my juki tl-2010q

Let me introduce you to my new sewing machine: the Juki TL-2010Q!
I've been dreaming about this machine for years - she's a real workhorse. I've been using her for sewing bags (she sews super thick shoulder straps without a problem!) as well as record-fast piecing for a couple weeks now and she's a dream to work with.

I bought her here. She was allegedly a show model - but when I got her all the presser feet etc. were still in its original package and there was no sign that she has ever been used before. So either they cleaned her up really well and didn't use any of the accessories or - my theory - she was brand new when I got her. The shipping was very fast and I'm very happy with the customer service at sewing machines plus. I'd definitely order there again!

I had her shipped to my friend's house in Florida. Which meant I had to get her back home to Germany somehow. I put her in my carry on suitcase(the model is 'token' by kipling) and wrapped her in lots of interfacing and clothes to keep her secure and well-cushioned during the flight and train ride home.

She's quite heavy so I was glad there weren't any weight restrictions for carry on items. She fit perfectly in the overhead bins and there were always nice men or stewards around to help me lift her up there :)

Flying with a sewing machine wasn't bad at all - I'd do it again any time.


Here's some information in German on buying a sewing machine in the states and exporting it to Europe:

Ich werde häufig gefragt, warum ich eine Nähmaschine in den USA kaufe und ob man sie dann überhaupt in Deutschland benutzt kann.

Warum eine amerikanische Maschine und kann man die hier überhaupt benutzen?
Das Modell, dass ich mir gekauft habe, gibt es nicht in Deutschland. Eine vergleichbare Nähmaschine ist die Juki TL-98P. Das ist der Vorgänger meiner Maschine und eine super Maschine - ich habe sie auf Messen probegenäht und war begeistert. Jedoch nicht so sehr vom Preisschild. Leider konnte ich in Deutschland keine gebrauchte auftreiben, sonst wäre das eine Alternative gewesen.

Nach etwas Recherche und sehr vielen guten Erfahrungsberichten über die TL-2010Q habe ich mich für diese entschieden. Sie ist das Nachfolgemodell der 98P und hat ein paar Funktionen mehr: LED Licht, kleinerer Anlasser(und der gleiche wie der meiner Juki F600 - so dass ich auf Nähwochenenden etc. nur einen Anlasser mitnehmen muss!), verbesserte Fadenspannung und einen Geschwindigkeitsregler. Man kann mit Sicherheit auch ohne diese Features leben, aber besonders das LED-Licht und die Geschwindigkeitsregulierung sind mir sehr ans Herz gewachsen und ich möchte sie nicht mehr missen :)

Da ich eh eine Reise nach Florida geplant hatte und dort ein Freund von mir wohnt hatte ich eine Lieferadresse und konnte die Maschine problemlos im Internet bestellen und per PayPal bezahlen.
Ich habe mich für ein 'Vorführmodell' entschieden, da ich aus Erfahrung weiß, dass Maschinen auf Messen nur selten benutzt werden. Wie das in den USA so ist, wurde mir beim check out direkt ein Coupon aufgedrückt, so dass ich letztendlich 824$ bezahlt habe für die Maschine. Das waren knapp unter 600€. Fairerweise muss man noch die Kosten für den Konverter hinzurechnen. Ich habe mich für den Minwa 1000 Watt Step Down Konverter entschieden, da er gute Bewertungen hat. Mir wurde empfohlen, einen Konverter zu kaufen, der eine deutlich höhere Wattleistung hat als das Endgerät, was dran angeschlossen wird. Dies hat zwei Grüne: häufig ziehen Geräte beim Einschalten deutlich mehr Strom, so dass unter Umständen die Sicherung rausfliegen könnte. Außerdem beanspruchen Geräte im Dauerbetrieb sehr viel der Konverterleistung. Bei meinem Konverter lag ein sehr gut beschriebener Infozettel dabei zum Thema Spannunswandler. Eine Googlerecherche liefert auch viele nützliche Informationen und Links.

Der Konverter ist eine sehr massive, schwarze Metallbox mit zwei Eingängen - einfach den Nähmaschinenstecker reinstecken und den Stecker des Konverters in die Steckdose. Aber Achtung: immer erst den Konverter einschalten, bevor man die Maschine einschaltet.

Der Transport im Flieger war auch problemlos - ich bin mit einer amerikanischen Airline geflogen und es gab keine Gewichtsbegrenzung für das Handgepäck. Ich habe die Maschine einfach in einem Handgepäckkoffer transportiert - natürlich gut mit Textilien ausgepolstert. Sie hat den Transport ohne Probleme überstanden und bei den Security Kontrollen etc. gab es keine Probleme und ich musste den Koffer nicht ein einziges Mal öffnen.

operation sock yarn: introduction

The other day I reorganized my yarn stash because my recent yarn purchases were living in different plastic bags instead of one of my yarn boxes because they simply didn't fit in there anymore. So I gave some yarn away (to a charity knitting group and some more expensive yarns to friends who will knit beautiful things using the yarns). All my yarns fit into my yarn boxes again but I found a bunch of sock yarn scraps.

