Problem solved for 53 cents!

Yesterday I resolved to do one hour of hand quilting on an old UFO.  When I got it out of the closet and brought it downstairs with the quilt frame, the quilt frame was missing a wing nut (and a washer, as it turns out) and I didn't know when or where they'd gone missing, so I figured I was done until I made it to a hardware store.  I blogged about this yesterday.

To solve the problem with the missing wing nut, and as it turns out also washer, I went to my helpful neighborhood hardware store this afternoon.  After digging around in the washer and wing nut drawers for ten minutes or so, I solved the dilemma.  It cost me 73 cents to get out of there because I had a brain cramp and got two washers when I only needed one.  Oh well!  Maybe I'll tape the spare onto the frame somewhere!

The following picture is of the backside of the hand quilting frame for my quilt by the block quilt.  The green is the quilt backing.  The red print is part of the stretcher bar frame.  I've had this since the mid-70s too.  As long as I've had the quilt, or close to it!

The washer and wing nut in upper part of picture are the part that needed to be replaced.

Here's what the same area looks like from the front.

The front of the quilt block in the stretcher bar frame.  The block is safety pinned onto the red fabric leaders.  The screw at the top is what the front of the fixed area looks like.

And here is what more of the block looks like.  This poor thing has been straight pin basted for years and years and years.  As I pulled some of the straight pins out tonight while I hand quilted there was some rust.  But luckily none of it shows too bad on the block.

The lemoyne star block that I am currently working on.  

There are already completed 11 out of the 25 blocks.  I worked on this for about an hour and a half tonight.  First hand quilting I have done in probably 20 years.  The quilting is a little rough.  I think I need to find a thimble and a light bulb!  They might help!  The picture above is before I started any quilting on it.  I think I'll save a picture until link up next week!  

My quilt blog is called "Thanks to her . . ." and refers to Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame.  I will probably gush about her every chance I get.  But this quilt reminds me that there is a him that I need to thank.  My DH.  He is a late- and an ex-DH as he passed away in 1979 about three years after we divorced, amicably.  But he got me interested in handiwork when we were first together.  And I was married to him when I ordered this kit.  So the beginnings of my hobby (hobbies) are really due to him, even though I had done sewing prior to that.  He got me started in crewel embroidery by getting me a few wonderful kits.  I also dabbled in counted cross stitch, macrame' and a few others.  And I currently have a weaving loom, which lives at my other house.  So thank you, Bob, for getting me started down this path!