Hello. My name
is Heide.
I am a quilter and have bad
habits!
I
do NOT press my blocks, I iron them
I do Not Service my sewing machine
in a timely manner
(to name a few)
Ironing vs Pressing
My mother
taught me how to iron clothes at a young age. Did such a great job, it became
my permanent job growing up. Fast forward 30 some years, I am still ironing . .
. Sigh. Clothes, quilt blocks, etc. You get the picture.
My life changed for the better when I watched Karen’s video from Just Get It Done Quilts. Finally,
something that I could relate to and it works! I encourage you to take a couple
of minutes and watch the video.
Three
easy steps:
Press the seam
Open and finger press
Press
That’s it.
Been
pressing Karen’s way all week and have experienced a huge difference in my blocks!
Now, for the sewing machine…poor
thing. I have had my Elna since the late 90’s.
Never a minute’s trouble until a
few months ago. Took it in for service and got the following:
Saleslady: “Ahhh, do you know how long it’s been
since you got this machine serviced?“
Me: “No, I don’t.”
Saleslady, after she cleared her throat: “That
would be 2003”.
Me, while I was crawling under the carpet: “No way!” Weakly I
said in my defense, “Well, I haven’t been sewing since 2011”. That sure didn’t
earn me any sympathy. And then the saleslady preceded to lecture me on why
sewing machines need to be serviced, blah, blah, blah and then she says I hope
we can fix it. Yikes.
And THEN the service tech calls. If I’m not
mistaken, he is a retired school teacher and in his best teacher voice talking
to a naughty student, preceded to tell me that that was the worst machine he
had seen full of dust, lint and that I have been pulling material through which wears certain parts out, etc. (and I am thinking, how does he know I yank my material through). He said it would cost $135 to service the
machine. Wow, that’s all its going to cost? Please, yes, fix it. I got lucky, I
seriously thought I was going to have to buy another machine the way he was
going on & on. I put myself on time out and contemplated my bad habits. Got
the call that the machine was ready for pick up. Brought her home and she is
sewing like a dream again.
To address the dust issue, I decided to make a sewing machine cover, as
obviously, I wasn't using the clunky, plastic cover that came with the machine.
I found this adorable pattern for a sewing machine cover at Flamingo Toes.
Bev’s flamingo
is so darn cute (and has wings), but I decided to do a Fairy with Wings on my sewing machine cover. Since the
fairy is in purple, I am calling this "purple work". Used the stem stitch for this project. The Iris is one of my favorite flowers, so was able to finally use this fabric that has been in the stash for years.
 |
| Can you see the fairy sprinkling the fairy dust? |
I finished the cover last week and
am happy to report I am using it every day. There are pockets on the side and
one of these days I’ll figure out what to put in them.
Many thanks to Carol, from Just Let Me
Quilt, for hosting the Show Your Wings Blog Hop. I can’t wait to see what
everyone comes up with whether it would be birds, angels, fairies, planes or
butterflies.
Check out all the amazing bloggers
who will be participating---
February
18
February
19
February
20
February
21
Thank you for
visiting and I hope that you all enjoyed what I learned that life is easier when you press those blocks correctly and service the sewing machine regularly.
Wow, I love your embroidery, the fairy dust is so pretty. Beautiful and very handy project š
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful embroidered cover!
ReplyDeleteHi Heide! I need to make a cover for my sewing machine too at some point. What a nice one you made for yourself! You are inspiring me. Happy Monday to you. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your post! I know too many sewists/quilters who do not get their machines cleaned--just sayin'... Great story and a good lesson for us all. Love the machine cover and the sweet fairy. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI know your fairy will help to keep that dust at bay. Cute post and project
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post...it had me laughing and smiling throughout! Though your sewing machine troubles weren't funny, your tale of interaction with the sewing people was hilarious. Lesson learned to keep our machines clean! Your little purple fairy is so beautiful and your stitching looks perfect. I love it on your sewing cover! I watched the video and can't wait to try the methods she suggested. Thank you so much for joining in this hop. :O)
ReplyDeleteOh I think that I would be in the same boat as you with machine servicing. Your machine cover is awesome. I was just thinking about my next quick project will be a couple.
ReplyDeletewhat a great post. i love your cover. and your fairy is so lovely. i love the fairy dust she is spreading. love all over the place. thanks for sharing and for inspiring. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net
ReplyDeleteCute cover and funny story..
