Have you ever purchased a large cone of thread, only to get half-way through the blinkin' thing, and the problems start?

Thread breakage? Tension issues? Jams? Threads bouncing out of your needle?

I'm not going to name any names. But I have had THREE instances where I've purchased large cones, all different brands, and had issues either right off the bat or about half way through the cone. (and for the record, the three brands listed in the chart below were not the culprits...)

Or, how about this?

Have you ever wanted to buy a large cone of thread, but didn't want to also invest in one of those massive, heavy, somewhat obtrusive thread stands?

Boy oh boy. In both instances, I've got the solution for you.

So way back in January I won a $10 gift certificate to an online fabric shop, and, being on a fabric fast, I perused their notions section. And I found this:
... it's called "The Thread Stem", and Quilter's Paradise makes them.

This little less-than-$4-notion is a bloody miracle, I'm not kidding.

It allows you to use large cone threads without having to buy a massive thread stand. AND - if you have issues with the way your thread comes off the spool using a conventional thread stand, this little stem may very well be the answer to your problems.

I have three cones I swore I was going to have to toss. What a waste. And then I found this, and I thought, hey, what the heck, $3.25, I'll give it a shot.

I am SO glad I did.

Wanna see it in action?
so, this is how it works.

You place your cone behind your machine, like so:
place the thread stem on your spool pin, clamping it tight against the base with the spool cap, like so:
...then thread your thread through the small hole at the top of the Thread Stem, and continue on threading your machine as you normally would:
... have a vertical spool pin?

No problem!

image courtesy of eBay

So. Why do I love the Thread Stem?
- it's unobtrusive, small, and easy to take with me to sew alongs and Guild meetings.
- it's allowed me to use up the threads I thought I'd never be able to use.
- I can save moola on larger cones vs. buying small spools, especially for large piecing projects.

I thought, because I'm a dork, I'd figure out how much cheaper it is to purchase cones vs. spools from some of the major thread companies. Here's a quick cost comparison I whipped up:

savings reflect buying the equivalent yardage of thread in small spools vs. cone size. Prices were in effect as of June 2, 2014. For your general reference only.

[...and as a quick FYI, Fat Quarter Shop has their Aurifil on as their Notion of the Month (and the prices in the chart above reflect that) - something I discovered in my thready travels, drafting this post...]

So there you have it. Depending on the thread you're using, you could be saving significant amounts of money by going with a cone instead of a spool. I do a lot of piecing with cone threads. Especially when you're burning through thread at lightening speed!

Would you like to win a Thread Stem???

Woot!

TWO lucky winners will win a Thread Stem by Quilter's Paradise. I am so in love with this ingenious invention, I just had to contact them and ask them if they'd be willing to sponsor a giveaway for my readers. And they said yes!! Wahoo!! Thank you so much, Quilter's Paradise!

This is life changing, people!

To enter:

1. Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment below - let me know if you've ever used a cone before - and if you haven't, why not?
2. Optional Entry: Bloglovin' followers of Sew at Home Mummy get an extra entry, leave a comment letting me know you do!

That's it!

I'll ship these Stems internationally. Contest closes in a week's time, Thursday June 12, 2014, winner chosen by Random Number Generator.

PLEASE: If you are on Google+, or are running another profile other than Blogger (eg. Wordpress), you may be a no-reply blogger - so make sure to leave an email address in each comment so that I can contact you. Unreachable entries will be passed over!

Don't want to wait to see if you win? You can pick up a  Thread Stem for $3.25 here on the Quilter's Paradise website. (they have cute rulers, too, which you can personalize - I have one of their little ones and it fits in my machine drawer - super handy, and cute too, tee hee)

Edited afterwards:
I've had such an overwhelming response to this post; almost all of us would buy cones vs. spools after seeing the significant savings to be had. And now that we don't need to buy a big, clunky, expensive thread stand, we can! So I thought, hey, why don't we see if we can get an even better savings on Massdrop for the cones we all love the most! So if you'd like to see Massdrop run a deal on your favorite cone brand, head over {here} to vote on which brand and color you'd like to see them carry!

