Little tidbits of my life

Sewing and Quilting Room Ideas

I would like to invite you to view my sewing room.  It is featured on Donna Poster's website.   

Click here to view my sewing room and to go to Donna Poster's website

Donna Poster makes quilt patterns, teaches quilting, and also encourages others to teach quilting.  She has published a few books, too.  I first met Donna at her lecture at the Nashville AQS show 2 years ago.  In one of her newsletters, she had mentioned a subscriber trying to decide how to make a sewing room out of a small bedroom.  I told her my sewing room is approximately 8' x 10' and that I had all kinds of things crammed in there, EVEN a design wall!  SO after she viewed my pics, she asked if she could add them to her website.  I was flattered and of course I said "yes!".  So it took me about a WEEK to clean up my sewing room before I took the pics, but I finally gave up and took the pics anyway!  I'm sure you all know what I mean!  LOL 

I hope you enjoy.  Be sure to check out Donna's other pages, too!  Sign up for her newsletter while you are there. 

Click here quiltwithdonna.com

Sewing Machine Maintenance

Hi to all!  I received a request to explain how I clean my sewing machine after each project...

First, I would like to share a wonderful nursery picture with you.  A close friend of mine had TRIPLETS last summer.  As her gift, I made her some custom, personalized curtains to match her BEAUTIFUL nursery.  She used a name-brand frog bedding, so I made my own embroidery designs to look similar to her frogs (I use PE-Design 6.0 software and draw my designs w/my mouse directly on the computer) and I added the name of each baby under their own little frog...this is the result:

NOW, to answer the question regarding how I clean the sewing machine after each project...since I use mine for machine embroidery, ALOT of thread goes through it for just one project, but I ALSO clean it each time I make an outfit, or use it for any amount of time. 

The fabric used can also make frequent clean up very necessary.  When I sew with corduroy fabric, I find MUCH more fuzz than when I use pure, fresh, clean cotton material . 

I have a Brother Innovis 4000D sewing/embroidery/quilting machine that is computerized.  There is a large area under the needle plate that I am able to reach.  I remove my bobbin, needle plate and bobbin casing.  I also remove any removable large plastic outer pieces that have screws that will not void the warranty.  MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE WARRANTY INFO BEFORE CLEANING ANY QUESTIONABLE AREA.

I use the little lint brush that comes w/the machine and I meticulously remove every piece of fuzz or thread or lint I can find.  It always amazes me how much gets in there even from a relatively fuzz-free thread.  I also turn the knob to reach every area I can.  My machine has a little plastic piece on the side, so I turn my machine so that I am looking at it from the side and I find lots of extra gunk in the bottom of the machine, too that might get blown around when the machine is going fast. 

I also blow the machine out a little, but I personally do not use the high pressure cans, I just use the breath God gave me, or my husband's breath as he has much larger lungs.  I am worried the pressurized cans might be too strong and break something, so I personally do not use them in my machine. 

My machine also has an automatic thread cutting system.  I find that this area often gets little threads stuck under it, so that's another place to check and help the machine run smoothly. 

As for cleaning around the top of the machine, my embroidery machine has an automatic thread feeding system that I can not reach.  It is made so that only a professional can clean that area, so I do not even try to clean it.  As for my older sewing machine, I personally have NO FEAR!  I am just careful to not get grease on my lint brush because it is not good to get grease in the area where the thread feeds through.  I am also careful not to pull on springs.  If a thread is stuck in this area, be cautious in removing it as you could also offset your timing. 

It is always advisable to do a little test sewing on a scrap-piece of material after cleaning your machine to make sure you did not accidently spread the grime instead of removing it.

The manual that comes w/your sewing machine should also offer helpful tips on how to clean your machine, based on the model and what areas you can get into w/o doing damage.  Most have diagrams, too.  I do not grease my big machine b/c it is so complicated.  I do however, grease my smaller machine that is not computerized and is sewing only machine (actually my dh does this for me). 

I am also "in tune" with my machine.  I get so used to the way the motor sounds that I can tell if it gets a "new" sound that shouldnt be there.  I always take it in to local repair shop when this happens.  I also show the shop worker what the problem is, especially if it is a noise b/c I have found they might think I'm from Mars if I just tell them my machine has changed its tune.  I guess not everyone finds music in everything !  It is a pity.

If you are ever in doubt as to what to clean, or if your manual is vague, the next time you bring it in for maintenance, just ask them to show you what you can clean and what you should not touch...plus there is always the handy-dandy world wide web at your fingertips.

My repairman recommends getting the machine professionally cleaned at least once a year and if you use it pretty much every day, it might be best to have it professionally cleaned once every 6 months.

NOTE:  The advice above is from my personal experience, so if you break your machine while cleaning it, please do NOT send me your repair bill 

Sewing Tips from Stitches by Teresa

I have been having a wonderful peaceful evening alone just reading blogs and enjoying this site.  It occurred to me that something I often look for on the web is sewing tips and quilting tips.  I used to have a home business named Stitches by Teresa.  I had to close it due to health problems.  However, I still enjoy the hobby when I am able.  I have noticed that many sites want us to pay for even the quick helpful hints.  I would like to add some tips for FREE from time to time as I think of them. 

My tip for today relates to choosing the right thread to use in your sewing machine.  Besides deciding whether to use cotton, or polysheen, or whatever, I always hold the spool up to a light and look at the thread.  If I see much fuzz from the sideview, then I know that this will likely cause alot of fuzz in my machine.  This leads to extra maintenance.  SO I will avoid this thread.  NOTE:  I ALWAYS clean my machine after every project.  This will help keep the machine in top shape between professional maintenance "check-ups".  I do quite a bit of machine embroidery, so poly-sheen is definitely my friend.  However, I always use a heavier weight thread in my bobbin than on top.  Maybe a 55 or 60 bobbin wt and a 30, 40 or 50 wt on top...Depending on machine model, your machine will work best with whatever brand of thread is suggested by the manufacturer.  I use Brother sewing/embroidery/quilting machines and my machine is VERY particular in what threads it likes vs. what threads it will spit back at me in protest.  I also like to use www.superiorthreads.com for some lovely quilting threads.  This site also has helpful pages to educate folks on choices for their particular machine, or for particular projects.  The spools are huge and if you know someone who can purchase wholesale, this will save quite a bit of money.