Ann The Gran Community

HH ME'ers, I'd LOVE your ADVICE and suggestions. I am 'trying' to "prioritize' purchases.....( the key phrase here is "trying to" !!!! :):):) I know that with just about ANY hobby there is a certain amount of 'initial outlay of funds' one needs in order to get started. I also know me and know I love "gadgets' and 'shopping." ...not always the best combination! :) SO many gadgets seem great but would LOVE some advise as to what REALLY is HELPFUL and worth having in your opinion. For example I have read in some of the forums etc that the Thread Pilot is REALLY worth having, so now it's on my wish list. Also, for me personally, I LOVE my Side-Winder!!! So if you have time....please share your absolutely BEST spent $ was on buying ____________________ for about $________. Short or long answers will be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks, Cathy

Hello My Friend !

I agree with you that the Side Winder is the best thing since sliced bread! I do not know how I lived without it! The price on it is so good,that you really can't afford not to have it.I also love ,love love, my Thread pilot ! If you plan on doing a lot of ME this is the ticket. They are all numbered so that you can set up all of your colors for the whole design. If you don't have many colors in a design,you could actually set up for two or more designs. This is a good investment,I know it is a lot of money,but if you invest in it now,it will save you so much time,you will have more to spend on ME! I checked and right now it is on sale here in Ann's store. $100.00 off. I looked online and they do sell for $299.00 originally,so it is a good deal right now.

The other thing I cannot live with out is a great pair of scissors,one large nice air for cutting and another nice small pair for at the machine.I like the ones with the curves on the front.It makes it so much easier to trim as they get close to fabric without putting a hole in it or worse yet cutting the embroidery threads.

My best spent item besides my machine ,is the Thread Pilot,hands down! It saves me from having to set up with every color change.The next one would have to be the Side Winder...............that is a hoot to watch! Fast fast,fast way to wind your bobbins,while you are still doing ME!

 

Excellent question!  I am trying to narrow down the wonderful investments, big and small, that have helped me along the way.  Hmmm...

I suppose it is my 'organizer' like the one here at Ann's.  Tote  It does keep my scissors, bobbins and other tools  where they belong, next to my machine.

I am still getting things to make my work and workspace more user friendly.

Pat

Great thought process of prioritzing your purchases Cathy!  All avenues of embroidering, sewing, quilting can be a very expensive proposition.  I took it slow on the purchases for machine embroidery through the years because of possible overkill gadgets.

1.  FINALLY, purchased on ATG site, the Havels 5-1/4" curved scissors.  Don't know what I was waiting for???!!  Could have really used those the past 4 years!  2.  My husband purchased for my birthday last year, the Madeira Thread Treasure Chest.  Although expensive, if all items were added up individually, the value is over $1,000.  I love the chest.  AND, it looks nice.  3.  For years, I boo-hooed Gingher scissors because of the cost.  THEN, they brought out the enameled designer series.  Bought one pair during a 1/2 price sale and now,  I am completely sold on the embroidery scissors and the dress-maker scissors.  Gingher are the best.  I can cut really close on the "in-the-hoop" projects.  4.  I also own the tote that Pat mentioned.  It is done very well.  This particular tote would come in real handy if you plan on pursuing more classes.  Organizes completely.  5.  My bestest product thus far in my embroidery purchases has been the "Place 'n Stitch" software program.  I was reluctant thinking I would not utilize as much as I should, but I was very wrong.  I use it even when I really don't need to because I just feel "safer" to do so.  My husband hands me knit skull caps and uniform shirts to embroider his E.M.T. logo and the knit hats have narrow brims.  This is also available on ATG.

Joan/NJ

Thanks Judy, Pat and Joan!!! ( so far... & I hope others will share with us too.... :) I'm just an inch away now from buying the Thread Pilot and it sounds like the "tote" is REALLY worth getting too, so that will definitely scoot from my 'wish list' into the cart. I will go online to see the other items you mentioned Joan and see the prices etc. I REALLY do need scissors and I appreciate the input. ( enameled...woowowowowoow sounds great!) I'm SORT of 'prioritizing'....so far!!! :):)

Joan - You are a walking, talking ad for Ann!  I am going to work on that too!  When a product is great, I also want people to know.  If a product does not measure up to their advertisement, I let them know to shape up.  I think a vendor needs to know when they have not met their standards.

I like how you explained why each purchase helped you.  That makes sense to me!

These things are going on my wish list!  Pat

 

Hi Joan,

You are a hoot ! Have you asked Ann where your commission check is yet,?LOL I so agree with you Joan,I would be hard pressed to recommend a brand of scissor other than Gingher ! I know they are not exactly the least expensive ones,but they make up for it in quality.I have three pair I have had for years,if I lost them or God Forbid! something should happen to them......I would cry. I love them ,they are the best !

Hi Cathy.

