What am I going to sew this weekend?

Any suggestions? I’ll definitely work on a few more Pezzy blocks while I wait for my Pezzy jelly roll, I have more half square triangles to make for our own personal quilt and maybe I’ll give the circle of geese one more shot. (WIP post here.)

a doodle from workI was surfing around on my lunch break today and came across a few blocks I’d like to try. I love the Lynne Bob Square Pants block and this Zombie Bob Square Pants pillow. I adore the Lattice Work quilt at Freshly Pieced, I think my newly acquired fabrics would look fantastic with this pattern! Maybe I’ll make a lattice work pillow.

I was doodling while on the phone today and thought it would make a cool, mid century modern quilt (without the letter ‘a’).

One other thing I’d like to do this weekend is give my new  Aurifil thread a run for it’s  (my?) money!

I wanted to add a little ode to our old Pug puppy Winston, he’ll be 15 this July. We adopted him from a rescue organization when he was 5 years old. He was suffering from severe allergies, his life consisted of scratching himself bloody and was mostly hairless. As a last resort, after umpteen different medications and special commercial diets, he was put on a raw chicken diet. He quickly improved without any medications, his fur started to grow back and the itching stopped. We continued the raw food diet and extended it to our other pets. Eight + years later he’s mostly def, almost completely blind from cataracts and isn’t as spry as he used to be but he still goofs off, waggles his tail and enjoys his bones. We don’t know how much longer he’ll be with us but we’re hoping at least a year if not longer.  Many people think Pugs are ugly but to us, they’re perfect and whether you love them or not, they always think you’re the best person in the world and will always be your friend. Pugs were bred to be companion dogs and they do their job exceptionally well.

Industrial Revolution?

Juki DDL-8500

This afternoon I spoke with Larry, the owner of Canadian Steam Iron and Sewing regarding the Reliable 20U73 ZIG-ZAG machine I was interested in. He told me that if I wanted a straight stitch machine, don’t get a zig-zag and don’t get a combo, your straight stitch will never be perfect, and since he’s been in the business for over 25 years, I have to believe him. He knew the dirt on every single sewing machine manufacturer on the face of the earth, who was sold to who and which lines fell from grace due to switching manufacturing companies. Don’t ask me to reiterate what he said because he spoke so fast my head spun!

JUKI is the only brand he recommends these days. He offered me a new Juki 8500 with a Servomotor for $800.00 and as is typical, this model is retailing for $550.00 – $600.00 in the U.S. Larry recommended buying new instead of used, is that just salesman talk? I looked on Kijiji and there are tons of 5550′s available but I haven’t seen any 8500′s, perhaps they’re too new?

In any case, I’ve posted my Singer Style-O-Matic 328J for sake (on Kijiji), let’s see if I get any nibbles, I have a few more vintage machines to get rid of and perhaps I can save up the balance.

Fabric Sale!

100% cotton sateen

Today Fabricland had a 40% off member’s sale and had just received a big selection of fabulous spring cottons! However, the first thing I grabbed was over 6 meters of purple cotton sateen from the discontinued sale table for just $5.0o per meter @ 150cm wide. I am in love with this fabric, especially the bright gold accent. The plan is to make the infamous McCall’s trench (#5525), I’m considering cutting the entire coat on the bias because of the short repeat. Am I mad? (Click on the images for a larger view.)

I also purchased 4 meters of this 100% cotton madras to which TDF said, “Ah, more PJ material.” ARG!! I’m going to make a shirt with it regardless but guess what?! TDF had one of his old buddies over this afternoon and he was BRAGGING about his paisley shirt — the one he won’t wear in public because it’s too loud,  and corduroy jacket. I was in heaven. :D

I had my hair cut this afternoon and I just couldn’t help myself, I just had to stop at Fabricland again as it was on my way home and I forgot to pick-up a sleeve board. This awesome striped/paisley “quilting” cotton jumped out and grabbed me, I couldn’t resist. I’m going to do some serious pattern matching with this fabric, back, fronts, yokes, no short cuts for me.

I examined the dress forms, they had two models in the store, the Diana and the True Form. There wasn’t much padding on either and they were very wobbly. light, flimsy with thin plastic. The suggested retail price was $500.00! If I had $500.00 to spend on a dress form, I certainly wouldn’t buy one of those cheap models. If I can’t find a Dritz in Toronto, I’ll order My Double from Montreal

 

More Reliable

I can’t stay away from the Reliable website! I’ve made a very conservative wish list based on my limited experience and modest budget. Besides my new Reliable Digital Velocity V100 steam iron, I’d like to get The Board C30, C6A Cord Support Antenna,   J45T PTFE Ironing Shoe and 20U73 Professional Zig-Zag machine.

