Washing Laundry By Hand

 Washing Laundry By Hand

Recently my washer was mistakenly disconnected and moved by a neighbor. Then there was the fact they took the hoses off my washer and hooked their washer up to my hot water. So, things happen. Then it was decided that the landlord should hook up and fix the washer situation. This left me about 5 days without my washing machine. Not a huge deal, but yes it is. 

My washer is 36 years old, a Kenmore relabel bought from Sears and Roebuck. It doesn’t owe me a thing, given all the laundry that bringing up children entails, all the quilts, clothes, etc. it is a best friend. So, I panicked, what would I do without my washer.

I started to price washers, just in case when they moved it, it had decided it was done. $600.00 to 999.00 for a washing machine. This led me to an easier solution. I think people take their washing machines for granted, I know I did.  Here is a wonderful video by a family that lives “ off the grid” demonstrating how to do laundry with a washboard. Yes, a simple washboard.

Why You Need A Washboard

So a new washer isn’t in the foreseeable future, and even though my current washer was reconnected, and does work, it is, after all, 36 years old. So I started looking at washboards, wash tubs, washing plungers, and at laundry soap.  I have to say, some of it is expensive because of a recent hip lifestyle of “ off the grid”. I feel some of the items should be more affordable.

I started with a bamboo washboard for 11.99 to get the feel of a washboard. It’s beautiful and works very well, but I didn’t’t stop there because wood wears down with use. There is one company in the United States that has been making washboards since 1895. The Columbus Washboard Company out of Logan, Ohio.  THey have a few different washboards, and some are mentioned in the above video. I purchased the “Standard Family Size” for 52.00. I will be using this one for the general laundry including jeans, sweatshirts, sheets, etc. I also purchased an 11.00 plastic washboard because the surface is very smooth, I can use this for more delicate items.

What I did not purchase is the galvanized washtub, nor a heavy clothes wringer. These are more pricey, and maybe in the future if I have no washing machine at all, I will make these investments, but I don’t think so. Unless you are homeless, you more than likely have a kitchen sink and a bathtub. I feel these are the modern day washtubs. Just in case I am camping or homeless, I purchased three 5 gallon Home Depot buckets that will specifically be for laundry. Wash, Rinse, Carry to clothesline.

Placing a crocheted poncho and Zote soap in the kitchen sink in hot water. I used the Columbus washboard to wash this.

After washing and rinsing in the sink, I am using a mop bucket I already had to wring out the poncho a little at a time, and then will hang it on the line.

Zote soap

The Columbus Standard Family Size washboard

 The Columbus Standard Family Size washboard

Hanging the poncho to dry on a laundry rack.

A few notes: Zote soap is pungent. Not like Dial, Ivory, or Irish Spring. It suds up easily and cleans very well. When I first told family I may not look for a new washer, but might do it all by washboard, most people thought I was , well, wrong. Several said they would never consider not using a washing machine. I have been washing clothes by hand for over 50 years, but most things other than 

'hand-washables" have gone into a washer. I actually currently think it’s easier to do it with a washboard, and not lugging large laundry baskets up and down stairs. A bathtub and an average washer can both use about 30 gallons of water. Five gallon pails or my Genuine Joe mop bucket at 6 gallons are much easier to handle than a 15 gallon washtub or two. My kitchen sink holds 18 gallons of water at a time. According to Google AI, measure your sink WxHx D and then divide by 231 to determine how many gallons it will hold. My sink is 20 inches wide, + 6 inches H +16 inches front to back (D)=48 divided by 231 equals .18 or 18 gallons. It is larger than the average galvanized washtub. 

Genuine Joe Mop Bucket and Wringer

15 gallon galvanized washtub

Clothes wringer

Home Depot buckets

Zote bar soap

Columbus Family Size Standard Washboard

Bamboo Washboard

Plastic Washboard

Update: I did buy a manual clothes wringer. I found one that will clamp to either a washbasin/bucket or a table or counter.

Manual Clothes Wringer

Altogether, buying three washboards, the wringer, three buckets, one large plastic washtub, bar soap, a washing plunger, and a silicone mat to catch water under a laundry rack, I have spent $ 282.23. That’s the least expensive washing method I can find, now that my washer is so old. That's $ 5.43 per week in laundry expenses as far as buying what I need- I'm not sure any of this will ever wear out.

Make your own laundry detergent

Backstrap Weaving

 Backstrap Weaving:

One of the skills I learned many years ago was weaving.  Weaving fabric gives one a way to make their own clothes and household items, usually with the greatest economy of yarn.

