Sewing

It was time to pull my good old sewing machine out of the closet and crank it up for a good spring sewing session. However it was tired, and old and very cranky.

I talked to the sales manager at JoAnn Fabrics (they carry Vikings) and she said after 28 years maybe it was time to retire my 6570 and look at getting a new machine. I was hesitant about jumping into that decision so I talked to friends and family who sew and got their thoughts on the matter. I found a not so local shop (45 minutes away) who had an excellent reputation and chatted on the phone with Ed for over half an hour while we talked about all the pros and cons of repairing my old machine.

Rob and I took the information I had gathered and decided to use part of our tax refund to purchase a new machine for me / us. I looked at Viking and Bernina and decided on the Viking Sapphire 850.

I got it home and started sewing last night and I was sooooo disappointed because I could not get the tension right no matter what I did. I went to sleep with a little bit of buyer's remorse and wondered if I'd made the wrong decision. This morning I thought I'd try it again before I called the store for help. I got a spool of thread, wound a fresh bobbin and as I was loading the bobbin into the machine I realized that I had missed a very important step yesterday when I was learning the machine. There is a very little spring mechanism that the bobbin thread needs to catch in and I had bypassed that. No wonder I couldn't get an even tension. This is my first experience with a drop-in bobbin so I wasn't aware that little bitty part was even there.

I've decided I am going to take the beginning owner's class that the store offers. I may have sewn for years, but not on this machine so I'm going to go learn everything I can about how to use it to my fullest capacity.

p.s. The Chicago Flower & Garden Show is being held at Navy Pier this week. Anyone interested in going with me?