much chatter about not so much

Yesterday I bought a sewing machine. It was just about $60.00 at Aldi’s. All of the parts are present, the light works, the threading sequence is the same one I have known forever on sewing machines. Next I will sit down and sew something. I have great faith that it will work well. I am nervous about it though…there are such nagging issues with sewing machines. Every one I ever had suffered issues with the tension.

I have been sewing since I was about ten years old, and forced to take Home Economics. I will say that I learned to sew, after a fashion. I sewed all of my clothing (well, except coats and really advanced items like that,) and most of my oldest daughter’s clothes until she was about ten years old, and started to make her own clothes. She is not quite five feet tall, and when the big bell-bottom pants came into vogue they were always too long, and the bell effect would have been lost in hemming. So she cut the pattern of the pant leg in a deep V shape, and pieced it together. That worked very well.

Hope the new sewing machine works adequately.

Two years ago when we started making masks because of the Covid19.I used my current most recent sewing machine, which had never really worked well. Having said that, in the interest of being fair, I must admit that I was involved in making wedding dresses for my granddaughter’s wedding, involving volumes of satin in luscious colors: purple and orange, and green. Dau1 sewed THE wedding dress itself, yards of white satin and lace…it turned out lovely.

So, hoping the new sewing machine will not to be a big hassle to thread, always an issue due to my eyesight. The threading process is always challenging in any sewing project, even with a needle-threader. Oh—and the bobbin~ I used to hate bobbins, but we have come to have a working arrangement. Speaking of bobbins, I bought a lovely old Singer cabinet-model sewing machine at an auction, for $7..The spiffy cabinet drawers hold every sew machine gadget every made, that I know about anyway. However…the bobbin case is damaged, or at least it isn’t working at all. It will accept the thread from the top, and go down through the bobbin case and act like it is going to engage and bring the bobbin thread up in tandem with the main needle–but it doesn’t work! It won’t thread, and the thingamajig on the bottom that pulls the thread through is not working. We took it apart, but no avail.

What I want to sew now is some pillows. I have pillow forms waiting to be covered, and some nice colorful fabric remnants from Pat Catan’s while they were going out of business and selling stuff really, really low cost. They had beads at buy one get ten free…at the end. Plus all sorts of sewing notions and beading supplies. At these great give-away prices who can resist? I have millions of beads (well, maybe not millions, but a lot. So when I started beading here a couple of months ago I gathered up all my seed beads and found some needles that worked…and went out and bought some more seed beads. Actually ordered them from Fire Mountain catalog on line.

Another order is pending though, because although I now have four shades of turquoise color beads, and a really nice selection of metallic-like colors, especially copper color. All I have is some weird green shades, and only two Reds. I use the size 11 Delica beads.

I have a variety of little amulet bags that I have finished, except for the straps and/or handles. I haven’t decided yet to add chain straps, or those satiny cords. Unfortunately I only know the Peyote Stitch, and I have been concentrating on that, trying to perfect my technique. There are some nice geometric shapes that I’d like to make, but so far the patterns are beyond my ability. I always like to make the stitching perfect, and that works as long as I don’t try anything fancy, like create a design. The intricate red and white pattern I’ve been working on is tricky because its hard to figure out where the red beads enter the white to form the pattern. My late husband used to say well, you can figure it out, you have a masters’ degree. Yep, but it isn’t in beading!

oh, and then there’s the book project! You don’t even want to hear about that, I’ll be here all night.