Backstrap weaving is a very simple way to weave, utilizing sticks for a back and front beam, a rigid heddle or string heddles, and simple combs or beaters to keep the weft tightly packed.

Regarding Veterans, a backstrap loom can be rolled up into a small package, easy to carry. You can "tie up" to a tree to weave. As homelessness gets worse, for both Veterans and civilians, having a backstrap loom can help you rebuild your textile supplies after eviceion or after being "swept".

I have small backstrap looms premade- if you are a Veteran and would like one, please email me at laeom33@yahoo.com and I can mail you one. It will have a narrow warp on it, a way to get you started and give you a feel for weaving. It will be similar to what is shown.

What isn't shown is a roll bar, but I will include one if I have one.  I have several videos up about Backstrap Weaving at this link.  There are many videos on that playlist, scroll down for any pertaining to backstrap weaving in particular.

Refresher-Weaving Basic Fabric

Backstrap Weaving Long Warp

Wider Warp for Weaving

The Kitchen Sewing Table-Backstrap Woven Pull Over Vest

In addition, there are two or three very good videos from other sources that show the techniques and tools.

From El Salvador

Backstrap Weaving 1

Men's and Women's Weaving from Africa

We should not be afraid to dive right in and make our own fabric, clothes, blankets, reusable paper towels, anything we need.

Violin - Rosin The Bow

If you are taking up the violin for PTSD, stress related issues, or just for fun, the first thing you have to do is rosin the bow. I do this before I tune the violin.

  Violin - Rosin the Bow

PTSD - Language - Music - Violin

 In the past year we have all had something new to face - Covid-19. In addition, both I and my Service Dog have had to have surgery. Miss Coco Bean has actually had two surgeries. Perhaps due to these life-changing events, my PTSD and subsequent seizures have gotten worse.

Much of the time, I lose the ability to speak after a seizure. The PTSD resulting from a car accident many years ago, has wiggled its way into several forms or sets of symptoms over the years, many of which conventional therapy methods do not help with.

Coco is turning 13 this month, and twice now I have had to face a reality that she might not have made it through surgery. She did make it, she is currently fine, but what will I do without her?

My current language issue is not completing a sentence- at any given time or place, or seemingly having two conversations with myself. I will be doing something, and all of a sudden, I am speaking about something entirely different.  I think this may be connected to the fairly common symptom of PTSD and running thoughts- only I speak them - or not.

I am going back to my violins for some help.

Going back to when I was a child, I have played violin, flute, piano, guitar, and worked out some theories regarding PTSD on cello, viola, violin, a recorder (instrument), penny whistle, clay indigenous flute.  Out of those last instruments, I have found the soprano "voice" of the violin is closest to the white noise I hear all the time from PTSD. Only a couple of those instruments inspired me enough to actually take playing to a daily level, and the violin is one of them.

Video link:  (not music) PTSD-Language-Music-Violin

Cecilio CVN300 is a very good starter violin, even when purchased used. They also make a good starter electric/silent violin. You need an amp to project the music. This is a halfway decent small amp to start with for a silent violin.

When I went back to playing a violin, I happened upon "tab" music. Tab is simply an easier way to "read" music. There are several books available for violin in tab, but I have used two from Cindy Miles for several years.

Here is another thing I have discovered about PTSD - My PTSD is from a car accident-when I go in a car it causes seizures for a few hours after the ride. I have recently had a seizure that threw me back to images of Army men and Batman-two recurring themes.

By using "figures" (a Batman 5 inch, Luke Skywalker 4 inch, 3.75 inch G.I.Joes) I have realized that when I go in a car I hear background music. The Star Wars Theme, The Batman Theme, The Marine's Hymn because of a trip to the base my uncle was stationed on.

When I had my car accident, I got "fried" to the Batman theme song- both because my son wasn't killed in the crash and because I loved Batman as a kid. I thought it was the violence of the crash, but it wasn't- it was and is the MUSIC always in the background.

Here's another example - when I was a kid, I LOVED Alvin and the Chipmunks - which and again because of the theme songs of the movies my son used to watch - well the chipmunks became the song "If I Had Words"" (Mice version) from the movie "Babe".

Notice that both songs are surreal and in the Babe song, very high pitched background noise. Very unreal, yet constantly there. I am going to record my playing onto an mp3 player and take the mp3s in the car when I have to go in a car, bringing the background noise to the level of fun listening.

