Early end to "Pin it to Win it" - **Update**

**Update** - only the first 10 people out of at least 80 who qualified will get their fabric bundles from the below contest. I understand that she can't give away 80 bundles of fabric... but it is a little naive to start the whole thing and say "I was only expecting about 3 people to be interested - sorry everyone!"
... o well, we only wasted 2 days blogging/tweeting/facebooking/pinning some free advertising for her store. Hopefully next time it will be a bit better thought out and the original rules will stick.

*********************************************************************************

Wow - soooooooo many people jumped on Randi's "Pin it to Win it" contest. Her fabric bundles were all over pinterest, bloggy land, flikr, twitter, and facebook! It seems that she was not expecting such a big response and interest because she ended up closing the contest early yesterday at 3pm MST instead of giving everyone the scheduled 3 days to get all of their re-pins. I can definitely understand tho, 3 days would have resulted in tooooooooo many people getting bundles worth $15-70 for free.

I'll be interested to see if those of us who emailed her with our qualifying pinned bundles by the deadline will actually get those bundles in the mail sometime in the future.

Thanks to everyone who helped me repin and thank you soooooooooo much to Marika who let me know the contest was closing early so I could submit my smaller back-up bundle that already had enough pins!

Hopefully this beauty will be coming to live with me in the near future... will keep you posted if I hear anything:



Photo from Laurie Wisbrun - links back to her awesome blog!



Pin it and Win it - Please help!! :)

Hi All!

Randi of Fresh Squeezed Fabrics is having an awesome contest!

It is called “Pin it to win it” – basically you pick a FQ bundle from her shop and pin it. Then you share it – if you get as man pins as the $ amount of the bundle, you get the bundle for free! Great way to share about the lovely fabrics she has in her shop!

I’ve pinned 2 – I can only win one but I wanted a backup in case I don’t get enough pins for the Heather Ross fabric.

These need to be re-pinned within the next 3 days – by Sept. 27th - 70 times for the Heather Ross and 40 times for the Perfectly Perched. Please o please o please, help a girl out and repin BOTH of these lovely fabric bundles for me ladies!! Click on each picture separately (Perfectly Perched and Nursery Versery) to get to the pin link for each one.

Source: etsy.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Leave a comment with your pinterest link if you are participating and want me to repin yours too!!

Because I can't resist a good swap...

I was sooooo good over the summer and did not participate in any swaps - I even passed up a round of the Pillow Talk Swap which was soooo hard!!

Now that Mrs. Stitches is back tho, and the fall weather is keeping me indoors in the evenings more, I think it is time for some new swaps - don't you? haha.

So........ here are a few swaps I signed up and my inspiration mosaics for my partners:

1. Pillow Talk Swap - couldn't resist again!

2. Modern She Made Swap - this one was so fun last time, definitely had to sign up again!
This time we have to incorporate some kind of triangle into our projects for our partners so I tried to include a lot of triangle options for my partner:

3. Sew Sew Modern Swap - this is a new one that won't start for a bit but it seems a lot like the Modern She Made Swap so I'm willing to give it a try!

The first 2 swaps have a deadline of middle/end November and the 3rd one has a deadline of January so I have plenty of time for brainstorming and sewing, even around Sewing Summit.

I already received my partner for the Modern She Made Swap so I'm in the process of brain storming for that one. I think I will be making her some kind of bag/basket ... haven't quite decided what pattern yet. She might get a drawstring bag just for fun as a small extra but I need to come up with something more versatile/useful for her big item. 

I have so many patterns I've wanted to try out lately so I'm sure there will be lots of fun samples popping up on my blog in the next few weeks before Sewing Summit :) Stay tuned!

String Blocks and fun sewing time!

Today I was skimming through my google ready and came across this new tutorial from Jeni and In Color Order. She is not only amazing at color theory, which class I am sooooooo excited to take at Sewing Summit in 2 weeks!!, but she is also a very talented sewist and quilter. A while ago she shared a free Drawstring Bag pattern with everyone on her blog, and the posted the update today with the string block ideas.

I decided to give both a try because  I've never made a string block nor a drawstring bag but I've been drooling over examples of both on Flikr lately.

Here is what I came up with - the fabric I think is called Hello Betty - it is from a honey bun I've had for a long time. I think I have a couple actually. Not sure why I will do with the rest but a few strips looked great together in this pattern.

Flat bag to show string block - I love the way it looks!
 

