Timing is Everything ;)

I know, I know... I fell off the face of the earth. If my blog were vegetation it would be withered and dead several times over. But really, nothing super exciting happens. And whenever I make awesome things, well, it usually takes me at least a week to complete one item because I'm chasing after an almost-two-year-old and an almost-five-year-old. So why am I making an appearance? I'm glad you asked!

Once upon a time... we were making holsters. I was serging a holster when that durn thing broke my serger. Two needle plates and four visits to the shop later, my poor serger still couldn't work properly. It's a 4-thread serger. A Brother 1034d to be precise. It's a very common machine. VERY. People LOVE it (or hate it). Well, my poor machine was only able to serge with three threads. This went on for over two years. This week I was making a super cute skirt for my daughter for Valentine's Day. I mean, I LOVE this pattern and I was so excited I thought I'd try some woolly nylon in my upper looper while I did rolled hems. OH MY HEAVENS. Worked BEAUTIFULLY. I had finished two ruffles and I was about 2/3rds of the way done with the third and FINAL ruffle when BAM! My machine made a horrible noise and when I turned the hand wheel it wouldn't make a full rotation. I cried. Upon closer inspection I saw the upper looper had been knocked out of place (how? I have no clue). So I was able to get it back in place by adjusting the screw on the side (uses the hex wrench that comes with the machine). I got back to work and my rolled hem looked like poo. I was so sad. My machine was still making a funky noise so I decided to quit and move to my sewing machine to do a regular hem. Once I finished that, I went back to my serger and got it set up to do regular serging. I cried again. It wasn't completing stitches. So I fiddled with things and searched how to fix the timing. Well, wouldn't you know, there's hardly a thing on fixing serger timing?! It's like a complete mystery! I did find this YouTube video helpful in that I could figure out what to mess with on my own machine. But there really isn't a lot out there for Brother 1034d! I was able to adjust my upper looper's timing and I fixed it! I finished my daughter's skirt and serged all the seams to a beautiful finish. Then I got to thinking, "If I just fixed my upper looper's timing to stitch again, could I make my machine use four threads again?"

The next day and three hours into working and my machine wouldn't do squat. All my hard work to make it stitch again and now the threads were just passing ships in the night, never to mingle again. I cried. I cussed. My daughter asked if I wanted to take a break. Yes, sweet child. Yes. So I hung out with the munchkins for a while and then it hit me.... What if I look at pictures of people threading their WORKING machines to see where everything lines up???!!! Hot diggity dog! I got it to stitch again! But the lower looper was still a mystery to me. I took apart that section and discovered a small family of dust and lint bunnies thriving over there. YIKES! After doing some meticulous cleaning, I turned the hand wheel to see what moved which parts. And there it was. Could it be as simple as loosened that? Oh yeah. Now I was cookin' with grease. I kept getting stuck somewhere though. Everything seemed to line up, except one thing (well, TWO). The needles. They just didn't seem right. A few turns of the hand wheel and there's where I needed to work next. (I'm going to pause and say that ALL of this needs to be done with the machine OFF and UNPLUGGED). A couple hours after my break, I placed all the casings back on and went for a test sew. I cried. I looked at my daughter and told her to hug me. She gave me a tight squeeze and said "Don't worry, Mommy, you'll get it." I pulled back from her and held up my scrap fabric and her face lit up. Four threads. Beautifully stitched. I was so elated. I did a few more test stitches to make sure it wasn't a fluke. I took a picture and sent it to my husband and my oldest sister. Then I posted it all over FaceBook. Ah, the virtual pats on the back I received from one of my sewing groups and the serger help forum made me even more proud of myself. I wanted to share this feeling of happiness. I thought "If I can take apart my machine and get it to work after the repair folks DIDN'T, then maybe there are people out there who are in my shoes and just need to know that someone without professional training CAN do it!" I swear, I think I'm related to TinkerBell. This is the second machine I've fixed in just a few months. I was able to get a Sewing Genie working that NEVER worked, that way my daughter could practice sewing.

