Embroidery feet - Compare and contrast

I have a confession to make, I ordered another embroidery foot, well two actually - shock, horror, well I'll go to the bottom of our garden!!! 

If you've followed this blog from the start (first of all well done and thank you for hanging on in there!!!) you may remember that I started my embroidery adventure with this little chap.....






Old faithful




My new ones are slightly different in that they are spring loaded and .....this one has a larger foot.....






Large metal foot



......whereas this one has a clear plastic foot.



Transparent foot




I thought it would be interesting to compare them in a sort of Gadget show meets the Which report fashion - Well ok, maybe not, just me, on my lonesome, crouched over my machine, with a coffee, playing.



All were straightforward to attach to the machine.

....and held the fabric well as I sewed, but of the three it is my most recent purchase which I prefer as I found it was easier to see the stitching as I was sewing .......




Large metal foot - my favourite!!


......and it really did effortlessly hold down the fabric pieces when I was doing a little applique work. (I don't like using heat and bond that much.) 

You'll notice that two have metal feet. I tried to use one with a plastic foot and therefore supposedly easier to see your work.....





I found it quite hard to follow my stitching through the plastic


........but to be honest, I found the visibility was much better with my large metal foot. But that's just a personal choice I guess.


I just thought I would share these fascinating Friday facts with you, just in case you are about to try a little free motion stitching yourself. I know there are a trillion and one sewing machine feet out there but hopefully you'll find some of this useful.

So marks out of 10?  Old faithful - 6/10, Clear Plastic - 3/10, Large metal foot - 9/10 (because you can always improve)

I bought my favourite foot from seweasy who I used to service my machines this year but they also have an ebay shop should you wish to peruse.

Fireworks on Saturday!!! and then I've got my folks coming to stay for a few days and they're bringing down a few things they thought I might like.........??!!?**!!!

Thanks for coming to say hello this week, I've loved reading your comments and have tried to get back to you all. Thanks for your sympathy regarding my sewing machine, which magically seems to have decided to 'play nicely' again, don't really know what went wrong there but a sentence involving the words 'workman' and 'tools' springs to mind.

 



Have a great weekend and stay safe x

Mrs Singer has a test drive!

I thought it was high time that this dear lady could show me what she was made of and so yesterday I put her through her paces. I thought you might like to see how she got on.

Being 'a lady of  a certain age' (and I include myself in this category) she commanded a certain amount of respect and so accordingly she was carefully lifted onto the work table and placed in postion. It was then that I noticed she was carrying a little extra weight, but thats to be expected, as I say, for 'a lady of a certain age.'

So with great trepidation and excitement I sat in my chair, plugged her in and then turned to consult my manual. Now this, I think, is a useful piece of information for all those of you that have bought or are thinking of buying an older sewing machine (mine's about 45 years old) there is a useful little website called sewingonline.co.uk  where you can download a manual for the make and model of your machine no matter what it's age. That's where I got mine from.





Singer 317 manual - prized possession



So after winding on a bobbin and threading her up successfully we made a start, grabbing the nearest scrap, she produced this.

Not bad, I hear your cry, a good example of what she can do on the straight stitch and zig zag, quite impressed with the satin stitch actually.  But then I knew she was ready for some fun, she threw off her presser foot with gay abandon and quivered with excitement as I reached for the embroidery foot (sorry this has suddenly turned into a Mills and Boon novel)

Shall we.....?

Ready......?

Let's go......!

These are the results of her efforts. Using a variegated coloured thread produced some nice effects.

Lets have a closer look.......

Things were going so well and so I asked if she fancied trying a little raw edge? "Oh I thought you'd never ask!" she gasped......

Good girl!

At this point, I decided to take off the embroidery foot and proceeded to stitch without it. My stitching went very loopy but I worked out this was because I had forgotten to push down the presser lever (you should do this even if the foot isn't attached) and also because I wasn't going fast enough. As soon as I rectified these, the results were better.

So on the whole I'm very pleased with her first outing and can see many an occasion when I will be in need of her help. Yes she's a little clunky and heavy but she's solid and sews like a dream and that's what counts.

I'd love to hear if any of you have reliable 'ladies of a certain age' that help you out with your sewing.
Have a good weekend.

Handmade Monday - Fabric bucket

Let me introduce you to the latest love of my life - the humble fabric bucket. I've had my eye on these for a while and as I've recently being experimenting with stiffeners on another project,  it led me to these lovelies. Oh I just can't stop looking at them!

I think I find them so appealing because they're rigid without being hard, they're so incredibly tactile ( I can't stop touching them) and I love their casual, slouchy appearance.

Is it ever possible to have too many handy storage containers? Well no, I don't think so. Pile them with pine cones, ribbons, thread, jewellery or just use them for your bits and bobs that get left all over the place. I've even seen them used as a plant pot cover which looks utterly gorgeous. If you would like one, I'll be popping them onto Folksy and Etsy later in the week.

You may recognise 'my snowflake', well she made a reappearance this weekend. I wonder if I was the only person thinking  about snow over the last two days? Probably.

Creamy cotton lined with a gorgeous red linen mix

 

How fabulous is this grey linen? It perfectly complements this white linen lining.



Where would we be without red gingham!

 Anyway there are a gazillion tutorials online as to how to make such a pot so I couldn't see the point in making it a gazillion and one. I've now got all sorts of ideas going on in my head as to what else I could put on a fabric bucket and how big or small I could make them, I'll have an army of fabric buckets by the time I'm finished.

It's coffee time now so after I've brewed up I'm off to see the very talented Wendy at 1st unique gifts who has been experimenting with a new design and then of course a tour around those Handmade Monday blogs, there's always something that makes me go "Wow!"

