Have you ever had to mail or ship a sewing machine?
Or how about if you’ve bought one and needed to have it shipped it to you?

There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to ship a sewing machine – no matter what method it’s being sent!
Make a mistake, and you could have a box full of very expensive little pieces…
But sewing machine manufacturers manage to ship thousands of machines daily with very few issues.  So how can you ship your precious sewing machine safely?
sew2go has an excellent series of articles on how to safely and securely pack a …read more

In honor of their “Sewing Machine Month“, Sew Mama Sew is inviting bloggers to write about their favorite sewing machine.
If you complete this meme, leave a link in the comments – I’d love to read about it!
What brand and model do you have?
I’ve got a Bernina 1530
How long have you had it?
Well… my mom bought it new and then passed it on to me, but it’s been exclusively in my possession for about 7 years now.
How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
What is it worth today, or what was it new?  I’m not sure to be honest…
What types of things …read more

Do you wear your love of sewing proudly on your sleeve?
Why not wear it around your neck instead?
Check out this adorable vintage sewing machine necklace from indie jewelry designer, Eclectic Eccentricity:

The metal sewing machine is covered with black enamel and accented with gold paint – just like those old treadle or hand-crank machines!  It’s finished off with a teensy little scissor charm, hung from a brass bow.  The chain itself is made from little hearts, joined together.
image: Eclectic Eccentricity

Well, I’m moved into my new house…
The old house has been cleaned and we passed the final inspection.
Of course, I still can’t find my good sewing scissors, I have no idea where my thread ended up and I’m not sure if my camera cord is in the house or in the garage…
This however, puts a big smile on my face:
My sewing table and sewing machine are set up again and ready to go!  Now to go sort through the 15 boxes marked “fabric” to find the project I was actually working on…

Now this is a new one on me…
Apparently someone has started a rumor in Saudi Arabia that old sewing machines contain a “magical” substance known as red mercury.
The general belief is that red mercury has all sorts of amazing abilities, from turning off cellphones, helping the owner to find gold or even build nuclear weapons!

There is of course, no such substance as red mercury and as far I can can tell, mercury of any kind has never been used in sewing machines.
“RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi police are investigating the origins of a hoax that had hundreds of people believing that …read more

There are basic sewing skills that are so useful that everyone who sews should know them – it doesn’t matter if you sew clothing, fiber art, crafts or quilt, they’re useful!

How to use the straight stitch and zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine.  Knowing how to change the stitch length is also very useful.  These two stitches are incredibly versatile – in fact, they’re the ones I use 99% of the time!
Can you choose a pattern based on your sewing skills? Most pattern companies will list the level of difficulty for their pattern – either on the pattern envelope or …read more

Includes special “upholstery upgrades”.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170132995722
All I can think about is how long that would take to do…

I got a text message from my fiance two nights ago.
He said “you’ve got something sitting in the living room – needs some work, but it’s got a cabinent”.
I got home to find this charming old Singer in the middle of my living room:

One of my moms dropped it off at our house, after picking it up for free at a local quilting shop.  The motor still runs, but I haven’t had a chance to get any further with it than that
Hey, it’s got “electronic” written on it – sounds like fun!

I haven’t had much spare time lately to play around with my new/old treadle machine (pout, pout)  I’ve been trying to find a manual for it, but haven’t had any luck with tracking down any information for “Supremacy” machines.  My fiance even took up the search (hmm… I wonder if he hopes that he’ll get a shirt out of it if he’s the one to find a manual ) with no luck.
I did however find a fantastic site for treadle machines called “The Sewing Machine Shop“.  They have a ton of links to other treadle sites, instructions on …read more

I have a blast machine-embroidering and love learning new techniques!  I just came across a tutorial from Threads Magazine on how to make lace fabric using your sewing machine, nylon tulle and lots & lots of thread
I think I may try using this technique on a small project before I do a whole garment…
You can read the whole tutorial here.  Very cool!