my new toy! :)

over the summer i went to see my dad, cuz he had some pretty major back surgery, & my sister was there at the same time. she had this fabulous bag that i knew i couldn't afford to have her make for me (she does AWESOME work & she's totally worth it *smile*) so i decided to make one myself out of denim. i ended up making 3. and i love doing it, so i started doing it to sell. i don't know what it is about making these bags & wallets that i love. it's actually a pain in the neck to take apart all of the jeans so i can use ALL of the denim, including the seams, instead of just cutting them. but i love the process of it. instead of being a normal person, i do it more patchwork style like a quilt, and cut up the denim & sew it back together. it's awesome to see it come together into something completely different.

so the ones i made for myself were a lot of fun, and it didn't matter that my little kenmore machine had some issues. it really doesn't like to sew lots of layers of fabric in general, and it really hates sewing more than 3 or 4 layers of denim. even with the right needle & the right heavy duty thread. i've broken more needles than i can count & the thread would break constantly. so i started thinking about getting a new machine.

now, my sister, being a *serious* quilter, has a viking sapphire. the last time i went to visit her i wasn't even allowed to touch it. when she told me how much it cost, i totally understood why! i knew that my husband would have a fit if i even thought about something that cost that much money. but then i got an email from a local sewing machine shop that they were closing one of their stores & liquidating their inventory. my mind started going to the bad credit card place *smile*. so, of course i stopped in and saw the machine i *really* wanted, that was on sale for $1688. not bad for a machine that has an MSRP of $3000. but still definitely in the heart attack range for my husband. and it had a lot of features that i really didn't need, but would be really nifty to have if i were a quilter, which i'm really not. so i went back and told the lady what i do & what i was looking for. she introduced me to my new baby, the babylock sofia 2. LOVE IT!!!

it's a little machine, but it's got a lot of power. and it does embroidery, which i wasn't even thinking about, but am so excited about now! such a fabulous machine. so awesome, that i didn't even realize what time it was. i finally got a chance to play with it this evening around 8pm once everyone (including my husband *smile*) was asleep. the next thing i knew, it was 10:45! hunh? where'd the time go? :)

sewing on this machine was like a dream. it's got so many decorative stitches. i haven't even learned how to do the embroidery on it yet. i had a lesson at the store for almost an hour just to learn the basics of how to thread & wind the bobbin & access the nifty stitches & whatnot. the girl suggested that i play with it for a couple of weeks until i'm comfortable & then come back to get a lesson on the embroidery side of things.

i sewed for 2 hours or so, once i got the bag i wanted to do designed & pinned together. i had not one broken thread or mishap at all. it was so fabulous. of course, i've only had the machine for mere hours (i bought it this afternoon) but i'm already convinced it's the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. why didn't i do this sooner? :)

one thing i'll hafta get used to is not using the presser foot. there's a stop/start button that really is easier to use. and an adjustable speed regulator. i don't even know where the presser foot plugs in at! :) it also ties off the thread & pulls it to the back & cuts it for you. i feel so lazy now! the only thing it doesn't do is wipe my butt for me! :)

i had to stop, cuz i still have the rest of life to do tomorrow, so i do need to go to bed sooner rather than later. and i've got tech week for lucia starting tomorrow night, so i won't have time to play again until maybe friday. but maybe i'll be able to sneak in some time during the day this week. :) do i really need to finish the laundry? :)