 

Happy Sewing!

Hearts, cakes and grumpiness.

Good morning to you all, so far it's a sunny one!
Yesterday I made these for my Folksy and Etsy shops, I'd like to share them with you but be warned they have a definite 'festive' feel to them, so look away now if you feel you may be adversely affected.

They include a new sentiment......

.......the same raw edges

...... and a new design.

It is said 'new design' that I wish to speak with you about this morning. After perfecting (or so I thought) my new snowflake design on a mountain of scraps, I felt ready to take the plunge and make something incorporating it. However my sewing machine had other ideas. She threw her toys out of the pram in no uncertain terms and left me with a lot of head scratching as to what I had done that could have possibly upset her.

So what did I do? I did what anyone would do under such circumstances and made myself a cup of tea and a plateful of muffins to give me some 'thinking time'.

When I got back to the table we were still on speaking terms, so I tentatively suggested she might like to try the embroidery foot on again. I must point out that I had dispensed with this item to perfect the snowflake design but when it had come to the 'actual' production she would not play ball. So with embroidery foot reattached, she visibily relaxed and hummed along merrily. I'm still none the wiser as to why she would sew happily without it one minute and not the next - the joys of sewing.

I think my insane ramblings this morning are due to me having to think about Christmas in September, but then I don't think I'm alone on this one. 

But it has made me wonder...... (Carrie Bradshaw moment coming up)..."Am I the only person who applies anthropomorphic qualities to their sewing machine?" or is it as my eldest son put so eloquently yesterday because "that's what happens when you spend all day alone sewing!"

I'll leave you with those thoughts now, I'm off to make a tea cosy and talk to the wall.

Just when you thought you'd got rid of me........guest blog!

I just need to quickly tell you about this before I disappear. Lovely Keri (she of the amazing machine feet tutorials fame) from Bella Boutique asked if I wouldn't mind doing a guest blog for her about 'free machine embroidery'. Well I did and she's posted it today here. As I said to Keri I'm not holding myself up as an expert or anything, just someone who loves to have a go and has really enjoyed doing so these past few months. While you're popping over to have a look, do make sure you take in Keri's tutorials, I have really found them very interesting and informative. So, thank you Keri for this opportunity.

Right that really is it now. Bye!

Handmade Monday - Crochet Wallet

A very good afternoon to you all, hope you're all enjoying yourselves. I'm a little late posting for Handmade Monday this week but I am very excited. I popped over there before writing this post and WOW!!! Wendy has featured my cushion on her blog, I was thrilled to bits when I saw it and she's so right about blogging, it lets you in all sorts of doors and allows you to support businesses you otherwise might not have found out about - although I'm not really sure I can call myself one of those yet.

So thank you Wendy, it was a lovely surprise. Wendy herself paints beautiful wooden plaques and I especially like her VW ones, in fact I might even have to buy an actual VW just to have an excuse to buy one. Why not pop over and peruse her website and have a look at the talented ladies she is showcasing this week as part of Handmade Monday or better still take part yourself.

Anyway I'm being a bit wordy today, so time for a picture.

My entry to Handmade monday this week is like a few of my makes, born out of necessity. Regular followers will know that I have recently learnt how to crochet - I think I may have mentioned it once or twice. Well I'm taking a project away on holiday with me and I was in need of a suitable something in which to transport all of those little bits that keep getting lost at the bottom of by bag, hence 'My Hooky Book' was born (apologies to Russell Brand).

It's quite obvious to see I have adapted my needlecase design to suit my needs. Adding inside pockets to hold hooks and snips and a little pouch for a paper pattern or scribbled notes (in my case). I've also added a little inlay to hold tapestry needles and safety pins for that all important finishing off or stitch holder. Unfortunately what you are witnessing is the full extent of my crochet collection, a hook and a needle - shame.

The flap at the top was a last minute thought, as I soon discovered I needed something to stop my implements from falling out. At one point I was going to stitch crocheted flowers on to the cover, which I still might do if I decide to make more, but for the purposes of this one, the jury decided it was not essential.

I don't mind crochet rolls but I'm more of a wallet kind of a gal and feel there's nothing more satisfying than the 'snap' of a press stud when you want something to hold firm. As you can see I still need to add those bits.

So now I can happily 'crochet on the go' and know that all I need to remember when leaving the house is wallet and wool.

The Summer holidays are going too fast!

Handmade Monday - Needlecases

Needle case or Needle book? Anyway whichever one of the two that's what I spent my Saturday morning doing.

I'm embarassed to say that as a sewer I rely on scraps of fabric to look after my needles, which is why I'm forever misplacing (losing) them. So I took matters into hand and made myself a needlcase where I believe my needles will be happy to nest.

Once I'd made one though, I couldn't stop and made a few more.

 Each one has a lovely contrasting lining with felt inlays picking out one of the colours from the front.

....and finished with a good old fashioned press stud (or snap fastener). Am I the only person to think that press studs are just the best thing ever?!

You may even have noticed the new labels - oooooh get me!

So these are destined for the online redneedle world of Etsy/Folksy which you may visit by clicking the links on my sidebar.

Now, I have to welcome some lovely new followers, thank you for visiting and I shall look forward to visiting your blogs soon.

First day of the Summer holidays and I'll be spending this afternoon helping my youngest son put together his new trampoline which he has been saving like mad for, whilst my eldest applies the finishing touches to his social calendar for the next six weeks.

When all is calm I will then sit myself down with a well earned cuppa and peruse the wonderful offerings over at Wendy's 1st Unique Gifts from my fellow crafting buddies. Thank you for stopping by today, come back soon when I hope to have more goodies to share.

 Enjoy the sunshine!