Stuffed bag to show bag and the Moda string I used from a Jelly Roll for the drawstrings
 

Inside is an orange checker print from Denyse Schmidt from Joanns - love it all together!

I really don't like making "practice" projects so I'm glad this turned out well since I used one of my few Moda strings for the drawstring. I also really like all of this fabric together and hoped it would end up being something I can use.

I'm thinking it is a good size for a hand sewing project - like hexagons or other paper piecing. I used it as a little handbag today to show a friend but without a pocket, it would be a bit impractical for daily use. All in all I really liked the tutorials and the final project. Next time I will probably pick longer strings, I just used what I had and it works but a little longer when it is open would be nice.

So nice to just see something on a blog and be able to make it - I missed sewing sooooooooooo much!! My hubby told me today after a get-together with friends "It is ok if you want to sew some more, I know you have the bug after being away so much"... he knows me so well and it is nice that he is so understanding about my obsession haha.

Until next time and the next project... ;-)

Happy 5th Anniversary to us!!

That's right... 5 years ago today Lukas and I got married in the Chicago LDS Temple.
 

It is crazy how fast time flies and how much has changed in those quick 5 years!

I could get all sentimental and ramble on and on, and I probably will later, but for now I'll leave you with our 2 favorite wedding photos and will then go pack for our overnight trip down to the beach  - have a lovely weekend everyone!

I'm finally sewing!!! ... and a finished quilt top!

Wow - it is SO nice to sew again!! I've missed it soooo much.

... don't tell Mrs. Stitches but I can definitely see a huge difference between sewing on her and sewing on Roxanne! Roxanne is such a smooth ride and the features like the push button thread cutter would be super nice to have. BUT, I'd rather have my machine than no machine at all and she is like a comfy pair of old shoes... quirky but I know and love her after 2 years and LOTS of sewing together! :)

The quilt I promised my husband for this summer is waaaaaaaaayyyyyy overdue but I was able to add on the last row and the borders tonight. I like the way it turned out - we just need to figure out a back and I'll get it finished up sometime this year hopefully! It won't have any batting in between so that will be a little weird "quilting" 2 pieces of fabric together but he wanted something thin and light for summer since our apartment is so hot all the time.

Meet... "The Argyle Argyle Quilt"... or if you speak German, "Die geile Decke" ... hehehe

 

It sure isn't perfect but it was my first time working with this pattern and I definitely can see lots of room for improvement if I ever use it again. My husband likes it which is most important since it is his quilt. He picked out the pattern, fabric, insisted on a brown border... it was fun having him involved and I'm so glad the top is finally done!

 

I have 2.5 weeks until I leave for Sewing Summit. Don't expect lots of new projects but maybe I'll be inspired to get some WIPs and UFOs out of the way since I have the sewing bug super bad after being away for so long!!

She's alive!!! And then I met Roxanne...

Miracle of miracles… Mrs. Stitches is ALIVE!!! I got a call yesterday from the shop where I took her for a second opinion. “Your singer is all fixed and ready to go!” Uhmm… excuse me? Are you messing with me? Confusing me with someone else? I just took her in for an estimate, believing she was dead!


Nope, it really was me he meant to call and she really is all fixed! He has sold over a thousand of that same model and said he knows how to take them apart and put them back together and had no problem fixing her. He has seen that issue before in another 10 or 20 of that model and knew how to get it going again. Sooooo happy!! (And apparently my dad will be happy that I will stop "whining" about my machine being dead... thanks dad, yea, mom told me :-p haha)

My Grandma’s Janome can’t be fixed tho, which was surprising and a bummer. She sews just fine, the reverse button just doesn’t engage anymore and there is nothing he can do for it. He said they made that same model for sears for a few years and he saw a ton of them with that same problem eventually. O well, at least I have her as a backup if I ever need it.

I picked both of the girls up on the way to meet my mom at the Janome/Brother dealer. I should have just gone home… because there I met… Roxanne!

Yes, she already has a name and no I can’t afford her but I am still in love!

(She is one spicy machine with a bit of attitude, she needed a good name to go with it – I got it from El Tango de Roxanne from Moulin Rouge – one of my favorite songs from the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx5H-49dgvo&noredirect=1)

If you are in the market for a machine I have only positive things to say about this machine. The extra harp space is wonderful, the built in walking foot is fantastic and you can even get a ¼ foot attachment for it! I never use my walking foot because I like sewing straight lines in ¼ inch intervals on pillows and smaller projects so that would be an awesome upgrade to have! It comes with a ton of feet, way more stitches than I will ever use, and she is just all in all amazing!

