Why would you use a Bobbin Sidewinder?

Yes, I have seen this gadget around sewing machine shops for many many years. I often stared at them and wondered what they were for. What is a bobbin sidewinder? My mother certainly never owned one. Why would you buy a $100 gadget that does something your sewing machine already does?

But the more I thought about it during the course of this year the more I thought this gadget may be a very useful thing to own when you sew a lot.

Me, figuring out my new gadget...

Now here are my top reasons to justify the cost of owning this little machine:

1. In some sewing machines - especially older ones - the bobbin thread process actually uses the same guides as the sewing process. Luckily in my machine it does not! But for those folks: here you are working on a project and are getting low on bobbin thread in the middle of it. It's very annoying to have to set your project aside, unthread the top thread, change the settings on the machine, wind new thread, change setting back, and then you get to go back to your project. Despite the fact that I have a better sewing machine with a get-up to wind thread apart from the sewing guides,  I still find that I have to unthread because I don't own that many spools of the same color thread. Being a small business I can only afford to keep so many spools of thread around... Sigh! So I mostly end up unthreading the machine and then rethreading it when I am done winding the bobbin. Big pain in the neck!

2.On days when I sew a lot my foot gets really tired of pushing the foot peddle. Believe it or not: I sometimes get problems with my ankle from it. I get cramps in my foot and the ankle really hurts...The sidewinder means less peddle pushing. Just push the little switch and you are back in business with the bobbin.

3.Why burn up the motor of your wonderful high-class sewing machine to do this low-class job?  Does the queen do her own dishes? Pffff...

4. Lately my machine's bobbin winder has been giving me a bit of trouble. It sometimes creates horrible little nests of thread when winding a bobbin. What to do with those nests? They are really for the birds and pretty much wasted thread. Could it be my fault because I am pressing down the presser foot unevenly or could it be that my bobbin winder is actually breaking? I am afraid to take it to the sewing shop to find out. I have read on various sewing websites that it costs $100 plus if this mechanism actually breaks on your machine. So one might as well invest in the sidewinder.

5.Now I could actually sit down and wind a number of bobbins for the next project because it's so fast and easy. I could tell my 10-year-old to do it for me.

So  you can imagine how very happy I was when Santa brought me a Bobbin Sidewinder. It's really easy to use and works so fast from what I can tell. But I will let you know how it goes...

Thank you so much, Santa! I think my new toy is the best in the house. Shh. Don't tell the kids or they will all want to play with it. LOL

German Dolls "Studio" Tour

My “studio” space is located in the entryway to our house. The word studio sounds too grand really. My little happy sewing space is barely 7x10 feet. Part of that space is taken up by a large old radiator.

The location of my creative space is a good and a bad thing. The good part is, that it forces me to keep things more orderly, since this is the room people look at first when they come to our house. The bad thing, of course, is that I must always put things away and can’t leave a big mess. But you’d be amazed to see what one can do with such a small space!

For the longest time I played with the idea of building a table over the radiator. I don't know why, but it appears, that the family gets tired of my things spilling over into the dining room/family work table. I don't understand why finding tape stuck to a book or page of homework is such a big deal...Do you?

Luckily last year my husband’s crafty woodworker uncle came and helped me ameliorate that stressful situation. I am so thankful I could realize my idea of having a side table. Together we built a new table off to the left side from my sewing table/desk. This space that was once wasted since I could not put any shelving or a table there, now serves as shipping and, cutting table. I also use it for taking photos of my dolls and doll clothes.

In one corner of the table I keep an antique Pepsi crate which I found at a flea market. The crate holds note cards, business cards, tape, and lots of small odds and ends that I need all the time…Note the gnome sitting behind the roll of tape in my tape dispenser. He is the guardian of my tape to remind the children that they have their own tape…What used to be wasted space has become a wonderful work space!

The dear uncle also built me a handy dandy storage shelf for some of my materials and shipping supplies. It is located above the side table and held in place by the window frames and some extra supports through L-brackets. Unfortunately, there is not enough room for all of my fabric. The fabric I use for doll clothes is spread all over the house in various bins and dresser drawers. Sometimes it can take me a while to remember where I put a particular piece of cloth I am looking for…I wish I could keep everything in one room. But then again it’s good exercise walking up and down the stairs to get your materials together…

If you would like to see more pictures you can visit my flickr page photo site for the complete tour. This report was inspired by Kat from Katsinthebelfry. I enjoyed visiting her work space and hope you have enjoyed visiting mine. =)

Glueck im Unglueck / Lucky in the Midst of Misfortune

Remember that lesson in elementary school about magnifying glasses, and what happens when we bring magnifying glass together with paper or flammable object? Well it was too long ago. So I completely forgot that lesson!

My husband gave me this wonderful Ott-Lite sewing lamp for my birthday last year. My sewing corner is in the entryway to our house. There are great big windows all around my little desk/sewing table. Of course, I had the lamp with magnifying glass parked right next to that table.

Yesterday, as I sat down at my desk to check my email, I saw smoke rising next to my computer. I thought: "What in the world is that? Is it my computer or the sewing machine smoldering?"

Well, you guessed it: The magnifying glass from my lamp was pointed just in the right direction to burn a hole in my desk (see pictures). Good thing my arm wasn't laying on my desk or I could have ended up like James Bond in the movie where he gets lasered...Or I could have ruined my sewing machine and the computer. In fact, after closer inspection I realized that I had previously singed the back of my laptop screen...Oh boy! Despite the annoying hole in my desk - I feel very very lucky indeed.

Wow! How stupid can you be? I guess I never read the package instructions. I was so excited about my new lamp when I recieved it. Mind you, I received this gift over a year ago. I suppose I was just superlucky that this didn't happen earlier or at a time when I had left the house. Who knows what could have happened...I think I will sew a cover for my magnifying glass. For now it is wearing a black hood. Bad Magnifying glass!