The background noise is a slower calming noise - and real life is where the reality is. It is why I say people with #PTSD are actually normal as they are- I believe we find a way to sustain ourselves inside no matter what we look like "outside".

Below is an example of what "tab" music looks like- from the books by Cindy Miles.

 Thank you for your Service Navy!  This quilt set went today to a U.S. Navy Veteran.

Iused my 1937 Singer 15-88 in a treadle for the larger quilt, and as well for some machine quilting on the medallion quilt. The center design of the medallion was hand-quilted.  Face masks were included!

Face Masks for Veterans

 Last March, 2020, I had made many face masks- both for Veterans and for civilians.  I have designed a few different types. This month, I designed a five-layer face mask, because many people were wearing two layers, and I myself don't like to wear two masks, if I can wear one that has enough layers.

Most of my face masks are two layers of tightly woven cotton. My five-layer masks are that, with an inner, enclosed lining of the surgical mask fabric, which gives a total of five layers.  Because the surgical mask fabric is entirely enclosed, it never gets contaminated.  

White researching this, I found a set of three links regarding the study of how well fabrics block contaminants, including fabrics that people had to rely on last spring.

These links are:

-Scientific Comparison of COVID-19 Face Mask Materials: T-shirts, Socks, Jeans, Vacuum Bags, N95
-Respiratory Protection Engineering Task Force
-Ability of fabric face mask materials to filter ultrafine particles at coughing velocity

 

I recommend reading each of those aspects of the studies if you are making your own masks.  Below is a photo of two five-layer masks - I have made these for and Air Force Veteran and his wife, and a Navy Vet and his wife (so far, I just started these a few days ago).

Rope To Cope

"Point of the Spear" Lucets and a "Rope to Cope" (c) laeom

I'm working on "Point Of The Spear" brass screw lucets for Veterans to make their own "Rope to Cope" (c) laeom . These two angel statues are two of my lucets. PTSD is real.

Luceting a rope gives one the ability to think and resolve their own issues, fears, or accomplishments, and you end up with a truly Personal Rope (c) laeom. PTSD often needs to be focused or controlled and luceting a rope does that.

U.S Army - Spruce Squadron

Face Masks For Veterans

Face Masks For Veterans


I have been making face masks - for Veterans, as well as Elder Services and the Yarmouth Senior Center, two outreach programs for Veterans as well.

Today, 18 masks are going to:

Cape Cod Vet Center
474 West Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601

1-508-778-0214

They will hand them out to any Veterans that need them.
Update- another 15 masks are being mailed to the Cape Cod Vet Center 5-1-20

Another 18 are going to the other agencies today, to be handed out in the community. I had wanted to pay back to the Senior Center and Elder Services, for the services they are keeping available during the pandemic.  I have also given out another 28 to friends or relatives. A beginning!

I designed my pleated face mask pattern using a "procedure mask" as a model about two weeks before the CDC came out with their recommended mask pattern. I modified their mask a bit, for ease of sewing and wearing.

CDC Face Mask Pattern  at the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

My Pleated Face Mask Pattern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jgy_rMMfgQ&feature=youtu.be

MY Video: Disinfecting The Masks You Sew:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHZlW5WoYXs&feature=youtu.be

My Side-Gathered Face Mask Pattern:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC1Bl9TINvU&feature=youtu.be

My Video : Criticism of the CDC Face Mask Pattern : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUqicb8PXZM&feature=youtu.be

I did also write patterns for a knitted mask for re-usable liners, and a mask for a Service Dog,  which I use for artwork, and my dog respectively, and you can also find those on my YouTube channel.

Don't forget to wash your hands!

Video:

Making Sewing Disability Accessible

I am making my machines more accessible for disabilities, perhaps as an example, perhaps as an awareness campaign, perhaps someday to have a sewing group for the disabled, that makes Quilts For Veterans.. My 99-13 can be a knee bar, electric removable motor or a handcrank. My 237s and Spartan can be removable motor, treadle (not the Spartan), or handcrank with the Bishop Sewing Systems handcrank. The 15-91 will be electric or Bishop Sewing Systems handcrank. The 66-1 and 15-88 can be treadle, handcrank or removable motor. Each machine can be adapted to a certain need within 15 minutes or so. I have two modern electrics and two Whites that currently can only be treadles or removable motor (set us for treadle right now). The Bishop Sewing Systems Handcrank:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SINGER-15-sewing-machine-Model-15-And-Model-66-Hand-Crank/163750875941?hash=item2620501325:g:OiYAAOSw4CFYpGHP
(these allow one stitch per turn) I encourage people to read the names of the MIA from their state and write their Congress Representative or Senators or both.

