The Sewing Room

craftygranny

Has anyone got one of these was thinking of buying one for my daughter who wouldn't mind trying to sew. Any help would be gratefully recieved . Doesn't seem a lot to pay in case she doesn't take to sewing.

meggielo

wen-tom wrote: »

hi All.. hope you don't mind me joining in :j

I havent sewed for a while but something just recently has made me want to get back to it. I have a need to make a patchwork quilt :j I dont know whether I am actually capable as I am a beginner but i'm gonna give it a shot anyway...

Anyhow, my question was this.. have any of you ever bought/used one of those mini sewing machines? Like the one in Hobbycraft for £19.99?

My sister is getting into sewing and she doesnt have a machine. I would like to buy her one for xmas but I can't afford a full sized one. I have been looking on ebay but no luck :mad:

are the mini ones any good at all?

Thank you so much for any help you can give me :beer:

Personally I wouldn't bother with the mini machines as I don't think they are good value for money, but I have never had one or used one, although I do have a friend who brought one back in the summer and as far as I am aware, it is still going strong. I'm sure somebody that has one of these will come along soon for a better reply than mine:)

Crafty granny, I have never heard of that make of machine but its very reasonably priced for a full size machine. I have two machines, one Brother embroidery machine and one £60 no idea who made it machine from argos for about the same price as the one you are looking at. It sounds like a whirring tank compared to my Brother but it sews very good. Maybe this one will too.

These are the things I have been busy making this week, all Christmas presents..

I've done two of these the same, one for my MIL and one for my Mum. They will both be framed. I even put their door numbers on the doors:rotfl:The pictures will be stretched before framing to make them tight, they are just loose bits of fabric at the moment.

More corner bookmarks, these are for my DH and another one for my Dad. I was so impressed the way these came out. The suede type fabric is what my sons divan is made of and it had two bits of this fabric stapled to hold the drawers shut. I'm glad I kept it now, I've had it three years!!!

This is for my DH. It is is his favourite carp print that he owns. I scanned it and put it through my embroidery software to make a pattern for it. This is the finished picture embroidered. I'm going to frame it for him. He's going to be thrilled with this I just know it. I've been waiting ages to embroider it as I didn;t want our DD seeing it as she has a big mouth!! DH is away in Thailand fishing at the moment so Monday was a good day to sew it. Just as well as now the schools are shut due to the snow DD is home!!

I've just posted these sock monkeys on the sock monkey thread but I thought I might as well post them here too as they are also part of my sewing I have been busy with.

Bunny200

I love the house embroidery, very beautiful

midge61

Hi all

Thanks for the nice comments.
Tamster The quilt is my take on one I found on Moda Bakery site and the quilting is stippling and I just started in the middle row and kept going!

This site is really good for ideas on machine quilting. It has videos to show you how
http://www.daystyledesigns.com/index.htm

The quilt I am just about to finish is my take on the 'hugs and kisses one' on moda with lots of different patterns and has been much harder. Will post pics when done.

Tamster150

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Finally I have gotten round to taking photos and updating my you-know-what.



Five quilt tops all waiting to be quilted (eek!) and a nappy pouch for a friend in Germany!

More details on my homepage.

Tamster150

midge61 wrote: »

Hi all

Thanks for the nice comments.
Tamster The quilt is my take on one I found on Moda Bakery site and the quilting is stippling and I just started in the middle row and kept going!

This site is really good for ideas on machine quilting. It has videos to show you how
http://www.daystyledesigns.com/index.htm

The quilt I am just about to finish is my take on the 'hugs and kisses one' on moda with lots of different patterns and has been much harder. Will post pics when done.

It was the actual swirly heart quilting pattern I meant - you have a picture of a heat cushion that has been quilted with rows of hearts, I was wondering where you got that pattern or is it your own?

Thanks for that link. I have that bookmarked but had forgotten all about it!

I have to go now and pay my boys some attention. I have been on the computer since 8.30 and they are now being just a tad naughty! The little one is such a monkey, just found him in the bathroom playing with the taps! Freezing cold water everywhere! (we are in a maisonette so single storey)

midge61

Hi Tamster

The hearts are a template bought here http://www.pelennapatchworks.co.uk/quilting-stencils-23-c.asp

funnyfreckle

I hope you don't mind an intruder but I just wondered if any of you talented bunch could help me?

