5/9/14

Destruction and Mayhem

Sue and I managed to find a little sliver of dry weather when we went for our morning walk. The Weather Channel wasn't very optimistic this morning, predicting an 80% chance of rain. It rained all day yesterday and it was gray and cold when we started out. I was wearing my rain gear, which I've come to think of as my insurance policy against wet weather. We walked for an hour with nary a drop when the drizzle started up just as we were returning to our cars. The universe smiled on us as usual.

So after that I picked up some bean sprouts at the grocery store. My local grocery store won't carry them any more. They've had so many problems with sprout recalls that they've decided to cut their losses and stop carrying them altogether. I can hardly blame them, but it means I have to go elsewhere for my occasional bean sprout fix. After that I came home and went back to my quilting. For today I decided I would stipple the sashings and do some little hearts with flourishes in the cornerstones:


It's a little off kilter. I might decide to redo it, but for now, I left it alone. And I was sewing along when...


Crunch!! Given the horrible sound I heard, this is what I expected to see when I looked up from my needle. At first, I thought I'd left a pin inside the quilt and hit it with the needle, but the needle looked fine. The thread had broken, but otherwise, I couldn't see anything amiss. Then I looked underneath to quilt to find that the bobbin had popped out of the casing. 

If you've ever been happily sewing away only to have the Titanic strike an iceberg, then you know I tried everything to get it running again. I changed needles (just in case), rethreaded the needle twice, rethreaded the bobbin, oiled it, cleaned it, took apart everything I could safely take apart, changed feet, turned the machine off and on...twice...all to no avail. When I tried to sew, the machine literally spit the bobbin into my lap. When I could actually get it to sew a few inches, the tension was completely off. Finally, I gave up and took it to my friendly local repairman. 


(Yes! That actually is my repair place! I just love that "ACE" name. The only name better would be "Acme".)

Now I hardly know what to do with myself as you might imagine. I suppose I could do housework, which brings to mind this:


Yeah, that's one idea. On the other hand, this might be a better choice:


Just kidding...sort of. Actually, I decided to set up my little Janome that has been locked in the closet for so long that I could probably be charged with some kind of child neglect.


Now that I've been sewing on Big Bertha for the past year, this little Janome feels like sewing on a toy. After so long, I wasn't sure I could remember how to thread the needle, but I got 'er done without even consulting the manual. I guess I'm going to be doing some of those smaller projects for the next couple of days. I hope the machine comes back in time for me to finish my quilt before the end of the month. C'est la vie, right?

So I couldn't quite bring myself to go back to sewing without an appropriate period of mourning for Big Bertha. I decided to go out and plant the green leaf lettuce. I'm trying a new seed since my first round never germinated.


And, yes, I did manage to squirt the seed packet with the hose right away. It's probably just as well that I've removed myself from the room with all the sharp objects. Hopefully, this will germinated quickly


because the red leaf lettuce waits for no one. It's doing just fine.


And the tomatoes are doing well too. We had to hit them with some sulphur dust last week. I had problems with sucking insects on the tomatoes last year. I can't see anything other than the telltale yellow spots that appear on the foliage. I was in denial about it last year until the foliage started looking really terrible. This year, I got on it at the first sign of anything amiss.


So they're approaching the tops of their stakes now, and their stems are getting nice and thick. Probably in the next month or so, I'll be repotting them into their largest pots of the season. The basil and dill are looking good too.

Once I had that done, I noticed that one of the iris has opened up. It's not the best time for them because when it rains like it has been, they fill up with water and rot. Hopefully, the sun will shine soon and the rest of the iris will be spared.


So that's my day...not the best, but nobody has died, and that's always my bellwether on how any given day is going. If nobody has died, it can't be all bad.

14 comments:

WoolenSails said...

That is the worst, especially when we are in a big project and with you, you are always sewing something, so not fun to be without your main machine. Your gardens are coming along beautifully though, I am behind as usual so I will probably have to buy starter plants.

Debbie

Val's Quilting Studio said...

My machine went in for maintenance today too!!! Been making a clunking sound...though to my surprise I found out upon drop off I was using the wrong bobbin! I still left it for a cleaning...as it's been three years after all!!! We;ve had rain and wind.

Sherry said...

Oh my I do hope Big Bertha gets off the injured list soon. Hope her condition isn't serious. But sounds like you will be finding a way to cope til her return.

Junebug613 said...

I'm happy that you both got to enjoy your walk before the rain. I am sorry to hear that Big Bertha is "ill". I only have small, simple machines, but they each have their unique features that I'm comfortable with. My oddball model Janome doesn't satin stitch as nicely as my Viking, for example. I also know the feeling of sewing on a "toy", since we have heavy duty, commercial machines at work for making the tents, and then I come home to my little machines to make my quilts.

quiltzyx said...

So sorry to hear Big Bertha's in the hospital. Hope all is well & she's home & stitching again ASAP!

The greenhouse is looking good. Seeing your red leaf lettuce growing makes me glad I have some baby spinach at home to make a salad!! (Working the late shift today, 4:30 - 8pm)

Brown Family said...

I have never heard of the bobbin jumping out! That is terrible! Hopefully she will be all well and home soon.

ipatchandquilt said...

I have had problems with bobbins slipping/jumping. We ordered a new bobbincase and everything is back to normal!
Esther

Beth said...

Man, I'm glad that you have the binding sewn onto Intel Underneath already! I'd hate to see anything get in the way of the big reveal.

Dana Gaffney said...

I'm so sorry that she's sick, but the little Janome will be happy for a little while.

Jane Holbrook said...

Barbara, I enjoy your writing style, so clever with words and funny photos. I can tell we are kindred spirits! I appreciate the garden ideas, and comments, although my garden has different issues since it is high mountain desert here in Riggins. Your quilted heart is a sweet design. Can't wait to see more of your work. Happy Creating!

Teresa in Music City said...

So sorry about Big Bertha! I suppose she really needed a spa day :) Of course, her spa days usually cost much more than yours LOL!!!

Kate said...

I hate it when the sewing machine needs first aid. Hope she comes home soon.

Tami C said...

Sorry Big Bertha is in the shop. I gave up on mine after finding out it would cost more to fix it than I had paid for it new. My friend Marianne fixed me up with a Singer 306K that she had picked up for a good price!

Lyndsey said...

So sorry to hear Big Bertha is in hospital. I hope she gets fixed soon. My machine did a similar thing last year and was away for two weeks. It was almost as bad as having one of the family in hospital. Well actually worse since you can visit your family and know they are being cared for properly.