https://www.dpaa.mil/Our-Missing/Korean-War/Korean-War-POW-MIA-List/ Read Their Names Bring Them Home is a current project of mine. Thank A Vet, Never Forget. It is no coincidence that the theme song from M.A.S.H. (The Korean War ) is called "Suicide is Painless"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDon7lYhV8s
-Veteran's Crisis Line is 1-800-273-8255 22 suicides a day by Veterans is 22 too many. For the current moderators on TreadleOn, it's not my problem you thought the subject of disability access in sewing was unpleasant. Life is Fragile. I joined TreadleOn in 1999. It was founded by Dick Wightman, to promote the USE of treadles and handcranks. My Dad couldn't navigate the list, so I also asked his questions about his machines, mainly from the 1870s through 1920s. When he couldn't work on his jeeps like those he drove in Service (under fire the whole time), he worked on sewing machines. I left TreadleOn on February 6, 2020. I'll walk with my Dad over ignorance any day. Thank you Dick Wightman, Capt. Dick, for helping myself and my father for 21 years. https://groups.io/g/Treadleon I need to: buy two Bishop handcranks, buy a feed dog cover plate for the Whites. I already found a vintage free motion foot for a , YES, back-clamping 66-1! Long live sewing for everyone.

I also have handheld stitchers, for piecing. I could potentially have 11 people on large machines and 17 people hand-piecing with handhelds, and 6 more on model 20s. That would be 34 people working to honor Veterans, including me. For a list of all our Wars and my machines:

https://quiltsforveterans.blogspot.com/search/label/War

Video:

1937 Singer 15-88 / 89 and Handcrank Embroidery

Write Your Story, Read Your Story

Write Your Story, Read Your Story

The other day a Veteran kept pointing out to me that somehow my PTSD was different (in the context of how people react to PTSD) because I wasn't a Veteran. The conversation was about an Army Times story about Veterans and socio-economic skills. My feeling is that it is the civilian employers who need to be educated, and that anyone with any kind of military duty should be given respect and understanding when being considered for employment. The Veteran speaking to me felt I was wrong, and that Veterans should be treated like any other person. But they aren't like any other person. Not even like civilians like me who have had PTSD for over 27 years, diagnosed prior to soldiers being diagnosed (as far as I know). Soldiers of any level offer to die for us first. They cannot help but put others first, which is the definition of compassion.

I have seen people look at me differently, suddenly, if they figure out, or are told I have PTSD. "Oh, so you can't handle emotions" is what they say, which is absolutely not what PTSD is. PTSD is a brain trauma, a brain injury, and a person's thinking process changes. It is not either solely emotional, or solely violent, either, or both. It irks me that our "National Center For PTSD" is actually a VA center, does not use civilian cases in their research, and basically, pretends that PTSD was invented by the military. However, they do have some very good resources for PTSD patients. One is a report on a recent breakthrough of a possible blood test to diagnose PTSD (Military Times).

As you can see, my opinions don't always match military assessments of PTSD, I see it from a slightly different angle because mine is from a severe car accident, but my brain has PTSD just like a soldier's brain has PTSD because biologically our brains are the same. So, often, when I find something that works for me, I talk about it, you never know, it might work for you.

I have found that writing my story down, and then reading it - using it as a "continual read", is very beneficial. On the surface, I am reading words like car, hood gone, bank a mile away, where is my son, head trauma, but in reality I am reminding myself of words that balance it- survived, fought ticket, succeeded in court, son is fine, got the car frame rebuilt, etc., all the positives are as remembered as the negatives. It becomes a dialog of the event, yes, but with both good and bad, and being human, most of us hold onto the good more than the bad. So if you have PTSD, I suggest you write your story and then read your story. Not really in journal form or diary form, keep it succinct and to the point. Pretend you are writing a police report, list the facts. That is my suggestion, after many years of journaling myself. Keeping it like a report immediately validates it as an "accident" or "incident", and NOT A CHOICE. I mention it briefly in this video about using bare minimum supplies: 

White 1891 VSIIb Treadle Stitching a Plastic Book

All you really need is a tarp and some chalk, or a brown bag and a pencil, or your favorite pen and paper.

