Every now and then a reader will write me and chide me, most always in a joking way, for causing them to buy an Instant Pot or an air fryer or something else but they never get any sympathy from me. I almost always say to myself “Thank goodness there’s someone else out there who does the exact same crazy things I do!” Seriously, how would you know you needed things if I didn’t tell you? 🙂
Last night, about 8 or 9, I was tired . . I had slept maybe 3 hours Thursday night. I should have gone to bed but decided to glance at Facebook one last time and read a post from a friend who shared that Craftsy classes are all on sale for $20 or less. From there, the conversation went downhill . . at least for Vince’s bank account.
Here’s how that Facebook discussion went. My friend’s name has been changed out for a butterfly! She had been talking to her daughter about a Cover Stitch class she signed up for at Craftsy.
FB Conversation
After that discussion, I looked at Vince and I think there’s a certain look when I’m about to do something I probably shouldn’t do. He said “WHAT?”
Me: I think I need a new machine.
Vince: No! What kind of machine?
Me: Kinda like a sewing machine.
Vince: Why do you need another sewing machine?
Me: It isn’t a sewing machine, it does something else.
Vince: What?
Me: I’m not real sure. I need to read about it.
Vince: So you need a machine but you aren’t real sure what it does?
Me: Yes, my friend is getting one.
Vince: Does it hem men’s pants? (Most machines don’t do that, you know? I’ve told him that for so long he believes it!)
Me: Nope . . not the kind of machine that would hem men’s pants.
Vince: Can you think about it tonight and we’ll discuss it tomorrow? Maybe sleeping on it, you’ll decide you don’t need it.
You know what that meant? Another sleepless night! In the grand scheme of things, it isn’t that expensive . . it’s just something else to add to the already too much stuff I have. We just this week had another one of those “We have to stop spending so much . . I’m going to retire soon” conversations.
I was up again til after 3 a.m. and up at 6 a.m. I woke up and said “Can we talk about that machine?” Apparently he had thought of something he wanted so he said “If it’s ok if I get this, then you can get that!” Done! Til I said . . I forgot to mention that I need a bigger sewing room. You don’t want to know what he said to that!
Then he said . . let’s go to town. We’ll get breakfast out, go do our shopping and be home before the rain. (It’s almost 5 p.m. and we still haven’t had the predicted rains.)
One of our stops was Aldi, where I found this little table. I used to get these at Staples but our Staples closed. I love these tables. I think a couple have ended up in Vince’s shop and are dirty and stained, I think a couple ended up at Chad’s house and I am down to one or two in the sewing room.
Portable Table
I said . . Oh! I can use this for my new machine. Got that.
Lamp
Aldi also had this LED lamp with the bendable neck. Perfect! I put my old serger on the table and it may have to go on the floor when the new machine gets here. Not sure how much room it takes up. Heck, I don’t know a blasted thing about the new machine. 24 hours ago, I’d never even heard of it and now I can’t wait for it to get here.
I’ve seen some adorable knit type patterns in Addie’s size, plus if I could find a great T-shirt type pattern for myself, I could make the adjustments to get a perfect fitting shirt and whip those things out and not have to always be searching for the perfect shirt.
Coverstitch Machine
My friend had done the research and I trust her. I read the reviews . . as with most everything, some say it’s the best thing since sliced bread, some say “don’t buy it . . it’s a piece of junk”. I’ve learned that reviews are not very dependable and there were way more good than bad so . . I bit the bullet and ordered it. This is the one I got – just in case anyone else wants one! 🙂
I signed up for the Craftsy class (and I ordered fabric too!)
So . . please don’t anyone tell me about anything else you’re going to do that looks fun! 🙂
Dottie says
LOL, LOL – what a FUN post!!! A couple of friends of mine have a cover stitch machine (different brand) and ABSOLUTELY love it (in conjunction with their sergers).
