So what do you do when you clear out your UFOs? Buy more supplies, of course! I love to order from the Fat Quarter Shop and running low on my favourite Moda 97 white was the perfect excuse to load up my on-line cart. I have pretty much given up searching locally for what I want because I never find it. I use almost exclusively Moda prints and solids, Aurifil thread, and I adore new notions which can be tricky to track down. This latest order served my wish list well and I had all of those things delivered right to my door!

The basics: yards of white and black solids. I would buy the white by the bolt if I could!

The good deal treats: two jelly rolls, one in Snow and one in Little Ruby by Bonnie & Camille. These will make a quick quilt in no time and good to have on hand for 'emergency' creations.

The practical stash builder: Fat Quarter bundle of Moda solids. FQs are so much cheaper, even with the exchange rate.

The can't resist splurge: Aurifil thread set of ten 220 yard spools in Little Ruby (to match the jelly roll). The box is just majorly cute and I am so addicted to Aurifil!

The must have notion of the day: the Hot Hemmer. This allows you to fold, measure, press hems and more in one step. It's heat resistant so you can press directly on the ruler. I bought it for pressing back the edges of my quilt labels but I bet I find a bunch of reasons to use it, including mitered corners and rounded hems. I will do a review post after I've tried it. The cost was kind of high ($17) for the small item you get but it might just prove to be worth every penny!

Finally, the tiniest, inexpensive item to put your order over the threshold for free shipping: adorable Love Labels! I chose "handmade by" for these cuties. 4 woven labels, iron on, washable.

Now to unpack and have fun!