Pieces of America Potholder Quilt(s)

When I was between the ages of 11 and 14, I made a Potholder Quilt. Recently I was able to buy it back, it having been lost in a move many years ago. Each of the squares of this quilt meant something to me: one is my grandmother's house, one is a Howard Johnson's Ice Cream Parlor, and one is all of the Barbies I took everywhere with me. My quilt is made up of Pieces of America.

When I received the Quilt back, it smelled just like the "wayback" of our 1957 (or 60) Chevy Station Wagon, my dog Polly, and someone else's loving cedar chest. My pieces of America had been kept safe for me.

I now want to pass that along to Veteran's and am planning future quilts as potholder quilts. I had looked into this before, but potholders are no longer inexpensive, and many potholders are "designer" or "artist" potholders. I have now found a source for fairly inexpensive potholder loops, Dick Blick Art Supplies, a company I have purchased from as a Fine Artist for over 27 years.

Originally I had found that a potholder quilt would cost about 356.00 for the loops. Using Blick's loops, and purchasing enough at a time to get free shipping, I am able to reduce that cost to 165.00 per quilt.

Below is a picture of my quilt:

I have PTSD, and many of the images I have "seen" in my mind since my car accident have been my quilt. I wasn't able to verbalize this when my quilt first arrived, which I believe is due to my PTSD. I do have two videos up about this quilt:

Vintage Potholder Quilt

Vintage Potholder Quilt 2

I will be setting up a GoFundMe page that will ask for donations totalling 165.00 per quilt for a Pieces of America quilt for a United States Veteran. Each square is really an "acre", a home, a piece of land in America. I will post the GoFundMe link here when I have that set up. I am on a limited income, and all assistance and donations for honoring our Veterans is appreciated.

GoFundMe $495.00 Campaign for Three Pieces of America Potholder Quilts for three homeless Veterans.

Saint Michael, Defend Us In Battle - In Song

Saint Michael, Defend Us In Battle - In Song

Read Their Names Bring Them Home MIA Korean War

A post by me on Twitter June 16, 2019:

@SecPompeo @POTUS @USArmy @USNavy @USMC @usairforce @USCG "So US policy isn't to immediately recover soldiers whatever the cost, but the US does have an obligation to recover everyone eventually." 7800+ MIIA Korean War READ THEIR NAMES BRING THEM HOME

Is "no soldier left behind" an official policy of the US armed forces?

https://www.dpaa.mil/Our-Missing/Korean-War/ … @SenMarkey @SenWarren @USRepKeating READ THEIR NAMES BRING THEM HOME

Does the US PROMISE that no soldier will be left behind? When people enlist, and offer to die for all of rest, do they expect that PROMISE to be kept? A Pledge of Allegiance is a PROMISE to always be true-To each of the people or agencies above, where do you stand on your PROMISE that no soldier will be left behind? I have recently faced a huge moral dilemma about using anything Made in China for Veterans quilts-China backs NK, NK refuses to return 7800+ soldiers. Sewing with American products is almost impossible-so I am using my grandmother's Singer-

1 reply0 retweets0 likes

I can buy hand sewing needles Made in America, can use vintage toy machines- @SINGERCO mfgs in China now, so I thought they were out completely.

Singer never promised to stay in the USA, and what supercedes the name Singer on my machine is my PROMISE to my grandmother. To never give her machine away. Simple. This machine stitched my mother's baby clothes. My grandmother was given it when the seamstress died, and loved it dearly. I PROMISED her I would take care of it - so @SecPompeo and @POTUS and others - WHAT DOES YOUR WORD MEAN?

@SecPompeo @POTUS @USArmy @USNavy @USMC @usairforce @USCG @SenWarren @SenMarkey @USRepKeating YOUR WORD EITHER MATTERS OR IT DOESN'T - READ THEIR NAMES BRING THEM HOME

Thank you Alberta Fickett Skinner, wife of Chester T. Fickett, @USArmy , Battle of the Bulge Purple Heart Recipient, for knowing that my word meant, I Promise. Forever.

READ THEIR NAMES BRING THEM HOME

7800+ MIA Korean War

My Video- Sewing American

My American-made Gateway sewing machine's stitches are not consistent enough to use on a Quilts For Veterans quilt, and the Dexter handheld throat space is too short to add the stars to the quilt blocks.

My beige Singer model 20 with the broken handle supercedes @SINGERCO moving to China because I once saved my brother's life with this machine (details withheld). My brother is a @usairforce Veteran-he wouldn't have been, without my Singer model 20.

I now have a hand-sewing needle on the way from Pam Turner, the only woman in America who makes hand sewing needles, a Promise and my grandmother's Singer 99-13 now a handcrank, and a beige Singer model 20 that needs a new handle. I can do anything.

