H-Class 500E.

So I went to Viking’s website the other day and noticed that they were showing off a new machine — an “entry level” sewing and embroidery machine that t hey are calling the H-Class 500E.  My thoughts, in order of thinking of them:

1)  *chuckle* It seems they are trying to make their machines sound like Mercedes with the ‘{letter}-Class {number-letter}’ naming convention.
2)  *sigh* I want it.
3)  Hey wait a minute; this thing looks like a Singer.

So I was at my dealer today buying a 10mm hemmer that i need to make a Christmas gift (need – hehe).  And I asked about this new H-Class machine.  He said they haven’t seen it yet, so don’t know much about it.  It seemed that they are looking at it with a bit of trepidation.  I told him I thought it looked like a Singer and he said, “I don’t think you’re too far off, there.”

But geez, if someone wanted to do sewing and embroidery, and didn’t already have a machine, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad starter machine?  He said MSRP was around $1500… MSRP on my Sapphire was still near $2k.

I’m probably about 5 years from upgrading my machine (who *knows* what they’ll be able to do by then!) but every time I see some embroidery… I sigh with a bit of machine-envy.

Bunny Costume

I made this Bunny Costume from Butterick B3238.  Here’s how it turned out:

I’m pretty pleased with it.  I had to make three different sets of ears before I made some that stood up on their own.  The fabric was very soft, but also very messy.  I filled up the vacuum a few times with fur during the process.  Although I tried to keep the fur bits contained in the sewing room, I would find tiny tufts all over the house.  Each time, I would say, “How did that get way out here??”

I hope next time she wants to be a ballerina or a fairy or something less furry. 

Maternity Pants.

I finished my first pair of home-made maternity pants (and my first wearable for ME!) from Burda 8097.  Normally one would try to get a panel that is close to the color of he pants, but my local fabric store did not have anything even close to brown.  This off-white was my best choice.

Front & Back.  They look kind of baggy??  Maybe going thru the wash and wearing shoes would fix them a bit?

Pocket Detail:

Buttonhole elastic in the casing allows for growth during pregnancy and cinching afterward:

I want to perfect these pants and make about 12 pairs of them, cause holy moly are they ever comfortable.

Why it is good to sew.

You could buy this Vogue/Michael Kors pattern, all the material needed (even if you used some fancy $80/yd material) for less than $250.

OR!

You could buy the very same ensemble at Bergdorff Goodman for $1,795. As was pointed out on the Stitcher’s Guild, they do throw in a belt for the price.

(Of course, this all assumes you have the body to pull off that sort of dress, which I do not, and the skills to sew said dress, which I also do not. BUT that is not really the point, is it.)

Hat, Top, Shorts.

My first hat from Simplicity 3859:

And the outfit I made from McCalls M5416.

To critique myself:
Hat - For a first hat, it is pretty good.  The brim was a little smaller than the hat panels so there is a “tuck” where I folded it over in the back to make it fit.  Unsure what the other solution to this problem is, other than more accurate cutting/sewing of the hat panels.  I like the addition of the decorative stitch.
Shorts - The shorts came out perfect.     I wish I had a hem foot.
Top - The top was okay.  It called for interfaced facing pieces along the top and seems really bulky, especially around the arm holes.  I think if I made it again, I might forgo the interfacing.  Also, the bottom of the top is rounded, which made it hard to hem.  Not sure what the solution is there other than practice.  I did a great job on the pockets.  I used my edge joining foot & moved the needle position over a bit to get a nice even stitch around the pocket edge.

I’m going to be glad to use another fabric than monkey/green on the next project.

The Monkey Dress

I finally finished “The Monkey Dress” (those are monkeys on the palm trees, if you cant see them) made from Simplicity 3859.  I felt like it needed a little something extra, so B drew one of the palm trees, and I cut it out of the accent fabric and appliqued it on.  Lots of firsts in this project:  First dress, first applique, first time using a bias tape maker, first zipper –ack!– I am still not confident about zippers.

Sewing Machine Meme.

Answers to the Sewing Machine Meme at Sew, Mama, Sew:

What brand and model do you have?
Husqvarna/Viking Sapphire 850

How long have you had it?
Since December 25, 2008

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
When looking for a machine, I set a budget of $1,000 and we were pretty close to that.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?
Mostly clothes, though I would love to quilting & some home dec projects… just haven’t gotten there yet.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?
Not as often as I’d like.  But I try to get in there a few days a week.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?
I love my nameless machine! 

What features does your machine have that work well for you?
- The sewing advisor is such a help — I tell it what stitch I want to use and what fabric I am sewing on and it will suggest a foot, needle, and thread tension to make it go smoothly.
- The Needle Threader (yahoo!)
- A bunch of great decorative stitches
- The needle down button
- The “Stop” and “Fix” buttons — Stop completes whatever stitch you’re on and then stops; fix ties your stitch off wherever you are.
- Several different button holes, and the automatic buttonhole foot that will help you make all buttons exactly the same length.
- Many different feet available to help with various tasks

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?
Not yet.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!
I asked for the machine for Christmas, figuring my husband & parents could go in together on it, but my wonderful parents took care of the whole thing!  I think my mom loves the idea of me learning to do sew great things and stop asking her to do it. 

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?
Absolutely.  I will never need another sewing machine!  I wanted a machine that would grow with me, and allow me to do everything I could possibly want to do.  This machine does it all!  (except hoop embroidery, but that was way out of my budget)

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
After determining that the machine will do what you want it to do, the most important thing to me is:  Does it come with classes and other support? I’ve had the machine since Christmas, but finally got around to taking classes in June, and just in the first class I learned way more than I taught myself in five months!  I learned that because of this machine’s abilities, I don’t need a serger!  Hooray!

Do you have a dream machine?
Yep – a Husqvarna/Viking Designer Diamond!

Sharing My Bookmarks.

I’ve organized my bookmarks into wordpress pages.  Mostly this is for my own use — I can never find what I want to find when I want to find it — but if other people get some use out of it too that’s great.

Have a site you think I should add to my bookmarks?  Leave a comment.