Should quilters have to mend? They should if the cover on the pontoon boat is getting old and in need of repair! When we put the boat in the lake this past May, there were seven areas that needed patching – ugh. Fortunately my old Bernina is quite portable. We ran an extension cord from the boat house and the “fun” began.
After a few inches of stitching I broke a needle. I called a yarn shop in the nearby town of Horicon. They didn’t sell sewing machines needles, but the owner said she would run home and see if she had any! I love small town America! Mike and I made the short trip to Horicon to get the needles from this dear woman, and we grabbed lunch at a brat stand (as in bratwurst) too, before we headed back to the cottage to try again.
The cover was heavy and stiff, and the tears were in the middle of it (of course).
I thanked Mike for taking photos and then suggested he put the phone down and “help”! With both of us rolling the cover under the arm of the machine, and quite a bit of pushing and pulling, we got ‘er done! The stitching isn’t pretty, but I think it will hold.
The weather was beautiful, and I have a sense of accomplishment, but I can’t wait to get back to quilting in my studio.
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And one more thing…
My friend Sue recently emailed to ask how to search for a topic on my blog. If you’ve struggled with this too, this information should help:
When on a computer make sure you are on the main blog page by clicking on “blog” in the menu at the top. The “search” box should appear on the upper right.
If you’re on phone or tablet, do the same thing to assure you’re on the main blog page (here’s a screenshot from my phone):
then scroll all the way to the bottom of that page. This will take a while (usually through about 8 previous posts), but at the end a “search” box will appear (here’s another screenshot):
I wish the WordPress site I use for my blog would make this easier, but it is what it is 😊.
judy raddatz says
Difficult project but the view was priceless!
Shellie Freisinger says
Your post made me smile. I have made covers for boat windshields, boat motors, and firepits. Made many canvas hunting blinds and repaired spring steel pop up blinds.
Camille Venners says
This post gave me a chuckle as I recalled a similar project. My husband and I repaired tears in the sail of our sunfish sailboat. Unrigging it would have been prudent, but time consuming, so… he manipulated the mast and the boom as I stitched patches onto the sail. Those patches are still viable after 15 years of the grandchildren’s use (and abuse) sailing on the lake.
Julie Vandermause says
I’ve done that, no easy task but u did it, yeh, I use a size 18 & sometimes 16 leather needle for the sail bags I make. The fabric is a nightmare as it doesn’t hold pins or clips, very slippery!!! Oh the challenges of sewing never end but I love it!!Ever so grateful to be able to do it again after this last bout of carsinosarcoma uterine cancer. Praise God!!! You have quite the hill to the cottage, wow!!!! Enjoyed the post as always. Keep ’em coming. We all learn so much from you!!!!
Crystal Gaeth says
Thank you so much for your detailed instructions on how to enlarge a photo or pattern using Excel! This information will solve a number of problems for me and will make possible things I would like to do.
Donna says
Isn’t it amazing what we will do for our families? Many years ago, my now 50 year old son wanted me to figure out a cloth gun case for deer hunting. It had to be soft material so that he could put it around his neck and inside his coat when he was walking fields, but heavy enough to put his gun in while traveling by truck on the road.
Needless to say, I had a big stash of heavy weight flannel that I was going to make farm shirts out of; that became the casing and old jean legs sewn on the end make it strong enough so he could carry it with a strap made out of denim long the side, I finished it off with a draw string at the larger end, that was sewn in the seem in one spot so he wouldn’t pull it out completely. After his hunting buddies saw it he came home and requested 7 more, and I head all of them done within a day.
Doris Ast says
I, too had to patch and fix a boat cover for my son and did it on my dining table top-not something I like to do, but it all worked out. He does many favors for me. When you can’t use pins, use Elmer’s Glue. It is great for many things especially when a pin distorts the fabric.