Prizes and a New Machine!!

Check out what just came in the mail!  It's my prize(s) from the Tula Pink Sew Along!!  I've been so eagerly waiting for things to calm down so that I can try out the bias tape maker, and the rulers!  I literally have only a few straight sided rectangular rulers, so this will be so much fun using these! 

I'm also excited, possibly for the first time ever, about making my next batch of bias tape!  I have seen this machine before, but never in action.  I now realize (something that I don't think they market well), that you can get many different sizes and types of bias tip folder things.  I never considered buying one of these, because I always thought it only made one size of bias tape, but you can get tips to make many different sizes!  So neat!!

I also have been waiting for the dust to settle to tell you that I have a new sewing machine, a Janome Memory Craft 6600!!  I took advantage of a very generous Black Friday sale in a big city a few hours away to buy it.  Sadly, they only offered me $400 for a trade in value of my old machine, which I drove all the way over, then all the way back, after deciding to sell it myself.  The price I got for my used machine and the lower sale price was enough to break even, almost to the penny!!!  I'm so glad it all worked out so well, even all before the next credit card statement comes in the mail!!  On a side note, it drives me crazy that there is such a lack of transparency about the prices of these machines.  The closest shop, an hour away, (also the one that serviced my old machine) had these same machines for almost $1000 more than the big city store!!  Crazy.  It pays to make calls and shop around!

I'm already missing a few features of my old machine, mainly the low bobbin sensor, and the auto-pivot, but I love the simplicity of this new machine, and I do believe it's made much more sturdy, if that makes sense.  I still have my 20 year old machine with a free arm that I can sew garments on.  This machine has an arm (platform? / space to the right of the needle) that's only an inch shorter, and best of all, I was able to free motion quilt with it beautifully with all brands of thread within minutes of plugging it in!  We have no sewing machine store or repair service in town, and I can only get a few different brands of thread here, none of which seemed to work well in my old machine.  I hope that this more basic machine will require less maintenance.  It's also going to be nice to be able to buy plain old Coats and Clark thread to sew with, since I can get that easily and locally, in many different colors.  It's been a breeze to learn how to use, since my 20 year old machine is also a New Home/Janome.  All of the attachments are interchangeable, as are the bobbins.  Yea!!  I'll try to keep you posted as I start my new sewing partnership with my new machine!!