Posts by missmusic1976

My sewing machine

Posted by on Jun 30, 2010 | Comments Off on My sewing machine

One of the things that generated the idea for me to start a crafting blog was the fact that I was able to start sewing.  I borrowed my friend Jane’s sewing machine to make some things for Anna’s room (pictures to come in a following post), and found myself craving my own machine.  I requested one for my birthday earlier this year, my family all chipped in and presto!  Here we are.

I am lucky that I have a sweet, sweet MIL who was willing to take me shopping for a machine.  Interestingly enough, it was the same weekend that this happened.   Not the best mindset for focusing on buying a major purchase, but it was what it was.  If you are new to my world, you will learn that I am extremely accident-prone.

We went to a few stores that sold a variety of machines.  I can’t tell you why I picked the one I did, other than when I sat down and sewed a few scraps, I really, really liked the way it “felt” (as much as one can “feel” while sewing).   I ended up buying a Juki, and you can see the full info on it here.

One of the things I like is pictured below- on the left side of the machine is a thread cutter.  It’s awesome!  No picking up scissors or thread trimmers to cut the thread- just pull it away and *snip* on the cutter and you’re good to go.

My absolute favorite thing is the automatic needle threader.  I’m still not exactly sure how this thing works, but I love it.  On left you see the machine in its normal state, ready to sew.  On the right you see my finger pressing down the white threading mechanism (that’s my official name for it).  I’m not savvy enough with my camera to photograph the whole process, but it’s so helpful.  At first I thought, “I can see perfectly fine, I don’t need the threader- it’s just a bonus.”  But then, as I got more comfortable with the machine, I decided to try it and now I’m hooked.  It takes seconds to change thread now- love it!

Some other things I like about the machine- I can see my bobbin so I know when I’m going to run out of thread down below.  With my friend Jane’s machine (and other machines I’ve used that were older) you can’t see the bobbin so you’re always guessing as to when you’re going to run out.  Another interesting feature is the push button sewing.  In the photo on the right you can see the arrow that points up.  If the foot is not hooked up to the machine then you can just push that button and away you go.  The top slider (between the turtle and the rabbit) is what controls your speed.  I’ve had lots of friends ponder about push-button sewing.  I’ve been trying both and I have to say I like the push-button in a few scenarios.  I used it to make some pillows and it worked great.  In other scenarios, though, I would stick to the foot pedal.  Interestingly enough, when you have the foot pedal hooked up to this one, you can limit the speed as well.  So if I don’t want to accidentally send my machine into a sewing frenzy I can push the slider down a bit and it won’t let me go past a certain speed.  Very smart, very smart indeed.  🙂

If you have any questions about my machine, please ask away!

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The Obligatory First Post

Posted by on Jun 30, 2010 | Comments Off on The Obligatory First Post

Welcome to Crafting Crazy!  I am so excited to start this blog and all the new energy it is giving my brain.

So here’s where I have to talk (I think) about why I’m starting Crafting Crazy.  I have lots of reasons, and many will probably seem irrelevant in a few years, but what the hey… here goes!

#1:  I want to separate my family blog from all of the stuff I’ll post here.  Mainly because when my kids are older and will (hopefully) take an interest in what they were like as wee ones, I don’t want them to have to sift through posts about crafts and baking stuff.

#2:  I have great hopes for the next 12 months.  I want to find a way to turn my crafts into something more.  A year from now I will (hopefully) have a new baby on my hands (no, I’m not pregnant yet), and I will be done teaching until I deem myself ready to return to the professional world in any capacity.  However, I need and want to find some way to contribute to my family’s income.  It may be that I teach early childhood music, but I don’t want to limit myself to one track.  I am my father’s child in this regard- I like having more than one iron in the fire. So I hope that by tracking what I do and make I can land on a few good tricks that may turn into something big.  We’ll see.

#3:  Perhaps it’s because I just started summer, but I am crazy right now in the creating department.  I am overjoyed at this new-found freedom to focus on my family, my house and my cooking.  It’s such a joy to me.  Why not keep track of it so that I can look back and remember?

#4:  I am a lifelong learner.  I think it’s more fun to learn with others in a community, and the internet provides that community in such an immediate, amazing way.  So in a sense, I’m hopping on the bandwagon a bit.

Some things you should know about me are listed here.  I hope you enjoy this blog.  I really like blogging and all that comes with it.  I hope that when summer turns to fall I can keep up with creating and posting.  Thanks for reading!

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