One feature that really sold me, other than all of the above, is the fact that I can disengage the foot pedal to free motion quilt. I tried it out and as cool as the Bernina Stitch Regulator is, I agree with other people… you don’t need it. I could def. learn to free motion quilt really well on this machine since I can set the speed and let the machine sew while I just focus on moving the fabric around at an even speed. Love that feature and it was really fun to try out.

I’m going back next week to take a few of my own projects with to try out on her. So nice that the shop manager will let me sew on Roxanne for a few hours to get a good feel for the machine and make sure she really does do all that I’d want her to. I really think this is my 10-20 year machine I’ve been searching for. Even tho I don’t need her now that I have Mrs. Stitches back, I’d want her in a couple years for sure. Unfortunately this model is being phased out and is being replaced by an upgrade… but I’m not interested in that, I want this one! :(

I shouldn’t torture myself by sewing on her more, but I will, and will let you know what I think next week :) So jealous of all you people that already have the Horizon 7700 and appreciate all your information and review you've shared online or through my numerous emails!

I'll be dreaming of Roxanne but tonight I have a date with Mrs. Stitches… I’ve missed her sooooooooooo much :)

Drooling over Bernina... and the hunt continues!

On Friday my mom and I headed up to the local Bernina/ Baby Lock dealer in my area to check out some machines.

These are the ones I wanted to see in the store:

Baby Lock Elizabeth

 

Baby Lock Grace

 

 

I am more interested in the Elizabeth as it seems to be a bit more advanced than the Grace and has more features. My local dealer said they don't carry these models, espec. not the grace because most people don't like that turn knob for the stitches.

She quoted me $400 for the Grace and $950 for the Elizabeth. I was expecting a few hundred less for the Elizabeth to be honest so that was a bit disappointing, along with not getting to see it in person.

 

These are the 2 models that we will be using in our sewing classes for Sewing Summit. I was informed that last year after SS the Baby Lock dealer sold off the machines that were used in the sewing classrooms after the conference to interested participants. They are supposed to do the same this year and apparently last year they were sold at quite a discount so I may be able to get a REALLY good deal on the Elizabeth if I am lucky. If it is marked down to around $500-600 I may be bringing home a sewing machine with me ;-)

 

I was a little bummed that I took time off work to get up to the store because they are only open late one night a week, and I arranged to meet my mom up there so we could check them out together, and ended up not getting to see the machines I was interested in. On top of that, most of their other mid-priced Baby Locks were up at a trade show somewhere so there wasn't must in the way of comparison models for them to show us.

 

Then I made the "mistake" of asking about Berninas... this was a good mistake, but still... not good for me lol. I asked about the 440 because a friend has one and I was informed that they no longer make that model and it has been replaced by this beautiful machine..

 

Bernina 550 QE

 

This machine is so fancy - I think it would take me months to figure out all it will do! The computerized options are amazing and a bit overwhelming. The thing that got me drooling the most tho... the Bernina Stitch Regulator! If you have never tried one out, DON'T!... unless your budget can handle the purchase because you are going to want it immediately upon use lol.

 

If you don't know what a BSR does, basically it hooks into your machine's computer system and says "hey, I'm going to FMQ, please make sure it looks perfect!" When you free motion quilt and move faster, it sews faster to keep up with you, when you slow down, it slows down too. The result... beautiful FMQ with perfectly uniform stitches! Seriously, to die for... but also very pricey. I think the BSR on its own runs around $1000! This machine comes standard with the BSR and my dealer quoted me $2800 for it. Bernina's are expensive, the BSR makes this model moreso, and although I know it would be worth the money.... for such a short arm I def. cannot justify that price tag.

 

That being said, they do have a BSR compatible machine with a 10 inch arm:

 

Bernina 710

 

 

 

 

She didn't have this one in the store and she quoted me $3500 for it - and I'm not sure if that included the BSR or if that would have been additional. I sure hope it was included otherwise OUCH!

 

2 amazing machine made by an awesome machine company... which I need to avoid like the plague if we ever want to buy a house before we retire lol.

 

After discussing these fun machines, I asked her if Baby Lock makes a machine with such a big arm/throat/harp space and sure enough - they do  and had one in stock!

 

Baby Lock Crescendo

 

 

 This is one massive machine with 11" for the arm/throat/harp space which is pretty impressive. The extension table was HUGE too - way bigger than the one I had for my Singer Confidence Quilter and I already thought that one was a nice addition!

