It never ceases to amaze me: in all of needlework, not just in sewing patterns, somebody writes a book lucidly explaining how you can create designs that embody your own ideas and make clothing that is exactly what you had in mind -- and somebody says "This book is lousy because some of the examples are designs that I don't want to copy."
I kid you not, _Knitting from the Top_ was dissed because people didn't like the *colors* of the garments that illustrated the principles!
Guh . . . guh . . . guh . . . there are books that tell you how to select colors, but _Knitting from the Top_ isn't one of them!
This gets close to something that puzzles me. Machine embroidery lists and news groups get posts from people who want to change the colors in a stitched out design, or have a different brand of thread - and seem to be stymied about how to proceed. Uh....the machine doesn't select the thread....the stitcher does. Am I missing something? For knitting, it's sort of a no-brainer that you use the color - and yarn given that it gives you a swatch with the same gauge - except perhaps for Kasse Fassett, since his books deal more with color than the actual knitting.
Actually, many of the domestic embroidery machines have built-in color charts that tell you what colors to use in the various brands of thread since they all call their colors by different names. Machine embroiderers are often stymied on colors because their patterns are digital and the colors are not accurately reflected on their computer displays or sewing machine screens. Pantone colors and WYSIWYG are not common nomenclature in domestic machine embroidery, unfortunately. The fact that the pattern designers are often using only one brand of thread colors and the colors need to be converted further complicates matters.
Moreover, many of the people who use these machines have little or no background in the textile or graphic arts. Many have never even done embroidery by hand. Therefore, they tend to treat the process as a kind of "paint-by-number" thing rather than a creative endeavor. They often don't comprehend that they can get out their spools and just pick their own colors! I've seen many people who use embroidery machines and the vast majority never sewed a garment (from scratch) in their lives. What really blows me away is the number of women with domestic sewing/embroidery computers (plus software) in the $7-10,000 range who never use them for anything but non-commercial embroidery.
Obviously, I'm not talking about everyone but so many of today's (younger) women seem to think they are incapable of doing something unless they do it with expensive devices and software. It troubles me greatly that women seem to think or are led to believe that creativity only comes in a box or that they are too stupid to use their own imaginations. I often wonder whose interests are being served.
Kaffe Fassett has certainly made his impression on the quilting world as well.
Make that people -- and they don't have to be younger, because this has been going on since long before software.
In the early sixties the hospital where my mother, an RN, worked needed an occupational therapist, and she filled the slot until they found a licensed therapist. Mom taught the patients all kinds of neat stuff she learned in the twenties as a girl on the farm -- probably including hand sewing and embroidery, but of course I can't ask her now.
The they found a therapist with a fancy degree in instructing the patients to buy expensive kits and snap the parts together. What a way to make the patients feel creative and capable!
I think I know exactly what you mean. Having read all those reviews a Amazon for the books which I know and use, I kept wondering if people just wanted to open their mouths and be spoon fed.
Either I didn't understand what they meant (and I doubt that given that I had to use literacy skills to earn a crust for at least 25 years of my career) or some people have a very strange approach to craft of all sorts. If one is going to put the effort in the create something from scratch, then surely that also involves some effort to use one's brain and creative thought processes.
??????????????????????????????? I'm gobbsmacked! I consider myself to be a total wastrel and can go through more money than anyone else I know just frittering it away, but to have a machine worth that much just blows my mind!
I look at new machines and especially the all singing all dancing computerised or machine embroidery ones and am simply turned off and that is even before I ask the price. But if I see an old, heavy as lead but still in good condition Singer sitting at a street market, it comes home with me. I love the solid work horse nature of these old machines. I love the simple but effective engineering and know that with a good oiling, a clean up and a few minor adjustments it will soon be singing along nicely again. I don't know anyone else who shares this addiction so I must be a weirdo.
Mind boggling, eh? First consider that all the embroidery (emb) software alone can cost as much as a very adequate sewing machine--- as much as $1-2000. Purchased embroidery patterns alone (excepting the freebies) are often way overpriced. Some of these machines have their own operating systems. Bernina's TOL machines are run by Windows for instance... and that's nothing to brag about as far as I'm concerned. I've seen TOL Singer emb machines priced at around $5000 and the high end Berninas as high as $8000--- w/o the software and other necessary peripherals like CD ROM drives, peripheral RAM, wireless cards, and more. There are far cheaper emb machines, however.
Oh I think you have lots of company in alt.sewing. :)
I know what you mean, and what I find almost equally amazing is the fact that a lot of those people feel the same way about me that I don't/can't/whatever get one myself.
I own 3 machines. A Pfaff 5-thread serger, a 37 year-old Consew industrial machine and a mid-'80s, middle of the line Kenmore. These machines were acquired over a period of 20 years and have a combined purchase price of about $2,500.
