The Next Generation?

He is addicted to my machines, my Button.

Snuck up on him!

He is a tiny little guy and has been climbing for awhile, but this past week, he finally grew tall enough to get his foot up on my chair.   Now I catch him in my room all the time! 

Checking the upper thread tension

The gate that used to keep him in?

"Trapped"  October 2011

 

It serves a dual purpose now!  To keep him out when I am not in there.  And to keep him in when I am trying to sew.  I don't have to worry about him climbing and standing in the middle of the kitchen table!

I also have accepted that he likes to sit on my lap when I sew, so I do a combined trapping of his arm and managing my fabric with one hand....

I have now picked up the habit of turning the surge protector that my machines are plugged into off when I leave the room.  

Any other sewing safety tips?

 He is my first of the four boys to be this young and utterly fascinated in the machines!

Dear 2011

Where did you go?

Button's Perplexed Look

Thanks for a great year! 

I look back at my first post in January HERE, and realize how worried I was that I couldn't even call the things I wanted to do goals...just hopes.

And so many of my hopes came true!!

Internet Hopes

New Logo!

 180 posts (chatty much, Heidi?),  over 100 new followers (thank you...I appreciate it!),  a special new home for Butterfly Kisses HERE, an FB page, Twitter, Pinterest AND now a brand new Etsy store (empty...but open)?  If you knew me last year, you would never believe it.  I can't either!!

2012 Hopes:  To keep it up, but not let it take over my life!

Grief Hopes

Jamie's Quilt: the inspiration for Butterfly Kisses

 I'd like to think that I have grown.  I'd like to think that I have helped many moms.  My blog is one of the top Google hits for Thanataphoric Dysplasia. 1,242 page-views since I shared my post this spring! That warms my heart that I can be there for someone when I was so lost.  It also warms my heart that I can share Butterfly Kisses with them!

2012:  To provide pre-made blankets for purchase for moms that can't send an item in for embroidery.

Sewing Hopes

A mess in my Studio!

I am in utter amazement that I have sewn as much as I have when I was still working early last year and then have had a baby the rest of the year.  I don't even dare think it will happen next year!

2012: Keep my focus on the home.  Window treatments, slipcovers, throw pillows, and a few things for the little guys here and there!

Embroidery Machine Hopes

Embroidering a Card Tutorial

We have established our love-hate relationship.  I love creating with it.  I love doing Butterfly Kisses on it.  Multi-positional hoops. Digitizing.  Designing.  I have moved from a novice to a intermediate embroiderer.  

2012:  Master it.  Share some tips with everyone this year.   Sell some new design creations at my Etsy store!

Quilting Hopes

Button's Quilt declared the Best of 2011 by the family

I am a bit speechless.  I counted.  10 quilts.  A new record for me.  Every pieced top is now complete.

I actually hoped for a long arm machine...and got one? 

A Moda Bake Shop Chef?

Not much more to say about it!

2012: Get to know my long arm machine.  Keep on quilting!

Crafting Hopes

I took pictures.  I shared tutorials.  Hope everyone like them!

2012:  Have a few more craft posts than last year!

Scrapbooking Hopes

I went on all three scrapbook retreats.  I finished my Family Album of 2010.  I am current with our family album up through August 2012.  Not too shabby.  A Christmas Album splashed in there.

2012:  Josh's school album.  He will be graduating in less than 4 years now.  I will not even think about any others until I finish it.

Family Hopes

 I sure hope I gave them everything.  I am a stay at home mom again.  I am so thankful for this wonderful gaggle of boys...including Mr. Boss.

2012:  Keep laughing.  Keep playing.  Keep loving.

 Baby Button Hopes

 

He made it.  A rocky visit to the NICU.  A blood transfusion.  The possibilities were frightening.  I am still too frightened to share the story...it terrifies me still. 

But he made it.  

That precious sweet baby boy made it.

And lights up my life.

 
Dear 2011,

I had such a nice time, but I feel like there is so much yet to do...I guess that is what 2012 will be for?

