I miss walking outdoors with my dog! We have had 6+ inches of snow on the ground since last Sunday. We have had a couple of days with temperatures above freezing in the afternoon with a little melting…but with temperatures dipping at night, the melting snow turns into sheets of ice. And Dog and I don’t like ice. I call him my “ice hound”. He sees ice before I do and will pull me over in the grass or dry pavement. But we miss our morning walks!
After a week plus of not walking, I am feeling the effects. During the winter, I dread putting on multiple layers of clothing and covering all exposed parts of my body, but once I am out there and have warmed up–my walking companion has to spend the first few minutes of the walk accessing his surrounding–I am glad to be out. We don’t walk fast and take a lot of “smell” breaks, but I always feel better, physically and mentally at the end of the route.
Yes, I know I could go somewhere indoors and walk but my walking companion doesn’t like new places or new people. So we are waiting for the “above average” temperatures the weather people have promised to melt all the ice and snow and to start walking again.
Speaking of walking, did you know quilters have a special tool called a “walking foot”
A walking foot is an attachment, also called an even feed foot that was designed to pull the fabric through the machine from the top as well as the bottom.
This is a regular presser foot. It is lowered after the fabric is inserted between the foot and the feed dogs to insure even stitching.
Normally, when the pressure foot is lowered onto the feed dogs, the movement of the feed dogs pulls the fabric past the needle and allows the stitches created from a top thread and bottom thread to be consistent.
When sewing two pieces of cotton fabric together, a walking foot is not needed…the tension from the presser foot on the feed dogs keeps the stitches even and there is no puckering. But when you are sewing with slippery fabrics such as satin or velvet or sewing through several layers–machine quilting a top, batting and backing– a walking foot is a must!
The walking foot has an extra set of feed dogs on top creating equal pressure on the top and bottom. Therefore the walking foot eliminates puckering and fabrics sliding apart.
The major disadvantage is that it can be difficult to attach. The hook on the walking foot must be slid over the needle clamp. I struggle with this maneuver. But it is doable.
I watch Elaine use her walking foot to quilt these fun summer placemats. If you look close you can see the cross hatch stitching on the print center. There isn’t a pucker in sight and it was very important with this pattern that the batting and fabric remained evenly layered.
The summer picnic placemats are backed with the blue fabric that creates the binding. There are 12″ x 16″ and can be yours for $40.
Vicki finished a wall hanging that is perfect for the current season.
Cardinals in a snowy winter forest–This wall hanging is 36″ x 40″ and $75. This recognizes the beauty of winter without the danger of slipping on the ice!!
In closing–some of you may have seen this on Facebook or Instagram with a cute cartoon of an elderly lady.
“A long-running study from the University of Helsinki found that women who regularly engage in traditional “grandma hobbies” such as knitting, sewing, crocheting, and gardening tend to live up to eight years longer on average.”
Much on social media isn’t exactly true, so I looked this up. The link below takes you to a very detailed scientific paper about a study in Finland that lasted 36 years. Yes, it is true–with a lot of other factors. So now when I spend hours at my sewing machine I can say I am doing it for my health!!
Quilts, Etc. 