Hi all!!
It’s been a minute, so let me get straight to it…..I bought a sewing machine!!!!!!!!!!!
It happened while we were at the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in September. I had been thinking about it for a while and weighing my options –
Should I go ultra-inexpensive and buy the $100 machine at Target?
Do I think of it as an investment and just bite the bullet?
Or should I just steal one of my mom’s and hope she won’t notice???
Well after much debate and some great advice from quite a few experienced quilters (the saleswomen at Linda Z’s know what they’re talking about!), I purchased a beautiful new BERNINA 530!
Worth the investment
Okay to be honest, I kind of got swept up in the excitement of the Expo and just went for it. A classic impulse purchase – oops!
But I had already come to a few conclusions:
- If I bought a very inexpensive – or even just less expensive model – I’d probably run the risk of out-growing the machine too quickly which might be discouraging creatively.
- It would be frustrating to have to spend more money later on another machine when I could’ve put the initial $100 into it from the beginning.
- I had to think of the machine as any other big purchase I’ve made – like my car. I may not use it every day, but I can be confident that when I do use it, it will perform smoothly.
- If I treat it well, I’ll have it for many, many years to come.
Lots to learn
I haven’t made any masterpieces yet, but I’ve been watching the BERNINA videos on YouTube and I’ve already learned a lot!
I can confidently thread a bobbin, switch presser feet, play with the tension AND lower the feed dogs!
I’ve even played around with some FMQ which, interestingly, was both harder and easier than I expected….ha!
I tried the alphabet and even attempted Lori’s Silly Spiral and The Messy Spiral Rose (page 60-Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3) I need some more practice….
So much to do, so little time…
It’s hard to believe it’s already been two months since I bought my machine…
Unfortunately this year I wasn’t quite advanced enough to help sew anyone’s costumes… I just made some spooky treats!
But now the cold weather and a little snow have swept into Minneapolis and I’m ready for some cozy and creative nights!!
I have so many Christmas projects planned for my new sewing machine – I just hope I’ll have time for them all!!
See you soon,
Faye