C'est la vie, right?

My New Girl

Handi Quilter   HQ Avante

She's Here!!!!  

In a box!

I promised YESTERDAY that I would tell you the who, what, where, why and hows today!

Disclaimer:  I am currently not being paid to review any products or services by any of the quilting machine companies.  These opinions are based on the my personal shopping journey.  But if they would like to sponsor me, do you think I will complain??)

My number one purpose was to shop Long Arm quilting machines at the quilt show.  Even though I really did not expect Mr. Boss to purchase one this weekend, I knew if I did not get my hands on a few, I would never really know which one I should even set my sights on!

I have been dreaming of a Long Arm for about 10 years now.  I have avoided many quilts and turned down requests from friends and customers based on the fact that doing a quilt any larger than 70x70 inches make me go crazy!  I actually start going crazy once a quilt exceeds 48x48 inches!!

I have actually never touched a machine until this weekend.  

Can you believe it? 

I have watched countless episodes on quilt TV shows.  Countless Youtube videos. And of course, have seen a gazillion finished products.

Okay...back on point.  The Houston Quilt Festival!

A little birdie (maybe my very own local quilt shop?) told me that the long arm companies bring many machines to demonstrate and some conduct classes all week.  They would prefer to have someone take them off site, then haul them all back home.  And they are used..they can't sell them for full retail to a customer.  So, DEALS, ladies....DEALS on DEMOS!!

We bee lined to the booths.  We hit Gammill, BabyLock, A-1, HandiQultand kind of swept by the others. 

First off, why did I rule out the others?  They were not on my top list after my extensive online research the past few years.  Did I mention that I used to send links of machines to Mr. Boss on occasion.  Marketing to your hubby is pretty key, especially if he is in the business of marketing, right?

Second reason for passing them by.  Basic construction.  You can literally SEE the difference in frames and machines.  Steel versus aluminum.  Bulkiness versus too simplistic.

Now to my final top picks. (Note: I was looking at 18inch throats only) 

I will give you the SIMPLIFIED breakdown.  There is so much more, but I don't want to bore!

_______________________________________

Gammill....Vision

PROS: 

• gorgeous.

• sturdy.

• smooth.

• Dazzle you with the fancy lighting.

• The oldest company in town.

• price reduced from their usually VERY high retail prices

CONS: 

• background is commercial machines.

• A lot of constant maintenance (i.e. more oiling than any other machine)

• questionable servicing/support

• no deals on demo models

• No deals on shipping

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Baby Lock Crown Jewel

PROS

• I am a proud owner of 3 machines (Symphony Domestic Machine, Emore Embroidery, and Evolve Serger)

• A little birdie told it is manufactured by HandiQuilter (kind of like Kenmore appliances being made by Whirlpool)

• Offer shortened frames...as small as 5-8 feet so for small spaces, can be an option

• Service.  My quilt shop would be my go-to guys.  Perfect support!

• Offered a "decent" deal on the demo.  

CONS

• I just didn't like it.

• It just "felt" strange to me.

• The movement was not smooth.  Maybe it was the set-up.  Maybe it was the environment.  I just felt that if you are at a show, the machine should be running at it's best...and it wasn't.

• The price was 3,000 more than the Gammill?  It was a bit perplexing.

• Only ONE demo was available.  So they were very pushy on us making a quick decision.

 

Note:  I REALLY wanted to like this one, I swear.  I just didn't, which saddens me a bit!

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

A-1 Quilting Machines

Pros

• Beautiful

• Smooth

• Actual owners were demonstrating and helping

Cons

I didn't spend much time because it was too expensive

------------------------------------------------

HANDI QUILTER HQ18 AVANTE

PROS

• Company was founded by a quilter.  A woman that wanted to make a LA for women just like me...at home, making my own quilts and a small home business.

• The NICEST salespeople ever.  Informative.  

•  Smooth

•  Sturdy construction

• Smooth (did I say that again?)

