All posts filed under: My Sewing Space

Ali’s Been Busy!

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A lot has happened since I last posted…… I’ve been on the telly for one! But that’s another story! I’ll tell you all about that shortly – I kept a diary throughout filming, it might need a little editing before I publish it here though. But for now this is just a quick post to let you know what I’ve been busy doing the last couple of days. My stash is out of control to say the least. A combination of ‘no where to sew’ – by that I mean I’ve no where to go (due to the ‘C’) word, so I’ve not got the same inclination to sew. But then I’ve still been buying fabric like there’s no tomorrow! I used to keep a record of my stash on an app called Cora – but it’s stopped working (pained face), so now I’m feeling totally disorganised which I find makes me even more unproductive, and my sew-jo has gone into quarantine. And for longer than the recommended 14 days! I decided to go back …

The Singer Sews & She’s Got A Name!

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I threaded up my new Vintage Singer (with the help of this tutorial on You Tube) just to see if she would actually sew.   She’s still dirty, a bit smelly, and still has the same needle in as when she was last used.  Unfortunately I’ve no idea when this was. I did remove the fluff from around the feed dogs, but apart from that she’s as she was when I brought her home. I used a bobbin that was already wound and also brushed the dust off an old spool of thread.  I was stunned to find she sewed beatifully! I wish I’d have chosen some plain fabric so I could show off the stitches, but I didn’t expect this on my first go! Here’s a close up: I had googled ‘how to treadle’ and found this which was really funny (well, I thought it was, and if you’ve tried to treadle you might too!): Treadling is a very advanced and intricate procedure, when done properly…. here is a good, basic set of treadling instructions: 1. …

Introducing my 1938 Singer Sewing Machine

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I’m so excited, I feel like all my Christmas’s have come at once! At the beginning of the week I saw an old Singer on Ebay with a start price of £15.  There wasn’t much information, but the photo showed it in a cabinet and it looked promising and was only in Leeds so I bid £20 then forgot all about it.   Last night I received a message to say I’d ‘won’ it for only £18.   So tonight, armed with some muscle, aka The Husband, I headed off on the 8 mile journey to meet the new love of my life  collect my new sewing machine.   It was love at first sight!   She was very heavy, but we managed and my hubby even drove steadily home (this is unusual, I usually have a stiff neck and feel sick even after a short journey! Only kidding darling if you read this!!). We carried her into the front room.  My newly decorated front room.  Very dirty! But who cares! Here she is:  Here’s the original oil …

My Space For Sewing – Revamp Phase 2

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I feel a bit more comfortable writing this post as the photos I’m sharing with you aren’t of the embarrassing nature that appeared in Phase 1!  There was quite a lot to be done before my new Janome could be introduced to Gertrude and the gang (i.e. Thimberlina and my Overlocker with no name).  This included: Stash cull and tidy – TICK! Lick of paint New curtains Build 2 new tables from Ikea – TICK! Major sort out of everything into neat little, big and medium size boxes – TICK! Deal with wool stash – OMG – I must have found at least 5 WIP’s that I’d totally forgotten about, plus loads of crochet practicings.  None particularly big or important,  but just forgotten as a shinier project appeared in the distance. Make it look pretty. Make pin cushion. The list above is not conclusive or exhaustive and probably will be added to, as well as items ticked along the way, but progress has been made and that;’ what this post is about, so here we have: NICELY …

MY Space for Sewing – Revamp Phase 1

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We all have a space somewhere, whether it be large, small, pretty, draughty…. it doesn’t matter because it’s OUR space and if anyone says it’s untidy we’ll have their guts for garters.  We can lay our hands on anything we want at the drop of a hat.  But, on the other hand,  we’ve all suffered at some point of the dreaded ‘sewing space envy’. Then next time we enter ours space we notice the imperfections and find it hard to get motivated. Me? Yup, I’ve suffered too.  I blame Thimberlina. Ali was so organised and tidy until Thimberlina came along with Gertrude and took over out modest 3 bedroomed semi.  Gone were the family teas where we sat down having civilised discussions at meal times.  Now replaced with TV dinners.  TV DINNERS!!! They were unheard of until Thimberlina came along.  But now the dining table was home to a sewing machine and overlocker and 12 months down the line, all THIS had happened…………… And if that wasn’t bad enough, check out the corner behind….. Things had started to get out of control. …

Too Excited To Type

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I’ve a parcel on it’s way and I received a text to track it’s progress, so I did. And then I looked again….. I’ve never seen this service before! I’m amazed! I’ve bought the Horizon Memory Crafty 8200QC , here’s what it says about it on the Janome Website: FULLY COMPUTERISED MEMORISE STITCH & ALPHABET COMBINATIONS MAXIMUM SPEED CONTROLLER PROGRAMMABLE NEEDLE UP/DOWN LOCK STITCH FEATURE START / STOP BUTTON 200+ BUILT-IN STITCHES AUTO 1-STEP BUTTONHOLES ( 7 STYLES ) 9MM STITCH WIDTH AUTO NEEDLE THREADER AUTO THREAD CUTTER REMOTE THREAD CUTTER PORT With a 280mm (11”) arm space right of the needle and a total arm length of 440mm ( 17” ), this machine is ideal bigger projects and yet is equally suited to precision sewing. It has a built-in AcuFeed system for precise fabric handling and an easy change needle plate to enhance straight stitch performance. The 9mm stitch width gives added creative options whilst the host of special computerised features makes it so easy to use. Weight – 12kg Best go unlock the door……it’s …