Goodbye and Hello

I had thought that my first post would be one where I could share a recent success. Instead it is one that is bittersweet. I have had to say goodbye to my first ever sewing machine. Six or seven years ago I purchased a Brother XL 3500 when I decided to make a dress. I didn’t really know what I wanted back then but it was a great basic machine and we’ve had some adventures together. 

Recently I have been using it more and more and it just can’t cope. I have endless problems with the upper tension and the upper thread breaks at least three times when sewing a long seam. Despite cleaning it carefully, giving it extra love, and paying closer than normal attention to needle and thread combinations, the problem remains. So last weekend I caved in and upgraded.

I remember reading Kerry’s post earlier this year and thinking I would be rather upset if that happened to me. And boy, I was! I’m working on a big project as a gift with a tight deadline and had planned to spend the weekend working on it. When I realised I couldn’t I felt quite down and disorientated, like I had lost something dear to me. A feeling that remained with me all weekend. Luckily a surprise visit to my Dad and his partner managed to cheer me a bit. 

So what did I get? A Janome DSK30 and it arrived yesterday. I was so excited that I was counting the minutes to the end of the day and rushed home from work to set it up immediately. 

My lovely new machine!

It is great and I have loved using it. I have only sewn straight seams so far (more on the project soon) but it is much smoother than the Brother. It is also a lot quieter. My boyfriend can now continue to watch the TV without turning it up while I sew - we have an open plan living area and I have to use the table as there isn’t anywhere else in the flat to set up the machine. 

I'm still not certain on the look of the machine. Orange isn't my favourite colour and I like curves a little more than sharp lines. I can’t wait to try out some of these stitches. The cross stitch one is calling!

Oooh, new stitches to try