Woolarina
Monday, January 21, 2008
Also! Knitting for Craft Fairs!
Also, I've been spinning! and knitting! There's a super fun craft fair coming up as well...
Sunday, February 3, 12 noon to 5 pm
Josephine Butler Parks Center
1247 15th Street NW
http://craftsandkisses.com
There will be music! And a kissing booth! :) And goody bags for the first 50 shoppers!
I will have lots and lots of yarn! (And of course some hats+mitts to warm you right up!) **Any yarn with pink in it will be $2 off, if you mention seeing it on my blog!**
This will be an interesting day - I am getting in from Las Vegas (yay conference travel!) super duper late then the craft fair when I wake up! Speaking of Vegas- anyone have any must-see tips? I imagine slots will get old fast...
Sunday, February 3, 12 noon to 5 pm
Josephine Butler Parks Center
1247 15th Street NW
http://craftsandkisses.com
There will be music! And a kissing booth! :) And goody bags for the first 50 shoppers!
I will have lots and lots of yarn! (And of course some hats+mitts to warm you right up!) **Any yarn with pink in it will be $2 off, if you mention seeing it on my blog!**
This will be an interesting day - I am getting in from Las Vegas (yay conference travel!) super duper late then the craft fair when I wake up! Speaking of Vegas- anyone have any must-see tips? I imagine slots will get old fast...
secret project
I'd been hoping to compete a secret project for someone or other...
Actually, there are a few secret projects floating around. I was really hoping to finish ONE of them. Ahead of schedule, at least. And I did! For once!
No word on who this is for... actually, that's a little up in the air still. It all depends on other secret projects. We'll see.
Wherever it goes, it is super cute!
Actually, there are a few secret projects floating around. I was really hoping to finish ONE of them. Ahead of schedule, at least. And I did! For once!
No word on who this is for... actually, that's a little up in the air still. It all depends on other secret projects. We'll see.
Wherever it goes, it is super cute!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
where paula (still) doesn't use her mechanical engineering degree
Actually, I find the machine fascinating.. how it loops around the bobbin thread perfectly each time. The perfect tiny stitches. I still can't find the light switch (it's just not where any manual says it should be!) and need to lube a whole lot more places, but I am amazed! It works great! And the instructions on maintenance actually made me realize what was wrong with my new machine, so mayyybe I can adjust that one too!
Okay, so that's after I realized I had the wrong bobbins, and that the needle was in backwards. (Phew! Saved myself some cash by googling that before running it to a shop!)
Once you dig deeper, there is a ton of information online on old Singer Sewing Machines. And entire groups devoted to using, maintaining, restoring, etc! Searching through the archives of Yahoo Groups answered all of my questions fairly quickly, and lef to a few other places.
- The best is: vintagesingers - they also have a pdf of student manuals for these machines that I found useful.
- The Featherweight Yahoo Group is also good, though it's slightly less relevant for my machine.
- The International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society has PDFs of numerous old manuals. (no longer under copyright, as they are old!)
- Livejournal group: vintagemachines - I haven't had a chance to look at much, but I generally like the livejournal format better than yahoo groups.
So far so good - I sewed a little last night, then promptly spent the next two hours cutting out parts for a super secret project. Using a *real* pattern! I still need to get back to JoAnn's to pick up some motor grease for the machine (there are a zillion oil points and then a few grease places to lubricate!) but it's running pretty good!
Woot!!
Okay, so that's after I realized I had the wrong bobbins, and that the needle was in backwards. (Phew! Saved myself some cash by googling that before running it to a shop!)
Once you dig deeper, there is a ton of information online on old Singer Sewing Machines. And entire groups devoted to using, maintaining, restoring, etc! Searching through the archives of Yahoo Groups answered all of my questions fairly quickly, and lef to a few other places.
- The best is: vintagesingers - they also have a pdf of student manuals for these machines that I found useful.
- The Featherweight Yahoo Group is also good, though it's slightly less relevant for my machine.
- The International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society has PDFs of numerous old manuals. (no longer under copyright, as they are old!)
- Livejournal group: vintagemachines - I haven't had a chance to look at much, but I generally like the livejournal format better than yahoo groups.
So far so good - I sewed a little last night, then promptly spent the next two hours cutting out parts for a super secret project. Using a *real* pattern! I still need to get back to JoAnn's to pick up some motor grease for the machine (there are a zillion oil points and then a few grease places to lubricate!) but it's running pretty good!
Woot!!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
wish I could sing today
We've had this lovely piece of machinery hiding in its table since we got it last spring. Since then, that table has been covered in stuff. (amazingly, not my stuff; my husband bravely claimed the tabletop before I could cover it in yarn!)
I finally had a chance to open it up and play around this weekend! Turns out, it is a Singer Featherweight, and is 60 years old this year! She hails from Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1948.
Today involved a lot of cotton swabs and trying to figure out what to oil (all moving parts?) Then plugging it in and turning it on! It goes!
But not far. After trying to get the thread where it needed to be, and lots of online consulting, I need different bobbins, and possibly a bobbin case, though I can't see any such thing in any drawings I have seen.
Apparently this is a great machine, judging by what is online about it. It doesn't have the fancy pants 100-stitch options, but who uses those anyhow?
I finally had a chance to open it up and play around this weekend! Turns out, it is a Singer Featherweight, and is 60 years old this year! She hails from Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1948.
Today involved a lot of cotton swabs and trying to figure out what to oil (all moving parts?) Then plugging it in and turning it on! It goes!
But not far. After trying to get the thread where it needed to be, and lots of online consulting, I need different bobbins, and possibly a bobbin case, though I can't see any such thing in any drawings I have seen.
Apparently this is a great machine, judging by what is online about it. It doesn't have the fancy pants 100-stitch options, but who uses those anyhow?
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
new year!
Last year was... busy. It was a great year. We bought a condo, and all the stress that goes along with that. We both got awesome new jobs, doing the exact same old thing! We were low key. We painted. I cooked a lot. I did a *lot* of craft fairs, some a waste of time (ahem, selling wool in summer, nothing personal about organizers!), some really really great.
Mostly, I was trying to catch up with life, and never quite making it! There was always more to do. More balls to juggle!
This year, I want to simplify. Streamline life, if that's possible. Pick a few things to make and go for it already! No more getting sidetracked! Out with the old stuff that's been bogging me down! I have a ton of new ideas swirling around in my head, and plans galore, so I just need to focus! 2008 will be a year of focusing!
Mostly, I was trying to catch up with life, and never quite making it! There was always more to do. More balls to juggle!
This year, I want to simplify. Streamline life, if that's possible. Pick a few things to make and go for it already! No more getting sidetracked! Out with the old stuff that's been bogging me down! I have a ton of new ideas swirling around in my head, and plans galore, so I just need to focus! 2008 will be a year of focusing!
