Randy Says...

 I was having a small problem with my sewing machine. When I would press the button to cut the thread more often than not the thread would be cut so close to the needle that when I went to sew again the needle would become unthreaded.

My sewing machine is an Elna X680.

Clearly this was a tension issue, so I brought my machine to the sewing machine spa, in my case, Bittersweet Fabric Shop in Boscawen NH.

Randy knew just what to do (duh), and then he went into the innards of my machine to see if anything else was amiss. I asked if I could watch. Glad I did, because I learned a few things.

We all know dust can be an enemy. I use a little tool like this to get the dust out of places (particularly where the bobbin lives), and I had been told never to use compressed air to blow the dust out. Randy corrected me.

He said I could VACUUM dust out of the area above, and then it was fine if I wanted to use a can of compressed air to blow the leftover bits out, because after that there wouldn't be many and they would be tiny.

HOWEVER,

I was ABSOLUTELY NOT to be doing this - using the little tool or a pipe cleaner to jam it into the recesses of the machine to get out dust or debris that might be lurking there. (I was guilty of that.) 

WHY?

Apparently there can be little springs and other very delicate gizmos lurking under there that we cannot see and a pipe cleaner or tool like the one I used to use can dislodge said spring and cause the machine to run, shall we say, less than optimally. Randy found the little spring my overeager cleaning had dislodged and put it back where it belonged. (Consider me chastised.)

One hint he DID have was to use a pin to separate things in the bobbin race (where the bobbin lives) to get the dust that might get between those thin metal strips (I think it's kind of a spring). You can just blow the dust out with a puff of breath. (You know, your own lung power.)

We both agreed that sewing machine manuals do a poor job of explaining what we SHOULD do and what we shouldn't do.

It should also be noted that the thread I was using was partly responsible. A 60w thread, (such as the Precensia 60w thread I use) requires a different tension than a 50w thread. For my machine the AUTO setting was fine for 50w, but I had to reduce it to a 3 for my 60w thread. (On my machine AUTO = 4.)

Here's a big THANK YOU to Randy and Holly from Bittersweet Fabrics for letting me watch him work and allowing me to ask my questions and help us all out. Naturally, my machine now works like a charm and the thread cutter works precisely the way I want. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In other much more fun news, I ordered some postage stamps online the last time I had to ship a package via USPS. They arrived yesterday and I am delighted to share them with you. I think it is quite possibly THE COOLEST STAMP EVER.

I do not know if these beauties are available at your local post office, but you can get them at USPS.com.

Preparing for the Spa

 

My #1 machine has been moved from the studio. It is getting ready for a trip to the Sewing Machine Spa.

It will be gone a week. 

In the meantime I have elevated my #2 machine, my Bernina, to the prime spot in my sewing studio.

I have been digging through my leftovers. Would be kinda fun to figure out a way to put all this stuff together into a fun quilt. Maybe a quilt for the car - for picnics and the beach. Lord knows I have enough stuff...

Will ponder. Will play.

And on another tangent, my Kindle tells me I have read 11 books so far this year. Six weeks into the year? Yeah, that sounds about right. It tells me that LAST year I read 87. And that's only on the Kindle. I know I read at least two physical books in that time.

I read Remarkably Bright Creatures, and can wholeheartedly recommend it. It's the one about the octopus.

Just read it and you'll see. :-)

This and That

 

This is the final gift bag for my granddaughter in the City of Angels. The gift that fit in this bag was shipped out earlier today. This bag is the Artist (or large) bag, but I made it two inches longer. 

I don't usually get a double Amaryllis, but this one is pretty spectacular. This bloom is every big as usual, about eight inches across.

I got a box of fizzy bath bombs, so now my spa tub is completely decked out, and DAMN! It looks good. I'm pretty sure I'm going to try it out real soon. But if anybody thinks I'm going to be reading my iPad while I'm soaking in the tub is crazy. I've already lost one iPhone to water (the washing machine,) so that isn't going to happen. I have a real live paperback book I can read if I want, but to me the point of soaking in a tub is just to relax, so that's what I plan to do.

While I worked on the binding of the Allegretto quilt, I binge watched The School of Chocolate on Netflix this weekend and was extremely impressed with the teacher, Amaury Guichon. His feedback was excellent, and kind, which is a rarity in "reality TV."

Finally, Millie's kidney levels are very high, and the specialized food for that would be very good for her... if she'll eat it, which she hasn't done yet. If she won't, the vet suggests I get any food she'll eat, as long as it is designed for "Senior Cats." Advice and suggestions welcome.

The Spa Bath

 

After I scrubbed the tub I tested it to see if it worked. When it filled enough I tested the jets. Those work too. The cold water faucet leaks, so that will have to be fixed someday, but I'm not a big tub user so that isn't high on my list of priorities (if I had tons of money I'd rip the dam tub out, or at least get rid of the wall to wall carpeting... yeah, don't get me started.) One nice thing about my house is that both bathrooms have skylights in them, so they are always filled with light during the day. 

Anyway, I stuck the poinsettia on that corner of the tub and had a thought. Maybe the thing to do wasn't to HIDE it, but to SHOW IT OFF. I texted Julie.

So I put a second poinsettia in the other corner and did some online shopping.

By the way, this is what the quilt hides. Some things should be hidden from view.

The first thing I ordered was one of those bath pillows. I also ordered some bath bombs and an assortment of bath gels and goodies. Those haven't arrived yet, but the bath bombs will go in the bowl in the corner. It is one of Larry Sefton's bowls and was a gift from he and his wife Julie, my best pal.

I also ordered a bath shelf. Now the thing is looking pretty dang spiffy. Or "swanky" as my BIL would say.

Getting closer!!!