Did you ever type up your notes from your classes?  Or was that just me, the ubergeek?  I always felt like I remembered things better if I typed them up.

I spent six hours this past weekend getting more familiar with Betsy 2.0.  I think it's no secret that I've been a little intimidated by this new machine.  It's only my second sewing machine, and my first was a total entry level machine that I used as a workhorse, but never fully learned.  My local dealer held a class on my new machine, a Husqvarna Viking Sapphire, over the weekend and I must say, it was definitely worth every minute.  Reading the manual only gets you so far, especially for me, with this being my first computerized sewing machine and all.


After sitting through this class, I feel a lot more comfortable with all of the computerized aspects of my machine not to mention all of the crazy feet it came with.  I know what all the buttons mean, and better yet, I feel like I know how to use them.  I think I can officially say that Betsy 2.0 and I are friends!

I now no longer think of this foot as a scary mystery foot...


I've learned it's an automatic sensor buttonhole foot, and I even know where to plug it in.  Best of all, I used it to make my very first buttonhole.  Buttonholes are so pretty when they're made in aqua thread, aren't they?


I also learned that when I get nasty thread spit-up on my the back of my work it's caused by one of two things - either my top thread tension is funky (not the bobbin thread, like you would think) or I need a new needle.

I made my first blind hem...well, I attempted.  Definitely not perfect, but I was pleased with how it came out, and I was excited to learn the process in person.  I'm not much of a hemmer, but when I told my husband that I had learned about hems, his response was, of course, "Now you can hem my suits!"

The dealer attempted to teach me to use the automatic needle threader, which I never bothered to learn on my old machine, but I didn't get it.  At all.  It's okay, I'll stick with threading the needle manually, I don't mind.

And get this - my machine has a different way of winding a bobbin that is apparently better for the tension of the bobbin...while the machine is threaded, I can actually wind a bobbin.   Isn't that cool?  It's apparently the best way to do it on my machine, so I'll have to remember that.

Oh - and I have decorative stitches on my machine, too.  That was a lot of fun to play with.  I have three fonts, a block font, a Russian font, and a Japanese font.  I'll have to play with the Russian and Japanese ones, I suspect they may make some cool symbols that could be pretty awesome.


There are several other little titdbits that I fear I may forget if I don't type them out, so here they are, in particular order.

• When threading the bobbin, make sure to click the bobbin thread in place.
• Change your needle after every full 6-8 hours of use.  Mental note: change needle more often!
• Wind your bobbin at a slow or medium speed, not high speed.  There are no prizes for winding a fast bobbin!  

My niece is going to be one super happy girl when she opens her birthday presents from me.  She lives far, far away, unfortunately, so I won't get to see that moment of joy, but here's hoping that my sister will take pictures, because I suspect there may be squealing involved...

Katie recently received a hand-me-down gift from my mother, the doll cradle my sister and I shared (okay, fought over) when we were growing up.  I figured it was only appropriate for me to make a doll to go with!  I dug out my drool-covered copy of Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love and found the perfect doll for Katie, a pattern named Patchwork Penny.  And bonus, it had a pattern for a matching little doll quilt!


I had a Cabbage Patch doll that I adored as a little girl, and one of the things I liked best was that she looked like me.  Not that I liked Barbie any less for her blonde hair and blue eyes, but I liked having a doll with dark hair and dark eyes like me.  So, I chose to make Penny look as much like Katie as I could.



As always, Hillary's pattern was super easy to follow, but it did lead to cursing, as usual.  I am just not a very confident hand stitcher, especially when it comes to ladder stitching.  Oh well.  I did my best.  I really enjoyed making the wig of yarn and stitching it onto the doll, though I dreaded that step of the process and put it off for a good day before trying it.


My husband thought this adorable little doll quilt was a placemat gone awry (he thought it was sized oddly for a placemat).  Seriously.  He redeemed himself slightly, though - he picked out the binding from my stash for this one, though, which I think is a nice touch.  This is indeed the little quilt that I spray basted last week, and FMQ'd with the loopy design, and I really like how it looks, all finished up.


I really love how this birthday gift came together, and I can't wait to hear from Katie and see what she thinks. Happy (almost) birthday, sweet girl!

I'm linking up with {Sew} Modern Mondays over at Canoe Ridge Creations, make sure to check it out!

I really need to put a moratorium on joining any more swaps, but I just can't help myself.  They're so much fun!!  I did the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap and the Pillow Talk Swap last year, and really enjoyed both of them immensely, and this year, I've already got three more lined up...

I got my partner yesterday for the Spicing Up the Kitchen Swap, and I already feel pretty sure about what I'm going to make for her.  I feel like I understand her style quite well, while it's a good bit different from mine.  I'm excited to try some new things for her.  I'm going to start auditioning some fabrics for this swap later this week, I hope.

I'm guessing my partner might be visiting soon to find out more about me and my style, which I have to say, is all over the place at the moment.  Just look at my mosaic!


I think I would really love to have something colorful for my kitchen/dining room.  I just made a pretty awesome apron last year, so I'm hoping my partner might whip up some placemats or a great table runner.   My table's pretty bare, so I would love for it to be more exciting!  I'm so glad Darci and Erin started this up this swap, I know my kitchen could use some color!
I also joined the Urban Home Goods swap, run by the lovely Heather and Kerri, who happen to have some of the most gorgeous blogs.  I absolutely loved some of the things I saw come out of the last round of this swap, so I knew I wanted to make sure to get into this one!


I would really love to receive an awesome tote in some colorful fabrics (I would adore something MoMo or Echino!).  I would also adore having a pincushion wrist-wearing kind of thing, that would be flipping handy to have.  A pincushion caddy or a mini quilt for a wall hanging would be wonderful, too.  The other thing that would be awesome is something incorporating zig zags or hexies, two of my big-time loves at the moment.

Make Mine Modern is another swap that I saw lots of beautiful things in last year.  I just got my confirmation from the wonderful Amy that I did indeed make it into the swap, so I'm super excited.  I'm hoping to get one of two things from this swap - either a sewing machine cover to my new Betsy 2.0 or a mini quilt for my sewing room.   We haven't shared mosaics for that group yet, but I went ahead and made one anyway, so I'll be all set when it's time to start sharing those...


So, that's three swaps for the next three months.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it, but I'm totally looking forward to it.  It's so awesome that I have these wonderful handmade things in my home that came from other people I barely know, and I can't wait to see what my partners dream up in these swaps.  I'm also really excited to try new things and work with colors and fabrics I might not have otherwise tried.  If you haven't tried joining a swap on Flickr before, you really should, but beware...they're addictive!!