Thursday was the New Moon and I am late once again for the Totally Useless Stitch A Long! My ORTs are a little sparse this month as I haven't been doing enough crafting! I have been playing with the machinery and learning it instead of creating. I've played some on the 301 and a lot on the 503. The ORTs in my bowl are a few cast off threads and really messed up leader/ender blocks. I do have a nice pile of finished half square triangles! The tiny feed dogs on the vintage machines lets me stick a sewing guide down and gives me precise 1/4 inch seams.
The really messed up blocks were caused by the presser foot pressure being set all the way down on the 301 and it took me a bit to figure out why it didn't want to feed the fabric. It was also frozen up and took me a long time of oiling and waiting and trying, then finally asking Dash to try unsticking it. Dash has strong fingers and got it loosened enough for me to get it thoroughly oiled and working freely! It sewed much better with the lighter touch on the presser foot!
After the 301, I got out the 503 and started playing. Since the 503 has zigzag capabilities I wanted to see what it can do. On the modern machines you push a button to set a different stitch but, on this 503, you open the top and insert a cam that moves the needlebar. I got out all the cams in order and sewed a line of stitches with each. Sometimes it took me a bit to figure out what stitch settings made the best looking stitches! A funny aside: I sewed for a long time that day in my stocking feet and wore a sore spot on my foot from the foot pedal button!
=^..^=
Now it is YOUR turn...we want to see your ORTs! Leave a comment on this post with a link to your May TUSAL post so we can come visit! If I hold a Totally Useless giveaway your comment will earn you an extra entry.
Wondering what a TUSAL is and why all these people are posting pictures of rubbish? Click here to learn more and join the fun!
Thank you for visiting my blog today!
xox
Great idea to sew a sample cloth so you know easily which cam does what! My mom's Singer Golden Touch 'n' Sew from the 70's used cams for decorative stitches - I especially remember one that was a line of swimming ducklings and while they had the design embossed on the top of the cam, those were always so difficult to see.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're using your new machines and enjoying them ... even if you do have to get used to their quirks. (but isn't that half the fun?)
Have missed some posts lately, so apologies if I've not commented on what you're working on now - your leaf bowl does NOT appear to have blue Dresden scraps in it at the moment.
My May orts are HERE.
Here are my ORTs for May!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://time2xstitch.blogspot.com/2017/05/may-tusal.html
My ort jar is empty at the moment as I dumped it all out the other day and have only had a few moments to stitch since then. Picture an empty mason jar! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe sample cloth is a really good idea and a great way to practise with the machine.
ReplyDeleteHere are my ORTs - http://serendipitousstitching.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/the-sweetest-tusal-of-them-all.html
Sewing samples and not making ORTs. We're running parallel courses here ;)
ReplyDeletehttps://krydderuglen.blogspot.dk/2017/05/tusal.html
Those are some beautiful stitches! I'm thinking every sewist "needs" to have at least one vintage machine... I'm hoping to find one after I move. :-) Another tip I just learned is that the presser foot needs to be in the up position when adjusting the thread tension. When the foot is down, the tension discs are pressed together and will not adjust. Probably old news to most people... but, it was an "ah-ha! (maybe even duh)" moment for me! lol! Have a beautiful weekend!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you are having so much fun with your new toys!
ReplyDeleteHere are my orts - http://cross-stitching-mama.blogspot.ca/2017/05/may-tusal.html
Glad to hear you are enjoying your new machines. My orts can be seen here http://desireescrossstitchmadness.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-little-lost-mojo.html
ReplyDeleteYour sampler is a great idea! I have one of those machines but sadly it doesn't work. I suppose I should pull it out and play with it and see if I can make it work. It was my favourite machine for many years! No Orts from me this month as I am away and cannot show them.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are having fun with your machines. No ORT report yet from me but maybe tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteSamples like this are as old as stitching so you are doing a traditional thing!
ReplyDeleteMy Ort report is here May TUSAL and by golly did I stitch a lot!
Love the stitch sampler those are always a good idea
ReplyDeleteHere's my ort report http://purplepds.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/another-late-tusal.html