Reba's Quilts and Machines

March 2020 I received a doll from an estate, that was dear to one of the beneficiaries.  The face and clothes were  extremely dirty and the elastic in the pantaloons had lost the elasticity.  I soaked the dresses in enzyme laundry solution (Shaklee liquid L and nature bright) until the lace brightened and the water was clear.  The face was washed with the same but I stopped scrubbing when I noticed some of the cheek paint had faded.    I then shortened the overdress/ the top layer to expose the hand-embroidered initial of the decedent, then added lace and elastic to the pantaloons, and added the headband with roses made from left over fabric from the overdress. Close up of the hand-embroidered initial on under-dress. Close up of cleaned face and headband I created with leftover fabric and added roses.

This Wilcox and Gibbs machine was purchased for me in the 1990s.  It had completely frozen up, so in late 2019, I took out my trusty q-tips and odorless kerosene and went to work cleaning and loosening the machine.  I got it unfrozen and then recently added the repaired base and belt.  Ray Elkins of Kentucky, who runs the Sew Purty workshops, repaired the base for me and sold me the belt.  Using the skills learned in his workshop, I treated the paint with Howard's Feed and Wax, polished it, and mounted it on the base.  I think it looks fantastic. Here are some photos of the completed machine.  Here is the completed machine mounted on the base with the handle and belt, above. 

In February 2018, I decided to start to create a purse for the upcoming birthday of my good friend Heidi in June. She loves toile fabric, prefers blue toile, and I found an out of print Disney toile print. Her favorite character is Eeyore.  I was so lucky to find a few yards on eBay.  I had to “fussy” cut the Eeyore fabric so Eeyore was centered on the purse sides.   Large panel of Eeyore toile next to deconstructed bottom of Anne Klein briefcase showing silver feet., above.  Close up of Eeyore motif, above. Side of purse with temporary placement of Anne Klein navy patent leather handles.  Navy patent leather handles before removal, above. Close up of Anne Klein hardware, above.  My favorite go-to is Goodwill for purse hardware.  I was able to locate an Anne Klein nylon navy briefcase with navy patent leather handles that looked great next to my toile.  I then purchased a .pdf satchel purse pattern from Etsy.  Deconstructing the nylon briefca...

So my next big project in 2018 was a pair of Birkenstock’s for my friend in Australia.  Nannette has size 43 shoes; she is a tall woman.  She was in a bad car accident at 18 and has suffered problems to her feet as a result  This was exacerbated by an accident on a train platform in Australia, so comfortable shoes are a must.  And what is more comfortable, than a pair of Birkenstock’s?  But they couldn’t be just any Birki’s.  They had to be Louis Vuitton Birki’s because Nannette is an LV nut. I started with a used pair of Birkenstock’s with good platforms from eBay.  I took them to our local cobbler who deconstructed and separated the leather tops from the platform. I then used the Birki leather as a pattern.   I had an LV purse to deconstruct, but there was not enough leather for the necessary 4 straps.  I needed another 2 pieces of leather for the sides, so I shopped at my Goodwill for a red purse with gold buckles. However, upon in...

Singer Centennial from France My french connection has been good to me, being the source of my Jones swan neck and this centennial edition Singer 20. Here are some photos of my gem, obtained in 2018. The Singer 20 came with the original clamp, the one in the front is for a different project. The clamp on the left side, above photo, is the original clamp. The label showing the "Importe D Italie"  Very cool. Another front photo of the Singer. In excellent condition.