My Faithful Friend Kenny Moore

Needing a change of creative paced, I switched my creative ventures this weekend. I spent the weekend tucked inside with three good friends, a couple of sewing machines, two awesome irons, several unfinished projects, yards and yards of fabrics and miles and miles of thread. My goals were simple. Hang out with friends, finish some "started" projects.

My plans started out a bit foiled. My new Singer sewing machine, bought back in January, seemed to have a mind of it's own. It would sew a few stitches . . . beep a few times . . . and stop. A continuous error that my thread was broken. You know something? I don't need a machine to tell me my thread is broken. I've had no trouble figuring this out in the past on my own. But if a machine is going to tell you that the thread is broken, it would be nice if it were an accurate warning. My thread was not broken. I re-threaded that machine repeatedly. I unplugged. I plugged. I changed tension. I tried every suggestion offered by my friends. I talked to it. I swore at it. I threatened it. Then I re-threaded again. Alas it was not to be. In constant stop and go fashion . . . and I mean sew three-quarters of inch, beep, beep, beep, stop . . . wait for the warning to clear . . . REPEAT! It took nearly two hours to finish a border on my "Diamonds by Judith" quilt top (pictured above with it's vibrant hydrangea purples and greens). At this rate, it's going to be a long, long weekend.

And so I turned to an old friend . . . Kenny Moore! Alright, so it's Kenmore . . . my Sears sewing machine that I have had a 21-year relationship with. Together we made countless dresses for my girls when they were growing up. We made curtains, a few quilts, many Halloween costumes, doll clothes, pajamas . . . and after 21 years of hard work I decided it was time for an upgrade. So I got the Singer. Old Kenny was tucked away for months and months in a dark case. He was likely feeling forgotten. But did Kenny hold a grudge? No. Kenny shows up and just rises to the challenge. Typical man! They don't hold grudges the way women do (yes, they hold them, but I think women are much more apt to hold a grudge). Kenny just wanted to prove himself. And so he did. He only broke his thread once (and it was likely my fault).

Kenny and I decided that we couldn't finish my Orion Star quilt, started back in March on the Singer. We collectively agreed that his seams might cause the blocks to be differently sized from the original block done on the Singer. So Orion Star was put on the back burner. A new project was born. A little pinwheel quilt in blues and yellows. I spent the afternoon cutting, and cutting, and cutting. I had a pile of yellow, blue and cream fabric. I was facing some techniques I'd never done before. I had to make 72 prairie points. I'd never made a prairie point . . . but 72? There are many "points" that don't match up in my seams. Ask me if I care? I don't. I'm proud of each and every mistake that Kenny and I made.

Moral of the story . . . old friends don't let you down. Kenny and me were best buddies again this weekend. And since I still have to finish that pinwheel quilt, he is now perched right next to the Singer . . . and I think he's flexing his little muscles.

My Singer . . . well she and I had more words tonight. I guess it was a misunderstanding, because today she is working just fine. She's not talking. Typical.