Years of sock knitting have left me with 1111grams of fingering weight yarn. Where did all these scraps come from!? Clearly I can't just ignore them and keep accumulating more and more fingering weight scraps. I'm on a mission to use up all of my sock yarn scraps before buying new fingering weight yarn. Please remind me of this when I enter the next yarn shop and see squishy soft merino yarn... ;)

To get started I made a pair of scrap socks. I love how these turned out! What I didn't love was weaving in all the ends...

They didn't turn out to be exactly alike but I love them nonetheless.
I'm gonna make many more scrap socks because they make gifts and you can't ever have too many hand knitted socks, right?
What do you do with all your scrap yarns?
Do you have pattern suggestions to use up some of these scraps?

breakfast baking

I baked some rolls for a birthday breakfast my grandma hosted last week. The dough was about 70% whole wheat and 30% normal flour. Sooo good!

Hope you're having a great weekend. I'm off to a sewing retreat with my mom. I'm excited because it's my first sewing retreat ever. I hope to get lots of sewing done - a quilt top and some project bags for my shop. I'll share what I made next week.

the sunshine state

I'm back from a much needed vacation. My roomie Julia and I went to the Sunshine State for two weeks to soak up some Vitamin D. A road trip to Key West, sandy beaches, good food, the Everglades, lots of TimerCam pictures, boat tours, an American-sized rental, dodgy motels, perfect weather, knitting underneath palm trees, catching up with old friends & making new friends sums up our vacation. It was so good.

52 craft projects // sheeping mask

As you read this I'm sitting in an airplane somewhere over the atlantic and trying to get some sleep with the help of this 'sheeping mask'. Sleeping in an airplane is always difficult for me because it's never really dark in an airplane(I always seem to end up with neighbors who don't own a TV and spend all night watching movies instead of sleeping.). Naturally I had to sew a sleeping mask that would identify me as a yarn addict right away :)

I made the mask from fabric scraps. The back of the sheep is a soft flannel. I was too excited about the cute sheep and completely forgot to take a picture of the back - sorry! My roomie Julia got a similar mask, too - I managed to turn her into a yarn addict after just living with me for a couple of months!

This mask will make counting sheep much, much easier ;)
This is project #52 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013. You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

52 craft projects // project life 2013

I love scrapbooking but finding the time to do it is a real challenge for me. Mainly because all my scrapbooking supplies are hidden in storage boxes so I need ~15 mins to get it all out (and usually about half an hour to clean up my mess). Add the time of having my pictures printed at the next pharmacy(or even order them online and wait for them 2-3 business days) and you need at least a whole afternoon to get a couple spreads done.

Some spreads in my 2013 album have lots of details and movie tickets etc.

Other spreads were put together months later and only some random facts were pulled from my daily planner or my cell phone.

My album consists of everything that happened the past year - happy and sad moments, family trips, parties with friends, lots of knitting and sewing, some random crafts, lots of plant pictures and blank weeks that were filled with studying.

I really love having one picture fill the entire spread.

The last weeks of the year were composed in monthly spreads rather than weekly, because I was running out of time.
Using a core kit really helped speed up the process. For 2014 I plan on making monthly spreads and spreads for special occasions, and probably some spreads that concentrate on my craft adventures.

Do you use project life? Or another form of scrapbooking? I'd love to see how you documented 2013 :)
This is project #51 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013. You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.

52 craft projects // circular knitting needle organizer

I just love combining my two favorite hobbies: knitting and sewing.
I made this knitting needle organizer to keep my interchangeable knitting needles organized. I made a knitting needle organiser back in 2011 but it's too small for my collection of knitting needles. Having too many knitting needles is a good excuse to make a new organizer, right?

There are 15 small pockets for interchangeable knitting needle tips in various sizes, as well as three large pockets for the cables and connectors. I have a couple of wips so the organizer would be full if I ever finished all my wips and stored the needles in here.

I'm using the knitpicks/knitpro symfonie knitting needles. I'm pretty happy with them but I've had quite a few broken needles last year. Their customer service is really great though - I've received several packages from India with new needles :)
Do you see the lonely red cable? I got a pair of Addi click lace needles to try at a fair and I LOVED them. I had a 3.5mm (US 4) needle that was perfect for knitting shawls. Unfortunately, someone stole them at a craft fair where I had my needles on display to demonstrate the knitting needle organizers I sell :(

Isn't the deer fabric the cutest? It's one of my favorite echino fabrics by kokka.
Where do you store your knitting needles?
This is project #50 of 52 craft projects I'm attempting to complete in 2013. You can see all the other projects I've complete so far here.