The ElnaSuper

I have a new addition in my home--at least temporarily. My in-laws were visiting over Memorial Day weekend and my mother in law brought her grandmother's old sewing machine for me to use. 

When she lifted the metal case to the table and brought out this little beauty I was a bit intimidated to use it.  I have a cheap Brother that works surprisingly well given what I paid and how much I have used the machine.  It's plastic and I'm not afraid of pushing it's limits.  This on on the other hand is made of metal from the bobbin case to the machine case, and if I break it, I'm breaking a piece of family history!

Apparently I have pushed my machine to at least one of its limits because my bobbin winder broke.  Of course I ran out of bobbin thread somewhere around 130 out of 150 napkins that had to be finished before my in laws headed home.  So we used the ElnaSuper to finish the job and she sews beautifully! {Of course. What was I thinking?}  It was so easy to use--no skipped stitches or broken threads. This is no frail old woman; she is still quite super. I'm not sure I'm ready to try any free motion quilting on the machine just yet {although the throat space is magnificent!} but I think I'll use it for piecing together the Garden Fence quilt top.

The machine comes with all kinds of discs for different stitches. I am sure I'll find a good use for these little ducks soon!

In case you're wondering how old the machine is, here is a picture from the manual. Of course a real lady never reveals her age so I'll leave you marveling at how young she still looks.


 

Handstitching and Catching Up

Question: What do you do when you take care of a toddler and a baby during the day, work a few hours a week on odd jobs, have two big sewing projects to complete and still have 5 minutes of free time left over?!
Answer: You sign up for a class to learn how to do something you have wanted to do for a long time!

 
We don't need to go into the insanity that is my life. It's just an established fact. Sewing brings some form of peace to it all for me. So, I am taking the Handstitched Class being offered by Rachel at Stitched in Color! I got my student kit today and am happy just looking at these colors. {Of course, I'll be even happier knowing what to actually do with all that!}

I've been really busy sewing up 150 napkins for a wedding and am so close to having those finished. That's taken up most of my sewing time, but I'm finally getting a new routine down that includes some sewing time.  I even took some pictures to share with you on how to simplify things when sewing 150 napkins.

There is also a new quilt in the works.  A friend's mom has asked me to make one for her! I've been wanting to use the Garden Fence pattern for a while and am so glad she chose it out of all the patterns and ideas I presented. More on that when I decide whether to stick with the Crosshatch fabric I ordered or spring for some Summersville to add to the stack!

So in Arizona we don't do the whole Daylight Savings Time thing which means the sun is up before my alarm goes off at 5:45 a.m. and unfortunately that means my daughters are up extra early now too. The good news? Extra long naps! But I can hear them waking up, so Happy Memorial Day Weekend to my U.S. friends!