I know what you’re thinking, “Another sewing machine, are you nuts?!”. I have an illness, it’s called Sewingmachineitis. I can’t help myself, I have to have them all! Most of all, I love to HEAR them! Do you know what I mean?

The Reliable 20U73 is, “an industry standard for light- to medium-duty zig-zag and straight sewing. 20U’s are used in homes, schools, for appliqué work, and in industrial applications”, comes with a full accessory kit, SewQuiet 4000 DC Motor, it’s own industrial table and an LED Uberlight, all for $799.00!!!

Would you believe that all this, excluding the iron, is under $1,000.00?!? Less than what I paid for the Husqvarna Sapphire 850, AND IT COMES WITH IT’S OWN TABLE! Did I say that already? Although I haven’t been able to find any reviews on the 20U73, Kathleen from Fashion Incubator purchased the SewQuiet 4000 DC Motor and reviewed it here. Let me just add that unless I make money from sewing, I will not be investing in this machine, I’m not completely insane. Perhaps if I can sell my vintage machines…

There’s also a sleeve board and bracket attachment but $99.00 seems a little steep in price to me?

Sure, they have better equipment like the Longboard C60LB or the C81 Vacuum & Up-Air Ironing board but I just can’t justify the price, being a homesewer.

In time,  I can afford these luxuries but the next sewing accessory on my list is a dress form. Any recommendations? Whichever, it has to be available in Canada and I understand that the Singer forms did not get good reviews. The Dritz “My Double” is available from Garnitures Dressmaker Ltee in Quebec for $199.00 plus taxes and shipping. Fabricland carries Truform but I haven’t been able to find any information on it — I wonder if it’s a Fabricland brand? I can get the Diana from my Husqvarna dealer for $285.00, probably the same if not close to the Dritz after shipping & taxes.

Reliable Arrival!

T-Fal Reliable ComparisonJust prior to leaving work yesterday, my Reliable Digital Velocity V100 arrived! TDF went to his closet immediately after getting home and brought me an arm full of shirts, five to be exact. The first thing I wanted to do was compare the Reliable to our current T-Fal. The size AND the sole plate difference is obvious the T-Fal has a million little holes whereas the Reliable only has 7, “for maximum steam penetration”. The Reliable is considerably heavier than the T-Fal which means you don’t have to physically press down, just move the iron around and let it do the work.

I filled up the Reliable with R/O water, plugged it in and set it for 2 dots. It was ready to rock within minutes which was astonishing as I typically wait 3 to 5 minutes or longer for the T-Fal. I pressed the steam button which generated steam, seemingly within seconds. All you pros out there, keep in mind that I’ve been using domestic, off-the-shelf irons my entire life and to me, this is a real treat! The steam just kept coming. Remarkably, it stopped instantly when I set it down to adjust my fabric. I LOVE THIS IRON! I’m really looking forward to ironing meters of fabric quickly.

There are just a couple of caveats. What I’ve read is true, the controls on the handle are in an awkward place and I too kept hitting them accidentally. I kept my eye on the display to ensure I wasn’t changing the temperature, I need to adjust my habits and hold the iron from the rear of the handle. Second, being a newbie to powerful irons, I’m a little afraid of it. Keep your fingers away from the steam!! I did wrestle with one stubborn, 100% cotton shirt, it just didn’t want to release it’s wrinkles so I turned it up to three dots, I’m not clear on how to increase the steam, will have to read the manual again.

After a month or so, I’ll update my review if needed and post it on PR.

BTW, I purchased a couple of shirts for TDF from Good Will awhile ago and he hasn’t worn them yet but asked me to iron them last evening. One is a Mobaco made in Egypt and the other is a Daniel Hechter. I like both shirts, the cottons are very soft and there are signs which indicate that at least the Mobaco was hand made. I love the details on the DH shirt though, double buttons on the collar stand and angled cuffs which I’m going to attempt to mimic at some point.

So in summary, two thumbs up on my new Reliable Digital Velocity V100 iron and I think I did good on finding good quality shirts at the local charity shop. One has to wonder where they came from originally, who owned them and why were they given up?