A friend wants a sewing book for Christmas and suggested either Learn to Sew by Alison Read (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Learn-Sew-Diagrams-Instructions-Projects/dp/1906007365/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1291293616&sr=1-2) or Compendium of Sewing Techniques by Lorna Knight (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compendium-Sewing-Techniques-Lorna-Knight/dp/1844485250/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291293653&sr=1-1). When I was having a quick look on Amazon I also found Sew it up (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sew-Up-Practical-Decorative-Techniques/dp/1856268101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291293320&sr=8-1) which I wondered about buying instead.

I just wondered if anybody has any of these books or seen any of them and could recommend which would be a good gift? I also saw 'Sew Pretty Homestyle' (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sew-Pretty-Homestyle-Irresistible-Projects/dp/0715327496/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1291276478&sr=8-4) which I thought looked lovely - has anyone got this?

Once again sorry for butting in on your thread but I would really appreciate any help.

Thank you so much

PootleFlump_3

funnyfreckle wrote: »

I hope you don't mind an intruder but I just wondered if any of you talented bunch could help me?

A friend wants a sewing book for Christmas and suggested either Learn to Sew by Alison Read (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Learn-Sew-Diagrams-Instructions-Projects/dp/1906007365/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1291293616&sr=1-2) or Compendium of Sewing Techniques by Lorna Knight (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compendium-Sewing-Techniques-Lorna-Knight/dp/1844485250/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291293653&sr=1-1). When I was having a quick look on Amazon I also found Sew it up (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sew-Up-Practical-Decorative-Techniques/dp/1856268101/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291293320&sr=8-1) which I wondered about buying instead.

I just wondered if anybody has any of these books or seen any of them and could recommend which would be a good gift? I also saw 'Sew Pretty Homestyle' (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sew-Pretty-Homestyle-Irresistible-Projects/dp/0715327496/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1291276478&sr=8-4) which I thought looked lovely - has anyone got this?

Once again sorry for butting in on your thread but I would really appreciate any help.

Thank you so much

Hi. You arent butting into anything, everyone welcome on here!! I have Sew Pretty Homestyle and it is a nice book (particularly if its a gift). Lots of really nice things in it. Cath Kidston books would also make nice gifts. I dont have the other books but I can recommend this one if its for a book on techniques rather than actual projects (although it does have some projects in it too.) Ive had a look at the ones you linked to - if it were me, I would prefer to the compendium one rather than the others (although think the one Ive linked to might be better than this one). The one by Alison Reid looks OK but again, if it were for me, Id rather have the Sew Pretty Homestyle or "Make" or "Sew" by Cath Kidston.

mystra

wen-tom wrote: »

hi All.. hope you don't mind me joining in :j

I havent sewed for a while but something just recently has made me want to get back to it. I have a need to make a patchwork quilt :j I dont know whether I am actually capable as I am a beginner but i'm gonna give it a shot anyway...

Anyhow, my question was this.. have any of you ever bought/used one of those mini sewing machines? Like the one in Hobbycraft for £19.99?

My sister is getting into sewing and she doesnt have a machine. I would like to buy her one for xmas but I can't afford a full sized one. I have been looking on ebay but no luck :mad:

are the mini ones any good at all?

Thank you so much for any help you can give me :beer:

hello i'm joining in here as i have finally had a go at some sewing...i've made a very wonky cushion out of an old tshirt lol... it took all afternoon and the stitching is awful haha :rotfl:

i wouldn't recommend those mini sewing machines... i bought one last year and within a week it went back it was really rubbish!

I would love a sewing machine as i think i would like making these things but i find hand stitching really difficult (or just plain hard for someone with an attention span of a magpie) lol altho i remember doing textiles at school and every perfectly working machine would fall apart the moment i sat at it!!:rotfl:

i'm interested in recycling old tshirts into other kinds of tops or things and got a couple of good books in the summer but never got round to making things..one is Generation T Beyond Fashion 120 ways to transform a tshirt and the other book is 99 way to sew trim and tie your tshirt.

I am rubbish at sewing... i was sitting here struggling thinking "what if this was WW2 and i'm one of the women fixing parachutes and the like" i'd have been thrown out for being rubbish!!