Sewing with GranddaughterStitches

We recently had a visit from eight-year-old GranddaughterStitches, who came to attend Art Camp at GAC.  This is her third year at the camp, and she loves it.  

She looks so serious, doesn't she!

As you can imagine, I am very interested in teaching GranddaughterStitches how to sew/quilt. In previous years, I have taught her how to hand sew; she loved cutting (fussy cutting) pieces of print fabric, then sewing them onto another piece of fabric.  Last year I gave her 40 5-inch squares and had her arrange them on my design wall.  I then sewed them together for her.  She helped me pin the quilt sandwich, and instructed me in what design to use for the quilting.  She was very proud of her doll quilt.

This year I found a book at Marva’s “The Loft” called Sewing Machine Fun for Kids by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith.  It is a great book for guiding a young quilter/sewer.  It had puzzles that helped GranddaughterStitches learn the names of different parts of the sewing machine.  That made it more fun for her.  It also had sample projects, and she chose to make a hair scrunchie.  After that she decided she wanted to sew a pillowcase, even though that wasn’t one of the projects in the book.  And I have to say, she did a pretty good job of it. 

The pillowcase.  I love the fabric that she chose from my stash.

The scrunchy.

I’m so happy to see this new generation interested in sewing and quilting.  It warms my heart.

Sewing Machine Repair

I had the greatest experience today, getting my sewing machine repaired! I know what you're thinking: "It doesn't take much to please some people."

But really, this was so great that I just have to write about it. I'm using my smaller, older machine right now, and it started giving me all sorts of loose loopy threads on the back of my sewing. That is SO not good, right? So I googled Pfaff sewing machine repair, and found several places listed. One that I looked at wasn't too hard to get to, and I read a couple reviews about how good it was. One of the reviews suggested that it's a good idea to make an appointment to take your machine in.

I called this morning and made an appointment for the afternoon. I drove over to find the store, and had to drive quite a bit to find a parking place. That was the only downside: the parking is always difficult to come by. I don't know why, but I had envisioned myself driving up and finding a parking space right in front of the store. Somehow that didn't happen.

So I had to schlep my heavy machine for a little over a block to get to the store. When I went in, it turned out to be a little hole in the wall place, run by two Asian men. There were several machines sitting around, some industrial-looking machines, and a lot of stuff piled up. One of the men took my machine and set it up, telling his brother (as it turned out to be) to get me a chair so I could sit beside him. I have to say that the language barrier made things a little, shall we say, interesting...

Brother Number One starts looking at my machine, opening up some spaces so he can see inside. And I kid you not, he was like a doctor examining the machine! He felt all around the bobbin while running the needle up and down, he used his fingers so perfectly. It really was like a doctor palpating someone's abdomen! After several minutes of feeling and prodding, he sewed a little bit and it worked just fine. Hallelujah!!!

Then, as I was packing the machine up he picked up my spool of thread and asked me if that is what I usually use, to which I answered "yes." He said, "But it doesn't last very long. You should use this kind of thread," and he held up a cone of thread. He said how good the thread was and how long it would last. And then he gave me a brand new cone of white thread! I was astounded!

When I was all ready to go, Brother Number Two insisted on carrying my machine to the car for me. I tried to take it away from him, but he wouldn't let me. [Secretly, I was very happy not to have to carry that heavy thing any more today, but I'm supposed to act like a tough girl, right?]

And the name of this great place? Bay City Sewing Machine Co. They are in San Francisco and can be reached at 415-863-9283.

Sewing Foot Pedal Stand, or, My Son Is Wonderful!

My son recently noticed the cobbled-together arrangement I had under my sewing table. I needed to have my foot pedal slightly elevated, so my knee could be at a right angle. Then I needed to have my left foot elevated, so it was even with my right foot/leg. (I think I was using a plastic strawberry box or something totally dumb like that, and a drawer divider.) Wonderful SonStitches asked if I'd like him to build me something to rest my feet on. And HERE IT IS!!

He designed a cut-out place where my foot pedal can fit right into. (see second photo) It is wonderfully sturdy, but not too heavy. I think it will look very cute when I paint it with something whimsical, and I also think I'll ask MisterStitches to add a simple handle onto the side, so that I can carry it to another location easily.

This shows the cut-out portion. Isn't my son clever!?!