The box is open

So I finally opened the box... and it contains a new sewing machine. Yes, it has been sitting under the stairs for many many weeks unopened. I think the problem is I don't want to stop using my old work horse, but the time has come.

I have ended up with a Brother 350SE.

This was the machine I have wanted for a while, but when I went to go and buy it, I was told that they didn't have it. When my husband went to pick up the machine I ordered, they give him the one I wanted from the start. It is a domestic sewing machine, but is definelty more up to the work load than the current one. It has lots of fun features, but the biggest thing is that it is quiet, very very quiet.

It has lots of fancy stitches, most of which I will use only occasionally but I am very excited by the lettering function.

I'm not really sure why this is so exciting, but it really does appeal to me. The possiblilities are endless.

So my first project is was a roller bag. I could just have used the old machine but I clearly needed the word "Rollers" on the front of it.

I really love this owl fabric by Michael Millar, but the owls were just a little big for most clutches.

Still lots of experimenting to do, just need some projects to do....

Don't worry about my old machine. I am going to get it serviced and use it for sewing the bottom seams and as a general back up.

Craft Fair

On Friday morning I attended the annual Stitch and Creative Craft Show, it's a great opportunity to get some new supplies and look at new ideas. It is always a dangerous place for me because there is so much fabric for sale.

I was able to purchase some fantastic new fabrics and a couple of sewing books. I did get a chance to look at some new sewing machines, I have been toying with the idea of buying a new machine. My current machine is a basic sewing machine from Brother, which was very cheap and was never bought with the purpose of doing anything other than doodling around on.

It does button holes, straight and zigzag stitches. The machine I was looking at was did embroidery stitches and letters. It was electronic; with buttons to speed up the stitches and lift the sewing foot. It was very impressive but my big concern was about it breaking. When my current machine coughs and stops working, I get out my screwdriver and take it apart, clean out all the bits, put it back together again and usually it works, if not I do it all again. If it is electronic then firstly that means more things can go wrong and secondly it is unlikely I would be able to fix it with just a screw driver. This machine just purred when it sewed. So I'm on the fence about the whole thing. I don't really need a machine that is all singing and dancing, I really only need straight stitches, but I would really love one that sings and dances.