Smart by Pfaff

Let me introduce you my new friend.

Her name is Smart 200c by Pfaff (a nice review here, although my budget does not agree with the «low price» part).

She is effectively very smart because her head is full of electric components; she’s a computerized sewing machine and can sew as many stitches as there are Arabians nights (you know, 101). 😛 I am particularly enjoying the one-step buttonhole! (There is a special foot where you put your button and the machine automatically thinks the width of the opening for the buttonhole and sews it all in one step! So cool!) 😀

I wasn’t planing on buying such a fancy sewing machine, but the lady at the shop, in good seller, told me that those machines don’t require as much service and reparations as the mechanical ones because they have no movable parts. I am also very lucky to have a husband who whispered in my ear that this was a tool, a magic word in his vocabulary ;-), and therefore needed to buy the best we could afford since it’s supposed to last a lifetime.

Luckily there are two «free» lessons with the price of the new sewing machine at that store. I attended the first one last week which was useful in my case to go though the basics with a professional who showed us the little tricks and how to use the many feet that come with the machine.

My mind, the imagination therein, is working faster than my two hands. Since I have bought this genius, I have already hemmed the tablecloth, the bedroom curtains (they had been waiting for many years), sewn the dress, and made myself a pair of pants (a first! More on this later!). This list is so short in comparison with all the projects I dream of and that keep adding to the imaginary list each time I put a foot in the fabric store (there is always some sort of sale that I can’t resist!).

Not to create any jealousy, please let me remind you that I still love my old and beautiful Singer Featherweight. She is perfectly at peace for the time being in her pretty carrying case. 😉

*BONUS* A funny fwd that my MIL emailed me not long ago. This is how well we understand each other! 😆

If I Don’t Buy That Fabric I’ll Surely Faint!

Few true sewers, quilters or fabric crafters need an excuse to buy more fabric. We are hooked on cotton. We obsess over silk. We daydream about calicos and ginghams and plaids. But just in case you need to explain to others why you have a million yards of fabric at home, but still need a few more fat quarters and just have to buy yardage of the newest prints … here’s a handy list of reasons you need more fabric! Copy this list and tuck it in your purse for quick reference!

* It is a patriotic duty to support cotton farmers, textile mills and fabric shops.
* «Oh, it’s not for me! I’m buying it for a friend!»
* It’s on sale. (*sigh* There is ALWAYS something nice on sale!)
* I need extra weight in the trunk of my car for traction on snowy, icy roads. This is important, even in Florida and Southern California, as you never know when the weather will change.
* It’s non-fattening.
* Like dust, it’s good for protecting previously empty spaces in the house.
* Because it’s there.
* It’s much cheaper to cover the floor with fabric than new carpeting.
* The devil made you do it.
* It’s the only remotely artistic thing I have ever done.
* I can’t live without it.
* I have new shelves for fabric storage.
* It will go with some I bought last year.
* It’s so pretty, and I’ll use it some day.
* I want my daughter to have a proper inheritance. (It is not yet my case, but I sure I will use that one in the future. hee hee)
* Without fabric, I would have nothing to do with my rotary cutter and my mat and my sewing machine. (Uh? What’s a rotary cutter? I suppose it’s something for quilters)
* It does not promote tooth decay.
* It calms the nerves, gratifies the soul and makes one feel good.
* If I don’t buy it now, I may never see it again.
* A large fabric stash is the sign of a creative mind.
* I owe myself a reward for that half-pound I lost last month.