Sewing Machine Maintenance for Quilt Guilds

I've been teaching sewing machine maintenance classes at the store, and last week got to teach it at 2 quilt guilds.  I think the ladies learned a lot, and it was very FUN!  I'm going to let other guilds know that I'm available, so hopefully I can do this class more.

The first guild wanted a hands-on class, so we had 7 ladies who participated.  They opened their machines; cleaned and oiled; polished hooks; learned how to check their needles, bobbins and thread; and then we did a sew-off sample to balance the upper tension with the lower tension.

The second guild wanted a lecture/demo.  There were about 30 ladies at this guild.  I brought 2 sewing machines (oscillating hook and drop-in bobbin) and demonstrated how to clean and oil, and went through a list of dos and don'ts, thread, needles, bobbins, burrs, etc.  And I talked about balancing your tensions.  We had a few ladies who wanted a closer look, so they were able to come up and get some personal attention.  It worked out pretty good!

I've created a "What To Check Before Bringing Your Sewing Machine In For A Service" page.  Click here for the pdf.

Check out my other blog, 

She's A Sewing Machine Mechanic 

for some sewing machine maintenance tips.

The Stone Soup Quilts Are Finished!

We have finished 3 baby quilts and 1 twin size quilt.  The baby quilts have gone to the Child and Family Support Center.  The twin size quilt will go to the LDS Humanitarian Center, and they will send it where it is needed most.

We still have rows out for another baby girl quilt and another twin size quilt that is done in bright colors.

Here's the back of a baby boy quilt.

Here's the back of a baby girl quilt.

Here are a couple baby boy quilts.

Here's one of the baby girl quilts.

Here's the top of the twin size quilt.