Joan is correct,when she said it is smart to prioritize your purchases,other wise this can get very expensive,very fast! You are starting out really well in thinking things through before you make your purchases.The best thing the new ME'ers out there can do is ask questions,no question is too simple. That is what I love about this site,is there are so many people to help,gain ideas from,and the experience of all us that have been sewing for about a hundred years.LOL ! No matter how long any of us do this,there is always something new to learn. There are so many creative people out there,it amazes me every day!

Cathy,you are doing just great! It will come ,be patient,take your time,relax and have fun with it !If you make a mistake,guess what,so have we! You just have to get in there and get your feet wet sometimes. With this you learn by doing,and do not be afraid to sew something out because you think it is too hard.

Hello Cathy,

I know all the "Ann the Gran'ners" are going to howl laughing at this one, but here goes!!!!

I am lol at myself !!!

Probably THE best small investments I have purchased are:

1. a magnifing glass......so I can tell what needle I am about to choose

2. A blunt-flat nosed pair of tweezers & a very pointed nose pair of tweezers, (excellent for getting stuck threads out of the machine bobbin area. 

3. A very bright small sized flashlight to peer into the bobbin case & elsewhere.  Also to look closely at what I have sewed!

Hope this helps. Sincerely, Lollie in Oregon

I am howling ,but not at you ! Lollie those are great things to have handy as well. I too have 2 sets of tweezers,and a small flashlight.(eyes are not as good as they used to be). I also keep a small paintbrush,about 1" with a soft bristle( which I hide by the way),to help clean out the bobbin case.It works better than the little ones they give you with the machine,I can not only see it,but I can hang onto it as well ! They work great for most of the cleaning up on the machine.

Great Idea's Lollie!!

I love the idea of the paint brush.  I am definitely going to get one (or perhaps dig thru my boxes & find one!!!).  I have been using a pastry brush (which I hide also !), but it is kinda large for the project...............

Thanks! Lollie

I got the nicer brush with the softer bristles, and I think I only paid a couple of dollars for it at the HD. It works so well,and I just slip it into my drawer and hubby is non the wiser. If he knew it was there he would remove it and would end up in the garage with my masking tape ,and flashlight . LOL  I think Joan had the right idea with the police tape across the door to my sewing room! It keeps up and he will have to contend with a guard dog !lol

"A gadget is a gadget only until it becomes essential."  That's what I tell my husband anyway.

I agree that Gingher scissors are the best!

A double curved pair of scissors for clipping jump threads and applique scissors.  I thought the applique scissors were an extravagance until I used them.  They really do make it easier to remove fabric around applique and to remove excess stabilizer when the project is done.

Small rulers that will fit inside of the hoops for centering.

Blue wash away marking pen (I've had trouble with the purple ones).

A bulletin board behind my machine for the printout, color chart and other notes I make in the design stage.

And a comfortable desk chair.  I scrimped in the beginning, but if you think about it, you are going to spend a LOT of time in it and your back will thank you if you get a good one from the beginning.

Linda

p.s.  After reading the other posts, I'm going to have to get one of those sidewinders!!

 

Hi Linda,

You do really need one of those Side Winders ! They are so awesome ! They really are not an expensive item either. Once you have one,you will wonder how you lived without it ! Not to mention they are fun to watch ,lol ! Just make sure you pull the pin for the thread all the way up or the thread goes a flying like crazy !LOL.

Yes Linda, a Side Winder is a good investment.  Neat idea....

I also keep a ruler by my side.  Have always done so for years with my sewing as well.  Took my granddaughter to Crayola Crayon Factory in PA like 10 years ago and spotted this plastic ruler with the "Crayon Man" on it and Crayola written in bright colors.

It caught my eye because it was flat.....completely flat and flush.  Right then, I knew if it would fit under my sewing machine needle for measurements.  My previous Fisher Price (!) one didn't fit well.  Pathetic huh?

Each trip to the Crayola Crayon Factory, I bought another ruler.  You can never have too many Crayola Crayon rulers!!?  The Crayon Man is just too cute.  All kidding aside, rulers are an essential tool.  I guess I have gotten so programmed to keep a ruler near me at all times with sewing and do so with embroiderying as well.

I also use a paint brush for cleaning out my bobbin and various areas within my machine.  Nothing fancy; just one from a pack of 10 or 20.  Be surprised how much a paint brush will pick up.  I clean out after each big project.  Judy, if I got a fancy one like you did, my husband WOULD help himself to that so I keep them cheap and uninviting!

Joan/NJ

I LOVE GADGETS!!!!  So I'm not so sure these are must haves to all, but they are definately must haves for me.

