So Close!

A post not about baby guinea pigs?!?  Yup - let's briefly go back to the Crafts portion of my blog.  In between watching Snap, Crackle and Pop's goofy antics, I'm trying to finish up some projects as the next Project Quilting challenge drops.

My favorite second-to-last step of a quilt is cutting off the edges after machine stitching the binding.  Oh, look at those clean edges!  The only thing that looks cleaner is a fully bound quilt!  The recipient arrived into this world last week - so it's time to get this done and delivered!

The experimental repair is close to done as well.  Rob took on replacing the timing belt on my old Singer 714.  Years ago I had been told by a repair guy that the cost of replacing it would be prohibitive from the labor.  I had purchased a similar replacement machine (a 716) and we decided to tackle the 714 to see if we could fix it ourselves.  It was only good for parts as it was, so what was the worst we could do to it?

Replacement parts (most of which could be replaced with new pieces - one he had to find a used piece) were inexpensive.  However, as the repair progressed, Rob needed a few more pieces than we anticipated.  It took hours for him to complete the whole thing, but not bad considering he had never pulled apart a sewing machine before.  Removing the timing belt required pulling apart most of the top innards of the machine.

At this point, I need to do a test run to confirm the timing, tension and overall working condition.  Final test can't be done until August (the timing belt jumped when it was humid out).  But I'm fully impressed with Rob's work.

Sharing with:
QuiltFabrication - Midweek Makers
My Quilt Infatuation - Needle & Thread Thursday