Thursday, September 18, 2014

Putting in the Wild Goose Chase Quilt and using the old Treadle

Here I am sewing the seam of the quilt back using red and white striped cotton on an antique Singer  model 27 Treadle sewing machine. 


This decal pattern is called Persian. The Persian decal design is rather uncommon.. the more common decal is the Egyptian Phoenix, that usually appears just below the spool of thread.
*Note*
if you have a Singer sewing machine and would like to find the age of it/the year it was made.. look for your machine's serial # and go to this Singer page.

Built before the turn of the 1900's and made to last forever.

When the silver colored plate is slid towards you, it reveals the vibrating shuttle that holds the bobbin. The red felt was missing so I inserted a new one into the little hole provided.. oil is dripped into the felt to keep the shuttle lubricated when it slides back and forth.

 This is the Bobbin winder... it is on a hinge that you position against the cord to get it prepared to use.. and when you are done winding the bobbin you just push it back.

The Singer logo on the side of the cast iron frame ... this machine is very heavy.
 The Treadle.


 They paid attention to detail and beauty when they made machines way back then.. They were proud of what they made and wanted them to last a very long time.


 the back 
and the front, below.
 
 ... and they cared to make them beautiful.

The faceplate is plain on this model but on others they were highly ornate.

The spoked wheel weighs about 2 lb. on its own.  The weight of the wheel helps keep the momentum of the treadling...whereas modern electric sewing machines have very small wheels.
*note* ...as you can see here I had to put on a new belt as the old leather one was fragile and disintegrated with age. New leather treadle belts, in these parts, cost $22.00 ,Yikes, too much.. so I used a plastic hose in the same 3/16" size... works for me.

 All you need to run it is your feet or even just one foot, whichever rhythm and pattern  works best for you. it is flexible.
... but I think that people back then must have been much smaller as my knees kept touching the table of the machine... so I moved around a bit till I found a comfortable position.

 I did a lot of cleaning and polishing and oiling when I first brought it home and now it works amazingly.. of course it still shows its age ..the nicks and blemishes, I call "Beauty Spots"
.
 Just look at those stitches!!! I can hardly believe the precision of them.

 I Love it!!!!
...now onto getting that quilt set up in the frame.

 This looks messy but it is just the basting onto the side bars of the quilt frame.  These old quilt frames came from a flea market along with the clamps that hold the boards together.
... and don't mind that ratty green fabric that it's being sewn onto .. I like to think that someone attached many quilts to these old boards.

 The back is sewed in now... upside down of course.

 A roll of polyester fiberfill.

 half spread out...

 ...now covering the entire quilt back and smoothed out as best as I could.

 then the Wild Goose Chase quilt top is laid on top and pinned in place.
 Here is a link to the making of the Wild Goose Chase Quilt top that I pieced at the start of the year.

 and the extra fiberfill is trimmed away.

 The leftover fiberfill makes good stuffing for toys or pillows or even tea cozy's
.
 Those little snip scissors are perfect for clipping the quilt thread.

 ...when I began to put the quilt in the frame I had the corners sitting on chairs and couldn't remember where my quilt stands were.. after searching for 1/2 a day!!! I found them....
 John made them for me for the last quilt I tied a few years ago.  We just used some recycled boards and made a couple cut outs so we could make them slide together and stand up.
... didn't cost anything and they do a great job... and they are light and easy to move around ... and they lay flat for storage (that's why I couldn't find them!)




 First row of blocks are all hand-quilted.
 
The clamps are undone and that row of quilting is rolled onto the frame and reclamped in its new position.
... after a few days another row of blocks were completed.. only 4 rows left to go.

 A close up one of the set of 4, old cast iron C-clamps I found at the flea market.

 A size 9 quilting needle.


 Down to 3 rows of blocks now.
 I was able to replace the long side boards to shorter ones so the frame takes up less space.
 If I really found it in the way, it could easily be lifted up and stood against the wall.


 I am not sure how long it will take to finish the quilting as I just work on it in my spare time in between my jewelry work and slaving away at the old, out of town homestead...  I am enjoying it so much...  it is very meditative and relaxing. Now I remember why I used to do this all the time.

Gwen Buchanan at Desideratum Art Studio, St. Martins,  New Brunswick, Canada

Click to see the last phase/ 3rd blog post of making the Wild Goose Chase Quilt.

