Trying to Catch up on Applique BOM sort of

Debra, if you sit at the SM 'hunched', you're doing it wrong. We had a quilter here one time who confessed to getting poked in the eye by the thread uptake lever. We suspect she was sitting 'hunched' too. When your back is feeling better, let's see if your SM setup needs some - ah, me, what's that uppity word? Ergonomics? See if you can improve the height of the bed on your SM as well as the height of your chair. Lighting? Glasses? Something is causing you to hunch and your back will thank you (as well as your front and both sides) if you figure out why you're doing that hunching. I believe I've mentioned before that my piano teachers and home ec teachers were all rejects from the Marines because they were too brutal. You don't even want to think about what would happen if we hunched. Polly

"Debra" wrote > I'm going to try my hand at needle turn applique today. This means

Regular sewing is no problem at all. I only hunch a bit when doing close, small, curvy applique. I like it to be as perfect as I can get it, so my eyes need to be a smidge closer to the work. My back problem is right at the right shoulder blade and even rolling that arm forward to sew at the machine would bother it. I gotta say I've never been close enough to get poked in the eye with any moving sewing machine parts though, that's way too close to the work.

Debra in VA See my quilts at

Glasses can help with this. I noticed I was leaning in on stitch-in-the-ditch work, because I needed to see what I was doing. At my next eye appointment, I told the eye doc what I was doing and where the focal length needed to be. She said "Cool! I always wanted to learn to quilt!". I gave her recommendations for books and teachers, she gave me a prescription for the right focal length and a bit of magnification. That pair of glasses is the best investment I ever made. *grin*

Alas, this is not possible for me. I asked about it at my eye doc so we checked everything and the difference between my regular glasses (such a light prescription that they are mostly correcting for astigmatism) and what I'd need for the sewing and needlework is just too small a change. No lens company on the planet will grind a lens for it.

So, until my eyes get worse I can either wear my regular glasses and lean into the work, or take off my glasses and use the lowest magnification el cheepo reading glasses and try to sew without correcting for my astigmatism. Sometimes I use one method, sometimes the other. On the up side, I can easily drive and read without my glasses, so I'm not really wanting my eyes to get worse. Debra in VA See my quilts at

See if you can find a magnifying glass with a flexible neck on a clamp, attach it to your table. Easy to shove out of the way when you don't want it, and easy to adjust the focus. Roberta in D

"Debra" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

And if you are hunching and causing back pain there is a product that is a sort of "vest" that is weighted. The weight is actually attached to elastic straps and it sits at the small of your back, the straps go over your shoulders and are adjustable. It is amazing how well it works. Reminds you not to hunch, and acts as a counter balance. Think it is called "Body Rite", or some such. (Check Clothilde or Nancy's Notions.) I have one I carry in my sewing machine case and have let many others try it out. (Costs about $30 but is well worth it.) (You can also use it while doing a lot of other things. You don't wear it constantly, just for a half hour or so every couple of hours. )

Pati, > Debra, if you sit at the SM 'hunched', you're doing it wrong. We had a