1) blue painters tape.  I have the magna hoop so I use the blue tape to tape the print out template of my embroidery design to my onesies I stitch for my business.  It is such a pain to try to hoop those tiny things, that the magna hoop is a godsend!  I tape the template where I want it, turn the onesie inside out, I put the hoop in the machine and I drop the needle right in the center of my design.  I then line the center lines horizontally and veritcally with my hoop and magnet it down to the hoop and as a test I move the hoop left and right, up and down and drop the needle down and make sure it goes into my lines to assure it's all aligned perfect.  I take the template off and sew!  No more sticky tape, and it's so much easier on my machine!  One more little piece of advice, put the tape on a piece of cloth a few times so it's not brand new and when you peel it off your fabric it won't move your fabric when you've got it hooped.

2) small shallow planter. ( approx. $4 at JoAnn's or Michael's)  I use it to keep my tiny scissors, tweezers, those things you use constantly when embroidering.

3) Avent small baby bottle (no idea cost probably $5 or $6)  Great for empty bobbins.  They are larger bottles and plastic and come with great lids.  I also wind bobbins and put them in there (wrapped with wonder tape to keep from unraveling)

4) Ed's Wonder tape - Great for wrapping around spools of thread so they don't unwind.  It's clear so you can see the thread, non-sticky so it doesn't ruin your thread and the best part, re-useable!!

5) LOTS of pointy tweezers.  I use revlon.  They are great for trimming threads.  Grab hold and trim with tiny scissors.  I keep extra of both of these items.  My kids wonder off with both and I tend to leave them in different places quite often.  So I probably have about 10 or 12 pairs of both. (LOL)

6) An old Dixie Crystal's sugar container.  It's the plastic container.  You can use anything like that.  I keep all my old thread clippings and each spring I put them out for the birds to build nests.  I've yet to see them in my yard, but they all disappear.  So someone out there must have a lovely bird nest in their yard!  :)

That's all I can think of right now.  I'm not near my machine to give you more.   But when I get to it, if I can think of anything else, I'll be sure to add it.  I hope something I said is of use to someone!!!

 Happy Stitching!

 Jeri in Woodstock <><

www.StitchinBabies.com

 

My favorite gadget for machine emb. is my squeeze-type curved emb. snip scissors. They are great for clipping threads close to the project and were under $15.

My favorite thing that I couldn't live without is 12 inches of ribbon.  I tie this on the handle of all my sewing scissors and it tells the family "HANDS OFF".  Since I've been doing this I no longer have to replace expensive scissors because someone (they never confess) cut paper, or worse, with them. 

I love this idea!!!  (Unfortunately, the worse part of living alone is that when you cannot find something, you have no one to blame..)

Sometimes the less expensive ideas are the most valued and useful.  I love all the great ideas coming in with this thread.

Pat

Hi Ladies, These are not exactly "gadgets" but I have found that I can't do without them.

1. Some rubberized drawer liner, in strips. I place it inside of my hoop when I hoop Batiste fabric and stabilizer. They are both fairly thin and putting a small strip of this rubberized drawer liner inside the hoop before tightening it down on the fabric and stabilizer holds it tightly and it doesn't slip.

2. I keep several of the clamp type hair clips...large ones for pulling up the back of your hair...nearby so when I hoop larger projects, they clip onto the extra fabric keeping it out of the way of the hoop and working machine.

3. A thread stand. I have just a single one that holds the spool of thread I am using behind the machine. It keeps the thread coming along and doesn't tangle it. My machine will wind bobbins while sewing, so I do not have a "side winder". This thread stand also will hold the thread being used out of the way of the thread being wound on the bobbin on the machine.

4. Sharpie marking pen. I have marked all the exterior markings on my hoops w/ the sharpie permanent markers. I can't see the marks on the outside of the hoop when I am trying to align the interior cross markers on the templet. So now I can see them in a quick glance, because they are all marked in a bright purple!

5. Shishkabob (sc?) sticks. These work great for holding down those whispy little water soluable sheets that tend to fly off whenever the a/c turns on. They also work well for turning the tiny strips of fabric that I use in my Heirloom sewing. They also keep my fingers from getting sewn into the design as I am often trying to move a stray thread from under the moving needle!! (Don't try this ladies...we tend to get a little slower w/ age!!)

6. Old silverware holder from a dishwasher. I have actually stopped and taken them from abandonded dishwashers by the curb. They work just great for holding scissors upright on the sewing desk, all your marking pencils, and the paint brush you use to clean the bobbin case...etc.

7. A square of ceiling tile that has been covered w/ batting and fabric. I use if for a pin cushion and for holding down the small pieces of patterns that tend to sprout wings and fly about. I usually have the a/c on (I live in sunny HOT Florida!) and a ceiling fan or two....so they often take wing. I am able to pin them securly in place and know exactly where they are when I need them.  I also place the patern design I am embroidering out on them, it really helps for placement of the design on the garment.

There are a lot more things that I use too...that you would probably find in the kitchen or bathroom...not in a sewing room. However; I tend to get just a little wordy so will stop here. :o)

Kath