New Baby

In my last post, I mentioned having gotten a new sewing machine...

My Brother CS-6000i has been my baby for about three years now. I love that machine to death. I think that might have been literal, though. It had begun to have high tension from the top thread, no matter how low I set it, even at 0... Taking it in to be serviced would cost me $75 because it's a computerized machine. Well... I only spent $150 on it, and was reluctant to put half the purchase price into it for a repair.

My mother-in-law came to the rescue, and purchased me an upgrade! I opted to go with another Brother. This model is the PC-210, the Project Runway edition. I was a little hesitant, mainly because I hate reality television with a passion. I am pleased to be able to say that this purchase was totally worth it. I LOVE THIS MACHINE.

Interestingly, the spool of thread feeds horizontally, as you can see in the picture to the left. This is a small godsend, for me, as I have three cats and a two-year old underfoot. I can close the lid, and have the whole threadworks completely contained and out of temptation's mind.

It's also very nice for me because the auto-stop for the bobbin winder broke off on my CS-6000i (hubby moved my machine, and it banged against a wall). It all being enclosed means that the chances of this happening again are pretty small.

What I truly adore about this machine is that the feet are all in a little organizer, nicely labeled (not that you can see the labels in this picture). Mind you, as a quilter, I'm not often switching feet in and out, but being fairly near-sighted, trying to tell which foot I do have can be a bear. I love the fact that I can keep four bobbins in the tray too, so no hunting out my bobbin cases. I can keep matching bobbins close at hand.

I quilted Phoenix Unbound on this machine, my first attempt at quilting on a small machine. Quite pleased, especially since I was able to use some of the decorative stitches. The best part? The PC-210 is a Brother machine too, so all of the feet I bought for my CS-6000i work. Yay! I don't have to have two sets of feet.

Of course, now that I've had two excellent experiences with Brother sewing machines, I'm seriously considering buying an embroidery machine... I've determined that I'll only do that I start making garments for myself though. I love the look of quilted lines, and am not brave enough to incorporate embroidery into my quilt tops.