Saturday, April 15, 2017

Bee Blocks

Hello friends!

Today started off well.  The first thing I decided to work on was a set of four crow blocks requested by one of my April Stash Bees.  They were fairly simple to do except I had trouble with the beaks.  The first one was too small:

The second was too big!  And looked kinda grumpy . . .

But the third one was juuuust right.   :)

And here's the fourth . . .

Then I was almost done with the second bee block and this happened:
My needle came out right in the middle of sewing!  It was jammed down there so hard it took some major prying to get that thing out.  And it was bent up pretty good.  I had a bad feeling about this.  I put in a new one and started sewing again and this is what I got:
I tried everything I know to fix this and nothing worked.  Now, it isn't even doing THIS much.  The thread on top is not catching the thread on the bottom.  I think something underneath has been bent or damaged.  I am not a happy camper.

Since I'm shut down on the sewing front, I'll share a fun picture I took today.  We adopted a kitten in the dead of winter and since it was so cold, he stayed inside the first four months of his life with us.  He's not been outside much and is very hesitant to go outside at all.  Naturally, he's curious about it, but it's a big scary world out there!  And is that snow you see on the mountains?  YES!  It snowed today!  I thought we were done with that kind of weather!  Since we don't have landscaping yet, I'm ok with him staying inside and not tracking in mud.  :)

Last, but not least, another small update on the building project .  The last pictures I showed you looked like this:

Now the backfilling has been done and all the foundation walls have nice neat flat and level ground all around like this!


That's the latest!  Hope you have a great Easter weekend!

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13 comments:

  1. so sorry your needle came out like that - I have had that happen to me several times and now I am paranoid about it check constantly that the screw is tightened, lucky for me I didn't have a bent needle and all was ok with my machine, I hope you have luck fixing it. Love your construction site/work.
    Is that pattern of the bird the one from Sew Fresh Quilts-Lorna? if so I have it but have not started it.

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  2. Oh no. Hopefully your machine isn't damaged. Your bird blocks came out super cute though!

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  3. Cute blocks! Sounds like the timing is out in your machine. That is a bummer :(

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  4. Oh Janice what a disaster, sounds like something is bent or out of alignment. I hope it will be fixed soon. Love the crows, mine are cut out waiting to be stitched. Great progress on the house.

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  5. Oh, Janice, how horrible! I'd be crushed! I'm loving those bird blocks, however. I made a few last year and they were fun, but fiddle. Confession? They don't look nearly as good as yours. I think it's your scrappy background that speaks to me. Good luck getting your machine back in order. XO

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  6. Oh, your machine needs a trip to the ER!! That's a pretty major jam :( I'm sorry that happened to you! At least your got your cute crow birdie blocks finished first. Crossing my fingers that it's a simple (and inexpensive!) fix...

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  7. Oh dear nothing like having a sewing machine not be able to sew when you want it to. Did you try rethreading it...sometimes it's that simple-we can hope anyway. Love that doggy picture, LOL
    Your bird blocks sounded like The Three Bears-to big, to small, just right!

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  8. Great Bee blocks Janice. You have big open skies where you live - it reminds me of places in NZ.

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  9. Ouch on that needle jam!! My needle falls out a lot when I'm using my walking foot, and I go slow, and tighten the screw periodically; still happens. Very frustrating.

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  10. Did you get this straightened out this weekend? I've had that happen before, and I find I have to really clean out all the lint, new needle, rethread, re-insert bobbin, and it usually straightens up! I have a spare machine for you to use at Cynthia Brunz' class, if your isn't fixed this week. :)

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  11. My fear is that your machine may need a tune up. Wonder how that needle managed to work loose?? I love the bird blocks and the fact that they have their own individual beaks :)

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  12. Cute birds!!!! Hope you're machine gets back in line.

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  13. I found the birds and I cannot wait to see them in person. They are so perfectly perfect. Your fabric choices are great...I have a great deal of fabric envy! I love the zipper fabric. Hope all is well with you.

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