Sunshine all over the weekend

A lovely long weekend we had (saturday untill monday), enjoying beautiful weather at our summer residence ; ). For the first time this spring we didn't need any coats or sweaters. Could we have our breakfast outside, and lunch and dinner!. Making lovely walks the woods enjoying all the flowers. Visiting friends in the evening for a drink, barbeque with friends under the parasol. My sewing machine outside on the table, working on different projects, like the sewing mat on the picture. It's almost finished, and then more details will follow. Reading one of my favorite childbooks for the "I don't know how many times"

? time. I discovered this bookt when I was already an adult.

What else can a girl wish for. Back to work tomorrow.

For my mum...

...... a crochet scarf home made by me. It's my gift for mother's day.

I know that was already 1,5 week ago, but then my parents were cycling in Germany. 

The scarf is made from Alpaca wool, it's 100% wool, and it works very well. Now I have to start my own scarf, it be will blue/green/petrol. 

Featherweight outfit for work

What does a girl need at work? Well what  about a featherweight blackberry bag ; ).

By the way, this is very interesting page about sewing needles. I wasn't sure which size I needed for my patchwork, so on this site you find all kind of interesting information.

Dutch flower fabrics

Because we have a long weekend (thursday till sunday) we moved from The Hague to Garderen, our "residence" for the summer. The car was stuffed with things like my sewing basket, sewing machine and fabrics (and of course some clothes). 

I'm busy with fabrics from the Haan en Wagenmakers. They're specialised in chintzes, a quilting fabric based on antique Dutch manuscripts (17c and 18c) from India.

Making another sewing mat. Why? Because this girl couldn't resist the white singer featherweight from her year of birth. 

 

Rob and Tale's cycling tour

So something else to write about instead "featherweights", they say there is more in life then a featherweight ; ).

Rob and Tale are safe back from their cyclingtrip through Germany. They started just over the border, close to Enschede, and cycled in 5 days, along Munster, Osnabruck, Haviksbeck and some other places. Rob on his e-bike, and Tale just the old-fashion way. They were lucky with the weather.

Still no barbeque weather here.

Featherweight (part 10)

 This is an example of what you can do with the cross stitch pattern. In this little bag I keep my bobbins, needles and thread.

I'm thinking about making a little bag with a Featherweight for my mobile phone as well. How crazy can you be, get a life ; ).

Featherweight cross stitch (part 9)

Oops. I don't know how to turn the picture!

I'm not doing a lot of cross-stitch, but sometimes I really like to do a small project. My idea was: embroidering a Featherweight. Surfing over the web didn't help. I couldn't find any cross stitch pattern of a featherweight or sewing machine.

Well then there is only one solution: If they don't have it, make it work ; ).

So this is my own design. And I think it turned out pretty well. The work is still in progress. So if you like this pattern, just leave a comment with your emailadress, and I will send it to you next week.

Just know that I'm not a professional designer, as you can see on the picture, I don't have software on my computer to make cross stitch patterns.

Featherweight Sewing mat (part 8)

My Featherweight equipment is almost ready. Today I finished my sewing mat. It got little bags for, scissors, measuring tape, threads, scraps and other stuff.

Dieuwke and I spend the whole afternoon sewing. She's making little log cabins.

And dinner, well her DH and DS brought us pizza.

Who has time for cooking when you're quilting (and watching little house on the prairie).Life can be good.

Rob is still cycling through Germany.

Featherweight sleeve (part 7)



Backside



A good way to spend your day free from work, finishing my Featherweight sleeve. I think it's really cute. The weather here in the Netherlands is terrible, rainy most of the day. It's hard to imagine that it's springtime.

 If you're interested in the pattern, it was designed by Rinske Stevens and called "Quilt" quilt.



Minifair in Harfsen

Of course there is more then a Featherweight. I think ; ).

Well this is a nice idea for  next weekend. Saturday 19 mai, my father is joing a minifair, he's a bookbinder. The minifair is in the east part of the Netherlands. If you're in the neighbourhood it's really worthwhile going, see for more information: http://www.minifair.nl/,

And it's free entrance.

Singer Featherweight (part 6)

Maybe you get bored with my featherweight adventures, but our feather weight equipment isn't finished yet. Tonight I started with a sleeve for the table. You see what happen when you put up the "table". Oh dear, it's touching the screw on the other side, and we can't take the risks of scratches. No problem for a quilter, we just make a kind of sleeve!

Still under construction:

- mug rug
- sewing mat

Ooops time to go to bed, it's already after midnight, lucky me, thursday and friday I'm free from work. Rob is cycling with Tale in Germany.

Sleep well / Slaap lekker (dutch)

Featherweight pincushion (part 5)

Finished, a special featherweight pincushion. The sewing mat is still under construction. What's next? A mug rug of course.

I'm a featherweight girl 221/K4 (part 4)

Hurrah!!! My new "old"sewing machine (1952) arrived today. Well what can I say, imagine it's 60 years old, and it's still in perfect condition. It makes beautiful straight stitches, and that's the only thing it can ; ).

Interesting detail: The 221K4 is the only variant that had the switch for the light built into the lamp body instead of on the machine base.

Question 

Are there any girls "around" The Hague who are having a featherweight as well??

Featherweight (part 3)

Track and Trace told me that my sewing machine would be delivered today. Tonight Dieuwke and I can call ourself the "featherweight" girls.

Of course it's not only buying a Featherweight. You need special equipment as well. You can't put a feather weight just on your table.

Noooooo, it needs a special treatment. So Dieuwke and I designed our own Featherweight sewing mat. A pincushion and mug rug will be following. More pictures to come. We will take the pattern with us at Atelier Bep on the 3th of june.

Featherweight (part 2)

I really really had to try this machine.

And I couldn't wait untill mine will arrive, next week.

 I found some nice 30s, 40s fabrics squares in my stash and combined them with muslin, just for a little quilt. It's so fun sewing "old"blocks on Dieuwke's "old" machine.

Well stranger things can happen on a saturday night ; ).

Featherweight temptations..... (part 1)

Dieuwke's Sewing Machine

Oh sometimes you can make big mistakes ; ). One of them I made yesterday evening. Dieuwke called to show her "new" old feather weight singer sewing machine from 1947.

I should have stayed home (probably for the rest of my life) ; ).

What a beauty, and it's still working, and  makes wonderful stitches. For those, who don't know the Featherweight Singer. It's a portable sewing machine, and was made between 1933 and 1966. Standard the featherweight is black with gold decoration. But later they made them also in white and green. The machine is very small, about 39 cm (16 inch), and you can make it even smaller to 30 cm (12 inch).

Well what happened, I fell in love with the machine, and then, oh even worse, she told me that Andre where she bought the machine, even had more: 1952, 1957 both black, and a white one from the sixties.

So the deal was quickly made. Next week I have my own Singer Featherweight arriving, up from the north of the Netherlands. And while Rob and Tale are cycling through Germany. I will be playing with my new sewing machine.
Oh I'm really a lucky girl.

By the way:  If you love Singer Featherweights, on sunday the 3 of june, lots of ladies will take their machine with them to Bep during the "open day".