Broken Needles...and an Open House

You know the saying, "You've got to crack a few eggs to make an omelet"?  Well, apparently you've  got to break a few needles to complete sewing projects! Elizabeth broke a lot of needles this past weekend!  She is on a quest to bring back some creativity in her life.  Plus sewing meant she was far from the TV, secluded away in her sewing room and didn’t have to think about the craziness of the big world out there.  She probably should have stayed away from Facebook also!

When she breaks a needle, it makes her think of sewing friends who say things like “I haven’t changed my needle in two years” or “I only change my needle when it breaks”.  “Whoa!” she thinks to herself.  This weekend, she changed needles because they broke and also because they wore out. She didn’t count but probably went through 6-8 needles.  If she sews with a needle for 6-8 hours she changes it because that is best practice.  A new sewing needle is one of the first solutions when a machine malfunctions and one of the cheapest solutions too.  Of course, along with changing your needle comes re-threading as that is also a problem solver.  

The act of putting in a new needle, makes her slow down and really look at the machine and figure out why the needle broke.  Sometimes, she just doesn’t know why but usually it is something she’s done wrong, such as missing a step in threading or the thread was tangled around the spool, or sewing so fast the foot wiggled loose and the needle hit the metal.  In any case, go change out your needle, just for the heck of it!  You can learn a lot about needles here:  http://www.schmetzneedles.com/all-about-needles/  Schmetz even has a phone app about needles, which could come in handy when you're out shopping and aren't sure what kind or size needles you need.  You can download it for free in the app store.

Here are some of the things she stitched out on her “SuperBaby” Destiny sewing/embroidery machine this weekend. 

Mug rugs, small zippered pouches, lace ornaments (still need to wash away the stabilizer), and a bit of screen printing too. 

Our “Lattice” screen was printed on some hand dyed blue fabric and then used as the background for a pumpkin mug rug.  There will be more of these.

We are getting ready to participate in the Artistic Artifacts Open House and Craft Sale on December 3 in Alexandria.  These items and more will be on our table for your buying pleasure.  If you are in the area, stop by.  This event includes many vendors all with hand crafted items.