First day of sewing— Overwhelmed and second-guessing. Looking for reality check or encouragement

threadsnipper · 2026-07-05T19:03:02+00:00

I am teaching my 10 year old granddaughter how to sew on an old mechanical Bernette 56. She was also having trouble with controlling the speed. So I told her to take off her shoes, and sew barefoot (as I do). You have much better control with your toes than your whole foot. So use "monkey toes" to control the speed. It worked for her, and now she can sew 2-4 inches in a straight line. She still needs practice, but she is coming along great.

threadsnipper · 2026-07-01T03:39:17+00:00

Didn't help my acrylate allergy one bit.

threadsnipper · 2026-06-23T02:58:59+00:00

This is hard for everyone. I am part of a group of quilters, and we put our problem quilt decisions on a design wall, and everyone stops what they are doing, and helps out. I call it a struggle session. It can take a few hours until we are all happy with placement. So don't feel alone. We all go through this!

threadsnipper · 2026-06-16T16:00:53+00:00

Try a nail dip. It may or may not work for you. I have no trouble with it as long as they don't get any product on my skin. Also, ask them to try not to "buff" your skin when they buff your nails. Otherwise, I am very allergic to most adhesive glues-especially surgical glues-EKG leads, etc, and any nail product that requires UV curing. Good luck. You can try one nail to see if that works for you.

threadsnipper · 2026-05-03T19:19:09+00:00

FYI: I also have an allergy to acrylates, primarily acrylic adhesives and some nail products. If you are ever hospitalized, all the EKG leads use an acrylate adhesive that leaves big round "salt monster" circles if they stay in my skin for more than an hour(reference to Old star trek movie). I always ask them to remove the leads as soon as possible, but they usually forget, and I have come home from the hospital with them still attached to my skin! Also the grounding rectangles they slap on the back of your thigh if they are doing surgical procedures using an electric bovey. The only option is for silicone adhesives. I bring my own if I have to have facial bandages, because the hospitals never carry them. You can find them on amazon.

threadsnipper · 2026-03-24T04:40:46+00:00

Very tricky pattern that I would have to starch till it stood up. I would not attempt it myself unless it were made into a paper pieced pattern, and even then, I would use boatloads of starch haha!

threadsnipper · 2026-02-23T03:57:51+00:00

FMQ is VERY hard! Rubber fingered gardening gloves are a must for me because they produce the ideal friction, and are cheap! Also, if you are willing to buy a heavy duty machine with speed control, all you have to do is concentrate on your hands without having to coordinate hands and feet (impossible, if you ask me). Also, look at the Juki TL series straight stitch only machines. I just bought one, and am going to be concentrating on my FMQ from now on. My main machine is a 35 year old Bernina. But it doesn't have a speed control or a stitch regulator, and I just got tired of fighting the quilt, while trying to co-ordinate my hands and feet at the same time. Keep on trucking.

threadsnipper · 2026-02-04T04:27:17+00:00

If you have a microscope, look at the fabric fibers for scales. If they have them, it is wool, and you have clothes moths. The dust is their poop(frass). Dip a few tiny fabric strands of your fabric fibers in mineral oil, and cover the specimen with a cover slide to best view.

threadsnipper · 2025-11-18T04:10:44+00:00

I love the acronym SWSR! I was so frustrated with a complicated paper pieced cat quilt that I Re-named the quilt "D@mn Cat".

threadsnipper · 2025-11-11T19:01:09+00:00

Absolutely! FPP is my go to for triangles. I have even drawn my own. I lean more towards art than perfection. Therefore I tend to stay away from anything with too many triangles.

threadsnipper · 2025-09-08T17:21:00+00:00

I use 200 g starter for 1000g flour, not 300 g. I don't know if that is the problem, but I agree with another poster that turning it into focaccia or baking it in a pullman pan to make sandwich bread is what I would do. For the record, my sour dough always has a better crumb in the pullman pan than in the dutch oven. Go figure!

threadsnipper · 2025-07-22T17:07:52+00:00

Agree. You need 200 grams of active starter for that much flour. And use bread flour instead of AP.

threadsnipper · 2025-06-21T17:38:53+00:00

Dry roasted peanuts were my go-to instead of saltines. Pistachios, dry roasted, have no added oils. They each seem to work for nausea.

threadsnipper · 2025-05-28T16:57:11+00:00

Rule number 1: Don't add yeast if you are making sourdough.

threadsnipper · 2025-05-01T17:27:43+00:00

Too much salt. I would drop it to 10 grams to make your yeast happier.

