The view (?) from the skylight

I just can't help myself!

Another start

And the Winner Is...

No One!  No one guessed an inflatable horse!!!!!  

Okay, not really...but what a perfect place to use that line!

The real winner is Diane G!!!!!!  Mari T was a pretty close second, but she was a bit too specific this time.

Thank you to all who played!  It has kept me in stitches to see your guesses!  Some quite creative!  Some I could only dream of having.... sigh.

Some of you know that I have been doing some simple horse blanket repairs on my regular sewing machines.  Not the easiest to do.  So I had been putting off doing any more repairs and giving the horses stern lectures about ripping their blankets.  Alas, that ploy only works so long.  And repairs are once again needed.

So I started investigating something short of an industrial sewing machine.  It had to be sturdy, have a bit of extra clearance between the throat plate and the bottom of the presser foot, and be reasonably priced.  Good stitching through multiple layers of denim, nylon, etc.  I looked on Craigs List and didn't find anything.  So...I went to eBay.  I found a machine I fell in love with in a pretty turquoise color, great samples, lots of info.  The price wasn't too bad, but it was an auction and I had time to come to my senses before bidding.  In the meantime I did some research and had questions for several of the sellers.  Some responded promptly and answered all my questions, some answered some of the questions and disregarded others.

After I came to my senses and realized I was about to pay a pretty substantial sum for a machine to repair horse blankets, I watched the end of the auction and it went for way more than I would have paid anyway.  So the people who were very honest and answered all my questions were having a buy-it-now for a Universal class 15 clone.  And I bought it RIGHT THEN!  For a ridiculously low price that would make you swoon.  It came yesterday--extremely well packaged.  She's from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

TaDa:

Look at how lovely her decals are!

She has some cosmetic dings and scratches; I can live with that.  It makes me feel less guilty about using her for blanket repairs (which is her job).

Here it shows, from left to right, sewing through two layers, four layers, and eight layers of flannel.

On and off four and eight layers, using just forward and back.  No hesitation.

Multiple layers of denim.

And her lovely face.  When the Singer patent ran out on the Class 15 machines, Japan used the plans to make many "clones", using different company names on them and painting them different colors (the turquoise one I looked at was a Sewmor, also a Class 15 clone).  I now really have to watch my Ps and Qs--the real class 15 Singers were like the Featherweights--flat side of needle to the left, P for inserting the bobbin, threading the needle from right to left.  Well--the Clones are exactly the opposite--flat side of the needle on the right, thread from left to right, bobbin makes a Q!  If I'm not sure which one I have in front of me (aka cannot read), all I have to do is lift them!  The Universal is definitely the weight lifter in the mix!  She's sturdy, she's pretty and she's here to work.  

I think I will call her Belle Fleur.

Congratulations again, Diane!  Want a woodchuck as your prize?  (Just kidding!)

And thank you once again to all who played.  This was such a fun thing to do!  Stay tuned for the next "flash contest"!

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

 P.S.  Barbara B, you won a prize from a prior contest but I have no way to contact you.  My suspicion is that I will see you in a couple weeks--you can leave a comment here to confirm or email me.

P.P.S.  I know some people will be shocked at hearing me talk about using my Featherweights to mend horse blankets, or be even more shocked that I would use Belle for that task.  All these girls were made to work and work hard.  That's why they have survived over half a century and still work great.  

P.P.P.S.  No, do NOT send me your horse blankets to mend.  I hate mending, but I love those horses!!!!

It's a Contest!

What do you think came packed in this? It just came today, and a winner will be announced on Wednesday, March 8, at 9:30 p.m. The first one to guess correctly will win!  If you all are stumped, there will be a random drawing for a winner. So everyone has a chance to win--but only if you play! Good luck!

A Small Flimsy

Small is good...and fast. I've finally learned to do small projects when I need process pics for handouts. The processes are exactly the same whether big or small. So this afternoon I cut, marked and hand pieced this pretty and have all the pictures done.

Not to mention making and basting five quilt labels. Now I can hand sew them as I have time.

Not too shabby for a Monday!