Bad weather = more quilting!

It's not a wonder that people in this area are productive quilters!! What else would you be doing??

The weather made headlines this week and it's still creating havoc. As I write this, our trees (and everything else exposed to the elements) are coated with a thick layer of ice. Soon this freezing rain will lead to rain which really can't come soon enough since I'm worried we'll lose power. Wednesday's blizzard was phenomenal!! It started abruptly and never let up until bedtime Thursday! The winds were the worst I've ever experienced. We were without phone or internet for 21 hours. So far, the phone is the only service suffering but I fear that may change as the bad weather continues. Our daughter who was visiting from Toronto until Monday morning decided to leave this morning preempting the canceled flights sure to happen.

However, with power, I was able to keep on sewing! Several projects were finished this week.

My daughter's Cargo Duffel, a pattern developed by Noodlehead for Robert Kaufman is finished and she loves it. She filled it with all her belongings and put it in her suitcase to bring home. It will get a lot of use of that I'm sure. 

I made a few changes, some by choice! I added an interior pocket similar to the Travel Duffel, made the pockets differently, added the straps that support the bottom of the bag, made it taller by adding the blue strips on the side and lowering the purple gusset. It has Soft and Stable from ByAnnies.com in the body of the bag which is what helps it keep its shape. Soft and Stable is machine washable and can be ironed on a medium setting. I LOVE this product! Just make sure your sewing machine has an even feed and can sew through thick layers! 

This is what happened to mine while I was sewing this bag! I have no idea how to fix it nor do I know where that little piece belongs but shortly after I finished the first duffel bag, my machine started making a strange noise. You should always listen to your machine... I did listen and looked for a cause but none was apparent! Then at the end of a seam, I noticed the even feed was no longer working as it should; consequently, the top layer was longer than the bottom layer. As I elevated the foot to remove the fabric, this little piece fell out.

We live about 50 min from the nearest sewing center that carries Husqvarna parts and luckily, they had a replacement, pricey but a necessity! Luckily too was the fact we needed to pick up our daughter at the airport close by the sewing center so we left earlier to pick up this new even feed foot. The new one works like a charm, has interchangeable feet and a few guide bars for when you want to sew parallel straight lines. This alone was a bonus as I previously drew the lines.

Next came my sister's Samsung tablet cover; this is the same sister for whom I made the little camera bag. I had leftover fabric and decided to treat her to a matching cover.

She wanted room to carry the charging cable and the stylus; the quilted pad you see inside will protect the screen from scratches. I used S&S (Soft & Stable) in this one as well. I think she'll like this. This is such a fun and relatively fast sewing project. 

I will leave you with photos of our Friday visitors... 

There were 4 of them; big daddy was in the alders beyond the spruce trees. Sorry about the bottom photo... I had to take this one through the kitchen window so you see reflected light. The deer were eating at the apple trees in front of the house after I took these. Remarkable animals! We'll have to think hard about protecting our garden if we ever get a chance at a decent spring and summer.

At the moment I would take this pile over the ice we're getting!

Toodles!

Lorette