Sunday, October 6, 2024

Sew & Tell ~ Maintenance and Self-Care


As I wrote my stories for last week's Pieces of My Life series (blog post & newsletter) I mentioned the need for maintenance... roads require it or they become rough and, sometimes, impassable.  Vehicles require maintenance...water systems need it... machines of all types need it.  


I've been so busy with customers quilts (not to mention life) lately that the proper cleaning and maintenance of my sewing machines had been overlooked.

As you can see, my poor Lyric was in desperate need of attention.  No wonder the stitches weren't quite "perfect"!  

After a good cleaning of all the lint and bits of thread I spent time trying to get the locations and dates embroidered on the park sign blocks of our Camping Journal quilt.  This gets me one step closer to a finish and leaves the final two rows of postcard blocks to be experienced.  

A good portion of one day was devoted to picking through my scrap bin in search of two specific pieces of Route 66 fabrics that I want to be included in a few blocks representing our trip later this month.  I was finally successful and located one of the two... I guess I really did use up every last bit of the other one.  

All of this to say... we need to pay attention to our machines and our bodies and perform the proper maintenance and care to keep running at optimum speed and function.

I mentioned water systems... after the freeze and breakage of the main line earlier this year, there was to be maintenance performed to improve and replace several shut-off valves. That was scheduled for this coming week.  

It was a good plan, but as luck would have it, an observant neighbor noticed a growing puddle of water on Friday afternoon.   There is a leak.  Noooooo! The repairs will be made Monday.  Fingers crossed and hands folded in prayer, the line doesn't blow completely and we end up with a geyser.

Dave and I are in need a break!  (It is coming soon!  Our nephew's wedding is just a few weeks away and we will be there.)

I am looking at my self-imposed publishing schedule for the Pieces of My Life Sew Along and trying to figure out how to best handle the emailing of my newsletter.  The releasing of the patterns is easy to schedule and manage... The newsletter is a little trickier for me since I use a mail merge feature of MS Word and don't have access to the program on either of our laptops.  Hmmmmmmm.... I have options.  I will need to consider all of them and determine how important it is to keep the two blocks/stories separate.  

Do you enjoy getting two different stories with each block?

Were you aware that I even do that???

These are just some of the questions I had floating in my mind as I did the embroidery on my park signs.     

Along with the question of why, oh WHY, does my machine do fine on one block and then does something so messed up that it is not legible??? (This will be a question the next time my machine is taken in for its "spa" treatment.)

I finally gave up on the machine embroidery.  I was spending so much time removing bad stitching I decided that I will hand stitch the few remaining portions. I am matching the lettering as close as possible... The free-hand stitching can't be any worse than the stitching gone awry!  I will fix a few more, like the date on the Cimarron Canyon block... that is supposed to say "May '24". 🤦‍♀️

As for my personal self-care, I am enjoying the slow stitching!  I have been reminded that not everything needs to be about getting it done fast.  Right??? Who's with me? 


I've rambled on long enough... Time for the Sew & Tell feature. Maggie at Making a Lather shared several finishes.  They are fabulous!  Take a minute to stop by and admire them a little closer and give her a pat on the back for the accomplishment.

Let's get the party started! 🎉

I'll be over here hand stitching... what are you up to?

If you don't want to join the party, leave a comment... 

OR... Do both!  I'd love to hear from you and give your blog or social media account a visit.

Keep piecing,

Melva

Linking with:




12 comments:

  1. Oh boy you hit something there...a reminder not to hurry through everything!! I do get in a get it done quick mode because of my shop. Last year Wendy reminded me to slow down and do something fun...I listened. So thank you for the reminder this year!

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  2. Yes, I read both your blog post and the newsletter for the Pieces of My Life blocks! I enjoy your stories and can always relate them to my experiences, too. If you need to take some time off before the next blocks come out, it won't bother me. Like most quilters, I work on more than one project at a time and I always have something to get caught up on!

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  3. Yes I am aware of your blog posts as well as the newsletters and I read both. I love everything you write and relate to so many things, but you don't have to do both! I am flexible. You are so busy, take some time off! It is something that you recommend for us, so do it, do it, do it! :D

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  4. My Smart-elic machine reminds me to clean her.
    Yes, I know what you mean about embroidery machines. Very temperamental. However, I love notes on blocks.
    Thank you for hosting

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  5. Sewing machines love a good cleaning ;) I'm with you about the "not everything needs to be about getting it done fast" thing. So true. Thank you for sharing, and linking up!

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  6. I have too many things that I want and need to work on

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  7. Hi Melva, it's probably a safe bet to hand-stitch the dates and places, although they are my least favourite thing to stitch (letters & numbers). Good luck - may your trickling water stay like that until it's fixed! I've never been a "fast" person - my teachers used to complain on that...well now I get done what I can. The rest can wait or just not happen (especially house work!) Best of luck this week.

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  8. Hi Melva, it's probably a safe bet to hand-stitch the dates and places, although they are my least favourite thing to stitch (letters & numbers). Good luck - may your trickling water stay like that until it's fixed! I've never been a "fast" person - my teachers used to complain on that...well now I get done what I can. The rest can wait or just not happen (especially house work!) Best of luck this week.

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  9. You remind me I need to clean and oil my machine! Sorry the embroidery isn't working out as planned, but hand stitching can be fun. Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
    https://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2024/10/02/wednesday-wait-loss-401

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  10. Good thing that you took time to clean your machine! I try to remember to clean mine, too! Hope you get your line fixed without the waterworks! :)

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  11. Good afternoon, Melva. I hope you are having a lovely day. My machine will be ready for a good cleaning once I finish my bobbin which is anytime now. I love seeing your camping journal. Great idea on putting the places and dates of your visit. I enjoy reading the stories that you include with each of your blocks, but you are a busy bee and plus with camping you might not always have the time to do that. Just know that we enjoy everything you do so whether one story or two- I know I enjoy each and every post. Hugs.

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  12. Always amazes me how much lint is inside the machine when I clean mine.

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