Volume Number 14 May 2009

Spring! Green grass is coming, flowers are about to jump out of hibernation (bears, too!!) and the sun is warming day by day. What more could we want? My writing muse has gone on vacation and I’m sitting here mostly blank, so I think I will skip to the good stuff and not bore you with a lot of nonsense. Have a great summer and we hope to see you in the store.

Be sure to check out our classes; we have a new beading class and a free motion embroidery class coming in the fall. We have samples up in the store, if you want to see what you will be doing. Briony Goddard will be teaching these classes. If you want to meet her, stop by the store on Tuesday or Wednesday; she will be there to help you.

Most of you know by now that we try to help out one of our customers who sews for a hospital in Chavuma Mission Hospital; some of you wonderful people have inundated her with fabric, wool and other good stuff. Some of you help to sew quilts, diapers and baby clothes to be sent along. Recently, we received a copy of a letter written by Tomako Monobe, an RN at the hospital. I thought it would be nice to share some of it with you. She writes, “There are many deliveries at our hospital; we had 1,394 in 2008. We are very thankful to receive your gift boxes. Today, we received 5 boxes, containing baby blankets, quilts, receiving blankets, diaper pins, baby bonnets and booties, plastic pants, crayons, pencils, pencil cases and colouring books. Thank you so much and the Lord bless you.”

We used to mail out our news letter to about 150 people around town. Unfortunately, the last time my computer had a hissy fit, all the addresses were lost. If you would like a copy mailed to you, please stop by and add your name to our mailing list once more. Sorry for the inconvenience; hopefully, we’ll be up and mailing soon. In the meantime, we have hard copies at the store and if I have done my job correctly, on our website www.selvedges.com.

CLASSES

Have a look at the class list on our website, www.selvedges.com. We have listed all of the classes we have been asked about and a few more besides. Remember to sign up early because our class size is small.

CLASS REGISTRATION


 We are dedicated to offering the classes you want, in a casual and friendly atmosphere.
 Classes are kept small, so register early. Fees must be paid 7 days before the class is scheduled.
 Classes will be cancelled if we do not have a minimum number of students registered and paid 7 days before the class.
 If a class is cancelled by us, your fees will be refunded.
 If you find you are unable to attend your class, and it is less than 7 days before the class, please send a friend; we are unable to refund your fees, as the teacher must be paid.

USING YOUR FEET


Open Toe Embroidery Foot – this foot always makes me think that whoever made it, wasn’t awake that day and left the middle part out. The foot is regular width, u shaped and has nothing in the centre for greater visibility when doing appliqué stitching.

Quarter inch Quilting Foot – this is an almost normal looking foot, except it looks a tad small. It measures exactly ¼” from the centre to the outer edge. It’s a great idea for quilters! Also, the iner edge of the “toe” provides and exact 1/8” guide for piecing quilts and perfect corners.

SEWING MACHINES


I was a little tired of FABRIC FACTS and my husband thought this might be a good time to talk about machine care, since a lot of sewing machines are abandoned in the summer. Who wants to sew inside, when the wonderful summer weather is outside?

We have had a number of machines lately that have been very sad. Some were just dry, others were jammed because they had been run without care. One lady even admitted to having the machine for 10 years and never having it serviced.

What happens to a machine when it is run without reasonable care is, of course, the mechanical parts dry out. Lubricants do not last forever. When a machine is run dry, the metal parts begin to rub as they pass each other and metal is gradually ground off. The result is loose fittings and a noisy machine. Left long enough, the machine will seize and the repairs will probably be expensive.

Your response may very well be, “well, I’ll just oil it more often!” Good, unless you have a machine with plastic parts! Oil eats plastic. It will take some time, but it will happen, so if you are going to oil your machine, make sure you only oil those parts which are metal to metal. I’m sure it was a plot on the part of the manufacturers, but I still can’t do anything about it. Plastic parts need special lubricants and unless you know what you’re doing, please don’t try it yourself.

Machines are not cheap. We ask our machines to work hard for us and we need to take care of them. So, here are some guidelines. Service your machine at least once every 2 years, if you sew occasionally. If you sew every week, service your machine annually. If you sew every day, service your machine every 6 months. To protect your machine, bring it in sooner, rather than later; your machine will work best when serviced regularly. When a machine is serviced, all the dirt, dust and old lubricant is removed and new lubricant applied. Apart from that, most machines require several internal adjustments (timing) to obtain the best results.

I’m rather proud of the work my husband does. He is very picky; I have known him to work on a machine for 3 days to get it to sew as he thinks it should. I love his attitude – only the best will do for our customers. Our servicing is competitively priced, as well:

Mechanical machine $69.95
Computerized machine $79.95
Serger $79.95
Embroidery machine $89.95
High end mechanical machine $89.95

If it has been a while since your machine has been in for service, drop it off. The summer is usually slower for us and we should be able to get your machine ready for winter sewing within a week

Whatever you decide, have a great summer.

UNTIL NEXT TIME


Barb, Briony, Janet, Marie, Tom and Mardi

Selvedges, Fabric & Notions
195 S. Birch Avenue, Box 507
100 Mile House, B. C., V0K 2E0
250-395-4227
www.selvedges.com
(Right next door to The Outlaw)