Serger...

I have given up on my Huskylock 936.  It just doesn't seem to be reliable any more.  It is 13 years old and has been used a ton but I would have liked it to have lasted a little longer.  I did have issues in the spring and took it to the dealer who did their best with an aging machine. They told me then that it might last a few more years or a few months.  Looks like the latter is it.

This sent me to the internet to see what type of sergers are available.  Then, I decided I needed to make a decision on what stitches I would actually use.  Well, folks, I can tell you the list is fairly short.  In all the years I owned the 936, the stitches I used the most was a 4-thread overlock and then the 3-thread overlock.  Oh, I did play around with other different stitches.  The few times that I used the cover stitch I was never able to get it to stitch correctly.  In fact, this past spring, my sewing buddy and I went through a bunch of stitches with the 936.  Would I use a 5-thread safety stitch or any of the 2-thread stitch option?  Yes, I can definitely see uses for them.  I can't say why I never used these stitches. Getting a machine with a 2/3/4 thread options is fairly easy and relatively inexpensive.  The price goes up when you add the double chain stitch and the 5-thread options.   So, my thought is that I would probably use them if I had them but will most likely just go with a 2/3/4 thread machine.  I could yet surprise myself and go with something entirely different.

I am intrigued by the air threading of the loopers and have decided to visit the local Baby Lock dealer.  My sewing buddy and I will spend an evening looking at machines.  Since these machines are more or less the cadillacs of the serger world, it should be interesting.  I haven't looked at this brand of sergers since the mid-80s.  After looking at the various models and at the short list of stitches that I know I will use, I've decided to look at the Eclipse DX.  It is a 2/3/4 thread with the air threading of the loopers and you can still manipulate the tensions should you choose.  I have no doubt that I will be shocked at the price of these machines.

I also decided that I wanted to look at the Juki sergers.  My first serger was a Bernina Funlock that was made by Juki.  It was a great little serger until I got serger envy and had to replace it.  So, here are the two models that I'm interested in:

1.  The MO-655. This is a 2/3/4/5 thread serger.  It does not have a cover stitch option.  It does have the options of the double chain stitch and the 5-thread safety stitch.  This machine is relatively inexpensive.  I do think that it is an older model which is reflected in the price.

2.  The MO-1000.  This machine feels like it is the cream of the crop.  It is a 2/3/4 thread with air-threading of the loopers and needle threaders.  Oh, what a temptation.  This one is great for aging eyes.

Unfortunately, there are no Juki dealers nearby.  I found a place about 40 miles away but it looks like it's in someone's house and not an actual dealer.  I did call but didn't get a return call back.  The next shop is around 100 miles away.  Of course, there is always the Amazon purchase for a Juki but I would prefer hands on testing before making a purchase.

Anyone used any of these machines?  I would like to hear about the pros and cons of each.

Happy Stitching!

Bondi to Coogee Beach Walk...

Yes, it was early winter when we were in Australia but one of the things I wanted to do was the Bondi to Coogee Beach walk.  It was a beautiful walk.  Soon areas had been washed out from recent storms and which meant there were detours that had to be figured out.  The walk took around 3 to 4 hours.  We were definitely not in any hurry.  Here's a few of the sights:

This is where the walk started.

Some truly magnificent waves were coming in.

It may have been winter but it wasn't keeping the surfers out of the water.

Beautiful coastline.  If you look closely, you can see the walk ahead.

One of the detours went through a cemetery.

Local wildlife and they were all saying "Mine".

More local wildlife with waddles.

This is another shot from Vivid in the evening after the walk.  It was story time.

Early Fall McCalls....

Oh, I love so many of the early fall release of McCall's.  For me, it is all about dresses.  How I wish I had a need for a lot of dresses.  Here are the lovely patterns I picked:

This is M7469 a Nicole Miller design,  This is a fabulous dress and I love the lines of it except for the slit at the front hem.  You really need to hop over there and look at the dress that was made for the pattern. Lovely.

This is M7464.  Looking to create that hour glass figure.  This is the pattern will definitely do it with color blocking.  In addition to the sleeveless look, there are two additional sleeves.

This is M7466.  Another lovely little dress.  This is another you can have fun with if you have right fabric.

Sew many patterns, sew little time.

Happy Stitching

Sydney and the Festival of Lights....

We spent a great deal of time around the Sydney Harbor while we were in Sydney.  Here's the famous opera house:

However, VIVID was going on while we were there.  What is VIVID?  It's a festival of lights, music, and ideas.  Here's a pictures of what the opera house looked like at night:

Beautiful isn't it?  There are a lot more pictures than this.  My DH did make a video that I attempted to upload but it was too big.

Happy Stitching!

New Patterns....

McCall's had a pattern right after my Fall Buttericks post and I couldn't resist adding a couple of new patterns that were in that post.  So, I have added the following two patterns:

This is B6385.  A Lisette pattern for Butterick.  It has the cup sizing up to a D.  The pattern shows three variations in the collar.  Has anyone tried the Butterick version of cup sizing?  I have the perfect fabric in my stash and it is definitely time to pull it out.  I wonder what the chances of it getting done this year are?

This is B6388.  I really like this fun little pattern and it is meant for french terry and sweatshirt fleece.  Hopefully, I picked well on the sizing.  I really like the dress but would want to lengthen it to the knee.

I think I'm going to take a break from quilt sewing and do some garment sewing.  I never quite got to any summer sewing maybe I can get some fall/winter sewing done.

Happy Stitching!