The Names Have Been Changed

to protect the guilty.  Could this be you?

Yes, it's time for a reminder to clean your machines.  They work hard for us and ask so little.  A bit of canned air, a little oil, some lubricant, a new needle, a gentle wiping off of dust.  

I'm hoping that this is not what you find when you open the bottom....

Yes, that is an enormous amount of lint and a ... what the!?!? ... PIN!

Even lint around the gears at the other side of the machine.

Oh, MY!!!!  In the owner's defense, she had just acquired the machine and she was as shocked as the rest of us.  

In the end, this machine was spic and span inside and out and ran like a top.  She breathed a sigh of relief that she was now in good hands that would not let this happen again.

The moral of the story?  A little TLC and maintenance go a long way to keeping that machine humming along.  

Please Read This

A long-time admirer of Susan Branch, I am always thrilled when there is a new blog post.  Her artwork is beautiful, as is her photography and general life philosophy.  I stopped in today and was fascinated by her post.  You can access it here Susan Branch.  

Lots of food for thought, interspersed with grace and beauty.  Check it out!

Blissfully,
Sharon


P.S.  There are still a few places left in my Care and Feeding of Your Featherweight class on Saturday, September 30, 10:30-2:30, at Patchwork Plus in Marcellus.  For more information or to register, call 315-673-2208.  Your machine will thank you!

Counterfeit Needles UPDATE and a Sneak Peak

Greetings!  In my last post it may have appeared that I don't use Organ brand needles any more.  NOT TRUE!!!  I am just more cautious about where I buy.  Here is my go-to source:  Home Sew.

I've ordered from them for years and have never had a problem.  The "bad" batch was from an overseas seller (can we say DUH?)

Home Sew has an extensive catalog and website.  Stuff you never thought you might need, but now that you've seen it....

Here are the needles I order, marked with an X.  I usually use Size 11 for piecing, and have started using Size 14 when I am doing what little machine quilting I can manage.   If you sew knits, the Ballpoints are also excellent.  These are excellent needles at an exceptional price.  

And the sneak peak.

How is your grass growing?  My hops vines are already up about 8 inches!  

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

Counterfeit Needles

In the world of "what-the-?", this has to be one that I never would have thought of.  

Several months ago I bought machine needles in bulk online.  Ten packs of ten needles each for a great price.  I've used Organ brand needles for years and had ordered from this seller before with no problem.  (I am NOT saying it is the seller who is doing the counterfeiting!)  

My mom and I both had trouble with the thread breaking every stitch or two--very frustrating, as you all know.  I started doing a bit of research and found that there was a warning on the Organ needle site about--counterfeit needles!  This was from back in 2015.  

Now I was determined to see what the differences were so that I could tell easily--you know, before the thread broke!

Test yourself.  In the next pictures there are what look like identical packs of needles.  Before looking under the picture for the answers, see if you can spot the differences.

Picture One:

Differences:  The pack on the left has Organ in white letters, the colors on the package are a bit different, the picture of the lady playing the organ is not as distinct, and the trademark symbol is bigger.  The writing at the bottom of the packet is also larger on the left.

Picture Two:

Differences:  A bit harder to tell, isn't it?  On the package on the left, a different font is used.  The word Size is used and the numbers 75/11 are offset.  Also notice the logo on the flap--see the differences?

Picture Three:

Differences:  This is the real kicker--the one on the left is just plain foil, poorly folded and crammed into the packet.  The one on the right has the official Organ embossed paper wrapper.

Here is a close-up of the wrappers.  What a glaring difference.  But if you didn't know, the wadded wrapper would not be a red flag.

Bottom line?  The packet on the right is the real Organ brand.  

I LOVE Organ brand needles.  I use them every day.  They are a superior needle at a reasonable price.  The needle is probably the cheapest item we use for sewing/quilting.  But people are reluctant to change them as often as they should because of the cost.  

Did you know that you should be changing your needle after every 8 hours of sewing?  Yes--that could mean a new needle every day--or even twice a day.  Don't change it just when it breaks.  There is no prize for using one needle for 25 straight years!!!!!  A cheap item that can cause a lot of damage to hundreds of dollars worth of fabric in a short time.  If you are not sure when you changed it last--CHANGE IT!

Is your machine making a lot of noise?  Change the needle and see if that helps--it cannot hurt!

While you are at it, how are your pins?  Are they dull, dinged up, just plain hard to use?  Treat yourself to a new box or two and enjoy your quilting time.  Life is too short to use inferior tools.  Yes, you can consider this as your note of permission for new stuff.

