New Machine in Turkey

Well, Saturday, hubby and I went to Ulos, one of the many shopping areas here in Ankara.  We somehow communicated to a store clerk that we needed a new adapter (mostly by pointing to the broken adapter).  Luckily, the man spoke just enough English to tell us, "Light...signal...right...elektrik."  Okay, got it.  Off we went, got the adapter, walked around some, I got prices on some inexpensive machines should the adapter still not work and I found a fabric store that carried some cottons!  I bought a few gingham-type checks and got a few colors as fill ins for a few projects I had.  ;)  And then home.  I tried the new adapter with my Janome Jem and still nothing.  I get power and then an error display message so it must need some work or it's just not taking the 220v power. 

I've been cutting "kits" and pinning project pieces together so I was staying busy during the day.  I'm not sure but I must have had the most pitiful look ever on my face because on Sunday night, hubby told me I should go back to Ulos on Monday and get myself a new sewing machine.  Saturday they had a Singer for around $200 US dollars.  I really didn't want a Singer but hey, I didn't want to complain.  I'm unemployed now, you know.  lol

So, on Monday, I got out the English/Turkish dictionary and wrote down a few phrases like "left" and "right" for the taxi ride and "how much".  :)  Before I was ready to leave, I called one of the wives that I've become friends with, Debbie.  I told her my plan and she eagerly said she would go with me.  I almost climbed through the phone line to kiss her!!  lol  I would've gone alone but she's been here for three years and knows a little Turkish, how to get to Ulos and is just knowledgeable about things here.  Talk about relief!!

This photo is behind the main street.  The shops go for blocks but the "main street" is where the sewing machine stores are.  They have Pfaff, Juki, Singer, Janome....just about anything you would want.  A lot of friends and family have asked if I have to wear a scarf or keep my head covered.  There are many Muslims here, from the full black dress with just their eyes showing to ladies who wear the trench coat and scarf to just a head scarf.  I know there are names for all of those garments but I don't know them.  If I take time to look it up, I'll never get my post done!  lol

 

So, below is the machine I got.  It's not a Singer and it wasn't $200.  lol  I'm telling you, it's a wonder Richard even lets me come to visit him!  :oD  This week I blew up the iron!!!  lol  Anyway, this hobby machine was just over $400 US dollars so it's not horribly priced and I'm hoping when I come back in September, toward the end of that visit, I'll be able to sell it on the expat site since it's 220v and I won't be able to use it at home.  So far, she's been doing a great little job.  Since I had some of my "kits" ready to go, I was able to start sewing strips together for a Yellow Brick Road quilt.  She's nice and quiet and would've been a nice extra machine if she wasn't 220v.

 

 



None of the fabrics I brought with me looked good with the YBR monkey fabric so I sure was glad I picked up those ginghams on Saturday.  The brown seemed to work just fine. It looks kind of crazy in the photo but it's just a small check.

 

 



 

I also sewed my granddaughter Emily a little soft counting book.  It was an easy panel and it was all cut and pinned together.  I just had to sew it up.  I can't wait to see her and give it to her.  I'm sure it'll go right in her mouth!  :)

 

 

Well, it's raining heavy hear and it's after 10:00 a.m. and I'm still in my jammies!  Love, love, LOVE days like today!  TGIF!!



January 15th???

Sheesh, at the rate time is flying by, I won't have to worry about missing my husband when he leaves for Turkey.  It'll be a snap and he'll be back.....right?  Okay, probably not.  Here is what I've been doing since Christmas and my last long, long ago post!

Flash back to a couple of weekends ago...  I know everyone is WAY passed Christmas but I had this picture and decided to load it.  I got a little melancholy when I was packing away my ornaments.  I keep all the ones I made on the top on my ornament box so they are the first thing I see when I unpack that box.  It just makes me happy.  I have been making ornaments on and off since around 1970-something.  Some were painstakingly cut out of wood and were a labor of love.  There were years my sisters had to help me finish them at our Christmas party so they could take them home for their tree but they usually didn't mind.  The Christmas tree at the bottom is the one that started it all.  :o)

 

My friend Debbie's daughter is getting married so we played with my Cricut and cut out some things she can use on the tables for a vintage/classic theme.  The umbrellas will be glued to a stick for the centerpieces (flowers) and the other smaller cuts will be sprinkled on the table like big ol' chunky confetti.

The landlord where I work was cleaning out the phone room.  I was walking down the hall toward the ladies room and saw this spool in his hands.  I asked him if he was throwing it out and you should've seen the look on his face!  I wish I had my camera.  He said, "Uh, yes, why, do you want it?"  Again with the face, I said "YES!"  One of the girls across from me and Kelley at the craft shows this winter put little eye hooks around the top edge, wrapped the center with jute and displayed her jewelry.  I thought this would be vintage for Kelley to use for any of her stuff....after it gets cleaned up and "modified"!

