Monday 23 January 2023

Ta Da - Times Two

It has been a fairly quiet week this past week, but I do have two little finishes to share.

Yes, I have continued to spend at least 15 minutes in the sewing room or knitting every day.  That keeps my copy book unblemished for the year.  100% success rate.......so far.....  That will shortly change.

Anyway, most of the week consisted of just a short time knitting my sock and today I finally finished it.
Ta Da!

The stripes don't line up.  However, this was my first go at socks, so I'm pretty happy with them.  I think I may have to knit some for Mick now.  We'll see.

My second Ta Da is the little baby quilt.  What a drama!!!!!

My test quilting had been going fine.......then......

I loaded the little quilt on the frame, changed the colour of the thread and stitched the first partial row.  I had a look and it had skipped a few stitches.  Not enough to undo, but still not good.  I changed the needle, although it was very new, and the problem went away.  Yay!
Then, I quilted three rows and after I wound it on I discovered that the bobbin tension was too tight!  Aaaaah!  At one spot there was a birds nest as well.  There was nothing to do but unpick it all.  Not that it was too hard with the tight tension.

Let's rethread top and bottom and see if that makes a difference.  Tested and no.  I then put my previous test quilt back on and fiddled with the tension until it looked OK.  I hadn't touched the tension, but let's hope that does the trick.
It ended up OK.  I know that it is fairly rough and ready, but as my Dad used to say "A blind man would be glad to see it".
I used a free pantograph called Flower Power.  The texture on the back looks rather nice.
In other happenings, Mick has been plugging away with the mechanics of the BMW motorcycle he purchased while we were away.  There was more needing to be done than initially expected.  He would fix one thing, just to find another problem.  He took it for a little test ride today and he thinks it is ready to get registered on historic plates.  It's been quite a journey to get to this point.  Mind you, it has kept him occupied.

The other thing Mick has done is remove his company name from his ute.  He has decided it is finally time to wind down his business and be fully retired. It's a bit sad, as it is the end of an era.  He worked for himself for 23 years.
Now you see it...
Now you don't... It looks rather plain.  He may have to have a decal of some description added.

And that’s about it for the past week.

I’m going to link up over at Life in Pieces.

15 comments:

Maria said...

Your socks look great. Bet they'll be nice and cosy.
After all your hassles the quilting looks good on the wee quilt.
Now what will keep Mick busy that he has the bike going?
The ute does look plain but you'll get used to it.

ButterZ said...

Great socks. Sometimes it’s hard making the change. Good on Mick.
Not so good on the quilting front. Good luck getting it sorted.

Kate said...

The socks turned out nicely, unless you wear them with shorts, no one will ever know that the upper stripes don't line up. Congrats on finding time to stitch every day last week. Some weeks it won't happen that way as life tends to get the way big time some weeks Congrats on Your Guys full retirement. Happy stitching this week.

loulee said...

Great socks and your quilting looks fine. Sometimes changing threads can cause issues as you found. I find different brands can cause issues too.

Jeanette said...

Your socks look great. The quilting looks lovely.

Jenny said...

Congratulations on your socks! The stripes are close enough, and once on your feet, they will look fine. "A blind man etc" I can remember that saying from my childhood.

Fiona said...

There is nothing like hand made socks - total luxury in my view. Well done with persevering with the quilting.... it's looking good. the tension will soon be second nature. Well done Mick, well deserved retirement...
Hugz

Susan said...

Gosh - I imagine Mick is feeling a bit sad as well as looking forward.
I think the socks look fine...I imagine it would be hard to get them exactly the same.
Quilting - as Fiona said - you will gert used to the machine - love the design on your finished quilt . .

cityquilter grace said...

socks are terrific! stripes don't line up? like who will notice but you? and great quilting job too..

Cheryll said...

The socks look great to me too...& you'll master the quilting in short time.
Mick will enjoy his retirement as he'll fill his days with what he loves doing.
EnJoY xox

kiwikid said...

The socks look great to me too. Quilting can be a frustrating thing to do, your quilt looks fine Janice. Hope Mick enjoys his retirement.

Raewyn said...

I love your knitted socks Janice - they look very cosy. Your quilting turned out great - a fine effort for your first (?) real go on the frame. Understanding tension is something that took me a while to learn on my Sweetie. That's a very sweet pantograph that you used - not to mention a cute use of fabrics.

Karen's Korner said...

Well done on the socks. It looks like you have sorted the quilting problem out. That bike looks lovely and shiny.....all that hard work has paid off.

jude's page said...

I hadn't even noticed the stripes not lining up til you mentioned it, congrats on persevering with the quilting, tis a learning curve, good luck with you both now being retired!!

Jenny said...

The socks look great Janis. I guess it will be no time and you'll need them. I'm glad you have both retired but I'm sure Mick will still find some jobs to do.