My previous blog post was about the ongoing challenge to reduce the massive amount of fabric I inherited from my mother. I neglected to mention that in addition to fabric, gadgets, notions, quilting books, and thread, I also inherited 1 serger and 4 sewing machines. Mom was friends with a woman named Gayle, who owned an adorable quilt shop. As most shops do, the shop was a distributor for a line of sewing machines called Husqvarna, commonly called Viking machines. That’s where Mom bought her fabric and sewing machines.
Luckily, the sewing machines are top of the line and have a great reputation. However, I certainly didn’t need to own so many machine! So, one was given to my niece, Hannah, one went to my daughter, Leslie, the serger is going to my niece, Kaylin; and, the remaining 2 are mine. One of them is a small, travel machine called Gem, which I am going to get serviced before giving it to a granddaughter. The sole survivor of the sewing machine purge is a combination sewing, quilting, embroidery machine called the Designer SE.
My original machine is a Janome, which I still use from time to time. It’s like your favorite blanket; comfortable. No bells and whistles; just a great, reliable, easy to use basic machine… with a quarter inch presser foot and a walking foot for quilting. All I have ever needed. The Designer SE is best described as the Rolls Royce of sewing. Soooooooo many bells and whistles; including an annoying beep that lets you know you’re doing something wrong. Sadly, I hear it quite often.
Anyway, each time Mom bought one of her machines, it included an introductory class. At the time, I thought that was odd. I mean, seriously, they are sewing machines! How hard could it be to turn on a sewing machine and sew! But, after using this machine for the past few years, I realize the classes were necessary in order to really learn how to utilize each feature. Learning how to use the machines by reading the instruction manuals and watching YouTube videos has been tougher than my worst college class!
The sewing side of the machine has been mastered… mostly. I decided I better start figuring out the embroidery side before the collection of embroidery thread rotted away. Lucky for me, I have a genius granddaughter who agreed to help me work out the basics of the embroidery program. When I say the basics, it’s like I am in the Kindergarten class of Viking sewing school.
Maggie just seems to be wired to learn. She is happiest in school, busy with schedules, activities, learning new things, and accepting new challenges. Because of that, she had absolutely no hesitation when jumping into the challenge. Sitting next to her, with the machine in front of us, and the owner’s manual in her hands, we did it! Together, we plowed our way through and actually succeeded… we did machine embroidery!
Maggie with her beautiful smile, ready for the challenge.
Mom’s machine churning out one of the quilt labels.
Our first one! Simple but so exciting!!
Our second project.
The last ine for the day.
Ta-da! I was thrilled with our success.
After spending the morning with Maggie, I felt fairly confident that I could manage on my own. I packed up all the plunder and headed home. I spent the rest of the day sorting through the boxes of embroidery supplies trying to get it somewhat organized. By the time I finished, it was too late in the day to start a new project. A good night’s sleep was much needed.
The next day was challenging. Lots and lots of annoying beeps from the machine saying, “you’re doing it wrong.” But, I stuck with it and added more quilt labels to my stack!
Choising colors and switching threads during the process is still difficult. Hopefully, that will get easier.
This is a design Mom had created and saved in the machine. It has flaws due to my clumsy skills.
My first attempt at mirror imaging. Not bad for a first try.
Day two ended with a repeated pattern; different colors.
All in all, I feel very pleased with my first step into the world of machine embroidery. Do I ever expect to use it for anything other than making quilt labels? Honestly, probably not. I really can’t see myself wanting to fight with figuring out how to use the machine to embroider clothing, hats, or shoes! Just trying to get a piece of fabric and the stabilizer into the hoop can be difficult! But, who knows… Never say never!
