Ok, ok so that wasn’t exactly what Jerry McGuire was yelling in the movie, but hey, it’s probably been said by more than a few of us quilters. I’ve been missing out on the #31dayblogchallenge2019 lately as work, work, and more work has taken over, but some is better than none, right??? So on Day …
We all know the holiday song “My Favorite Things”, and today’s writing is all about my favorite tools in my studios. I am going to focus on the small tools or notions that stay close by my desk that I just can’t do without. These are the ones that get stuffed into my bag to …
Oh wow, where do I even start in the world of a machine. Honestly, I don’t even know if I can say the world machine, in my world it’s machines. So let me go down the list of machines, from the oldest to the newest:
Know what’s frightening? I didn’t even realize how many that made until I just now listed them all in order. OH MY…23 machines! Um, even I didn’t realize I had that many. I mean, yes I knew there was a lot, that’s pretty obvious, but the number was actually more than I though. Geez! I must be honest though, all of the vintage ones are not sewn on, though all but the treadles are in shape in order to be used. As you can also see there are some specialty machines listed as well, so yes there is obviously no way I am sewing on all them at once. There are multiple embroidery machines, and thankfully I can have them running while I am sewing on another. When I bought my 2nd embroidery machine my dear husband commented that “how will you run 3 machines at once”. I took that as a challenge. These days it’s not too uncommon to have me running 3 embroidery machines at one, while I’m piecing on a quilt, waiting for it to go on the longarm. Yes I may have a few “extra” machines, but as the husband also likes to say…I’m a little “extra” too! Plus there is always a space in the home for another lonely machine that needs a home. I was actually testing one out today…sssshhhh don’t the husband.
So if I have to narrow this down to one machine, I would have to brag about my Janome Continental M7 Professional. This machine is a beast…and weighs a ton (somewhere around 35+ lbs I believe). I will say though, that even when this machine is stitching on high speed it is very solid. Of all those listed above, this one quickly because a favorite! So quickly actually that I ended up changing my formal living room into “The Janome Room” just so I had a special place for this machine.
So let me share with you why I fell in love with this machine. Before I brought one home and officially made it part of the family, I was testing out its capabilities at my local shop, Sew ‘N Sweep. One day while it was a little slow I started piecing on it using my favorite cotton thread, and piecing a quick quilt for a store sample. I was in love with the way the feed dogs drop so that I can keep feeding in new fabrics without it nesting in the feed dogs. It took each new piece perfectly. Because I was that impressed, next up was to stitch on a piece of leather. I used a piece of about 2oz leather with 2 layers of cotton duck cloth fabric to back it. I did not change the thread, needle or any settings. Guess what…it stitched through beautifully! I tried decorative stitches, blanket stitch, all of it was perfect. All of it was smooth! That’s when I knew this machine was a must have!
So needless to say, I purchased one of the M7s in our store almost immediately and she got her own room! I seriously can’t brag on this machine enough. Gorgeous stitches, feeds anything through it, and keeps working hard. I haven’t even mentioned yet that the needle plate lifts up on its own to change it…no more tiny screws. There is so much I can’t even count them all that make this machine a must have!
So with all that, is there room for another machine? Absolutely. What will it be next?? Hmmm….I don’t know for sure but I was running a design on the Janome 550E embroidery machine before I left work today. Don’t tell the husband but I’ve got my eye on it!
For Day 2 of the #31dayblogchallenge2019 I get to focus on my sewing space…or maybe I should say spaces. When we purchased our home in 2018, one of the main requirements would be that I would have a studio space in the house so that I could begin the expansion of my business. The first …
The first day of winter may be on December 21, 2019, but today felt like it hit. What a surprise to wake up this morning and find it was actually cooler in San Antonio, Texas, than here in Maryland. I’m a pretty easy going girl for the most part, but let me be cold and …
What a whirlwind past few days it’s been. Last Sunday, I headed up with a team from work to Mahwah, NJ for a week long New Dealer training at Janome America. I offered to drive, maybe because I’m a little bit of a control freak with those things, but a 4 + hour drive ensued …