Sew, without further ado, here's a whole bunch of pictures!
*Disclaimer: Taking apart your machine could void any warranties you may have and could end up making a bigger problem (aka $$$). I'm not a trained technician. I have no association with Brother. I was just fed up with my machine and thought I'd try fixing it before getting a new one.

You will need:
- Philip's head screw driver
- Flat head screw driver
- Hex wrenches (sizes 2.5 & 3)
- Regular wrench (not sure what size, I used an adjustable wrench)
- Needle-nose pliers

First of all, you'll want to remove the front casing. It's held on by three (3) screws. One (1) on the front and two (2) on the back.

Front screw

Back screws

Now you'll want to gently tug on the casing and you may need the flat head screw driver here... You'll also want to push the little tab to the right (arrow pointing at it) to help remove the casing.

Very gently pry the casing off. It should "pop" loose

Push that tab over slightly so you can wiggle the casing off

It may help to turn the hand wheel a little to move the crank shaft and the needle-thread-holder out of the way (you'll know what I'm talking about after that casing is off).

Now to remove the casing for the lower looper there are three (3) screws to worry about. The first one you don't have to remove ALL the way, unless it's just easier for you. We only need this one piece loosened so we can get the casing off.

Just loosen this one so this piece wiggles to allow the casing off

The next screw (starred in red) will have to be removed completely. It's best to have the stitch width lever all the way at 7 so you can get to the screw easier. Once you have the screw removed, the lever just pulls off. Once the lever is out of the way, remove the last screw (circled in blue)

Remove the starred screw completely to remove the lever. Then remove the circled screw

Now you'll be removing the casing for the lower looper. You want to push the piece in front of it down slightly and then pull the casing off.

See how I didn't remove that little piece? Just loosened it so we could push this part down to remove the casing

My pictures will look slightly different since I forgot steps, but before you can work on the lower looper, you'll want to remove your stitch finger, your presser foot, and your needle plate. For the needle plate you'll be using the flat head screw driver.

You can remove these before or after you remove the casing, but you'll need to remove them to work on your lower looper

Once all that is removed you'll have something like this sitting in front of you...

MOST of the guts.

Now, if you don't know if you really need to work on your lower looper's timing, or if it's just off by a hair, you can adjust the height of it first. For this, you'll be removing one more piece which contains two (2) screws.

To make it easier to adjust the height of the lower looper, you'll need this piece out of the way

Once that piece is removed, you'll want to LOOSEN, not remove, the height adjuster screw. This screw has space above and below it.

The arrow points to the screw. You'll be able to adjust the part that is circled

Alrighty, you've made it this far because you're probably wondering about the TIMING. Well, here are each of the places you'll be able to adjust timing.

For your UPPER LOOPER, you'll need hex wrench 2.5 and you'll be LOOSENING, NOT removing, two (2) hex screws.

LOOSEN. Do NOT remove. These will allow you to move your Upper Looper.

For your LOWER LOOPER, you'll need either a regular wrench or an adjustable wrench (I used an adjustable, but if you have the right size regular wrench it'll be so much easier) and needle nose pliers. Loosen, DO NOT REMOVE, the nut. You'll need the needle nose pliers to manipulate the shaft of the lower looper from side to side. In my case, I also need the flat head screw driver to GENTLY pry the shaft away from the machine a hair.

LOOSEN the nut and use pliers to manipulate the lower looper shaft from side to side.

For your NEEDLES, you'll need hex wrench 3 and you'll be LOOSENING, NOT removing, one (1) hex screw. You'll want your needles as far up as they'll go before you can get to the hex screw to loosen.

LOOSEN this hex screw to adjust needle timing

Now, I know I said this earlier, but it's VERY important to make sure your machine is OFF and UNPLUGGED before working on it. My dumb self went to loosen this screw with the machine on and burnt the tar out of my finger on the bulb casing. PLEASE exercise caution and learn from my mistake!

