warning to you myog newbies

ha! that's great. lucky girl!

Yes a sewing machine is a wonderful power tool. Make a tarp, shorten some drapes. It's all good.

My wife bought my sewing machine for herself, but pretty much never used it.

I repair her clothes a bit. Her swimsuit stretched so I shortened it. A seam will rip out on something and I'll fix it. A seam ripped on a bed sheet so I fixed it.

She took "home ec" in high school so I ask her questions about sewing sometimes.

Yes. I cannot sew a stitch. Really, I can't. But honey, you know I can't sew…and a few hundred other excuses. I have made 7-8 tarps, done about a hundred or two repairs on my packs, fix my cloths out in the field, patch my tent a few times, etc. I just don't like doing it…

Power tool indeed. Powerful motor, high speed stabbing action. Power tool. :)

So far I find sewing in general to be relaxing, and nice way to spend an afternoon indoors. But I've also found I really prefer camping gear projects over little decorative items for my wife, because with gear, I don't need to iron seams all the time, or iron on interfacing, or iron out fabric wrinkles. I do not like ironing.

And it's nice that function trumps form in myog projects, where contrasting thread can be called a feature not a flaw.

Oops. My wife walked into my shop while I was sewing a zipper onto a tarp/tent. My secret is out. Actually, she was very impressed. She's been sewing for 40 years, and has never done a zipper. No way I'm doing window treatments though.

Good on ya'll taking care of your better halves by handling the sewing projects around the house. Agree SM's are a pretty cool power tools when you figure the almost limitless things that can be made. I too find it soothing to sew…until I realize my bobbin ran short of thread or some other user brain fart occurs, then soothing goes out the window fast. Glad the learning curve was not too bad. Besides a mistake or two keep the seem pulling skills honed ;) Thanks for posting, letting me know I'm not the only one.

jimmyb

"…I too find it soothing to sew…until I realize my bobbin ran short of thread or some other user brain fart occurs, then soothing goes out the window fast. "

Hahaha, so true.

I recently had to cross over from gear to hemming my pant legs. Came out really great….but don't tell anyone.

Really is frustrating though to have a great seam going on a tarp or hammock channel and run out of thread on the bobbin, arrgh.

"where contrasting thread can be called a feature not a flaw."

Or where you can be anal enough to use two different color threads so both sides match on two color jobs.

Love that high speed stabbing action!

Yes, I became the seamster (I looked it up, it really is a word) for the entire family, my wife doesn't like to sew. It never bothered me, I keep thinking how much money we're saving by not having to buy new clothing or whatever.

Worst case problem: finding out that a fold of fabric got caught under the foot when sewing waterproof fabric. Not only do you have to pull out the seam ripper and slowly and carefully rip out the seam, but then you have to seal all the tiny holes, even worse if they are on the front and easily visible.

Another annoyance: discovering the bobbin ran out about six feet back on a really long seam, particularly when you had to painstakingly manoeuvre half a large tent or quilt through the space between the arm and body of the machine.

But I really like using my MYOG in the outdoors, so in the end it's all worth it!

Marry a pro quilter and sometimes she'll take pity on you and do the tricky stuff. I'm not allowed to touch her machine, though.

Ryan Jordan used the term "sewist". I like that better than sewer which has a smellier second meaning.

Sewist sounds like a John Wayne movie, and we all know John Wayne was very masculine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shootist

$699 and free shipping. No af·fil·i·a·tion.

http://goldstartool.com/JUKI-DDL-8100e-1-Needle-Lockstitch-Machine.html

Do any of you sewists or seamsters practice

Knitting

Not anymore but my Grandmother,
many moons ago, would sit us down and get a row of stitches started for us and let us knit our own scarves for as long as it kept us quiet. I'm sure I probably pulled out just as many rows as I knitted but it did keep us occupied.

Having worked in metals, woods, cloth and plastics making and machining every thing from precision gun parts to boat cushions I simply don't have the patience to knit. Kudos to those who can take a ball of yarn and craft It into warm and wonderful labors of love.

jimmyb

+1 my gf tried to get me to learn but I maxed out when i worked at summer camp with those embroidery thread bracelets that were glorified braiding. She makes really nice things and I enjoy the hat she made me instead.

When I worked at a shop in San Diego, the upholsterers we used had all ex felons working there. All learned their new trade at Club Fed. Big, scary dudes sewing car interiors. Priceless.

Tailor, I like that word.

Upholsterer. Sounds like someone who wears their gun belt high up.

Then there's seamstress, and the underused seamster.

I use the excuse that "creativity is messy" and strewn fabric and items everywhere so she doesn't even want to be in the room, and keep it on the DL until I whip it out of my pack in nature, later.

I'm just going to hide in the closet with my sewing machine…

Yes, I became the seamster

I've embraced a term I heard somewhere (maybe here) several years ago … "fabric carpenter"

"Fabric" comes from Latin "fabrica" (a workshop, art, trade, product of art, structure, fabric), which comes from Latin "faber" (artisan, workman), so "fabricator" might be appropriate.

or it might just sound like you're lying!

OH SHOOT! I thought you said Fabric-gator…..Never mind…

jimmyb

Fabric-ator

Very clever … I think I'll steal it.