I went to the sewing machine store and traded in my lemon sewing machine.  I guess I really shouldn't call the old machine a lemon.  It ran okay.  I just never liked the puckery seams.  Lesson learned on getting a machine for all the bells and whistles!!  I just can't seem to tear myself away from the Pfaff IDF (dual feed) that stitches fabric so beautifully!  And this one has a nice deep throat so maybe I can even get some quilting done!!!

I've been doing some cleaning and organizing in the sewing room.  I need to clean out underneath my sewing tables and add some bins to put some things away.  I hope to get that done by the weekend.  It's supposed to be lovely, finally in the 70's, so I think we'll be spending some time cleaning out the garage.  Now doesn't that sound like a blast!  lol

My new baby

Recession? What recession? lol I got a new sewing machine. Move over to the other five in my collection....there's a new girl in town! I got this BabyLock Espire.

I have a Pfaff 2044 and there was nothing wrong with it. I just took it in for service and walked out with this one. Eeegads, I've got no spine! LOL Actually, I used a machine like this at a retreat in Apple Valley over a year ago and really loved how it sewed. Of course, they try to sell you the machine you were working on but I wasn't willing to pay what they were asking at the time. I'm sure there's a newer model so that's probably why these were on sale. I financed it.....all by my little ol' self. So far, I'm loving it. It's got lots of bells and whistles and I don't know how to use them all but so far I'm loving the cutter, leg lift control and auto foot control. I have a class scheduled to learn the ins and outs later this week. Here's a peek at just some of the stitches.

They wanted to give a credit for a trade in but I didn't want to give up my Pfaff. I've heard horror stories about new machines and wasn't going to give up my old one. Plus, my daughters sew so I'd just assume hand it down to one of them. I told the saleswoman I would go to Goodwill and buy one if I had to trade it in. She said not to bother. She would just tell them trading in my machine would've been a deal-breaker. And she wouldn't be lyin'!

Last night I sandwiched one of my UFO's. This one is a little short on the sides to be a queen size but I'm going to use it on my bed anyway. Guess I'll have to buy a bedspread and then lay this over the top. That's what my sister said she did and I never even noticed. Works for me.

I love the stars and the seminole border, but with all of that going on, it was hard to figure out something that worked to make it bigger. I know the book had a bigger size quilt in it but I bought fabric to make the single size and couldn't find any more of the fabric even back then. I think this top is a couple of years old already. It was just waiting for perfect quilting. But I'm doing it so it'll be far from perfect!!! LOL
I have this stencil but it's just a little bit too small. I got it at a quilt show, Long Beach I think. Luckily it has the sticker on it so I went to the site, www.quiltingstencils.com and got an 11" one. I like the way it looks on a couple of the blocks.

It doesn't fight with the stars.

So over the next few nights, I'll try and stitch in the ditch around the sashing to anchor it. That way when the stencil comes in the mail, I'll be ready. Hmmm, I should make some sandwiches to practice these puppies until the big stencil comes in. Now there's an idea!! :o)

Machines and Mom

I took two machines for service to try and get them from the storage stage to the 'use' it or 'move' it stage. This first machine is a White from `61 or `62 according to the internet. My nephew had a friend he helped move a couple of years ago and this was in the 'pitch it' pile. He asked me if I wanted it and of course, I couldn't see it get sent to Goodwill. I didn't want to invest any money into this machine, not knowing if it even worked so I just bought a new belt. I brought it home and cleaned it and oiled it according to the manual. It purrs like a kitten now. I dont' think there's much value for this machine but it stitches nice so hopefully one of the girls in the family will want it and if not, one of their friends. We know lots of girls so it shouldn't be too hard to find someone to take this little workhorse.

I did an online search for White machines and there were some pretty cool ones made. Pink, turquoise, silver, you name it!

This next machine belonged to my grandma and then my mom. The cabinet isn't in very good shape and could be refinished. Someday I'll get to that. :o) Since the machine has sentimental value, I paid my service guy to clean this Singer up. I picked it up today and put it back in the cabinet and took it for a spin. It ran really nice. It had a bit of an oil smell but heck, the machine hasn't been run for something like 20 years so I'm surprised it even started!

And this is my mom working on her little Christmas tree. Yeah, I said Christmas tree. I guess it's okay to mention Christmas now. Before Halloween, I think it's kind of taboo but now, I think it's okay.

My mom came for a visit and since I work, I thought this would be a nice project for her to work on while I was gone. The only problem is I gave it to her on Saturday night and she worked on it all day Sunday. It was done "before" the workweek even started!!! But it's so cute. I think I might have to go get myself one. LOL

I got it at Michael's for 40% off $39.99. It comes with a wooden base, the little skirt and all the ornaments. There are about 20 little resin shapes like Santa, an angel, Joseph, toy soldier, etc. There are also big pearl ornaments, little pearl ornaments and candy canes. So darn cute.

And here is my mamacita with her finished tree. Both are kind of cute, eh? :o)