Hmm - how many machines did I have last time I posted? A couple more have landed since then, somehow. A cosy little nest of solid, elderly German & British machines has developed under the stairs and a few seem to be roosting happily in the shed... I have given some away, but more keep flocking to me. The trouble is, they all have characters, from the cheery little Singer 28Ks, the dinky Vesta Saxonia and her chunky VSIII sister, a pretty little Faudel's by made Mundlos and a "mystery" machine (above) that sews beautifully despite having a broken take-up spring. So it's not easy to decide which ones to give away! And I suppose it's not, strictly speaking, necessary, if they're not getting in anyone's way...

The weather is improving now and starting the quilt looks likely in the next week or so. We've chosen a fabric to base it on, and I think we'll stitch the first block in our very own garden, on the "Tremuddle" which is a 1892 28K on a 1945 treadle with a chunk of 2007 pine doing duty as a tabletop, courtesy of my kind-hearted & curious neighbour. And for my next project, I'm pressganging the old Frister & Rossman treadle we inherited with the house (as a garden table) back into service with a massive, motorless Jones zigzag machine on top - hardly authentic, I know, but at least both bits will be useful, together, where they are no use at all apart. But what shall I use as a tabletop this time? An offcut of black Corian would look best, as long as it would stand the weight...