A Helpful Sewing Tip...

They say that "Necessity is the Mother of Invention." Well, yesterday was a
little frustrating while I was sewing my easy quilt top together. Every other
seam would get hung up on that little lip between the height of my sewing
machine and my plexiglass sewing table. Each time the seam allowance on
the underside faced toward the needle, it would hang up on that darn lip.
I had to stop every time to make sure that the seam didn't change direction
as my fabric was drawn toward the needle. It was driving me a bit buggy.

I remembered that I have some 2 1/2" wide vinyl Amazing Tape™ in my

drawer and I had an idea! This tape has no adhesive on it, and I already

have it for number of different uses. I put a strip around leftover tubes

of Christmas wrapping paper so it doesn't unroll itself. I use it on my 

twill tape rolls to keep them tidy in my storage drawer. It's great for

lots of other uses in the studio, too. Now I can add another use for it.

I cut a 3 1/2 inch length of the Amazing Tape™ from the roll and placed it on

the bed of my sewing machine starting over the middle of the bobbin case.

 Then I smoothed it down, bridging that pesky step to the sewing table. 

I ran my finger over the tape on the plexiglass side, which created a

nice, little ramp that my fabric could travel over as I sew. It's better to

use the wider version of this vinyl tape so the seam allowance doesn't catch

away from the area you're directly sewing. At least that's my preference.

See? No more step. Now it's just a smooth transition from the

sewing table to the machine. The best part is that my seam 

allowance won't get hung up anymore and I can just sew right on.

They just glide right up and over the hump, toward the needle!

Feel free to use this idea. (I'm not charging for it or anything! lol)

 I'm off to Coffee Club today. It's going to be busy. Sisters, Kathy and Nora 

have decided to close the shop. They sent out a broadcast email to our guild

 members, as well as to other local guilds, and their "Going Out of Business" 

sale starts today. It's bittersweet, but the girls want to enjoy retirement rather 

than run their shop anymore. We all completely understand, but we're still sad.

Change is always a little difficult, and for all of us, this will be a big change.

We'll be there to help Kathy and Nora close this chapter of their lives, and

then they can move forward together with new adventures ahead of them.

Looks like March really does come in like a lion!