Month: December 2015

Looking ahead

December 25, 2015

I’ll admit it.

I’m a list maker and a planner. 

I derive much pleasure from crossing items off my to-do list.

My plans are not necessarily super detailed, but they do give me an idea of where I’m heading.

My major goals for 2015 were simply:
(1) Take an awesome 25th anniversary trip with hubby.
(2) Move the day job closer to home (or change jobs if necessary).
(3) Develop other revenue sources with my business.

All three goals were met, but not quite in the way I imagined. 

Quite frankly,  I never dreamed the job transfer would literally shut down my craft business for nearly four months. Everything (and I mean everything) came to a screeching halt as I poured all my energy into my new job. My wake-up call came when I missed the visitation for a dear friend’s husband who had unexpectedly passed away.  I was planning lessons and lost track of time. I felt so bad. That won’t happen again.

So what’s on tap for 2016?

(1) Lose weight the doctor told me I need to lose.
(2) Expand class offerings for kids and adults.
(3) Network/collaborate more with craft business owners in the area.
(4) Redo the school library after an unexpected sprinkler flood right before Christmas break.

What’s on your list for 2016?

Sewing Machines & Kids

December 9, 2015

Here are some observations based on the sixteen kiddos in my Stitching Stallions maker club who have met with me every Friday since mid-September:

(1) Get a sewing machine with a top loading bobbin.

(2) Get a sewing machine with a needle threader.

(3) Retractable spool pins should be METAL- not plastic.

(4) Keep it simple. You do not need a machine with 60 gazillion stitches, 40 fonts and 24 buttonholes.

(5) A speed controller is nice – especially for slowing down those race car driver wannabes. However, they can learn how to manage the foot pedal just fine with some practice.

(5) Buy one of those screw on seam guides, if your sewing machine has a screw hole on the needle plate to accommodate one. It really does help the kids maintain a consistent seam allowance.

We used four different machines in our club – a Brother, two Janomes and an Elna. The vertical bobbin Janome sewed fine for me, but it wasn’t the most user friendly machine for my 10 & 11 year old stitchers when it came time to thread the machine – or OMG – fix a tangled thread in the bobbin area.  The Brother was okay, many of the kids didn’t seem to like it. (They couldn’t articulate specifically why, they just didn’t like it).

The Janome Jem Gold 660 was the only machine that the kids consistently felt comfortable using and were able to operate independently.  They did like the Elna Carina for its speed controller, but of the four machines – the Jem Gold was the one they chose first when all four were set-up.

This is the fourth group of students I’ve taught with some version of a Janome Jem machine. All four groups have had similar results with this particular machine. Really think I need to consider a trade-in of the vertical bobbin Janome for another Jem Gold 660. [Update 12/23/15 – I decided to keep the vertical bobbin to use for applique with classes and bought another Jem Gold 660 at a super price from the local Janome dealer. Now, I have two identical machines with top loading bobbins and needle threaders. Much easier for me and the kids.]

Not affiliated with Janome in any way.  My favorite all-around machine is my Janome 3160 QDC. 🙂