Last week was busy including - unfortunately - a medical emergency with one of the men working on my renovations. It zapped my energy more than I thought so none of the plans I had to paint, wallpaper, or clean the garage happened. Mostly, I talked on the phone and caught up with friends, read, did a bit of mindless sewing, and moved slow. This is good.
A control foot arrived in Friday's mail only - SIGH - it wasn't the correct one for my Bernina so I'm still trying to figure that out and waiting to hear back from the shop where I bought it. You'd think they'd know that an addicted sewist without a control foot calls for desperate measures... or perhaps, it's an every day event for them. Without the control foot, or the presser feet I need for the back-up machine, simple stuff was best so...
... I finally finished a task I'd been putting off - a new cover for my sleeve board. What's so funny about this is that the sleeve board is my favourite tool and one I use every day. I even take it to workshops with me! The old cover was done and irritatingly lifting off the board and even so, a new one wasn't getting sewn. I imagine you know how that goes.
My not so brainy idea was to use an ironing board cover to cut the smaller sleeve board pieces from because I thought it would come with half decent padding only not in this case. It was more like a flat piece of polyester. I wondered how well it would survive long term use with extensive steam and heat so...
... I added two layers of cotton batting underneath once the cover was complete. To make the pattern, I pinned the old cover to the ironing board material and then used the edge of the presser foot to enlarge it slightly, cut on the stitched line, zigzag finished the raw edges, and added bias tape all around for a casing.
And then I thought about an upcoming gift exchange with a friend and two others that are having birthdays in early February and they all sew so I decided to make two more covers making three for them and then sew a different one for myself.
All I need now is someone to cut out the parts of three more sleeve boards so I can screw them together, cover them, put them in a box, wrap them, send them, and happy gift. Hopefully one of the workmen, or a friend who likes woodworking, will be able to do them for me otherwise I'll need to go to my storage unit and find the tools to do it myself. I'd rather not. I'd rather continue setting up the house first. I didn't plan to deal with tools until spring.
All I need now is someone to cut out the parts of three more sleeve boards so I can screw them together, cover them, put them in a box, wrap them, send them, and happy gift. Hopefully one of the workmen, or a friend who likes woodworking, will be able to do them for me otherwise I'll need to go to my storage unit and find the tools to do it myself. I'd rather not. I'd rather continue setting up the house first. I didn't plan to deal with tools until spring.
My cover ended up being sewn out of denim scraps and leftover polka-dot bias. I continue to be amazed at what I can do with bits and pieces that at one time I would have thrown out. It's like a free cover. YES YES!
And then, on Monday, I drove to Vernon to the dealer's shop to get feet for my back-up machine... which I managed to do... as painful as the experience was... by basically hand holding and selling them to myself. The one above left is an embroidery/free motion foot and the one on the right is a candlewicking foot although I bought it because it's open and will be easy to see through.
The saleswoman didn't know, and didn't seem to care to know, anything about this brand of machines even though they are the dealer. She couldn't answer any questions, didn't want to open the packaging to try the feet on their own machines because then they'd be used, and had to be prompted to look online for the information we needed. I'd taken a foot from my machine and finally convinced her to try it on a floor model and then sell me feet that would fit that model. It took repeated prompting. She couldn't understand why I wanted parts for this brand when she's only sold a couple of them in the three years she's been selling machines and hundreds of Janome's. Hmm... maybe because that's the brand I have. Just saying!
BUT... it'll make life a lot easier while I wait for the control foot for my Bernina. I've realized that it's not enough to have a back-up machine. It also needs to have all the accessories that I am used to using so that if it is required, as in the case right now, it is completely ready to go. I may trade it in for a Janome but only because that is the brand sold at the shop in my city and because I've had one in the past and really liked it. But not now. Right now, I want to sew.
What is your favourite tool?
The saleswoman didn't know, and didn't seem to care to know, anything about this brand of machines even though they are the dealer. She couldn't answer any questions, didn't want to open the packaging to try the feet on their own machines because then they'd be used, and had to be prompted to look online for the information we needed. I'd taken a foot from my machine and finally convinced her to try it on a floor model and then sell me feet that would fit that model. It took repeated prompting. She couldn't understand why I wanted parts for this brand when she's only sold a couple of them in the three years she's been selling machines and hundreds of Janome's. Hmm... maybe because that's the brand I have. Just saying!
BUT... it'll make life a lot easier while I wait for the control foot for my Bernina. I've realized that it's not enough to have a back-up machine. It also needs to have all the accessories that I am used to using so that if it is required, as in the case right now, it is completely ready to go. I may trade it in for a Janome but only because that is the brand sold at the shop in my city and because I've had one in the past and really liked it. But not now. Right now, I want to sew.
What is your favourite tool?
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - presser feet for my back-up machine
Grateful - presser feet for my back-up machine
Though I love my sewing machines, and all the tools in my studio, I think my favorite tool, If I can identify it as such is my journal. I plan, dream, sketch, organize, discard and play with ideas via the journal then take it to my knitting, sewing, dyeing, stenciling and everything else or not. It's where my ideas first start to emerge, and they can travel with me too, to be jotted down at a moment's notice when they hit.
ReplyDeleteYour journal definitely sounds like a tool. I write in a journal as a study method and as praying on paper and ideas do emerge there but not in the way you are describing. I find it fascinating to see how others work with this type of journal. YEAH!
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