Enter to win a Brother Free-Arm Sewing Machine with 26 Stitches – XL2600I from J. Leigh Designz and CSN Stores.  It’s easy to enter with up to ten different entry methods, click here for official rules and be sure to enter before June 11th!

Sewing machines are a little like cars, they last a long time but new models keep coming out with new features.  Heck, the new Bernina 8 Series machines even have alarm clocks if you need to be reminded that it’s time to do something else   They pretty much do everything but make coffee (at least I didn’t see a place for a filter).  My trusted Bernina 817 is almost 30 years old so it doesn’t have NEAR as many features as the new computerized models, but it sure was fancy when I got it new as a teenager.  It’s still a workhorse and I’d never give it up, but momma needs a new Bernina!  Since I’ll have to wait on that a little bit, I’m happy to enter the Spring 2010 Bernina Favorite Feature Contest for a chance to win a box full of goodies from Bernina, OESD, Benartex and Brewer!  All you have to do to enter is post a comment on the Bernina blog about your favorite sewing machine feature!

Brother International Corporation recently earned two “Best Buy” awards in the sewing machine category from Consumers Digest magazine.  Their limited edition Project Runway model, available only at WalMart for under $140, was rated a “Best Buy” in the economy category of computerized sewing machines.  Brother also received the “Best Buy” rating in the premium category of embroidery and sewing combination machines with their Quattro(TM) 6000D, an innovative 4-in-1 sewing, embroidery, quilting and crafting machine.

To celebrate their brand new series of do it yourself videos, DIY Dish and Janome have teamed up for a great giveaway.  All you have to do to enter is sign up for their free newsletter or post a comment on this DIY Dish page and you could win one of two terrific prizes – a Janome DC4030 sewing machine or a Janome 350e embroidery machine.  There are lots of other ways to enter to increase your chances of winning, check out the official rules here, plus you can see some of the latest and greatest DIY projects in sewing, crafting, scrapbooking, home decor, kid projects, machine embroidery, hand embroidery, and more!  Enter by March 30th as two winners will be randomly selected on March 31st.  Giveaway is open to U.S. residents 18 years of age and older.

Lots of people are re-using and re-purposing items these days, and when I saw this sewing machine that had been turned into a scroll saw I just had to share it with our readers.  Older sewing machines are typically very well made, however lots of them tend to get thrown out by people who just don’t have the time or don’t know how to maintain them to keep their sewing machines in good working order.  Well the people at Instructables got creative and they turned an old, non-working sewing machine into this perfectly usable scroll saw using only some basic hand tools and epoxy.

Of course I’m not going to let my husband see this post and I should warn you that attempting this with your machine will likely void the warranty!

The U-handbag blog is hosting an exciting Extreme Sewing Holiday Giveaway with some terrific prizes!  All you have to do to enter is submit a picture of yourself doing some extreme sewing, which simply means grab your sewing machine and take it somewhere that you normally wouldn’t sew, like this hilarious lady who is sewing up a fitted bedsheet in the Indian Ocean off the southwest coast of Western Australia. Once you’ve submitted your picture, just post a comment and a link to it on the official giveaway page.

The grand prize is a new Janome 8077 sewing machine, which will shipped out by Janome so the contest is open to everyone regardless of location.  There are also two runner up prizes – a Janome Mega Sewing & Craft Tote plus a “Sewing Bible: Curtains”, book AND a Janome Mega Sewing & Craft Tote along with a “Free & Easy Stitch Style” book.

The three winners will be randomly selected on December 20th so there is still time to enter, and there are only 44 entries so far so your chances of winning are good!  Go do some extreme sewing and maybe you can win yourself a nice Christmas gift!

The correct way of bringing the bobbin thread up after changing the bobbin is as follows:

A.  While holding the top thread with the left hand, turn the handwheel with the right hand until the needle is all the way down into the bobbin area.

B.  Keep holding the thread and rotating the handwheel, bring the needle up to the highest point.  As the needle comes up, a loop of bobbin thread will come up with it.  Pull on the top thread to draw up more of the bobbin thread.

C.  Turn loose of the top thread, and pull on the loop of the bobbin thread to bring up the free end of the bobbin thread.

