so - did anybody get one? on topic

I was given one by a quilting friend, but I haven't used it yet. I think it would be most useful when I'm sewing on my Featherweight and don't want to stop; on my Bernina, I can wind while sewing, so there's no particular advantage.

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I bought myself one after the holiday. Money makes a good gift! I have just wound 3-4 bobbins. The side winder runs really-really fast and it is on until the bobbin is full. I think you could trigger it off by using the little arm, but haven't tried that. I don't think it winds as evenly as I expected. The outside edges have not been full, which makes a fat belly in the middle of the bobbin..

So far I have only used the wound bobbins on the Janome which is not a picky machine. My Bernina 930 is another matter, it is very tempermental. After I use a couple on the Bernina, I will let you know how it handles the bobbinsl.

Just popping up again - yes, I have one.

I like - the speed and the ease of setting up to wind many bobbins sitting in a comfy chair (yes, I am crazy enough to have over 100 bobbins filled and ready to go at any time, although many are for the embroidery machine)

I don't like - the uneven wind on the thread and the awful thread feed system

I will continue to use it only 'cos I have figured a way to control the feed, and the last time I wound 50 consecutive bobbins on the Janome 10001 I froze up the bobbin motor!

Overall - it wasn't expensive and I eventually made it work so I would give it maybe 6.5 out of 10. Nice to have but NOT an essential.

I have had one since they first came out. I really like. I haven't noticed the uneven winding, but maybe I'm not looking close enough. My Janome hasn't complained, so that is the most important thing. Yesterday at quilt guild, one of my friends wound 60 bobbins for her hand applique. She and I are both gadget people. The guild has a joke that if anything new comes out, they will ask us first because we will usually have it. We have both purchased nice bobbin holder from

Sherry Starr

I was watching one of the usual pbs sewing programs (I think America Sews?) when the guest mentioned that she uses the sidewinder to refill 'Nebs' plastic bobbins which are usually non-recyclable. jennellh

I did! I love it. It winds my bobbins better and quicker then my machine. It is a cutie.

I have thanked my son over and over.

I was going to get one, but I've started using the Pfaff machine and I am charmed by the way it winds bobbins that I haven't bought the toy yet. On my Janome, the bobbin is wound and .... it's just a wound bobbin. The Pfaff winds a bobbin with this sort of intense precision. I love watching the things wind and they're a work of art once wound, perfectly even up and down, no crossed threads or anything. I know it's slow and I will probably go ahead adn get a Sidewinder at some point, but right now I'm just awed by how great the Pfaff wound bobbins are.

Sunny

Hi Taria

Even when just piecing (I rarely did my own quilting when I was working - no time) I always kept at least half a dozen each cream, light and med grey, taupe and black (or navy) bobbins wound, plus a couple of red/brown. Stopping to wind bobbins is not my favourite thing. My old Janome Memory 7 has about 60 metal bobbins.

And when I do applique I always put my thread onto bobbins so I can carry lots of threads in a small kit. I have a spindle with a wing nut at each end to hold them all - much less bulky than lots of reels of thread. I use any damaged bobbins for that, but they still wind on this gadget. (The exception would be my silk thread - but I usually only have one or two colours for hand sewing. That I use off the reel.)

Now I have an embroidery machine, so I wound a 3000y cone each of Bottom Line thread in a range of basic colours onto bobbins (can't remember exactly but that's over 2 dozen bobbins each cone). Plus I have some embroidery threads on bobbins for reversible works. And then there's . . . . .

I guess I have about 300 plastic bobbins for the Janome

And I can hear you ask - do I ever use that many bobbins?

Just a few weeks ago I had to stitch out 10 sets of blocks of the Twelve Days of Christmas on the embroidery machine for the girls in my sit'n'sew group. I did them all in a gold shade of rayon thread with a near matching Bottom line thread. That little effort over three days used over a cone of Bottom Line in the bobbins (32 bobbins), and a similar amount of rayon as the top thread. But I didn't have to break the rhythm of hooping-and-stitching to wind any bobbins. (Boy - was I ever glad when they were finished!!)

I saw one of these advertised in the Spotlight catalogue today for $24.95, a saving of $5.

Will I buy one ? no because DS enjoys winding my bobbins for me.

Dee in Oz

She does almost everything by hand. She likes to keep her applique thread on bobbins so she doesn't have to carry the spools/cones with her. She only uses her sewing machines for piecing. She will do machine quilting if she is making a quick gift or a community service project. She hand quilts everything she makes for herself, family, and friends.

Sherry Starr