Monday, May 13, 2013

Happy Sew-versary to me!

Today marks one year since I received my sewing machine, on my first Mother's Day, 2012. Oh, and how was my second Mother's Day, you ask? Nice weather, good times with my daughter and husband, and what was that other thing that happened...OH YEAH!


NBD. Just that my husband bought me the serger I've been saving up to buy for the last three months. YES! And remember that I already had a present, in my new sewing workstation, so I wasn't expecting anything other than a card and getting to pick where we ate lunch. My husband is the best gift-giver I've ever met!


I've already taken it for a spin (but first I read the manual and watched the instructional DVD!!). I had some double bamboo french terry wipes cut (probably from 9 months ago) and sitting in my UFO pile. They were perfect for practicing:


My first try was pretty bad:


But by the fourth or fifth wipe, they were looking much better:


And seriously, I'm already in love. I'm headed to the library today to pick up a book about serging (I like to be over-prepared!) but I've already played with the differential feed and seen results from small adjustments there. SO. HAPPY!

But I'm getting sidetracked. Today (this week) is about celebrating a year of finding a wonderful...hobby? naw...I'd rather call it a passion, that more accurately describes how I feel!


To kick off Sew-versary week, I want to focus on my regular sewing machine, my Brother CS-6000i.


I should go back on Amazon and leave a positive review, but there are already a zillion others, plenty to convince any beginner to purchase this machine. I would say, as a former n00b, that it was perfect for me. The quick-start guide helped me thread it and be off sewing in no time, and the manual is clear and precise. After a year, I still turn to the manual often for all kinds of things and can quickly find answers.


There are a ton of fancy stitches, an automatic needle-threader, and an automatic bobbin-winder. I've never touched the tension on it (never had a reason!) and I think it's fairly quiet (now that I have a serger to compare it to, it's definitely quieter than that!). The only thing I find myself missing is control over the pressure in the presser foot. Since my walking foot started freaking out on me, I tend to use my regular presser foot for my knits, and it would be nice if I could reduce the pressure of the foot to help the fabric slide through. However, it's not something I noticed as a beginner. One of these days I'll figure out what's wrong with my walking foot and it might not be an issue ever again (I used it on a few projects involving faux fur, and it was never the same after that...probably my fault!).


So. It's been a year...and I haven't named my machine. At first, I just wanted to get to know it and see what worked. And then a few months ago I decided I definitely wanted a serger, likely another Brother, and I realized that if I had two Brothers, they should probably be named after brothers. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. Try thinking of famous brothers that aren't named Cain and Abel or who aren't sports stars. Or have lame names. It's harder than you'd think! But anyhow, I pulled from my British heritage (my grandmother moved here from England) and decided on...William and Harry!


There you have it, two happy Brothers and one happy mama (me!). I'll be back tomorrow with a list of some of my favorite projects from the last year...if I can narrow it down!


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