 

The dealer quoted me $3500 for this one and ofcourse my first thought was - well, no BSR, I'd rather have the Bernina 710. However, it is a relaly nice machine but I didn't sew on it at all after hearing the price.

 

I know a Stitch Regulator isn't necessary... theoretically people CAN FMQ on a normal sewing machine with great results but right now, I am not one of those people, and would love to have a Bernina with a BSR :) However, my budget says "heck no don't even think about it lady!!" soooooooooo I'll keep drooling and dreaming for another day ;-)

 

After our little trip I was doing more machine research online, especially about Janomes because my mom and I will be heading to that dealer on Wednesday after work. (We only have 2 dealers in the area other than Joanns (gag!) and they are open past 6pm only 1 or 2 days a week and ofcourse not on the same days! Stupid! lol)

 

The 2 Janomes I am interested in are big dogs - aka both out of my price range - but I'm still interested in checking them out just for fun.

 

Janome MC6600P

 

This one has 9" of sewing space which is a lot bigger already than my Singer Confidence Quilter which only had 6.5". Sure, I quilted a king sized quilt and a couple queen-ish sized ones on my Singer, but I sure didn't enjoy it lol. The extra space would be, soooooooooooo nice.

 

The reviews are pretty good for this machine and the price I was expecting was around $1200-$1500 according to what I'd seen in reviews from other buyers. Well, I called the local store to make sure they had this in stock and they only have a floor model, would have to order the machine from Janome directly, and it is on sale for around $2000. I was a bit shocked, that was WAY higher than I was expecting.

 

Oddly enough... the sale price on the below machine was the SAME!

 

Janome Horizon 7700

 

 

I could not believe my ears... most people have paid around $3,000 for this machine and my local store is selling it for $1,000 less? Crazy!

 

A massive 11" of sewing space makes this baby a VERY interesting machine for us quilters who need more room and I've heard a lot of good things about this machine by browsing a bazillion blogs and online review sites.

 

Can I afford the Horizon? No way! I was hoping the 6600 might be more around $1000 and would have therefore been a viable option for me to get a bit more sewing space, 2.5" more than what I had, as well as a new sturdy sewing machine. However with such an inflated price tag and only having 1 dealer anywhere near my area, I'm a bit disappointed that this is no longer an option.

 

So right now... I'm kind of on the fence in between the Elizabeth, which I have yet to see or use, and the Horizon, which I will be "test driving" on Wednesday and definitely cannot afford. However, if the horizon is as amazing as the bernina and is just lacking the BSR... it might be worth it for me to figure out how to finance it and know that this will be my only sewing machine for the next 10ish years. But if it is only "nice" but not "amazing" and I think I really will want a BSR one day, I will probably go with something more like the Elizabeth... or atleast something more around the $500 range, and save up for a few years for a nice Bernina.

 

Decisions decisions... so many decisions!

 

In other news... I did take my Singer and my grandma's Janome up to the store on Friday because they do repairs on all makes/models and will give a free repair estimate before doing any work on it. I just wanted a second opinion on mine to make sure she really is dead and also wanted to see if my Grandma's can be fixed at all. Her machine seemed to run fine the one time I tried it after mine broke, but the reverse lever is broken and if that can't be fixed it is going to not be so much fun to sew with - especially for quilt piecing! I'm not sure it is an option for quilting on because it doesn't have any of the feet I need - walking foot, free motion foot, 1/4" foot - but it would be nice to get it fixed as a back up machine and maybe eventually I could get some of the piecing feet for it even if I don't decide to try and quilt on it.

 

Not sure when they will get back to me on the estimates and I'm not sure if either can be fixed but it was worth asking!

 

Will let you know how my Janome test drive on Wednesday goes :) They also carry Brother so while I'm there I'm going to ask about some more affordable Janome/Brother models that I might be interested in, in case the Elizabeth discount at Sewing Summit isn't as big as I am hoping. Realistically I dont want to spend more than $600 on a sewing machine and I expect it to be a workhorse that will last me 5+ years and can do a lot of quilting, piecing, garmet sewing, bag making, and even can stand up to the fuzzy fleece and other fabrics I used for softie making. We shall see...

 

SS class registration nightmare!

O.My.Heck… Sewing Summit class registration on Tuesday was a mess and then some!