You see, our words, our deeds, what we give to American Veterans, what we do everyday to thank them, it really does either matter or it doesn't. I think it matters.

Thank you Joe

People are often generous, as was Joe, a seller on Ebay who sold me vintage wooden spools for my machines. The shipping was more than either of us expected, and well, Joe said, "That's Okay" (my words).  Thank you Joe. Each act of kindness is always noticed and appreciated.

Sewing American -Hand Sewing and Hand Quilting

So, what really goes into making a quilt for a Veteran?  You would probably guess that it's fabric, batting, time.  It has become more than that.

Recently I learned that Singer, as a company, only now manufactures their machines in China or Brazil. China backs North Korea, and North Korea, who we are still at war with on the books in Congress, is refusing to return our war dead.  There are over 7800 soldiers MIA Korean War .

The other sewing machine companies that originally would have made my machines are White and Brother. White Sewing Machine Company made my White treadle, but the name is now owned by a holding company, and not used to make machines. In 1986, White Sewing Machine Co. was part of Electrolux of Sweden.  Brother is a company founded in Japan, and my Brother machine is made in China.  So, for the past week or so, I, yes, have been freaking out, because all my machines, even though made many years ago in America or in an allied country, other than the Brother, are, in name, connected to backing China's economy, which supports North Korea, which is still the enemy.

I spent several days asking other sewing machine "people" what they thought, I spent more days trying to tell myself "once they come through customs as available on the US market, sewing machines become American", right? It's been a very bad week. My father loved and collected antique machines.  I had made him at least 3 quilts. It's all connected, and now it's connected to backing China as opposed to the U.S.A.

So, I now am going to hand sew and hand quilt the quilts. But, yes, where are hand sewing needles made?  (At this point I am sure my mother would be telling me to just accept the fact that we do not make these things in America any more). And I'm crying.  There hasn't been a sewing machine made in the U.S since the 1980s, according to sewing people. Hand sewing needles are mostly made in other countries.

So, does "no soldier left behind" count as a truth or not? If we have 7800 MIA Korean War, and using any commonly available sewing machines or needles mean we are backing the enemy - where exactly does that leave us? If China decides to stop exporting, we are going to have some problems. In addition to the large funds our government borrows from China, why isn't anyone changing this?

Yes, it's been a bad week. I am not sure if it is because I had a seizure or if it's because I read the list of names of the 188 soldiers MIA Korean War from Massachusetts.  My father was sent to occupied Berlin during the Korean War, but had his orders been different, he could be on that list. In war, every soldier is a son or daughter of America, we cannot accept that they are left behind.

As of this writing, I am selling most of my sewing machines, and am going back to hand quilting, which I had done exclusively 27 years ago. I told my grandmother I would never sell her machine - it's 1934 Singer 99-13 that I had converted to a handcrank. Until I fully decide what I am doing, I have a motor on it again, preserving it as her machine more than mine.

I looked for hand sewing needles made in America - $5.50 for ONE NEEDLE, while similar needles from Singer made in China or Brazil are $4.54 for 15.  That is America's economy problem.  I have quilting needles from the John James Company, some of them made in England, and leaning on my grandmother's heritage, who was English and Welsh (James/Cook) will "allow" me to use those.

Is it worth $5.50 for one needle for each quilt? Yes, and I will be changing to Spiral Eye Needles at some point in the near future.

Think about it, please, and encourage your Senators and Congressmen to bring our soldiers home.

Made in America, Spiral Eye Needles
South Korea has started the creation of walking trails in the DMZ - tourists will be walking over our War Dead.

Airborne Invasion of Normandy | D-Day Minus One | 1944 | World War 2 Documentary

Yarmouth Senior Center Donation

Thank you to the Yarmouth Senior Center for the donation of approximately 5 yards of fabric- I appreciate it!

Yarmouth Senior Center

Quilts For Veterans Quilts 5 and 6 Progress

This set included two quilts for a Veteran of the United States Air Force.

There is a larger bandanna quilt, and a smaller insignia quilt with the medallion design of the Air Force in the center.  Additionally, I was able to give this Veteran a hand-woven scarf of hand-spun yarn in the style of a Flying Ace.

The machines that stitched these items were a 1937 Singer 15-88 treadle, an 1891 White Treadle, and a 1952 Singer 15-91.  

This set was able to be shipped with the generosity of donors to my GoFundMe shipping page

Thank You For Your Support!