What is going on lately?! School is just about over for the year. Thank goodness! That virtual/hybrid, you never know who is showing up for school model of teaching is finally over and one can only hope it never comes back! A quick trip to Las Vegas next week is the perfect way to end the school year and start the summer!
My sewing machine came back from service and I was told that it was just really dirty and with a good cleaning the machine would be back to normal. Ha! Not a chance. After bringing the machine home, the problem came back after an hour of it being on. How frustrating and maddening and grrr.
I ordered a new foot control to see if that will help, if not, back to service the machine goes. I really hope the foot control fixes the problem, but I doubt that will be the case.
In the meantime…
I have doctored my mother’s sewing machine that I “borrowed” to sew the same ¼ seam allowance as my machine. I obviously put Diagonal Seam Tape (product from Cluck Cluck Sew) on the machine right away. That tape is a must and has been on my machine since I got it over a year ago, heck maybe even two years now!
I was still having trouble finding the exact seam allowance as my machine, getting frustrated with the entire process when I remembered I have received some sort of seam stopper from a Sew Sampler Box. So, I went searching.
I keep all the notions from the Sew Sampler Boxes in drawers next to my sewing table. Not as organized as they should be but nonetheless, I usually know where I can find what I am looking for. And I found just what I was looking for! I have 2 and a half years’ worth of notions from these Sew Sampler Boxes and they have honestly come in handy more times than I can count!
Sewing Edge Reusable Vinyl Stops for Your Machine. The package comes with 5 purple vinyl strips that have a sticky back. I placed one strip on the inside edge of the diagonal seam tape and matched the edge with a seam sewn on my Pfaff. Ta-Da! I found a seam allowance that is just right for me! The edge works really well, even if it is not my favorite option.
I was able to get a full night’s worth of sewing in and that made me one happy camper! I am attempting to get projects completed before starting more, even though I did start 1 new one in the last week. Oops!
This little doctoring of the machine reminded me of something my high school badminton coach used to say. “A great player adjusts to their environment”.
Schools have very different facilities from lighting to court lines to ceiling heights. We used to complain that the playing conditions were not what we were used to and affected our playing. The coach said “A great player adjusts to their environment” over and over until it became a mantra.
This is now a statement I use with my own students and in my own life whenever something is not the norm. This past month with my sewing machine definitely has me repeating this statement over and over and making my mom’s machine work for me was adjusting to my environment. It is my no means perfect, but I will adjust and make it work!
I cannot wait to spend my summer sewing, quilting, and stitching on repeat. I will try to get some yard work completed and a few house projects, but the longarm is where I yearn to be!
In case you forgot, we definitely offer longarm services! Head over the website for all those fancy details!
Happy Quilting!
Just signed up with your site and your Instagram, love them both! I’m from Chicago and moved to Northern California. Miss my Chicago (Wheaton). I have a question, noticed you sew your quilts on a Juki sewing machine, can you tell me if it’s a TL 2000 or a TL2010Q. Do you love it, I’m considering getting one. Thank you so much for all your inspiration you send our way!!!
Yes! I love my Juki! I actually have both of those models – one upstairs and one down! The TL2010Q is my first choice! And yay Chicago gal! Wheaton is not too far down the road!