Let me start by saying that this was a system error and outside of one of them being a programmer and developing their own system, there isn’t much the SS team could have done to prevent these problems. However, wow… frustrating to the max for everyone involved (including them!).

I logged in right at 2MST – test data is still there from testing that was done earlier. When that testing was being done, people thought it was real registration time so they hurried to sign up – I think they got to keep what they picked during that time which kind of made it unfair to those who actually waited until 2MST to sign in.

I had to log off and in a few times to finally get it to give me real data and not the test data (you could tell it was test data because everything was full and that isn’t possible with the lectures). At that point, there actually were a lot of classes already full. I signed in right at 2MST… how were half the classes full at that point? So I picked what I could, went to the CC section to pay, and o wait… now one class is full. Why doesn’t it save my choices so no one can take them while I fill in my credit card information? That doesn’t seem right nor fair.

SO… you have to go all the way back, find new classes (at that point 4, not just 1, were full from what I originally selected!). So I pick new ones, went back to the CC screen, same issue. This happened approximately 11 times for me in the first 35 minutes… I was so irritated I wanted to cry. FINALLY I got it to give me a bunch of random classes, only 1 of which I actually wanted. And then I spend another 30-40 minutes logging out/logging in, and trying to get better classes 1 by 1. What a MESS. In the end I got about half of the classes I wanted – not so exciting but a lot better than some people who still only have 0 or 1 class they really wanted :(

Amidst all of this mess, people were spamming the discussion board like crazy with complaints; I will admit I sent a couple too! In between people would log in and say “wow, I got every class I wanted, so wonderful!” and we’d want to kick them lol. That is great for you but when so many people are sad and frustrated – don’t rub it in, k?

It was a really awful experience for a lot of people and although I’m glad I finally have 75% of my schedule that I’m happy with, I feel sooooooooo bad for people who still have an awful schedule and are not excited about the conference. Although I can’t say there are any BAD classes, there are several I am not interested in at all and I didn’t pay $1000 total to go take classes on subjects I don’t care about… so I understand their frustration and pain. Lots of people keep saying “inspite of not having and classes you want, the socialization will be great and totally worth it!” which honestly isn’t helping either – we paid for classes, not for friends and while meeting everyone is going to be awesome and a great bonus to this whole conference… you can’t justify the expenses to your husband/family/budget by saying “well, I didn’t learn anything I wanted to but at least I met nice people!”.

*sigh* O well, at least it is over, I have some classes I want, and I’m super excited about the upcoming experience. Hopefully next year they will be able to make some adjustments and make the process smoother for everyone involved. This is only their second year and they are doing an amazing job organizing such a big event for all of us bloggers/sewers and I’m so grateful for all the hard work and effort they’ve put forth. I really do think this is going to be a wonderful experience for everyone – but still hope something can be done for those who are still really upset and sad about their schedule.

Speaking of which – a lot of teachers ARE offering “unofficial” classes in the evenings to share information from the really popular classes like English Paper Piecing, Shapes and Angles, Foundation Paper Piecing, etc. so that is super nice of them and really awesome for those of us who didn’t get into those classes! They are there to get in fun classes too, not just for teaching, so it is nice of them to give up some of their freetime during and after the conference to help everyone out!

Sewing Summit Class Registration tomorrow!!

Other than lamenting the lack of crafting going on in my life… I am getting SUPER excited about the upcoming Sewing Summit! Class registrations are TOMORROW!!

Everyone is a little nervous/stressed about this process because apparently everyone got assigned time slots and we don’t know if the classes we want will be full already by the time we get to registry. I’m sharing everyone else’s feelings but really… we have 8 classes, if I can get at least 4 that I REALLY want, I’ll be happy with having another 4 that are ok but not my absolute top favorites. With 200+ people they’ve done their best to keep it small but obviously not everyone can take every class… so hopefully people will get some they really want and be happy with the rest.

**UPDATE** It appears that EVERYONE has the same registration time. Both in the US and abroad people have shared their times and we all seem to have the same time. Kind of funny... if that is the case they should have worded it a little different and caused a little less panic lol. It is still going to be a gamble for people to get in and click as fast as possible tho... like registering for the conference itself... o joy! lol ***

It is going to be an AMAZING experience and I’m so glad I get to participate! After 2 years of sewing/quilting I think I understand enough to follow the lectures and to build on my current skills in the hands on classes so I’m super looking forward to it :) 

Here are some of the classes I'm hoping to get into:

English paper piecing

Shapes and Angles - how to piece diamonds and y seams and other tricky shapes

Foundation paper piecing

Mini quilt with curves - I've had a little expose to curves but would love more in a classroom setting!