D.  Pass both the top and bobbin threads under the presser foot and take them back toward the right.  Both thread ends should be at least 4″ long to prevent them from being pulled into the bobbin and jamming as you begin sewing.

Before beginning the sewing process, lay both threads under and toward the back of the presser foot – hold them gently as you begin to sew.  This will prevent the threads from being pulled into the bobbin area and jamming.

This may be “old hat” information to many of you; however if you are teaching children or adults how to sew, this would be excellent information to print out and give them for a reference.

**The above information is an excerpt from the Sewing Machine Repair for the Home Sewer book.

Many of our readers don’t have the option of even one fabric store in their town, and we’ve been told of ones who have to drive up to 2 hours to get to a fabric store.

The solution to “nothing available” is to do online shopping.  Joann’s has a great online store where shopping is a breeze.  Also you can check out Fabric.com for special sale prices (now have a selection of “under $5 prints”), take advantage of free shipping on your orders, etc.   Fabrics.net is another great place to purchase fabrics, plus they have tons of articles to read and columns, such as “Ask Andy”, where you’ll get lots of good information.   If you’re looking for single knits, spandex or fold over elastic, visit FaysFabrics – her prices are the lowest I’ve seen anywhere for great quality products.

I’ve also found great fabrics on eBay — great fabrics and great prices.  WOW!  I’ve gotten some super fabrics at “yard sale” prices — and with this economy, who couldn’t use some special prices on fabrics we’re looking for?

If your town doesn’t have a fabric store, I’m pretty sure it most likely won’t have a sewing machine store where you can go in and check out and purchase a new sewing machine or serger.  In case you didn’t know, sewing machines and sergers of all types can also be purchased online.  Visit AllBrands.com and check out all the machines they have available. 

AND, if your town doesn’t have a good sewing machine repairman, you can visit  SewMachineRepair.com to check out the best selling Sewing Machine Repair for the Home Sewer book, or consider doing sewing machine repair yourself as a business.   

You can find just about anything you’d need online, and I just wanted to mention some of the fabric places that I’ve had good luck with.  If you know of others where you’ve had good experience with ordering, we’d love to hear about it.

Our best selling book “Sewing Machine Repair For The Home Sewer” has helped literally thousands and thousands of people keep their machines at home and out of the repair shops.  Carol B. in Memphis recently wrote “I can’t believe it — 3 of my 6 machines were out of commission, so I thought I’d give your Sewing Machine Repair book a try before taking them to the repair shop.  I got your book in the mail, read through the problem / solution areas, then got busy on my machines.  By the end of the day all 3 machines were HUMMING again!  Your book saved me at least $150 the day I got it.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Now for the good part — the Sewing Machine Repair For The Home Sewer is now in downloadable eBook form — AND, for three more days (until Sept 30), the eBook is on sale for only $18.70 (regularly $24.95).  Do yourself a  favor and click here to get the newly updated and revised Sewing Machine Repair For The Home Sewer book and keep YOUR machine humming!

The Sewing Machine Project

In early 2005 Margaret Jankowski read an article about a woman who had lost her sewing machine in the devastating tsunami that had recently hit Southeast Asia.  The woman had saved for years to buy that sewing machine and had also lost her sole means of earning an income when she lost her machine.  Margaret was inspired to start The Sewing Machine Project, and she immediately began collecting donated sewing machines and then shipping them to Sri Lanka.

Later that year, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Margaret shifted her attention to that area of need and has since made five trips to the city from her Madison, Wisconsin home to deliver more than 350 sewing machines, which were distributed to individuals, community centers, and schools.

Margaret also encourages all sewing machine recipients to participate in a Pay It Forward program, where they volunteer to do sewing-related projects for other community groups, such as sewing infant caps for the local children’s hospital, or teaching other groups to sew.

The Sewing Machine Project has grown tremendously over the last four years and is making great strides in helping others to rebuild their lives, as well as helping some to start small sewing-related businesses.  Visit TheSewingMachineProject.org to learn more about the organization or to donate a sewing machine.  If you’d like to help out but don’t have an extra machine to donate, the group will also take monetary donations.