ReplyDeleteI love fairies and yours is so sweet! I have several machines and I do clean and oil them myself and they only go in for service when they need to, which is when they don't sew like they should, so need timing checked. One machine I have had for 10 years and nothing has ever gone wrong with it, so it's never been serviced. As long as I maintain cleaning it regularly, I don't see the need to take it in so often. Other machines do need to go to the "spa" more often.
ReplyDeleteChances are I would not return to that service center as I do not like being talked down to. Love your dust cover. My machine doesn't hardly get time to rest and I haven't had it serviced in 2 years. Wonder what it looks like. Denise-For the love of geese
ReplyDeleteWho says a sewing machine cover has to be utilitarian? That is adorable. No wonder you want to use it every time.
ReplyDeleteLove that story. I generally get my machine in once a year only because they will service it for free if I stay on schedule. I love, love, love your sweet fairy. I'm thinking you might be able to fit your foot pedal and wires in the pockets maybe.
ReplyDelete$135 for machine servicing is pretty par for the course, at least in my area. Hope you bought some sewing machine oil for your thirsty machine *grins*
ReplyDeleteI am bad about covering machine (I never do) but it is in use every weekend. Your machine cover is tres cute.
Oh you are my kind of girl... I steam everything I can get my hands on, and can still hear an instructor asking if she is hearing the steam going on the iron. I of course told her I believed her hearing aid was acting up a bit! LOL!! Glad they got your machine fixed for you. The price is much better than a new machine. I actually bought a little mini tank vacuum for sewing machines and try to clean it out on a semi regular basis. Your adorable new cover is perfect for turning over that new leaf! :-)
ReplyDeletehaha Joan, of course you did!
DeleteLove your new sewing machine cover. It has wings! I also enjoyed watching the pressing video. Most of this I knew, but my pressing technique has gotten lazy and I have not been finger pressing and was wondering why my blocks were a bit distorted. I will do better again, now ... thank you ... :-) Pat
ReplyDeleteI'm sure we can all do better keeping our machines clean! We're only human! :-) I really like your cool fairy cover! Enjoy your day! Thanks for sharing! :-) :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! What a beautiful sewing machine cover! I loved your post today-very funny even though it was a serious situation with your machine. Makes me think that I need to do more cleaning on mine. Thank you for sharing your project and delightful post.
ReplyDeleteLovely sewing machine cover. Iris is my favorite flower, too. Now, in my best librarian voice I'm going to say that all dust inside your sewing machine is lint from thread and fabric and you really should clean the bobbin area regularly.
ReplyDeletePat
Lovely sewing machine cover with the cutest fairy. I love it
ReplyDeleteI too, abuse my machine by not servicing it as often as I should. I have often thought I should use one of these hops as and opportunity to make a dust cover for my machine. Bravo for yours and that cute little fairy.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I totally can relate as my Elna is in for servicing. I seem to wait for a problem and then take her in. Cute cover.
ReplyDeleteLovely fairy and machine cover!
ReplyDeleteGreat job ty for sharing..
ReplyDeleteFairy wings?! SEW delightful a surprise for the Show Your Wings Blog Hop. :o))
ReplyDeletelol, I adore your post today. I am a naughty steamer too. I just can't help it. I totally relate to your post, as I am making a concerted effort this month to press better. Your new cover is truly lovely and I hope it helps you break one bad habit. :)
ReplyDeleteI was shocked two years ago when we moved home from Italy and I took my machines in to be just cleaned. Living overseas is very hard in respect to finding things you need for your machine(s). When I took my machine which is an embroidery machine also, it was over 200.00 just to clean and maintain it. If it weren't an embroidery machine it would have been 165.00 and they had a 3 week waiting time to get your machine back. Suffice it to say I no longer do the 1 year cleanings and have opted to do them every few years and I am just more diligent about cleaning the dust out of my machines. Your sewing machine cover is perfect for keeping that dust and such out of the machine that is just carried thru the air... It's worth it tho to also run a little dust brush thru your bobbin and needle area to keep those dust particles away.
ReplyDeleteSweet fairy wings!
ReplyDeleteHeide, you have got to be the absolute cutest thing ever!!! Love your entertaining wit and your beautiful fairy (complete with sparkly dust, oh my!) Thank you for sharing your wings you naughty, cheeky pixie!
ReplyDeleteI don't press my blocks either, I iron and with steam. lol Lovely embroidery.
ReplyDeleteYour fairy is so pretty and dainty. I'm not even going to start on my bad habits.
ReplyDelete