In my circle of friends and family nobody has a machine worth more than $500 or even owns more than one machine. I have a number of acquaintances who think that having a stable of sewing machines is insanely frivolous, despite the fact that the industrial is used almost daily in the operation of my business and the other two, conservatively, see use at least twice a week.
To be quite honest I think there's a certain amount of sexism involved. It's okay for our dads, our husbands, our brothers and our sons to acquire impractical cars, motorcycles, computer systems or indoor theater set-ups involving tens of thousands of dollars, but a bad-assed sewing setup is somehow... Decadent. And what's worse is that we are our own worst critics.
So ladies, refrain from sniffing at women who seem "unworthy" of the equipment they own. Let's cut each other some slack. Sometimes it's worth buying something you can grow into.
And all of them make me say, "I'd love to have a home embroidery machine. It's a shame they haven't been invented yet."
If I can't input my own designs, created with any program I like to use, I might as well choose among stock designs that are already stitched out, or take my fabric to a professional.
You quoted me, so I feel the need to defend myself here. I am a single parent of four children, and buying one of those expensive machines just is *not* in my budget. The less-expensive one work perfectly fine for my needs, and while it might be nice to play with them, I don't *need* them, especially if it's at the expense of denying my child something they would need.
I can't imagine paying $8,000 for a sewing machine. That is what we paid for our house in 1951 and it wasn't a "dump" either. However in
1956 my husband bought me a Necchi Super Nova for $400 (a lot of money then). Still have them both without ANY repair to the Necchi (i baby it!) but lots of remodeling to the house. That now new sewing machine is going to be obsolete in a couple of years. A sign of the times? Dot in Tennessee
Well that's why they have software to digitize your own designs. But it does cost quite a bit as I mentioned previously and, of course, requires a computer and software that can digitize in the format your sewing machine can handle. Quality of the finished product varies considerably.
Wow! I consider that I spoil myself lots, but I still can't imagine spending that much money. For that sort of money, I'd rather have another trip to Britain to see the Victoria and Albert again. But then I like to hand embroider and have never had any interest in machine embroidery so it isn't really on my horizon.
Oh good. Nice to know there are other weirdos around :-)). My husband can't understand why I have 8 (I think) old sewing machines. I often lend them out though to young people who need a machine for something or other.
Kathleen I think you have been very restrained to restrict yourself to only
3 machines. I can understand why you'd need all three of them.
Yep. Husband had 13 old Land Rovers till a couple of weeks ago when he sold
He doesn't think that's a lot despite the fact that every shed on the farm is full of them and to get to the hay for the cattle he has to drag a Land Rover out of the way. We won't mention the other old cars of other marques hidden away.
I didn't think we were "sniffing at" or in any way implying or infering that other women were "unworthy" of their equipment. As far as I can see, a number of us were commenting on the fact that we neither share the fascination or can see the attraction or feel the need to spend that sort of money satisfy our interest in sewing.
Since I like tailoring, garment sewing and domestic sewing, and have never had any desire or interest in emboidering by machine any item I sewed, I would be well and truly wasting my money on either a computerised or embroidering machine. To me, the sturdiness of the machine and the stitch quality is all. This has not been bettered since the machines which date from the 1950s or earlier from what I've observed. I don't care what machine anyone has, but I have noticed time and time again how often people have thought they were trading "up" and then complain how disappointed they are with their new machines and they preferred there old ones. I've always kept ot given away my old machines and my newest is a Bernina that I bought when I retired. I use it because it has a knee operated foot lifter, but my old Singer treadle or any of my other ancient Singers do as good, or a better job than the Bernina does.
Sometimes it's
That comment assumes that one might want to do something that can't be done with a current machine. I want to "grow into" heirloom sewing (I think this is called French Sewing in the US) and all of my machines can do this given the right thread and the right needle combo. I will have more trouble finding top quality fabrics to work on than I will in getting my machines to do what I want them to do.
But I'll bet pounds to peanuts (or dollars to doughnuts) that her old machine will still be going strong when the machine that can today be bought for $8,000 has long been sent to the dump.
I'm not interested in making that bet. ;-) I happen to have, and still use for all real *sewing*, my Singer 401A, purchased new in 1961. However, in 2003, I also added to my stable a Singer Quantum XL5000 and purchased the digitizing software, and I *love* it. I'm not expecting it to last anything like as long as the 401A, but I'll probably be dead in another 30 years so who cares? ;-) I have had at least $$$$.$$ worth of pleasure in learning how to use it, and creating one-of-a-kind designs and garments. And sharing it with my DGD has been a great bonding experience. No regrets here.
Oddly enough, I, too, have a Singer 401 and an XL5000. And a few other machines....but who's counting? I also have a Singer EU, which has been marketed as a P.O.E.M. and a Huskygram - same machine, different labels. These have been around 20 years, I believe, perhaps longer. Mine still works just fine. It's not terribly powerful, and is limited to a
4"x4" design, but it's an amazing little machine and I'm holding onto it. Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me terribly if it's still around and working in another 20 years.
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