19 comments:

cathyswatercolors said...

Oh my, another stellar post;and a beautiful project,to be sure. I so love your posts. Thank you.

WILDSIDE said...

Beautiful machine. Beautiful quilt!

Linda H said...

Gwen your quilt is beautiful!! Love it! Red and white is such an old New Brunswick tradition! Glad you are enjoying your time at the frame.
Love your treadle machine too. Too bad things today are not made with the same care and pride, quality and workmanship...

Jane Brideson said...

Beautiful quilt Gwen - you must have great patience!
Love the Singer treadle, I had one years ago and think it was the Egyptian design. Now use an old hand Singer and you're right, they last forever.

Penny said...

Lovely machine, I don't quilt but love what you are doing. Regarding the globe thistle, no wonder I don't know it as it is regarded as a dreadful weed here in Oz.

A Heron's View said...

Gwen, that's fine old singer you have there with some very attractive decals. It is right what you say that machines of that era were built to last, which is why so many are still in use today.

I wish you snuggly sleep under that quilt :)

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks so much Cathy, Wildside, Linda, Jane, Penny and Mel. you are all lovely! and I love red and white!
Jane, I love those old hand turned models, don't have one in my collection yet.
Penny, I can see why farmers wouldn't want the Prickly Globe thistles going throughout their fields.. No one has a working farm near our old place so I luckily can let them roam wherever they want. But they just grow in a small area now.
Mel, this one is for Max.. I'll pass that on to him. I hope he takes care of it.

Guillaume said...

My grandmother on my father's side had an old treadle like this one. It might have been the same brand. It fascinated me as a child, that and the old typewriter.

George said...

Wow, what an interesting photographic journey. The quilt is magnificent, and the photos of the Singer sewing machine was a bit nostalgic for me. I saw these old machines daily in my childhood.

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

Your quilt looks absolutely gorgeous. I remember the piecing from earlier this year. It will be beautiful when finished.

My grandma used to have a Singer sewing machine of a similar vintage to yours. It is one of my great regrets that, when she died, I was too young to appreciate the beauty of the thing, and it was given away more or less as junk. If I had been ten years older I would have taken it and treasured it always. Whenever I see one, now, I always think of the one that should have been 'mine'! :(

Steven Cain said...

Beautiful machine!
Love that quilt!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Guillaume, There must have been one in almost every home at one time.. they were so important.. no imported clothes then. my little grandson loves to sit and treadle it. I hope I can teach him how to use it someday.

George it's funny how we take things for granted when we are young, not knowing how they could be useful in our present day lives.

Janice, oh what a shame, I know what you mean tho... as when I was young I had my grandmothers old treadle in my possession... I didn't know my way around it so I gave it to my sister...and she is not giving it back.. Don't blame her. Had to search out another for myself and with the help of youtube I learned all about them.

Thanks Steven, want to put some stitches in it?

BumbleVee said...

It is indeed a real beauty isn't it!? ... and, what a lot of work quilting is...... it is going to be amazing when completed..... take your time and enjoy the process ....

ELFI said...

ohh... quel travail! magnifique résultat!

Gwen Buchanan said...

BumbleVee and ELFI, Thanks for checking out my progress report.

I've been busy this last while filling jewelry orders for shops for the fall and Christmas season... Love that too!!!
But the quilt is sitting over there taunting me.

Arija said...

Gwen, this is extraordinary work. I well remember another quilt a few years ago that you posted on your blog. Exactly like my embroidery of years gone by, full of the three Ps: patience, perseverance and precision and yes, it is very meditative and addictive.
Thank you for your birthday wishes. Very much appreciated.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you Arija, That is so kind of you. I am thinking I will be a little sad when it is done... when a person spends a lot of time with something we tend to get attached. But experience gained and hopefully it will be put to use in the next project. Love your 3 P's!

jerilanders said...

You're amazing, THAT QUILT!The wonderful thing about the old machines is, as you say, they were made to be beautiful as well as efficient. You live in a marvelous, place, the house is extraordinary; will you live in the cottage when you sell the big house? I guess I am not clear on that.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you so much Jeri, Yes we will live in the little old house/homestead we are rebuilding if we sell our home here in St. Martins. We just want to be prepared when it happens. Downsizing means lots of purging still.