And now I will show you pictures of my machine with correct timing!
Needles in UP position, followed by a close-up of Upper Looper in relation to Needles while in Needle UP position

Needle UP position

Upper Looper in relation to needles

Needles in DOWN position

Needle DOWN position

Needle DOWN position (alt view)

After turning the wheel, here's a look at when the loopers pass each other

Loopers passing each other

With any luck this will help at least ONE more person fix their machine! And you'll have FOUR working threads!!!

YAY for FOUR threads!!!

These settings work for me, but your machine may vary slightly

And here's my hex wrench set in case you were wondering

2.5 for the UPPER looper, and 3 for the Needles

I really hope this was helpful!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!
-Courtney

Poor Momma's Soup

I haven't written in a while, and I apologize. Life has been a little hectic the past couple of months. But today I bring you quite a treat! Every mother knows that resourcefulness is a MUST. It's practically a requirement to even be a mom. If you're a mom-to-be and you're worried that you aren't resourceful, don't worry, it's a super power you receive the day you give birth.

When my husband has to work, I have to come up with some sort of meal for myself and our toddler daughter. I don't want to cook something that will leave a huge amount of leftovers and I don't want to resort to fast food (occasionally I will...). Well tonight I decided we were going to have black bean soup. I searched my cookbooks... I searched Pinterest... of all the recipes, I had maybe TWO ingredients... That simply would not do. And a run to the store was out of the question because the roads are icy. What is a mother to do?! Well, grab a few things from the pantry and hope for the best, of course! I had a rough plan of what I wanted, but ran into a few snags, so I improvised.

After tossing my finds into a pot and bringing them to a simmer, and a few taste-tests later, I came up with Poor Momma's Soup.

I am actually pretty impressed with myself and not afraid to say it. It was soooo delicious that I had two heaping bowls full AND my daughter actually liked it. So what's in it?

The soup itself only has, *drum roll*, FIVE ingredients. Yes, five. I'll tell you what I used, but I'm sure you can use whatever brand(s) you like.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of Bush's Black Beans
• 1 can (14.5 oz) Diced tomatoes (Del Monte)
• 1 can of white shoepeg corn (Green Giant)
• About 1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning (mine is salt-free)
• Salt to taste

Top with shredded cheese and sour cream if you'd like!

Directions: Mix black beans, tomatoes, and corn together in a pot and bring to simmer. IMPORTANT: Do NOT drain any of the cans! Pour all that deliciousness in the pot. If you like to drain, then add some water. When brought to a simmer, add the Mrs. Dash (you can do this to taste as well) and the salt to taste. I didn't measure exactly how much Mrs. Dash I used, so you may need more or less, depending on taste. Serve as is, or add some shredded cheese and sour cream!

*For a little "kick", instead of using the tomatoes and Mrs. Dash, you could use Rotel tomatoes with green chilies.

I hope you like this tasty tid-bit!

Enjoy!

Re-purposed Pan

Okay, so maybe I'm better at posting once a month... Well, we have been SLIGHTLY productive. My booger britches is about 95% potty trained! WAHOO!!! Haven't had to buy a package of pull-ups in a couple of weeks because she only wears them at night time! I believe the whole potty prize thing was a great incentive and we eventually took our cue from her when she didn't want to keep her pee-pee pull-ups on RIGHT after she wet them. We kept the potty prize bucket well-stocked for a couple of weeks and now we're just letting them dwindle away since she doesn't expect a prize every time. SOOOO proud of her. Ah, and we graduated from her princess potty to the big potty with the toddler seat. She uses her princess potty as a step :). She does GREAT when we go out and about and lets us know if she has to go potty. So, there is the update on potty training!

Now, let's move on to something new...

