Friday 22 April 2011

How not to look after your sewing machine

For a while now my machine has been skipping stitches, rucking up and even refusing point blank to sew two pieces of fabric together. Great! I thought - my lovely, reliable Janome is on its way out. There's nothing quite so frustrating as a sewing machine that's not reliable. You go to sit down after a day of dreaming about what you are going to make after the washing is done and the children are tucked up and you are stopped in your tracks by a machine that wants to do the exact opposite of what you want it to do. How was I going to get all the things made for the Fete in the Park this year?
So, after deciding to unscrew a few bits and pieces, placing everything in neatly positioned piles so that I remembered how to put it back together again, I unscrewed the bottom plate - and this is what I found! I have to say, it made me laugh out loud. No wonder my poor machine was refusing to work for me! This is definitely NOT the way to look after your machine and is not recommended.
I am pleased to report that after extensive cleaning with a paintbrush and tweezers and replacement of all the screws (a few times, due to dropping them into the workings!) my Janome is now working like a dream once again.
It's just left for me to decide what to create from the felted fluff I retrieved.
Not really.


On a nicer not, I enjoyed sorting my frustratingly cluttered button Box into my saved up Bon Maman jars. I think they look really pretty and I discovered so many beautiful buttons I didn't know I had. Some of which were lovely mother of pearl, which I tested by biting them (you can tell if it's plastic - it doesn't feel like a china cup on your teeth like Mother of Pearl!). I'll post a few photos of my favourites when the sun comes up again tomorrow.
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Wednesday 13 April 2011

Busy Bee!


Life seems very busy at the moment - so much so that my lovely husband sat me down and organised me the other day, with a brilliantly simple spreadsheet of all the projects I am involved in at the moment, including three of the children's birthdays, decor and the cake for some friends' wedding and project managing the creation of a Nature Garden at our Pre-school.

Alongside this, I am trying my hardest to get ready for the one show this year I feel able to do, The Fete in the Park at Petworth on July 9th. I have SOOOOO many ideas bursting out of my head and most mornings I wake up with them spilling out of my unconscious state into the day...I'll have to keep a sketchbook beside the bed! If only I had the time to match the ideas! Still, at least now I have been professionally organised I can be a bit more peaceful that there is at least the prospect of allotted crafting time!


I have been working on these beauties for a while and I now have what seems like hundreds spilling out of several boxes - like a whole miniature village! They are waiting for new homes, and once I reach the bit of my list that says "Upload my stock to Folksy" you'll be able to get your hands on one!



I have enjoyed getting all the beads out again - such beautiful glistening colours and wonderful fiddliness - I do love tricky, little things! (Like my children.....)

By the way, had a bit of a moment when I opened my magazine to find an article on Poppy Treffry - just LOVE her beautiful things, her cheerful style and the deftness of her drawings. It was a real treat to indulge in the pictures of her workshop, looking into every little corner and wishing I was actually there....one day maybe I'll meet her and we can exchange notes on various sewing tips.....
Sigh.......