Good luck everyone!!

Color me pink and dust me with sparkles, it's Sunday Stash Share again!

Source: Aurifil.com

Good morning, all! How's everyone's Saturdays going so far?

Machine Madness
I've had a bit of a rough week - both with respect to my neck (ouch!) and my machine. Grr.

My Singer 9960 decided to start majorly skipping stitches in the homestretch of trying to finish my sister in law's baby quilt. I ripped the casings off of the machine, checked for jammed threads in tension discs (and anywhere else for that matter), cleaned it out, cleaned out the bobbin assembly, changed the needle, changed the bobbin, changed the TOP thread. I basically did everything I could think of to fix the problem - I ended up spending 3 hours on Tuesday morning messing around with it before I figured it must be the worst:

the timing.

Bugger!

So off to my local quilt shop/repair shop I went. He ran through a gamut of tests, only to determine it wasn't my timing.

Fewf!

Uh oh. Sounds expensive.

Nope.

My darning foot's spring mechanism needed oiled. WHUT?! You have to oil PRESSER FEET?!

hahaha. It makes sense. Apparently any moving parts on a presser foot (like in a darning or walking foot, for instance) may need a bit of machine oil once in a while to keep them working correctly - to keep them from skipping stitches. He said if the base of the foot doesn't make full contact as the needle penetrates the fabric to compress it (even if it is a minor compression) the top thread won't be able to scoop the bobbin thread in the assembly and you'll get skipped stitches.

Well. I learned something new.

So!

I managed to finish the binding on the baby quilt yesterday - watch out for a TGIFF post on that project, to come.

I will also go through at some point and post all of the pics of the goodies I made heading my sister in law's way for her baby shower. I had a lot of fun - but the box going to her is HUGE. I fear for our postage bill from Chicago - Vancouver. Eep.

I also have a "new" machine...and if you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen it... (@sewathomemummy)....if you don't - I'll be posting about that soon too :D

(maybe I should have another "Name my Machine" contest, lol!)

Swaps
I'm considering hosting another swap here at the end of the summer or in the fall (or maybe even both - do one in August and then another, separate one in October, maybe Christmas themed). It won't be a fabric swap this time, I'm thinking made items - like pouches, pin cushions, machine covers, ornaments, etc. I may very well post a poll, and see what my readers might be most interested in participating in. If you have any thoughts on the matter, please, leave a comment!

Winners Announced
Did you scroll down straight to this part? LOL! Okay, so the winners of one Thread Stem

(this super fantastical gadget which allows you to use a cone on any home machine) are:
Winners, I have contacted you through the email addresses attached to your Blogger accounts.

If you'd like to learn more about the thread stem, click {here} to go to my post about it. It costs under $4, and in the post I do a cost comparison between spools vs. cones - believe me, you'll want to buy cones after this.

Also, if you're interested, I created a poll on Massdrop for major cone brands - if we get enough votes, they'll run the deal at a deep discount, and we'll get our cones for much less than MRSP. Click {here} to head over and vote if you get a chance! (They also have other Aurifil polls on, including ones for 12wt and for Designer's 50wt boxes (like "Simplify", "Binding Box", "Simply Color", etc.!)

Sharing the Coupon Love:
Are you still with me?

I feel like I'm writing a novella today. This is what I get for taking 2 days off.


Here are the super-skookum (that's a technical term) deals I've come across in my inbox this week from some of my sponsors/affiliates. Please feel free to add any of your own to the comments below - let's share the coupon love!

Sewing Machines Plus.com
I order a lot of my presser feet and bobbins, etc., through them, and I've heard that they have really excellent service with respect to machine purchases, too (from what other bloggers have said online). I see they are having a sale on thread and needles - I'm considering making a purchase of machine needles - I really need to change mine more often! They say after every 6 hours of sewing you should switch out.

Anywho!

Here's the code: 2014SMDW


Mad About Patchwork

Welcome to the first ever Sew at Home Mummy "My Favorite Things" themed giveaways!