Christmas is next month. Still don't know what to get the grandparents? Well, we've got a great, EASY project for you! How many of us have at least one beaten up, rusty-looking cookie sheet? Come on, be honest! When I was little, we used them to sled down our driveway! Oh, those were the days! Now, I have to give credit to my husband for this idea. He knows that our daughter LOVES to be in the kitchen with me and "help" me cook and bake. One day we looked at our very first baking sheet (about 4yrs old) right after it came out of the dishwasher. That poor thing looked like it has had a rough life. Granted, with me cooking, it probably did have a rough life! So my husband gets this look. You know the one, you can hear the gears grinding ;). "Why don't you and Clare paint this? And then you can hang it in the kitchen." Brilliant! Our daughter LOVES to paint. So we got our supplies together and we let Clare in on the plan.

Here's what you'll need:
- Old cookie sheet (Or other overly-loved metal pan/pot)
- Killz base paint (Or any other base paint)

- Clear-coat spray paint

- Acrylic paints

- Paint brushes

- Paint "palette" (we used a scrap of cardboard)

- Water to clean brushes and paper towels to dry them

- At least one creative kiddo!

- And newspaper or a large trash bag to protect the artist's workspace

1. First is to prep the "canvas". I believe my husband put three coats of Killz to make everything an even white.

Step 1: Prep the pan. This is with 3 coats of Killz

2. Let the artist(s) do their thing!

Step 2: Let the creativity begin!

Be prepared for several brushes to be used at once... and be prepared to help the artist clean them... often lol!

 3. Be a good assistant and enjoy the smiles and giggles and listen to what your artist is capturing. My artist eventually painted "Punzel" and "Belle". She's very abstract ;)

Step 3: Soak in that happiness!

4. Let the artist's work dry, then clear-coat it!

Step 4: Clear-coat after the artist's paint dries.

 5. Add the date and any wording you'd like! I used a Sharpie and I'd recommend a paint pen or something else because my Sharpie wanted to quit lol. (I think I actually wrote on the pan before the clear-coat and that caused the marker to "crackle")

Step 5: Add the date and a message if you wish!

I LOVE this. If you're giving as a gift, you could include the "Artist's notes" (aka, a description of what they painted). You can attach ribbon or wire to hang the pan, OR, you can add a couple of magnets to the back and hang it on the fridge!

Until next time,
Stay creative!

Jama Jon Jons

It dawned on me that I really don't have many boy patterns. I was looking at one of the groups I'm apart of and one of the ladies had asked if there were any cute boutiques nearby that could make matching outfits for Christmas. She has a daughter and two sons. I thought, "Hm... some people probably pass up my little shop because I have nothing for little boys!" She was looking for someone who makes Jon Jons. I searched through one of the awesome PDF Sewing groups on FaceBook and found an AWESOME pattern. If you haven't heard of Whimsy Couture, you should definitely check them out. I bought their Jon Jon pattern and LOVED how simple it was when I read through it. Soooo I came up with this awesome idea. My husband doesn't have the fun-spirited side that allows him to wear crazy pj's. I, however, have been known to wear Halloween socks in May and Easter socks in November. I love fun clothing like that :). Anywho, I saved my husband's Christmas pajamas that he was going to give away. And they were the PERFECT thing for this pattern! I upcycled pajamas into some super cute Christmas overalls for my daughter :).

First things first, print out your pattern and piece it together. I used the 2T pattern pieces and size small pjs.

Pattern pieces and pajama bottoms

 Next, make sure the pajamas you're using will be big enough for the Jon Jons you're making. I measured the width of the leg and doubled it to get the total width of fabric, then I measured the pattern piece for the size I needed. If you're using a larger pattern piece, also measure the length of the pajamas.

Measure leg width to make sure they'll work for the size you need

 If the pjs will work, go ahead and seam rip those puppies! Now, this is VERY IMPORTANT... make sure you seam rip the INSEAM, not the outer seam. Once I finished seam-ripping the legs, I seam ripped the crotch. I ended up just cutting the bottom hems and the drawstring area off.

Seam rip the INSEAM, NOT the outer seam

 Below, you will see all the fabric I get to work with for my pattern :).

