Saturday, April 11, 2015

Hooped?

Not sure.  With the back-up sewing machine, definitely.  This morning I was taking it out for a spin, so to speak, and had just finished various stitching samples.  I was pretty satisfied, having also figured out how to change the foot, where the feed dog controls were, etc.



I was now ready to see what kind of seam it could sew, before moving on to free-motion experiments.

Did I tell you that this machine had been given me by my friend B, who'd had it given to her?  B's DH takes care of much of her machine maintenance -- except for the computerized stuff -- so he'd tweaked this Pfaff 1222-E.  One of the tweaks was to replace the presser foot lever, which was missing, with a long bolt and a nut to hold it in place.  It worked fine -- that is, until the socket in which the bolt had been riding disintegrated...

What's left of the socket on the wall of the machine


Replacement "lever" and the other 1/2 of the socket

There's no gluing it back together, either.  If I want to keep the machine as my back-up (to the Husqvarna Lily 555 currently in the shop) I'm going to have to have it properly seen to as well.

So...

Blessedly I have a back-up for my back-up: I may be able to borrow an older Husqvarna from my friend J.  I did this a couple of years ago and it worked well.  I've left J a message and am hopeful...

Meanwhile, I'm blessed to have other things to do in the Sewdio...

Backing up a bit...before the sewing machines went to heck in a hand-basket, I finished my April "Zen" BOM (over a week ago now!)

"Triangle Squares"
I enjoyed this one rather more than its predecessors, and was pleased with most of my 'points'.  I had to give it a good zap of "Best Press" (R) because as is typical when using assorted fabrics, some of them are flimsier than one would like...but their colours are right!

On Thursday I received EB's feedback on my "Colour" sketches and selections -- and this fired me up yesterday to go in search of that field and fence for more photos.  EB wrote:

Color scheme looks good, - but if you notice she [Referring to Sharon Lynn Williams' painting] really doesn't have much green in there....she has a complementary scheme of red/orange versus the blues  and I think it's the orange blue combination that really makes it.......

Red brown is a difficult accent color because brown is a neutral - being a mix of all three primaries, so it will be hard to get it to stand out.  In the above photo, the very saturated red is the one that stands out - so that's the fabric you should use in those accent areas - which usually are not large, but pull your eye  to the focal point - the center of interest.
And now for the key comment (the one that really 'spoke' to me:
you could go with either sketch but I think if you go for a landscape, it will be easier for you to be adventurous with the color!!!  If you decide to choose the fence, crop right down in close to the fence and imagine the boards having LOTS of different colors in them - not brown!
Thus my search for the fencing yesterday...and I found it...and took many photos...and got back and printed several off...and tried to express in another painting session how I felt and what I wanted to demonstrate.

I was out on my back stoop (it was sunny and warm, even if a tad breezy), painting, pacing and muttering to myself.  (Good thing my neighbours were out for the day!)  And this is what my 'gut' spoke:




No matter how I looked at it, the piece must be dominated by the sky and the land. "The Fence is Man's Mark on the Land".

Next up: audition exact fabrics to use and block out the piece (deadline: April 20).  Dunno where I'll put the 'orange'...if anywhere...

And YES, there is knitting...

The Wedding Shawl is now into it's 17th pattern repeat (of 25)...and I am about to turn the heel on this pretty April sock - #1 in this month's Socks from Stash challenge on Ravelry...

Yarn: Spirit Trail Fiberworks - Colour #414 (discontinued)
Pattern: Show-off Stranded Socks by Anne Campbell
(a free Ravelry download)

 The purple perfectly matches the one jolly-jump-up pansy bravely blooming in my plot east of the garage.  :-)

Linking this up to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  Let your imagine take you away...and have a great rest of the weekend!  

5 comments:

elle said...

when it rains... :(
But I luv where you are going with this new lesson. Like you, I kinda feel man's mark needs to be evid4ent in some small corner!

Judy Warner said...

I think it is going to be really interesting to see your final work Margaret. I understand the fence as man's mark....but in a sense, it becomes the focal point, even though the land and sky are immense. So, I guess it is a statement of our impact on the earth.

Just my ruminating.

rtquilter said...

Wow! My heart aches for you Margaret! I HAte sewing machine hassles. Fortunately for me, I rarely have any. My poor DD though , who has my 1980 Bernina just had an electrical failure ( or so it seems) - HIGHLY uncharacteristic for that machine. As she is STILL a starving student,mit will have to languish a while - with the lovely little "Quiet Book" she has been making for little O!
Good luck with your situation.

Laura McGrath said...

I have an old mechanical Pfaff that does beautiful free motion stitching, but when I was trying to figure out how to do it about 5 years ago, I had to take it to the Pfaff dealer for them to show me how to set up the foot. I just couldn't figure it out, but glad I did! Hope you get yours working.

Maggi said...

Very interesting comments from EB. She certainly does give you something to think about. I find it fascinating that you don't want the fence to take too much of the centre stage. Is this just a personal take or something that you have been guided towards?

The colours in that sock are just luscious.