Making swap stuff

Those sound good. I really must try a few things like this for gifts for next Christmas.

Yekk! Sympathies and ((((((SUNNY HUGS))))))

How annoying! But I bet they look fantastic now.

Sounds good to me! For stuff like that I have several good older machanical machines. I have sewn tin cans with a Bernina 707 before now! (Well, scales cut from Coke cans, anyway!

So it is. I'm still having fun testing the entry level Brother.

(((Hugs))) for improved health! Staying alive isn't for sissies. Quilted books, who would have thought! What size needle do you use? 90 or 100? Roberta in D, waiting for Pictures

Hi Sunny,

So sorry about the fungal infection. I'm hoping that's an indication that your illness has been kicked to the ground too. Also sorry about you being "wired" so much that you can't sleep. That said, I must say you've been a trooper to keep on stitching, putting the excess energy to good use, and learning cool things about your new machine. :-)

How much longer on the prednisone before you start to taper off?

Michelle in Nevada

In answer to the questions about my meds -- the pednisone taper is underway. I'm down to 30 mg a day this week, dropping to 20 starting Wednesday and then to 10 a week later. I really don't want to go back on maintenance. I was on 10 mg a day (with occasional bursts and tapers) for almost 5 years. Not good, not good at all. I don't know what is going on with my body these days, but before starting the burst I had a hard time staying awake for more than a few hours. While I slept in till after 9 today, I haven't had a nap and I'm not in bed yet, LOL. I consider that progress.

As for needle size, I really don't know. I have a bad habit of just grabbing the nearest needle when I need one in the middle of stitching. So I already had a needle in and didn't change it. It's a Schmetz purple needle -- I think that's embroidery. It's probably one of the larger sizes. But I don't know for sure. Careless, I know, but ....... somehow it worked and I'm quite glad.

Sunny

Okay, I'm so jealous and now I have machine-envy. I have GOT to find a good machine that I can afford. Heavy on the "afford" part. I have a Singer 15-91 which WAS a reliable little workhorse. Now her stitch regular is nearly toast, and the repairman said he can't do any more for it, and I need to just junk it and find another one, because for him to fix it would cost more than buying another 15-91 in far better condition. So I decided to buy a brand new Singer, not a used one. What I really want to do is leave it on someone's porch and run away. That is how bad it is. You say your machine can sew through cardboard? This machine can't sew through a double seam. Everytime it hits a seam, I have to pull it through. The foot pedal has two speeds: "nothing moves" and "runaway train". Sorry for the rant. I know the price of the Singer was nothing compared to what good machines cost, but still, $400 is a lot of $$$$ for something I can't use without cussing. Sherry

Sherry, don't feel bad. Singer was once the gold standard for most middle-American home stitchers. I would have bought a Singer if I'd thought about getting a sewing machine. My mom, always the one to keep up with ..... everything ..... kept that from happening when she bought a Janome 5700 and put it in the mail to me back about six years or so ago. It was a floor model that had been sitting, unused, for a couple years and they gave her a deal on it. I'd never even heard of Janome, or Pfaff or Bernina. I have a friend who spent twice what you did on a new Singer with all the bells and whistles and now has a machine she can't really use.

There are a lot of good used sewing machines in SM shops all over the country, costing a lot less than they did when new. And most of those shop owners will deal, cuz they really don't need used machines taking up space. Also check Craig's List and talk to the people at your LQS. You just never know what you'll find available. Life is too short to use a machine that doesn't work well.

All that said, when I just had my first Janome and it was in the shop and a deadline was looming (birthday was approaching and the gift wasn't finished) I walked into the SM store here and said 'I want to buy your ugliest used machine for under $50." I walked out with a New Home that had been a high school Home Ed machine. Truly ugly. But with

12 sweet stitches and it ran like a champ. It's a great machine and I gave it away two years ago to a little girl with an incredible flare for fashion design who didn't have a machine. She's taken it to college with her and it just may launch her into a career.

Sorry to be rambling. I don't know what I'm trying to say here except that you need a good sewing machine and you deserve one. Do some research, look at models several years old that might be coming back into shops for trade-ups to this year's model, check ebay and other places that sell direct to consumer, and know what a machine is worth before buying it.

Hugs, Sunny

Oh, no, I don't think you're rambling. I appreciate the advice, I do. And I

*am* going to start researching machines and seeing what kind of deal I can find on a used one. I know now that a quality used machine is a better deal than a cheap new one. I don't think anything is more frustrating than a machine that doesn't sew properly. I used to be afraid of *learning* a new machine with no owner's manual. But hey, it's not rocket science, and I bet a manual can be found for just about any machine.

Sherry

On Jan 3, 9:11=A0pm, Sherry wrote:

Sherry, My very first sewing machine was like that....it would sew, but it would leak oil whenever it felt like it! It was a bottom line (I'm sure) brother. I've never bought another one! I have a singer sewing machine that ate an appliqued wall hanging I was trying to quilt...brought me to tears to have to rip it out of the bobbin area and throw it away. Thank heavens those weren't the machines I learned on....I had the combination of the school sewing machines and my mom's old Singer. She was fickle, but she beautifully when she wanted to. :-) I think she was probably way past do for a cleaning, oiling and a check up. As part of a military family she traveled around the country, meeting us at each destination. I remember coming out one day with a pair of shorts I was trying to sew up and had somehow flipped the shorts around and sewed the waist as one of the pants leg or something...anyhow...it was a funny sight to come strolling out with these on. I wanted to show mom and ask what I did wrong...that is mostly what she sewed was clothing and took one look at me and burst out laughing....and all's I could do was laugh too. She explained what had happened and I fixed them. My main interest in sewing was to learn how to quilt! :-) Anyhow, my brother had leaked for one last time on something I was in the middle of sewing and I marched right down to the sewing machine shop and traded her in for a Pfaff! Beautiful machine and sewed like a dream...just didn't have the muscle I wanted. Sewed on it for years...until I bought my singer. A few summer's back my beloved Terry purchased my dream machine...the Husqavarna....was still an expensive purchase for us, but what a beauty she is. Anyhow, I'm with the rest of the gang who suggested purchasing a well used machine....good luck in that adventure and happy hunting! Launie, in Oregon

Sunny, Sorry to hear you are having such problems...my Terry had Thrush...not fun! You have such a great outlook...one day...I'd love to meet you. :-) take care and hugs, Launie