• USER FRIENDLY

• Maintenance.  Just the bobbin case every other bobbin change.

• 7 Instruction DVD videos with purchase.

•  Didn't mess around. Gave the quote right away and didn't pressure us to buy. 

• Every FMQ I did turned out exactly how I wanted it.  Effortlessly.  I was making leaves, hearts, flowers, and even attempting the difficult feather patterns!!

• Did I mention that the President of the company gave out his cell to arrange for pick up?  Then he helped box the machines up.  That kind of service is just my style! 

 

CONS

The only concern is that they were bought by an investment company.   But what sewing machine company HASN'T been lately? It just wasn't a deal breaker.

<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Upgrades?  

Yes....to all.  EVERY SINGLE MACHINE could be upgraded with computers and it didn't sound like too much work (except possibly Gammill). 

I hope this helps if you are looking, searching.  I must reiterate, I have not been paid or received any special deals from any of the companies.  This was just MY experience.  I would not be surprised if someone else had a completely different experience!

Just a Dream?

Something is arriving to my local quilt shop next week:

  After realizing that my machine is possibly unrepairable, Dearest Hubby went to the quilt shop with me yesterday.  

It is the same place I bought my Baby Lock serger and embroidery machine.

I did a lot of research on Pfaff, Singer, and Viking.  No Janome dealers nearby so they weren't in the running.  The unfortunate news is that the first three machines I mentioned are now ALL owned by the same group of investors.  And, frankly, if you are a frequent follower of machine reviews, you might have heard that these investors have ruined what used to be really great machines!


Luckily, I met and fell in love with my newest gal.  
Bonus?
Hubby signed the dotted line.

...................................

Meet Symphony.  

ALL IMAGES IN THIS POST ARE FROM BABYLOCK.COM

She is MINE!!!!

...............................................................

She is not only gorgeous on the outside, but perfection on the inside!

She has an LCD Touch Screen (240x320)

She has 460 Built-in Stitches

She has Built-in Stitch Memory

She has USB Type B connection to upload any machine upgrades and save stitches to your PC.

She has an Advanced Pivoting Features.
  Follows curves and maneuvers around appliques without ANY difficulty.  The foot lifts just at the right moment.  No more messing with the presser foot lever.  Your two hands are free to guide your fabric.
No interruptions of your work!

Have I mentioned the Advanced Needle Threader and Cutter?

Or the Fabric Sensor System?  Do you frequently work with heavy fabrics and then switching to lighter fabric weights in one project?  It already knows!  Your stitch length will not change under pressure!

And have you ever wished you could sew sideways?

I sure do...patches, appliques on sleeves, appliques on pant legs.

This baby has a lateral stitch!!!!

Are you jealous?

Of my machine or my husband?

Now I won't get greedy just yet...but just so you know... these two machines are in my line of sight...


Crown Jewel (long arm machine)

and the
Embroidery Professional Plus

But I promise I will be patient and spend some time with my new girl. 

She is going to be a lot of fun to get to know!

About To Cry....

Actually...... I already did! 

I picked up my machine after paying 200 bucks to repair last Friday. They claimed it was an electronic problem, the pedal needed replacing, and they would do a general maintenance.

When I picked it up, it was working with the thread they had in it.  The needle up/down button was working again and the machine was no longer giving me an error/beep when I pressed the pedal.

I had to do an embroidery order last week and early this week was tied up with getting my house cleaned up.  It was a mess!

So I pulled out my machine last night.  I ran it through again with their thread and used the piece of fabric they had in it.

I was thrilled!! 

James was settled into his bouncy seat.

Picture taken with my iPad2...a bit grainy....but isn't he just darling!

I started laying out my quilt pattern.  Pulled out my fabric.

I chose my thread.

 

Re-threaded my machine.  Turned it on.  Pressed the pedal.

and...........

Nothing.  Same old beeping.  Same old error message on the screen.

