Covering a Singer Sewing Machine Case

| JP Dawes Artist

 I am giving my only granddaughter her own sewing machine to learn on. I have a beautiful little black Singer 99 that is a 3/4 size and is recommended for beginners. There are no mother boards or too many dials for her little fingers to mess with. 

We had to make down a larger Singer case to the 3/4 size. This one had come with a 301 but was smashed in shipping. We needed to glue it all back together and reinforce the corners.  It has 2 coats of a high quality latex paint inside. We added 1/4 inch poplar on the sides to fill in the gaps and quarter round with leather on top to cushion the machine when she is sewing with it.  The compartment on the left is lined with felt and will hold the footpedal and electric plug.

 She is such a little princess and like all good princesses her favorite colors are pink and purple. I found these bright fabrics in my stash and they seemed perfect for the job.

The plan is to use decoupage finish to adhere the fabric to the case and to give it a durable finish.  I’ll show photos when its done. I think she is going to love it!

Oh…here’s my tip for anyone who is tired of stuck on lids for their gel mediums and decoupage finishes. Place a small piece of plastic bag on the jar before putting the lid on. Easy Peasy…no more stuck lids.

Lucky me… Thrifting again

| JP Dawes Artist

I’m on a search for a Q-snap floor frame to baste quilts on. So I stopped at a new flea market in the area. There was a box sitting outside that had this stack of fabric and 20 vintage doll clothes patterns. There were Barbie Doll and American Girl Doll patterns so I asked how much they were. I wanted two patterns but the man in charge said I had to take the whole box.

The green is a simple block quilt top, the bright school fabric is 5 yards, Winnie the Pooh, Dora and the Tasmanian Devil playing soccer are 1 to 2 yards and the other juvenile pieces range down to 1/2 yards. Then there is a roll of vintage Raggedy Ann ruffles. 

I said I wanted to do some simple juvenile quilts to practice on my Sunshine 16 so after looking at everything in it I asked how much…”$2 buys the whole box” the man said. “SOLD” said me….and he put the box in the back of my van.  Guess I need to get to work.

My dad’s sewing machine

| JP Dawes Artist



I had previously given my dad [who will be 90 yrs old this fall] my old Viking machine since it is lightweight for him to pick up. He used to make his own boat covers and upholstery so he knows how to sew. Now he just hems pants and sews up ripped seams. Well, there were too many settings and he would get the Viking hopelessly messed up. So in his basement I found my mom’s old Necchi Mira machine that he always used. I had to clean 40 yrs of gunk and oil off it and repair the bobbin winder but it works like a champ. (I had planned on bringing it home to mount in my treadle base. The machine is a depression green color and my treadle cabinet base is painted depression green..and my weaving loom is a Mira so I thought that darn Necchi was just screaming to come live at my house with all those coincidences.) Ron and I moved the Necchi Mira into my mom’s old room so it is easy for him to get to.  I must say that since my mom passed away 3 years ago, that room has looked way too well kept and the addition of the machine and cabinet in there looks very much at home and puts a little life in the house. I think if my mom is looking down on him she approves.

Some day the Mira will come to live with me and that day may come sooner than  I would like. Oh, I tried to convince him that he needs to make a quilt but he didn’t take the bait!

Calypso ATCs in the works

| JP Dawes Artist

This month’s color prompt for Arts in the Cards is Calypso.  I love when a color  like this comes up and makes us scratch our artistic brain for something to represent it.  It just happens that Benjamin Moore  has a calypso blue in their paint chips. 

AND it was a surprise to me that I had hand dyed cheese cloth and hand dyed cotton thread in just that color. 

After stitching the cheesecloth and scraps of ikat fabric I showed you last time onto some burnt sienna fabric, I machine quilted it in a wave pattern. Then I cut it apart into artist trading card sizes.  I’ll use stitches from my favorite book to embellish these. I have some additional hand dyed cotton thread in greens and some wooden beads that may find their way onto these too.

This is the left overs from the cards. Who knows where this might end up?  Check out all the other quilters on Off The Wall Friday . I would love to hear from you. If you would like to join our group of trading card artists, let me know! We have room for 2 more artists.