Video: Chatty Tour of my 1977 Triumph Spitfire

Video: FIX A SMOKING BUG | Replace a Coil

Have a smoking bug that's not running smoothly?  Maybe you need to replace the coil on your beetle with a coil that has a built-in resistor.

*This is what worked for us, but please consult a mechanic if you think there's something more serious going on.

Blog posts about the bug

Car video playlist

Sewing & Embroidery: Car Show Tag

When you go to car shows, you sometimes see slips of paper in the front windshield to tell you the year, make, and model of the car.  Most of the time you just have to guess what year the car is.  If the owner is standing around, you can ask them.  What if the owner, which may be you, is also walking around checking out cars?  I made a little hang tag to answer that question!  I also stuck my web address on it since I blog about the car.

Here's how I did it!

I used the buggy design from Lynnie Pinnie.  On my embroidery machine, I skipped some stitches and skipped the appliqué.  I wanted it to look more like a sketch.

I used a font from within the Sew What Pro program.  I've read in Facebook groups not to use them.  Well, I wanted to try it out, and I learned my lesson.  Don't use them!  They don't stitch out very nicely.

I sewed quilting batting to the back piece of fabric.

I sewed the front and back fabric pieces right sides together.  Leave a large enough opening to turn it inside out.  I had to use a seam ripper to make a larger opening than what is shown in the picture.

Turn inside out and topstitch.  I secured a ribbon to hang it by as I topstitched.  I should have sewn the ribbon in when I originally sewed the fabric right sides together.  Note for next time.

I used a Sharpie to write my website.  We'll call this mixed media ;).  This project is far from perfect, but I wanted this to be fun, and I didn't make any patterns or plans before I started making it.  Sometimes it's nice to just create as you go.

It's ready to hang from the rearview mirror for the next car show!

VW Week | Day Seven: Post Wrap-Up

The day I picked up the Bug:

Finished Restoration:

Enjoying my ride!

Well, it's been a fun journey to share with you the restoration of my 1971 VW Super Beetle Cabriolet/Convertible.

I, of course, will share any updates or fun finds.  In the meantime, you can check out my past posts below if you've missed any.  I'll update this blog entry as new posts are added to the list.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

All VW posts in order from first (oldest) to most recent:

• My Childhood Dream Come True!
• Super Beetle Update
• Pictures from the Day We Got the Beetle
• I Drove the Beetle!
• Beetle Mania
• VW Beetle Update
• Beetle Bits
• Embroidered VW Shirt
• VW Week | Day One
• VW Week | Day Two: Convertible Installation
• VW Week | Day Three: Beetle Exterior
• VW Week | Day Four: Beetle Interior
• VW Week | Day Five: Handmade Beetle Patch for Bag
• VW Week | Day Six: Beetle Cruising
• Quilted and Embroidered Hang Tag for Car Shows
• Dreaming of Summer Days in the Beetle

VW Week | Day Six: Beetle Cruising

The weekend is here!  It's time to go cruising and enjoy Memorial Day weekend!

It's almost the end of VW Week!  Head on over to Twitter and Instagram for today's challenge.

Twitter: @marlaplainsmall

Facebook: Marla, Plain & Small

Instagram: @marlaplainandsmall

Youtube: Marla, Plain & Small

VW Week | Day Five: Handmade Beetle Patch for a Bag

One great thing about Volkswagen is there is such great merchandise out there.  There are few cars that have bags, wallets, posters, you-name-it geared towards people that love a car they may not even own!

I owned VW shirts and keychains before I ever owned a VW! My first VW was a 2003 Beetle.  It was so much fun.  I loved driving that car.  As a child and teenager I was always drawn to VW merchandise and often bought clothes or toys resembling Beetles.

This is the only picture I could find of my red Bug!  This picture was taken my senior year in college, and the other cars were my roommates'.

Now that I own a VW again, I can buy Beetle merchandise without feeling like an imposter (for the record...if you like it, I think you should buy it even if you don't own a VW :) ).

I found a bag I really liked from JBugs.  They have some neat merchandise.  The problem was the bag had a VW Bus on it, not a convertible Beetle.  Here's the bag:

I decided I would just have to make my own patch!  I found a Beetle drawing (below) that I liked.

source

I printed out the picture, then I traced it with a Sharpie.  This helped me simplify the drawing a bit more to decide what lines to sew.  If you are sewing on a piece of fabric that's lightweight like cotton, you can trace the car with the fabric underneath.  The Sharpie should go through the paper and transfer onto the fabric. 

If you use felt like I did, the Sharpie probably won't transfer onto the felt.  I made a couple of cuts through the paper using the edge of my scissors and then traced the cuts with the Sharpie.  It had a stencil-like effect.  For the most part, I had to draw the car by hand.  That's why it's not as proportional (or as good looking) as the original drawing.

 

The next step is to stitch the patch.  You can sew it directly onto the bag you want.  I was having commitment issues with deciding which bag I wanted my patch on.  So I decided to make the patch and then just pin it on so I could move it from bag to bag.

Put an embroidery foot on your sewing machine, making sure to get the right one for your machine.  You'll also need to lower the feeders (the little iron feet that move the fabric along) on your machine.  This will allow you to move your fabric when and how you choose, and the foot will allow you to stitch more freely.

I used white thread to stitch and just worked my way around the design, stitching on top of the Sharpie lines.  Then I trimmed around the design and cut out the headlights.

I used safety pins to attach the patch to the bag.  I pinned it from inside the bag so you wouldn't notice the pins.  This is the bag I use when I'm driving the Beetle.  It fits my purse, diapers and wipes and other baby items, and miscellaneous items.  When you drive a convertible, you can't secure everything you can normally in a car, so I use this bag to hold items that I need to take with me when I'm shopping.

I think I'll try this again with linen and a fun thread color and make it larger.  If only I could commit to a bag for it!  I think it would also be cute on a jean jacket.

Don't have a sewing machine?  After you trace the design, you could use needle and thread to stitch by hand.  Since this doesn't have to be perfect, you could do fun stitch patterns!

Head to Instagram and Twitter for today's challenge!

Twitter: @marlaplainsmall

Facebook: Marla, Plain & Small

Instagram: @marlaplainandsmall

Youtube: Marla, Plain & Small

VW Week | Day Four: Beetle Interior

Day we picked up the Bug:

Now it looks new!

The Bug has all new carpet and seat belts.  Just about everything else that you see is original.  The seats are original and in great condition.  In the video you'll see I put seat covers from Walmart on the bucket seats.  That's purely because the original vinyl gets really hot when the top is down.

We kept the dashboard original.  It was in excellent shape.  The radio is AM only.  You can buy stereos that look vintage, but I didn't want to alter the dash.  With technology today, you can find other ways to listen to music (and for much cheaper!).  I bought a HMDX HX-P120GY HoMedics Neutron Wireless Suction Speaker that links to my phone for music and hands-free calls.  It also has a suction cup on it, so you can put it just about anywhere in the car.

 

After looking through the paperwork that came with the car, my guess is I'm around the fifth owner.  The car was originally purchased in 1971 in Newport News, Virginia.  From there I know that two different people owned it in Mississippi, and I purchased it from a friend in Louisiana.  The car now lives with me in Arkansas.  The Beetle has traveled quite a bit!

Now, hope on over to Instagram and Twitter to post your daily challenge pictures!

Twitter: @marlaplainsmall

Facebook: Marla, Plain & Small

Instagram: @marlaplainandsmall

Youtube: Marla, Plain & Small