And I'm about to head to Virginia to hang out with Jenifer and family for Christmas, so after getting off work yesterday morning, I ran some errands and made myself stay up so I could reset my sleep schedule. In the setting of making myself stay up to reset my sleep, I have found that I can be incredibly productive, either a hypomanic response or simply the knowledge that I have to keep myself busy or I'll keel over. Like a rock star, I got a ton of stuff done, including but not limited to the purchase of a charlie brown style Christmas tree (walgreens, $4), doing the dishes, sweeping and swiffering the kitchen and dining room, vacuuming my bedroom, taking out the trash, scooping the kitty litter, packing, creating an emergency car kit, repairing a shirt, trimming all the plants, planting a new batch of kitty grass (Sephy loves it, Pat doesn't care), general tidying and organizing, finishing a scarf, snuggling my kitties... I think that's it, but I'm not sure. I finally went to bed at about 8:00 pm and woke up at 6:00 am for reasons unknown (I usually sleep 14 hours in this situation) and now have reviewed what music I want on my iphone and synced it, bought a new bill engvall album to listen to on the drive, and am writing a blog post. Whew. At some point in the last two weeks I also replaced the tension nob on my sewing machine. This is the machine I learned to sew on, and for as long as I can remember the tension nob has been... I think 'difficult' is the best word. And for the past 6 or 7 years its been outright broken, requiring bits of cardboard shoved between the plates for things to function, obviously a less-than-optimal solution. 
So, after making the two skirts (I know, I waited until after) I finally decided it was time to see if there wasn't something that could be done about it. I've always been a bit hazy about the history and age of my sewing machine; I know it belonged originally to a relative on my dad's side and was given to my mom when that relative died, and was eventually given to me, but other than that, I knew nothing. However, with the help of the model number, I was able to find out a few things. It's a model from the 60's, worth about $10 on the auction market, and trying to find a fix-it manual is an exercise in futility. However, the Sears website does acknowledge its existence and list what replacement parts are available, including a compatible tension nob. I was a little hesitant to put a cream colored plastic nob on a sea green metal machine, but after finding out the resale value, I decided that making it work was more important than preserving the original appearance. It cost me $20, and installing it took about 10 minutes. The good thing about these old metal machines is that they are easy to take apart and simply designed, making them easy to troubleshoot and fix. It was amazing to turn the dial and have the resistance on the thread so easily and obviously changed, and now I am disgusted that I didn't do this years ago. Live and learn, I guess. At least now I have it available for the future, which is good, since I occasionally get cravings for items of clothing that you just can't find at the store...
So, after making the two skirts (I know, I waited until after) I finally decided it was time to see if there wasn't something that could be done about it. I've always been a bit hazy about the history and age of my sewing machine; I know it belonged originally to a relative on my dad's side and was given to my mom when that relative died, and was eventually given to me, but other than that, I knew nothing. However, with the help of the model number, I was able to find out a few things. It's a model from the 60's, worth about $10 on the auction market, and trying to find a fix-it manual is an exercise in futility. However, the Sears website does acknowledge its existence and list what replacement parts are available, including a compatible tension nob. I was a little hesitant to put a cream colored plastic nob on a sea green metal machine, but after finding out the resale value, I decided that making it work was more important than preserving the original appearance. It cost me $20, and installing it took about 10 minutes. The good thing about these old metal machines is that they are easy to take apart and simply designed, making them easy to troubleshoot and fix. It was amazing to turn the dial and have the resistance on the thread so easily and obviously changed, and now I am disgusted that I didn't do this years ago. Live and learn, I guess. At least now I have it available for the future, which is good, since I occasionally get cravings for items of clothing that you just can't find at the store...Anyway, Merry Christmas!
:)
1 comment:
I wish I could be that productive =)
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