Metal Fram Pouch - I've wanted to make one of these FOREVER :)

Other than those top 5- some other fun ones I may end up taking are:

Creative fabric selection

Knit top

Maxi Skirt

Advanced bag construction

Zippers 101

.... and so many more interesting lectures to choose from if some of the above are filled up!

The list of classes are so varied and it is awesome they are able to offer such a variety of subjects. And the teachers/lecturers they've lined up... wow... top-notch, seriously, I can't believe I get to meet some of my blog-idols in PERSON!!

On top of all the cool classes and teachers, there is a mixer being thrown by the SLC modern quilt guild on Friday night so that will be super fun and a great chance to meet a lot of bloggers and swappers I've "met" online. I'm super bummed I can't whip up some fun new things for the conference but getting to go is definitly helping to curb my "no sewing machine sad face". 5 more weeks - woo hoo!

The White Stripes sings an ode to Mrs. Stitches...

I just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself
Planning everything for two
Doing everything with you
And now that we're through
I just don't know what to do

I just don't know what to do with myself
I don't know what to do with myself
Movies only make me sad
Parties make me feel as bad
'cause I'm not with you
I just don't know what to do

Yes Mrs. Stitches... you are so very missed! That is what has been going through my head all weekend! Ok... well the above could be sung to my hubby as well because he has been in California visiting his brother's family for 4 days and that is the longest we've been away from each other since we've been married (yes, I cried a few times!)... but the loneliness is way worse not having my sewing machine to keep me company and distracted!

I spent hours upon hours this weekend looking at and researching sewing machines online. I really just wish mine would have held out a few more years... I was happy with her and was not ready to give her up yet :( She is sitting in her case and it makes me so sad to know she can't come out to play! Weird... I know... it is an inanimate object but we've been through so much together! 

I have a few machines I want to check out in person soon but I definitely won't be getting a new machine for a few months - if even then. *sigh* Soooooooooooooo, while I sit here and sadly sing songs to my dead machine, please think of me while you are having crafty fun and know I wish I was too and could share it with all of you! I'll be back eventually... at least in October I'll have posts and pictures of Sewing Summit to share! Until then adieu and happy crafting!

Goodbye Mrs. Stitches... I will miss you :(

My machine is certifiably dead :( I picked up her body from the repair guy today – there is nothing he could do to save her. Thank goodness he is an honest business man and didn’t charge me anything for trying! Apparently there is something wrong with the metal gears and they get tighter and tighter until they can’t move anymore. He loosened them up a bit but they tightened back up when he was running the machine. Bahhhhhhhhhhh :(


There is a TINY chance the warranty may help me but I don’t think so… I’ve had it for 2 years and 4 months and I’m not sure if it is a defect or what but I bought it from Joann’s and I doubt they are going to do anything to help me.

Soooooooooooo I need a new machine! I probably will have to save a long time to get one… but anyone have a suggestion?

Basically here is what I need:

1. Lots of piecing – espec. ¼ seams

2. Quilting

3. Free motion quilting

4. Work horse that can handle all of the above

5. Machine applique is nice but I don’t really need a bazillion stitches or anything

6. Good tension control/auto tension for quilting

7. I also make fleece softies and lots of different types of bags/purses but I would think anything that is good for the above would be fine for those projects too.

8. Only looking to spend maximum $1000 (I will be saving for a looonnngggg time for that!) but less would be preferable.

I had a Singer Confidence Quilter and while we had a great 28 months together, she definitely had some issues. I couldn’t free motion that well on her due to tension issues and I had tension issues when just doing normal quilting too. There were a ton of stitches included but I only ever used around 5. The throat area for quilting was a bit small – but I can deal with that because I don’t have a few thousand dollars for a mid-arm or long-arm. And apparently she wasn’t much of a workhorse if she died after 28 months unless that was just a fluke. I did quilt 10+ full/queen/king sized quilts on her and made some fleece animals and bags… but I would think any normal machine could handle that. *sigh* I will miss her.

What do you do with a dead sewing machine anyway? I doubt there is any trade-in value on it if it can’t be fixed? Dump? … that will seriously make me cry… I’m very attached to my sewing machine, inspite of her issues… she was my first machine and I learned soooooo much on her!

*sigh* Sad sad weekend… goodbye Mrs. Stitches… you were loved and will be missed!