I opened it up because I HAD to figure it out.  There was 7 years worth of crap/dust inside.

I think I have just gotten taken.

Now I have to go have someone else look at it because I don't trust this place.

And I need some courage to get my money back!

So my new challenge? 

To try to use the boys' sewing machine.

 

I am going to prove to myself that anyone can make anything with even the most basic machine.

At least that is what I am going to keep telling myself!

Happy Girl

 "I used to live in a darkened room

Had a face of stone
And a heart of gloom
Lost my hope, I was so far gone
Cryin all my tears
With the curtains drawn
I didn't know until my soul broke free
I've got these angels watching over me, yeah

Oh watch me go
I'm a happy girl
Everybody knows
That the sweetest thing that you'll ever see
In the whole wide world
Is a happy girl

I used to hide in a party crowd
Bottled up inside
Feeling so left out
Standing in a corner wearing concrete shoes
With my frozen smile
And my lighted fuse
Now everytime i start to feel like that
I roll my heart out like a welcome mat

Oh watch me go
I'm a happy girl
Everybody knows
That the sweetest thing that you'll ever see
In the whole wide world
Is a happy girl

Laugh when i feel like it
Cry when i feel like it
That's just how my life is
That's how it goes

Oh watch me go
I'm a happy girl
And i've come to know
That the world won't change
Just 'cause I complain
Let the axis twirl
I'm a happy girl

Oh watch me go
I'm a happy girl
Everybody knows
That the sweetest thing that you'll ever see
In the whole wide world
Is a happy girl

Oh,yeah oh,yeah
I'm a happy girl"

-Happy Girl by Martina McBride

I've always loved this song.  But today, I was so happy.  A few things went my way:

 

•   My sewing machine was fixable and I was able to pick it up today. 
• My family portrait that I took in to be framed was completed and ready for pickup.
•   I messed up an embroidery order on swimsuits.  I was able to find the exact same ones at Target today.  So I can give the horribly messed up original ones, but I have replacements *insert a picture of me wiping off the worried sweat*.....Also Note to Self:  I will say NO to any swimsuit orders, forever.
• My iPad2 arrived at my doorstep today.  I love it more than I can tell you!  I can't wait to really get to know it.  It is going to make my carpool wait time seem too short!
•  I realized today that I needed to make some reasonable, logical goals for my weight loss.  I used milestones such as my anniversary, Jamie's birthday, and James birthday.  It seems very doable to me now!

 

The "before" Heidi.  Before we even knew we were pregnant with Jamie

 

 

But really?  Why am I happy?  I am happy because I when I looked up the lyrics to the song today, I expected it to be all about the happy girl I used to be.  

 

 

 

 
However, the song is so much MORE about me than it ever was.  It always amazes me how that works!  I hope it inspires me to do something REALLY Happy in my studio this week!

A WHOLE Lot of Nothing

Happening here:

My sewing machine is at the shop.  The needle wouldn't move up and down when the pedal was pressed.  Just beep, beep, beeped like crazy.  I have had it for 7 years and am VERY worried.  I really don't want to buy a new machine right now when I am saving for a longarm machine.

My sick puppy is a Singer Quantum 4440

 I know Singer has gotten a bad reputation lately amongst the online community, but I have nothing bad to say about it.

It has a kajillion stitches including some special decorative embroidery stitches.  It came with a lot of feet, including a walking foot.  I have a separate machine for embroidery only.  I love that I can be sewing on my Singer while my Babylock works things out!

They are worried that the computer is "off".  Things might get really expensive.

  Apparently, they see a lot of machines that are computerized sewing machines out there.  They are wonderful, but like a car, you buy a fancy model, pay the fancy price, you are going to have to keep shelling out cash to keep them in shape.

In the meantime, I have been using my sons' sewing machine.

  It is a Brother LS-1717.

  

I bought them the blue version though! 

It is pretty handy, but VERY basic!!

Makes me miss my machine even more.... 

If it looks like I am buying a new machine, any suggestions?