Wednesday, May 28, 2008

I still know how to sew!

The new machine stitches smoother than any I have owned, but underneath gets all snaggled every few inches. I can't figure out how to fix it. This is a Singer machine with drop in bobbin, so I can't adjust the bobbin tension. Very big bummer. I have the book now and plan to fiddle with it some more when I get home.

I did get a chance to sew some small things on it. This is the wonky square for Common Threads first month. This is Don't Call Me Becky's.

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This photo is really dark, but it shows that I have started a sewing cushion from the Alabama Stitch Book.

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The leaf stencil shapes were placed using a blue sharpie. I used two different colored cotton shirts. White for the top and yellow underneath. I can't wait to finish sewing it so that I can cut-- my favorite part!

Here are some sketches in my journal about quilts I would like to do. I was thinking about trying a quilt marathon week at the end of the summer. I can't remember who the other blogger was that did this- Crazy Mom Quilts? She made a quilt top a day.

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8 comments:

Lunden said...

Love your block for Rebekah! It is wonderful.

Anonymous said...

Okay, this is weird, but for a brief second, I honestly thought the page out of your journal was mine. We have almost the exact same handwriting and style of sketching. I even use little arrows that look almost exactly like yours. That could have been a page ripped out of my book. WEIRD!!!!

BTW, I love the black and white fabric in the quilt square.

Rebekah said...

your block looks awesome! I can't wait to get my hands on it. I'm so excited to start on this quilt!

And I would totally be up for your quilt marathon...always love your stuff!

Shannon said...

That could also be a page from my quilt/craft journal, except I don't have a spiral bound, just a cahiers moleskin.

I would be up for a challenge of sorts...if I had time to prepare!

kelly said...

I know this is probably super-obvious, so please don't be offended if this is clearly not the problem with your bobbin...

A few years back, my friend was having the same problem with her bobbin thread getting snagged like you've described. We have the same machine, so I took a look at it for her and... she was putting the bobbin in backwards. Basically, the thread was feeding the wrong way (from below, rather than over the top, if that makes sense).

Again, sorry if this is oversimplifying the problem and you're now thinking, "Of course I know which way the bobbin/thread goes, silly!" But if that might be the problem, I wanted to offer a hand. Good luck!

Unknown said...

The block looks great! I think I need to start thinking about quilts in a journal, it looks so neat!

kelly said...

Saw your comment on my blog about not knowing which way the bobbin should go -- just try flipping it the opposite way from how you've been dropping it in and try that.

There should be a diagram in your manual -- even with a drop-in bobbin, there should be a correct (and incorrect) way that the thread is feeding from.

Also, do you have a sewing machine shop in your area? If switching the bobbin direction doesn't fix things, take it all to them with your biggest, saddest eyes and see if they'll help you out.

Good luck -- can't wait to see if the bobbin switch helps!

Jilly said...

My Kenmore sewing machine also does that snagging thing if I don't have the needle arm in the right position. Like, if the needle is up, but the arm isn't all the way to the top when I start the machine, it always snags. But if I wind it up that extra two inches, then its fine.

The bobbin upside down makes it worse, too. On my machine, I leave a little string sticking out of the top of the bobbin when I wind it (like, 1/8th of an inch). I know this is the side that has to be facing me when I put the bobbin in for the sewing machine to work.

Don't you love finnicky machines?

Also, great hedgehog shot.