I'm so excited about this line-up I've got for you all - these giveaways will run daily from December 1-4, with each day being sponsored by my FAVORITE companies.

See Monday's Aurifil giveaway {here}.
See Tuesday's Patchwork Threads giveaway {here}.
See yesterday's Havel's Sewing giveaway {here}.

I really do take serious consideration when taking on sponsors here at Sew at Home Mummy. I never promote products or companies I don't believe in and use myself, and I don't ever suggest products I'm not absolutely in love with.

So. That said. Have you ever seen Oprah's "Favorite Things" week? You know, where she gives her audience cars/cookbooks/fabulous trips/kitchen gadgets/{insert fabulous gifts here}?

I always wished I was sitting in that audience.

I thought to myself - how fun would it be to have a series of giveaways here to kick off the month of December?

So I contacted some of the wonderful companies who sponsor me to ask whether they'd consider sponsoring a giveaway for my readers. Today's giveaway is brought to you by the super awesome company June Tailor.

(THANK YOU TO JUNE TAILOR!)

I am such a lucky quilter to be sponsored by such a wonderful company who creates absolutely amazing products!

Just a few of my favorite June Tailor products include:
This is one of my absolute favorite June Tailor products. I have it sitting beside my machine all the time, pressing side up, so that I can piece and then press conveniently. Then when I need to trim my pieces I flip it to the cutting side and trim! Totally awesome. And it's SO convenient to bring upstairs with me - I sit in front of the t.v. at night squaring my HSTs up, cutting pieces for the next block I'm working on, etc. Really fantastic!

45mm Rotary Cutter with Retractable Blade and Safety Lock
This is one of my go-to rotary cutters. I love the retractable blade with safety lock; it's not often that one of the kids are in my sewing space, but I definitely worry a lot less with this cutter than my others. And, the handle is super comfortable and ergonomic to work with.

I love this rack. I have three of them hung on the walls in my basement - they hold all of my spools and bobbins, and keep them up out of the way. The type-A in me loves how they keep me organized and that they look so fantastic on my walls - thread eye candy!

These are just a few of my favorite June Tailor things!

Alright - on to the good part!

So!! What's up for the win today, courtesy of the wonderful people at June Tailor?

They have a couple of new products they're sharing with us today, along with some oldies but definitely goodies - check these videos out!:

The Charming Circle Ruler:
The T-Shirt Transformation Ruler:

Up for grabs today:


So! How do you win?

More than one option to win:
each of these are completely optional - you can do as many or as little as you like!

1. Leave a comment below telling me:

My 1937 Singer 201-2 in a IKEA dining table

Singer 201 in an IKEA INGO table

a Singer 201 basking in the glow! Sunk in an IKEA dining table, complete with original machine hinges!

My issue was that these tutorials online have the modern machine sitting on a deck which is sunk below the table; with a 201, it needs to sit on the table slightly - these machines were originally on hinges anchored to the sewing table's or boxes' top:

example of Singer hinges mounted flush with the box top - the same would be in a table mounted machine image courtesy of oldsingersewingmachineblog.com

Luckily, my friend Erika gave me a set of hinges so that I could mount my 201 in either a table or in a box.

example of a set of Singer table/box hinges image from singeroriginalvintageproducts.com

I have tried to diagram and photograph what I did to hack the table as best I could after the fact, and, I've included affiliate links below to Amazon* for your reference.

Now my IKEA hack began!