Seam-ripped PJ bottoms.

 Next, cut out your pattern pieces, making sure to cut one right side and one reverse (or however your pattern instructs you if you're using a different one).

Cut out your pattern pieces.

Follow the instructions on constructing your Jon Jons and you should end up with some super cute, one of a kind, overalls!

Upcycled pajamas turned into cute Christmas Jon Jons!

I hope you enjoyed this short tutorial! Please feel free to ask me questions if you're lost on any part of this. Not much of a seamstress? Stay tuned and you'll see a really neat tutorial on what to do with an old cookie sheet!

Until next time,
Stay Creative!

Holsters, Halloween & Housing, Oh My!

It's been a minute, hasn't it? Well, we've been pretty busy here! First, my posting was delayed because I was helping my husband start up his own little business, Demon Carry Holsters. We make custom holsters to fit your firearm and YOU! Super comfy holsters that are super practical.

This holster fits a Taurus PT 738

This holster fits a Taurus PT 738 WITH a Crimson Trace laser

Not only can we custom fit your firearm, but we can custom fit your firearm with any accessories like lasers.

Not sure how they'll work for conceal carry? Here is a picture of my slim/athletic build husband concealing a 1911.

Slim/athletic build concealing a 1911

IWB universal holster with a 1911

My husband is wearing our Universal Large IWB holster.

Universal Large IWB holster

But how do they look on an average female?

Concealing a S&W Bodyguard

Holster for S&W Bodyguard

They're really great and REALLY comfortable!

So, we've been making holsters, but that's not all that's kept me from posting. I've also done some selfish sewing. The best kind. Though, my selfish sewing is almost ALWAYS for my daughter. So I decided I'd get a head-start on her Halloween costume. She's OBSESSED with Tangled and "Punzel" so I thought she just might like to be "Punzel" for Halloween.

"Punzel"

Pretty simple to make, and she LOVES it. I don't think it'll make it to Halloween with how much she wears it. "How do I make something like this?!" VERY simple. As you all know, Create Kids Couture is my go-to for patterns. I looked through the patterns I already owned and Molly's jumped out at me. So I tweaked it a smidge. Basically just leaving off the lace and ribbon. I used CKC's tutorial on Princess Sleeves. But they didn't say how to get the stripes! I just cut 2in strips of fabric and sewed them together until I had enough for the width.

And once the dress was complete, I went through Megan's Accessory Pack and found the corset sash.

LOVE the detail. Oh, and where I was instructed to top-stitch, I used a decorative stitch on my sewing machine and used gold embroidery thread on top.

I absolutely love this dress and so glad I took a break from everything else to make it. My daughter wore it for 3 days straight and was VERY upset when I told her I had to wash it.

Now, what else? Oh yes, recently our house has decided to hate us, once again (we previously had a terrible sugar ant problem IN the house). Well, our yard is FULL of fire ants. MEAN ones at that. They've bitten my daughter two separate times and both were equally bad. I just want to gas the whole yard. Anywho, I've been trying EVERYTHING. Amdro was a no-go. Cornmeal, nada. I'm using a baking soda/powdered sugar mixture right now and they're taking the bait, but they still exist... I just want them GONE. But that's not all. Not only can we not play outside, but our ceiling is now leaking something AWFUL. It started as this...

 Then it grew...

 And grew until it starting leaking elsewhere...

 Then maintenance came and popped the bubble and ripped off some paint...

 And now it's leaking worse...

 See the lovely trail of bubbled paint connecting those droplets and our beautiful, exposed ceiling?

 Doing our best to contain what is now messier. Thanks a bunch, maintenance.

It's just constantly dripping... And it stinks... *Sigh*

So we've been SLIGHTLY busy here. But hopefully I'll be posting once a week again and bringing some more tutorials to you all! And the recipes I've been cooking up. Mmmm, yum!

Until next time, we'll try to stay dry lol