friday report

Last night for some reason..............maybe just fighting sleep; I decided that I would play around with some of the decorative stitches on my new friend.  I really like the above stitches and I am sure that I will be using them.  I am also learning that my machine might like certain threads.  I experimented and changed threads using gutterman.   My Bernina loves this thread no problem.  However when I tried using it on this machine the stitch seemed to change and the stitches were too close together.  So I changed the stitch length........still nothing.   Then I changed the thread back to the first spool of thread I used.  The stitch came out perfect.  Then I tried with the Egyption thread and the wt. is 20 cotton thread.  No problem with this thread either.  As soon as I rethreaded the machine with the Gutterman thread the stitch changed.   So I am thinking that my machine has attitude.  I might have to buy thread with 20-40 wt.  Which I plan on doing.  They say each machine is different.  I wrote the girls on yahoo and they said, "don't get panicky" just keep experimenting and getting to know my machine. 

After I played with the machine a little while, I decided that I would play with tissue paper and make draft on a skirt pattern from my book.........still not sleepy yet.   That didn't work out so well.........so now I think I will make another attempt to read from a manual that is some what like the luttorlogh system.  Sunburst pattern system by Helen Lemay.  I've spoken about this pattern system before.  Each time I will pick it up, and run into a gliche, and then put it down. I keep going back to this system because it allegedly works with all of the persons measurements. I just have to figure out how to use it.  Should I get this down pat I will be able to branch out.

Yesterday while in the doctors office I took an outdated Stitch magazine to keep me entertained for my office visit. It seems waiting time is shorter when I bring anything related to sewing. Any other time I would have waited an 30 minutes or more. I forget what year this magazine is from, however the article was, "We trial computer software" and article by Helen Mcbeath.   Dress shop I've pattern program as being the easiest software to use, followed by Ginger which is a little more detailed in software, but the outcome is just as good.  It's a few pennies more.  In each of these programs it literally makes it easy for the sewer to just key in the measurements, print them out and there you have it, your own custom pattern.  I don't know why I forgot about this system.  I still am determined to get my monies worth.  So just going to keep plugging away and sooner or later something is going to click.