And, those tables are GREAT! I have a couple of them and wouldn’t be without them.
vivoaks says
I have that same table, too!!! Don’t know where I got it, but for a couple of years I used it as a cutting table. Now I have my sewing machine on it in front of the tv, so I can sew and still watch my favorite shows. I’m glad you don’t convince me to buy things I don’t really need! I can live vicariously through you, and enjoy your thrill of owning something new. 🙂
Laura says
Ha, ha, ha, ha! I have no idea what a cover stitch machine does…will be fun to watch you play with it!
I also have a couple of those tables…great for all sorts of purposes!
Frieda Z says
LOL. I have a serger that does all the same things. I got it in 1994 and had to take classes to learn to do all the fun stitches. Hope you have fun with yours.
Diana from SC says
The Aldi in our town had those lights last years. I ended up with about four….just in case one kicks the bucket. Really do like the light. Had a OLD borther purchased in the 70’s. It had some miles on it. Really not worth fixing money wise….so that led me to purchase Juki 1000 at Christmas for myself. Had done the research and serveral of girls around town had one. Ordered it from Amazon. It is wonderful….self threading. I also have several of the tables. I used them all the time in some parts of the house. Enjoy your new purchases.
Denise in PA says
LOL- my family and I are forever grateful to you (and Jo from Jo’s Country Junction) for convincing me I needed the Instant Pot – we use it multiple times per week. And, I’m seriously considering that air fryer!
Romonia says
A cover stitch machine is great for hems, you can do either a double or triple stitch hem in one pass. You can also do decorative stitching, using the bottom stitches on the top of the fabric. You will still need your serger for the seams. As an added bonus though, if you only use one needle you get a chain stitch that is great for basting, it rips out very easily. I use it to attach quilt backing to my velcro headers that I made for my longarm. (some people have zipper headers) you could do the same with them. Have fun!
Karen Sutton says
Thankfully you’re not tempting me with the machine – you got me with the air fryer and the hot pot – but I want a couple of those tables:) By the way, did you see the Hedgehog yarn special on ESK?
Judy D in WA says
I’m laughing so hard that I’m in tears. I love you so much! Can’t wait to follow your journey.
Megan says
A(nother) fun post, Judy. If you send me $500 in unmarked bills, I promise not to share Romonia’s comment with Vince, okay?
As for being concerned about spending once he retires, I don’t think Vince has really grasped the concept of cutting expenditure if his ‘solution’ to your latest suggestion is to agree only if he’s ‘allowed’ to buy something that he wants to get. He’s ended up spending twice as much!! LOL
Megan
Sydney, Australia
TerriS says
I hope you like it. I bought a Brother serger a little more than a year ago and have had nothing but problems with it. I bought the Serger class on Craftsy. I learned to thread it, did the practice stitches and that all went well. When I tried to work on the first project for the class one of the cutting blades broke and the machine jammed. I took it to an authorized Brother Service Center that fortunately, was right down the street from me, and they replaced both blades free of charge since the machine was under warranty. the blades were on back order so I had to wait several weeks to get it back. When I got it home I could not get it to work. I know it was threaded right, but it just kept jamming up and the thread was all bunched in the feed dogs and I had to cut it out with a tiny scissors and tweezers. When I called the repair place back they didn’t really want to work on it again because Brother had refused to pay them for their labor. I contacted Amazon, who got Brother on the phone right while I was on the line, and they gave me a case number and a phone number and told me to take it back to the service center and have them call for authorization. Since then, the machine has been back there several times, it has never worked again, and Brother has been a nightmare to deal with. Now, it’s out of warranty and apparently, they’re done with it. They will not cover any repairs, will not replace the machine, so I’m stuck with a serger that doesn’t work. It worked fine when I first got it practiced how to do all the stitches, but has never worked again since the initial jamming. I hope your machine works great and that I just got a lemon, but I will never buy or recommend another Brother product!.
Amy in PA says
I have that machine, it does a great job & it’s very easy to use!
Moneik M. Stephens says
I have my mom’s cover pro, but I never sew clothes, so haven’t used it. I love the little tables. They are so wonderful for camping and taking to sewing retreat. My 6 year old also puts her machine on it when she sews.