First off, the Bell Tent was a disaster. It was a lovely tent but far too big for me to put up on my own. It damn near killed me. I think I was a bit too ambitious. Nevertheless, it has gone to a new home with my brother. It will be erected in his woods somewhere.
I opted for a much smaller Dutch pyramid tent instead. Still waiting for some dry weather to try it out. Being canvas I really don't want to get it wet just to try it out. I can still make bunting and cushions and stuff once I know if I can manage it on my own.
Pyramid tents are designed to withstand high winds and storms. Perfect for good old UK.
Not my tent but it gives you an idea of what they look like. It still has one centre pole but has a rectangular door front rather than an A frame but it has an amazing rear. Swept out. If you pitch with the back to the wind it is guaranteed to stay up in high winds. Not actually planning on testing that bit though.
Cool eh? I'm hoping I can try it out fairly soon. These tents will also take log burning stoves the same as the bell tent does. Not sure yet if that is a route I will go down. Electric hook up sounds safer.
Now, just before Christmas I treated myself to a new embroidery machine. I have one already (a Husqvarna Designer 11) but she's getting old and I can only transfer the designs to the card with Windows 7, and as I'm now on Windows 10 on both PC and new laptop, it's starting to become a problem. I do have an old laptop running Win 7 I can use until that conks. Anyway, although it's been a bit of a learning curve it hasn't been too painful as I'm not new to machine embroidery.
I must admit, apart from horrid bobbin tension issues to start with, she has sewn or should I say embroidered, like a dream.
Everybody kept telling me that the bobbin tension should never need to be adjusted and it must have been my fault as I'd threaded it wrong etc. Well, it was the bobbin case that needed adjusting, by a full one and a quarter turns to loosen it. Works perfectly now, but shhhhh, she might hear me and start playing up.
What machine did I buy? A Brother Innov-is V3. And what a gorgeous bit of kit she is. I hope I don't die tomorrow as I used my funeral funds. Oops, kids will have to bury me in the garden.
I have sewn my first 'In the Hoop' coin purses, pencil toppers, hanging Christmas ornaments, made two cushions, all of which I will take photos of.
She is a huge machine but gorgeous. I would have loved a multi needle machine but they are sooooooo expensive. At the moment I am just getting back into using an embroidery machine after a huge gap of several years.
Back to the machine. Bye for now. x
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