Lance of St. Eligius

Had planned things so that I had a few extra dollars this past pay check and finally got a couple of those things ordered that I am so in need of for the upcoming campaign season, which is actually a lot closer to kicking off then I would like to think about. So, several things ordered and I am about like a kid on close to Christmas waiting for those first couple of things to show up. In the meantime, while being just darn giddy, my Mom met me in Lexington yesterday for a quaint surprise. I had mentioned something about maybe looking at getting a machine for my birthday wanted her opinion…

In case you could not tell by the picture above, yeah, I was asking for a sewing machine. I know, it is kind of odd request, but you see, everyone that I used to get to do those quick sewing jobs for me – especially late at night on a tight deadline right before I went on a trip has moved away and such. Now, I do not claim to be any sewing whiz or anything, but if I get things pinned down extremely well, go slow and pay attention to the details, in a pinch I can get something put together. I think, hopefully, like so many other it will be a case of some practice will make one better at the activity then my current level.

To make a long story short, I indicated I thought a beginner all-purpose machine with only a few stitch capabilities would be fine and could she help me find something for me to acquire after my birthday next month. Some discussion ensued and there was thought given to the fact that I that I tend to use a lot of heavier fabrics and maybe I should think about something a bit heavier duty in nature then the standard machine. She reported back that the one I should likely get was on sale at Jo Ann’s through the end of the month and she would happily loan the money until the next month for me to proceed with getting it given the 25% price reduction. There was some additional savings had by having her along and I am now the proud owner of a machine that is fairly close to the one pictured above.

I finally got around to setting it up a bit earlier this evening. It was not that I was not SUPER excited about having it, but rather that my upstairs hobby/office room is in a constant state of disarray. It was even more so this afternoon because of my having been selling some stuff on eBay to raise funds for the sewing machine purchase. Finally though, the perfect little table’s surface was clear. Some quick setup and so I thought I would be doing some testing at the very least this evening.

Of course, my dreaded sewing machine nemesis faced me first. As I said before, I can do okay once setup. The setup is the problem though for me. I have issues with tension settings and such in general. Luckily, according to the expert standard settings take care of most things and subtle changes will hone it in if required. But I also needed to get the bobbin threaded, get the top thread wound through its path, and then my real enemy – catching the bobbin thread with the top thread and pulling it through.

Let me say, with an actual manual in hand (I should have thought of that long ago in my sewing machine duels) getting the bobbin threaded was actually straightforward for a change. Next up, threaded the top thread through. Well, again, with the manual and wow, this machine even has pictures of where to run things through that are numbered in order. So, aside from the few minutes it took me to get the needle actually threaded this was of no big consequence either.

My last hurdle remained and I would be ready to start sewing perhaps the helmet liner that is already laid out before the evening was done and that was to only get that stupid little thread down in the bobbin to pull up through the stinking little hole. It seems so simple when I read the book and heard the same thing from the sewing Goddess. Just hold the top thread lightly, work the crank so that it goes down and catches the bottom thread and then just pull it through. My experience says it is NOT however.

And tonight was no exception. My thread goes down, catches just as it is supposed to do on the bottom thread. When I pull lightly the bottom thread does not come however. If I pull a bit more, the top thread just comes off the spool. If I hold that tight, the top thread breaks. ARG!!! How am I ever going to put this machine to use if I can not get it threaded properly?

Honestly, before when this happened I always suspected I was running the thread in the bobbin in correctly. However, this I have pictures of what I was supposed to be doing from the manual. How can I be getting it incorrect? How can this be that hard anyway? It is just a machine right? In fact, in some ways, it is the precursor of the computer itself if you think about it – machine cogs that tell it where and how far and in pattern to stitch, think about it and the loom and Hollerith for a bit.

Sigh, well, I am in purgatory until someone can come show me the stupid trick that I am missing. And I guess when the do, given the trouble I have with this I had better video tape the process for future reference. Help?

** – Picture from Singer promotional materials.