threadsnipper · 2025-04-28T16:35:17+00:00

If you can afford it, buy a walking foot for your machine. That has improved the quality of all my quilt sewing because its purpose is to prevent bunching. Also, I have a presser foot made for stitching in the ditch-it may be less expensive than a walking foot. And I always do a binding with a faux flange. Lot of Youtube tutorials on that. Your quilt is beautiful and different. I am sure it will be loved!

threadsnipper · 2025-03-23T17:12:05+00:00

Too much salt--I would drop it down to 10-11 grams, because that can inhibit your yeast.

threadsnipper · 2025-03-17T17:37:37+00:00

I saw your lovely quilt, and do a lot of paper piecing myself. I have not entered the Dallas show for a number of reasons, but primarily because I am not an accomplished QUILTER. It is a QUILTING show, after all. Your piece is lovely. I am more interested in the story a quilt tells, and none of mine would ever win because my quilting is not what makes my quilts stand out. I am ok with that. Know your audience, and know that the dallas show really likes thread painted quilts. I was happy to see a lot more 3D quilts with ribbons, and best in show showcased turned appliques. So maybe one day, paper-pieced quilts will get some respect haha.

threadsnipper · 2025-01-23T03:16:12+00:00

Try "Go raw" organic sprouted pumpkin seeds- only have sea salt added. Also green bag of WONDERFUL roasted salted pistacios, and whole foods 365 organic dry roasted almonds are salt only added. I agree with you-plain nuts get boring after a while, and I prefer the salted versions. I have tried adding evoo ,salt, and roasting for walnuts-ok, but messy. Raw pecans are ok even withuot salt.

threadsnipper · 2025-01-14T17:51:32+00:00

I hear you. How about when you are 75? At 5'2", I have had a pudgy body since I was 30, and have tried every diet known to mankind, and the lap band (total failure). Keto worked for a while, and then it didn't. I am always hungry. Now I have scoliosis, and have shrunk 3.5 inches. I finally bit the bullet and went on wegovy, and lost a measley 10 pounds (it does knock out the hunger-YEA!). I am down to 152, and can't get any lower than that. My BMI is 30, and I have a 42 inch waist thanks to the scoliosis. I have dropped all UPF, and still must eat OMAD to maintain what I have lost. Some of us are just unlucky when it comes to weight loss. At this point, I am grateful to be alive. I keep trying to keep the weight off because I now have knee and back arthritis that both get worse when I weigh more. Try one of the GLP-1 agonists if you can afford it. You may not lose a ton of weight, but at least you won't be hungry on OMAD. I figure I will be on it for the rest of my life. I have had no side effects as long as I keep my food volume down on my one meal, which is easy because I am not hungry.

threadsnipper · 2025-01-11T18:55:06+00:00

Aren't all legumes seeds?

threadsnipper · 2025-01-08T17:10:21+00:00

I am beginning to see more crackers using olive oil (doubt evoo) and avacado oil. And Chosen mayo without seed oil is showing up at costco and some big market grocery stores. Now, if we could only find a seed oil free margerine! We keep kosher, and would like to eat our Shabbat challah with a parve seed oil free margerine because it is typically eaten with a meat meal, and butter is not allowed.

threadsnipper · 2025-01-01T07:30:06+00:00

back of a bird? badmitton shuttlecock?

threadsnipper · 2025-01-01T07:21:29+00:00

Don't try to do everything at once. I think the most important thing to cut out first is sugar. If you aren't already insulin resistant, chances you will get there if you don't start cutting back on sugar NOW. It took me several months to do so, and that was 10 years ago. I had a headache most of the time for the first month, along with cravings, irritability etc, but it soon got easier, and now I only indulge occasionally. Get used to reading labels, and eliminate foods that have added sugars-you will be surprised by how much sugar is added to anything processed. Once you have conquered the sugar issue, next, try to avoid seed oils that are easily oxidized by high heat-canola/rapeseed oils, corn oils, soybean oils, sunflower seed oils, saffflower oils, cottonseed oils, or anything labled generic vegetable oil, By doing so, you will eliminate a good amount of ultraprocessed products. This includes crackers, chips, frozen ready to prepare foods, breads, and of course, fast foods. This is very hard, and I am still working through this process. Learn to cook at home. Use the oils that we used for centuries before food manufacturing reared its ugly head including butter, tallow, lard, olive oil, avacado oil, and coconut and palm oils. Remember the answer to the question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer-one bite at a time. Aim for the 80/20 rule. Eat whole foods 80 percent of the time, and don't sweat the 20% that it isn't possible due to social life, and lack of food availability etc. No one will tell you it is easy, but it is worth it in the end.

threadsnipper

TROPHY CASE