The case of the counterfeit needles:  CLOSED.

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

And the Winner Is...

No One!  No one guessed an inflatable horse!!!!!  

Okay, not really...but what a perfect place to use that line!

The real winner is Diane G!!!!!!  Mari T was a pretty close second, but she was a bit too specific this time.

Thank you to all who played!  It has kept me in stitches to see your guesses!  Some quite creative!  Some I could only dream of having.... sigh.

Some of you know that I have been doing some simple horse blanket repairs on my regular sewing machines.  Not the easiest to do.  So I had been putting off doing any more repairs and giving the horses stern lectures about ripping their blankets.  Alas, that ploy only works so long.  And repairs are once again needed.

So I started investigating something short of an industrial sewing machine.  It had to be sturdy, have a bit of extra clearance between the throat plate and the bottom of the presser foot, and be reasonably priced.  Good stitching through multiple layers of denim, nylon, etc.  I looked on Craigs List and didn't find anything.  So...I went to eBay.  I found a machine I fell in love with in a pretty turquoise color, great samples, lots of info.  The price wasn't too bad, but it was an auction and I had time to come to my senses before bidding.  In the meantime I did some research and had questions for several of the sellers.  Some responded promptly and answered all my questions, some answered some of the questions and disregarded others.

After I came to my senses and realized I was about to pay a pretty substantial sum for a machine to repair horse blankets, I watched the end of the auction and it went for way more than I would have paid anyway.  So the people who were very honest and answered all my questions were having a buy-it-now for a Universal class 15 clone.  And I bought it RIGHT THEN!  For a ridiculously low price that would make you swoon.  It came yesterday--extremely well packaged.  She's from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

TaDa:

Look at how lovely her decals are!

She has some cosmetic dings and scratches; I can live with that.  It makes me feel less guilty about using her for blanket repairs (which is her job).

Here it shows, from left to right, sewing through two layers, four layers, and eight layers of flannel.

On and off four and eight layers, using just forward and back.  No hesitation.

Multiple layers of denim.

And her lovely face.  When the Singer patent ran out on the Class 15 machines, Japan used the plans to make many "clones", using different company names on them and painting them different colors (the turquoise one I looked at was a Sewmor, also a Class 15 clone).  I now really have to watch my Ps and Qs--the real class 15 Singers were like the Featherweights--flat side of needle to the left, P for inserting the bobbin, threading the needle from right to left.  Well--the Clones are exactly the opposite--flat side of the needle on the right, thread from left to right, bobbin makes a Q!  If I'm not sure which one I have in front of me (aka cannot read), all I have to do is lift them!  The Universal is definitely the weight lifter in the mix!  She's sturdy, she's pretty and she's here to work.  

I think I will call her Belle Fleur.

Congratulations again, Diane!  Want a woodchuck as your prize?  (Just kidding!)

And thank you once again to all who played.  This was such a fun thing to do!  Stay tuned for the next "flash contest"!

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

 P.S.  Barbara B, you won a prize from a prior contest but I have no way to contact you.  My suspicion is that I will see you in a couple weeks--you can leave a comment here to confirm or email me.

P.P.S.  I know some people will be shocked at hearing me talk about using my Featherweights to mend horse blankets, or be even more shocked that I would use Belle for that task.  All these girls were made to work and work hard.  That's why they have survived over half a century and still work great.  

P.P.P.S.  No, do NOT send me your horse blankets to mend.  I hate mending, but I love those horses!!!!

A Cautionary Tale

Warning:  These are graphic pictures of a Featherweight in extreme duress.

Last week a friend asked me to clean her Featherweight.  She warned me that it had not been cleaned in a while and that several raggedy quilts had been made on her for Christmas.  So I thought I had prepared myself mentally for what was to come.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the case and found an almost completely white machine!  My jaw must have hit the floor!  Luckily, only Dickens was a witness.

Here you see her as I was starting the recovery process.  See on the arm, that black spot?  That's where the linty fibers have been disturbed.  I have partially disassembled her, as evidenced by the miscellaneous parts surrounding her, and the throat plate is off.

I know, it makes you want to hide your eyes and shriek like a soap opera star!

In case you were not horrified enough by the previous picture.

A view from the bottom.  See all the dust clinging to the metal between the feet?

And this is something I had never come across:  When I tipped the machine back, this is what I saw under the hand wheel/bobbin winder area!

I am pleased to say that she survived the recovery process and is now fully functional, lint-free, and shined to within an inch of her life.  New needle, lots of oil and lubricant, a container of canned air--she breathed a sigh of contented relief and purred as she made perfect stitches.

