Sampler

I haven't had time to sit down at the sewing machine for the past few days (a three-month-old baby definitely takes up a good chunk of my time, but I'm more than happy to give it to him), but I've been reading Stitch by Stitch: Learning to Sew One Project at a Time by Deborah Moebes.

The first project (a mini project) is a sampler: basically running your machine through the various stitch options to get a feel for them and also to see what the machine can do. So the other day, I had bought some plan maroon material and white thread (go Aggies!) for this sampler. And today my husband took charge of the baby so I could have some time to work on this. And it's a good thing that he did because it actually took a couple of hours.

I fold the fabric in half and ended up with a piece that was 10.5" by 8.5". I started out with just the plain stitch, varying the stitch length twice down the line to see what that looked like. I then used the zig zag option. One thing that I was trying to focus on was being able to guide the material so that it would stitch in a straight line. So I tried to use the previous stitched line as a guide, keeping it inline with the presser foot as I made the new line of stitches. I did have a few times where I went off a little, but I think I was able to keep the lines fairly straight. I had the speed on the middle setting.

I went through a number of stitch patterns that I could do with the presser foot that was on the machine. But to do some of the more decorative ones, I had to change the presser foot. At first, I was hesitant to do that because I thought it might be difficult, but I knew that part of the point of this sampler was to get to know my machine. And if I wanted to use my machine to its full advantage, then I needed to be comfortable changing the presser foot. I don't know what I was worried about. It was simple, more than simple, to change out the little foot. What had I been worried about? So then I got to try new patterns that were really pretty. I look forward to being able to make projects that use these decorative stitches.

Besides keeping the line straight and changing the presser foot, what else did this sampler teach me? I learned about reverse and reinforcement stitches. A few times, I forgot to do them at the beginning or end of the line and I see what a difference it can make. And I also learned to make sure I have the number setting correct before I start. I have two lines that are the same stitch because I forgot to change the number on the machine before beginning the next line. Oops. At least it was one of the really pretty ones.

I think I may try to find a frame for this piece because it looks nice as a work of art and it's something that I can be happy to display and also have the memory of creating it each time I look at it. This is definitely not a piece that should just get tossed in a drawer and forgotten about. But for now, since I don't have a frame, I'm posting a picture of the sampler (edged are unfinished as that wasn't the point of this project).