Bloglovin'

I don't know if you all heard, but they are discontinuing Google Reader. I use it to follow blogs. Seems like everyone is switching to Bloglovin'  They told me to paste this text in a new post to claim my blog on my Bloglovin profile:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Anyway....

Until next time,

Mike.

I'm on the Rag - Blog Hop Party & Giveaway!!!

Well, it's that time again. To help chase away the Winter Blues, Quilting Gallery is hosting another Quilters’ Blog Hop Party. Everyone with a quilting/sewing related blog is welcome to participate, even if it’s not Winter where you are. Sew, I'm participating :)

If you are wondering about the title of this post, well, here it goes. My Pfaff machine (Vicky) is getting serviced, et cetera, et cetera, so I needed a machine to sew on during the 3 week hiatus. I bought a sewing table a couple of years ago, a very old one, and it had a sewing machine built into it... a Singer Touch Tronic 2001 (circa 1978):

I took it out of the basement, plugged it in and lo and behold. It worked! It's loud, but a real workhorse! Anyway, I did not want to continue any projects on it, just for consistency, so I started on my first rag quilt! I already had the pieces cut (for a while). I did not have a quarter inch foot for this machine, but half inch was already indicated on the plate, so I figured this would work since generally a half inch seam allowance is used for rag quilts. I also discovered some interesting features on the machine. Bobbin winding: the bobbin winds while it's still in the machine without having to unthread the top. Cool. It also has a little red light that comes on when the bobbin is low, although you can see the bobbin through a little window while you sew. I don't like the fact that it does not have a needle up/down position. I am constantly using the dial on the right to raise and lower the needle. I thought for sure it would need oiled or something. The manual said never needs oiled (yeah, right). The answer to all the trouble shooting in the manual said "check bobbin area for lint." LOL!

Here are some pictures of my progress on the rag quilt. I love owls on fabric, so this one will be all owls with all solids on the back:

In honor of this occasion, I am giving away these rag quilt snippers (they're awesome) and some of the leftover flannel:

Ok, you are not going to win all of this :) It's probably like 8 yards of flannel. I'm going to cut up about 4 yards of it. I will give all of the owls and some of the solids. I think you could make a nice baby quilt out of it. The only catch is... if you win, print out this post... put it on your stack of fabric (like I do when I win) so that when you finally make something you LET ME KNOW!!!

Here's a photo of my latest quilt I'm working on too (not rag). And a photo of some inspiration:

The rag quilt snippers were on my Christmas wish list last year and two people got me a pair. So, in turn, one of you got lucky :)

The giveaway rules say make it simple, so here goes. You don't have to be a follower, but feel free to check out where you can follow me on the right side bar and go ahead and do so if you desire :) Leave a comment on this post. I would like to know how you make rag quilts. What size square do you use? Do you use batting in the sandwich squares or flannel or nothing? Do you always use flannel, maybe minky, regular cotton? Do you always sew the X in the middle or do something else? What size seam allowance do you use? If you have never made one, let me know how you envision you might do it, or why you would never make one.

You don't have to answer all of these questions. These are just some ideas. Write something that might be a good tip, trick, idea.... something I and my readers might want to know. Make sure I can contact you so I don't have to pick another winner! The giveaway will go until midnight Eastern Time, Sunday, March 17th!!!

Be sure to go to the Quilters’ Blog Hop Party and visit the other bloggers that are participating.

Until next time,

Mike.