• Singer 201 (or other vintage hinge-mounted sewing machine) and hinges
• Jig Saw
• Pencil/Marking tool
• Drill
• Sander
• wood pilot hole bits (like the largest one in this set* and ones slightly smaller than the diameter of the screws you'll use)
• Chisel (I have this set*)
• Utility knife
• Hammer
• 1 1/8" Wood-boring or spade bit (like this one*)
• Screws (about 10 x 1" wood screws; 2 x 1/2" flat head multi-material full thread screws;  4 x 2" #8 flat head multi-material full thread screws)
• Wood filler (make sure to buy stainable, like this*, if you're sealing the top and not painting)
• Polyurethane (I used this one*) and/or paint (I used a sample size of Behr's Marquee in SW6855, Sherwin-Williams "Dragonfruit" - sample sized is just the right size)
• cardboard piece, covered with felt (optional - to slide under your machine on the deck, to catch any oil drips)

So - many of the photos I have are long gone from the production of this project. But I can still walk you through all of the steps, especially since most of what I did was a mish-mash of several different tutorials, modified for my use.

Here are several tutorials for your reference which were my reference when I was doing this-
From Marta with Love  ||  Blue Dinosaurs  ||  Make it Handmade  ||  The Project Lady


1) Assemble the INGO table (frame, legs), but don't attach the table top yet.

2) Set the table top in place, do not screw. Set your machine on top and approximate where you'd like your machine to sit. Mark the frame of the table accordingly so that you know where to put your 2x2 bracings. Remove machine and table top.

3) Attach your plywood ledge's frame:

I pre-drilled holes in the frame of the table and attached the 2x2s to the inside of the frame with long 2" screws. Each 2x2 received 1 screw through the outside of the INGO frame to the 2x2. I suggest doing this part with the table flipped upside down, with the legs in the air; place 2x2s flush with the top edge of the table frame.





4) Attach the plywood.
Screw the plywood directly to the bottom side of the 2x2 frame you made and the INGO frame with 1" wood screws, first drilling pilot holes.

5) Attach the table top.

6) Place your machine back on the table top, and trace around the perimeter of the machine. Because the 201 actually sits slightly on the table top and not flush level with it, your hole to accommodate the machine will need to be slightly smaller than the perimeter that you just traced. Draw a line ¼" smaller than the line you just drew - so on the inside of the perimeter tracing, draw a line ¼" away. Make sure to accommodate for the plywood frame underneath - based on my 2x2 framing, my machine sits with it's edge 3 ⅝" from the right edge of the table, and 2 ⅝" from the front edge of the table, like so:


7) in the four corners of your inner line, and using a large drill bit, drill a pilot hole for your jig saw starting point. Using your jigsaw, carefully cut along the inner line to cut out the hole for your sewing machine.

8) Place your sewing machine in the hole, and make adjustments to your cutting accordingly so that the machine sits level in the hole. Sand edges to smooth.

9) Mark the table for the hinges; on the rear of the sewing machine you'll see 2 holes which accommodate the hinges - with your machine in place, mark on the table where these hinges would sit. Trace the hinges onto the table according to these marks. (Refer to The Project Lady's tutorial here for reference pictures - it's a great tutorial)

10) Using your wood boring bit, carefully drill out a notch large enough to accommodate the head of the hinge - be careful not to drill all the way through, but only as far as to make the hinge flush with the table. Use your chisel to finesse the notch so that the hinges sit nicely. Next, notch out for the hinge stem using a utility knife (first score the lines so that the chiseling doesn't chip or splinter the notch) and a small sharp chisel.

11) Ensure the hinges and machine all fit nicely. Remove machine, using wood filler to patch or repair any splinters and screw holes, and finish table (stain, paint, or both!).




12) Screw your hinges into the machine, then drop the machine in place. Screw hinges in place using ½" flat head machine screws.



13) (optional) I covered a piece of cardboard with grey felt and slid it on the plywood decking under my machine to catch any excess oil drips I may miss wiping off when I'm oiling the machine.


So there you have it! A tutorial 2 years in the making, finally done! And since writing this tutorial up, I've added these casters* to the legs of the 201-2 and Janome 6500*'s INGO tables to make them easier to move around (one of the smarter things I've ever done).

Hopefully this tutorial inspires others to make their own IKEA-hacked sewing table for their vintage machines (and if you do end up doing this for your machine, email me some pictures {here}, I'd love to see them!)

Also, make sure to check out my sewing room related boards on Pinterest - I have a ton of ideas pinned there!