Catch-Up Saturday!

I have not documented my projects in a long while. My goal with this blog is to keep projects and progress alive in my head and keep me motivated and maybe I won't waste time playing mahjong solitaire. Not that wasting time is bad necessarily, but I do get so much more satisfaction out of completing projects...it's just the procrastination!

When Miz Margo left for the East Coast, I made her a little gifty - an embroidered spider hankie. I had such beginners luck with my first embroidery project - it came out just as I'd hoped.

My new sewing machine (yay) has a foot I'd never used before, to make rolled hems, so my hankies could have a prettier edge.

I also had a lovely and talented friend, Miss Ginger O'Shea, over to teach me a few sewing tips. I am not good with zippers and so she showed me how to put in an invisible zipper. And she showed me how to use my serger machine. I bought an old used Singer serger a long time ago and didn't know how to use it. It still doesn't work quite right. I bought a manual and can't find it! Searching...searching.

And finally, I've been scanning family photographs. A long overdue project to create a family archive. I got a new scanner that is much faster, so once I get all the photos I have into digital form, I'll gather those from my dad and sisters.

One of my favorite pics of my parents and sister Sue.

My parents look completely exhausted and probably are thinking of ditching the kids (my two sisters...just before my time) and having a nice cocktail away from children and Mickey Mouse. Such good memories of Disneyland!!

Now for another cup of coffee and a bit of work on my vintage blouse project.

Sewing Work

No pictures as yet, but I've been patiently perfecting the new stitch I learned on my NEW sewing machine (my x-mas present to myself)...the rolled hem. It looks so lovely, oh I'm so smitten, but it's the corners, the corners...but I'm getting the hang of it with a bit of experimentation and practice.

I think I'll actually sew this winter! My new spaceheater works great and I don't feel like a suffering Bob Cratchit, bent over my work shivering. Yay!

Okay, off to work preparations!

Sewing Machine Tension All Kaflooie

Oh dear. I think I messed up my already shaky sewing machine running all that elastic thread through it via the bobbin a few months ago. The machine was a lovely gift from my sweet man, although I think it's time has come - the sewing machine, not the man! He's a keeper, but I must find a new machine with which to sew.

Couldn't find any definitive "this is the best," "this is the worst" reviews, just tons of links to amazon reviews, which are all over the place. Today I did find an article that is helpful http://stason.org/TULARC/crafts/textiles/3-What-s-The-Best-Brand-Of-Sewing-Machines-Or-Sergers.html I really want an old vintage Pfaff, although I want a machine I can use now. So my decision after much debate is to buy a new machine and then I'll have something to use while I look for the perfect vintage model.

I could possibly just keep fixing the tension (the biggest problem), my Singer sewing machine repair guy did show me how to fix the tension on my own - recording the how-to below to assist my memory.

1. Open slide plate/bobbin cover

2. Remove needle plate - just lift up and slide to the right.

3. Slide bobbin case holder off the edge of the bobbin case.

4. Lift out the bobbin case.

5. With a small standard screwdriver, tighten the two tension screws.

I've been told under normal circumstances, the tension should be set between 3-4, somewhere around there. Much more of less and something's wrong. I should see even stitches on either side. If you see the loops popping up on top, the tension is too high, loops popping up below, too loose. I think I've got that right...might be the other way around, I'll have to double-check.

Anyway, off to Apparel City Sewing Machines on Howard Street. Jumping in a Zipcar near work and heading over on my lunch hour one day this week.