The moral of this story?  When did you last clean your machine--whether a Featherweight or something else?  New needle in the last eight hours of sewing?  Just sayin'.

My motto:  If you can't be a shining example, you can serve as a horrible warning. My horrible warning person has been chastised and has promised to never do this again as long as I keep her identity a secret.

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

A Bit of Catching Up

Last Saturday, five women joined me for another skill-builder class at Patchwork Plus in Marcellus.  We worked on the Handy Andy block, with lots of points and quarter- and half-square triangles.  These points are so sharp you could cut yourself on them!  From left to right:  Susan M., Sharon N., Gale, Alice, Pat A.  Great job, ladies!  It was a great day!

The Thursday before that Judy D. brought in her completely finished Monthly Bliss 3 quilt.  It is so beautiful.  Blocks were hand pieced, and the top was set by machine.  Truly lovely!

For those in the Featherweight class on Sunday (and for anyone having a Featherweight), there is a great book showing how to use the attachments on this and several other machines.  It is The Sewing Machine Attachment Handbook by Charlene Phillips.  People are often asking me if I use the attachments, and honestly I don't!  I go backwards and forwards very happily!  The pictures in this book are first-rate and you will be able to use those attachments.

I had only heard about them, but I finally found them!  LED lights for the Featherweight.  Now before you go rushing off to order one, read the pages carefully; there are different bulbs for different machines, and not just the Featherweight.  Here's the link:

http://www.stitchallthethings.com/featherweight-led/

I have not forgotten the applique tip.  Just needed to get a bit of this stuff out there first.

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

P.S.  I have listened to Private Vegas by James Patterson, Flesh and Blood by Patricia Cornwell, Deadline by John Sandford.  And I have read (in the last two weeks) Crossfire by Dick and Felix Francis, The Blood of an Englishman by M.C. Beaton, and Night Ride Home by Barbara Esstman.

And...for those of you that I've told about the horses at St. Mark's--I've ordered the book, so be prepared!

P.P.S.  Helen, it was so good to see you--you give the best hugs, girl!

What's in Your Featherweight?

Who cares what's in your wallet?  I want to know just what's been accumulating in your Featherweight!

It's been a while since I stood on my "clean your machine" soapbox, so here goes:

I recently brought a machine home to clean for someone.  (In her defense, she had just recently purchased it, so this was definitely NOT her fault!)

Here is the bottom plate with lots of "schmutz".

Holy felting, Batman!  Perhaps a wee felted blanket?

Another view in case you were not already horrified enough.

The moral of this story?  Clean your machine!  Even if it's not a Featherweight, each machine needs a little TLC to survive in this linty world.  Oh, and have you changed your needle in the last eight hours of sewing?  Just checking while I'm here.

Blissful hugs,
Sharon

P.S.  I am listening to The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly.

P.P.S.  Diane:  Dickens cannot have any indoor playmates of the kitty persuasion by order of his adoption papers.  He's to remain an "only" child.

What the !?!?!?!

What'd I tell you? I tell you what I told you! I told you to change your needle after every 8 hours of sewing, or at least every new project. Does anyone listen? Well, at least one person didn't!

For those of you who are squeamish, you may want to turn away. What you are about to see is not pretty.

Exhibit A: A size 11 (sharp) sewing machine needle.
Exhibit B: A close-up of the tip of the needle, in case you couldn't see that massive hook in the tip in the photo above. (Check out the shadow--it's a dead give-away!)

When questioned, the perp admitted to changing the needle--but refused to specify a date. After multiple lashings with a wet noodle, she finally admitted to changing the needle in November! NOVEMBER 2008! The incident in question took place on February 4, 2009. We know for a fact that the perp has made at least 7 quilted items in the past week alone! After ascertaining the problem, I was forced to smell the M&M tin to keep from fainting! The poor machine was pulling to the left at each stitch and making a horrible thumping noise--a clear indication of extreme distress for the Featherweight. With a new needle and lots of gentle encouragement (and knowing that her mother was going to get it big time), she resumed her normal purr and stopped trying to veer left.

So remember--you should not be using a crochet hook as a needle! Don't make me come over there!

This public service announcement has been sponsored by sewing machines everywhere who ask that you treat them to a new needle frequently. And that does NOT mean just when they break! They shiver at the mention of the lady who traded in her 25 year old machine and proudly said, "I've never changed the needle!"

Til next time!

Hugs,

Sharon