[jaykay]

Great stories Rusty, they made me smile 

Yeh, piecework is hard work, the Italian lady next door in Bedford used to sew into the small hours, after her other job, to keep their family together, while her waste of space husband, with his 'bad back' would spend all day in the back garden with equally non-economically-active mates, brewing wine and shooting the breeze!

Sorry, that sounds a bit harsh, but the only thing his back prevented him doing, seemingly, was helping put food on their table - and the poor woman worked all hours.

Mind you, occasionally she would tell him. Italian is a wonderful language to berate someone in and I think she must have been able to breathe through her ears, cos she would harangue him for a good ten minutes without drawing breath 

[Lesley Silvester]

Good for her. Maybe she shout have done it a bit more often. Lazy s**

seems like I lead a parallel life to Mad Goat Women but without the goats

You do indeed. Sandy. We really should meet up.

[happygolucky]

You do indeed. Sandy. We really should meet up.

When I get let out   or you can pop in, Scotland is wonderful
AND.............I spent so long playing around trying to re thread the new second hand sewing machine I kept getting cramp in my hands and could not see to thread the tiny needle...so, I went on You Tube and put the name and model in, although you can guess what I came up with when I put Brother Celebraty in!!
Anyway, some one had done the exact same thing as me, it was the shuttle that was being put in wrong, I went straight to the machine this morning, even before looking here, and it worked, so, there are some brilliant instructions videos out there!

[Bionic]

Anyway, some one had done the exact same thing as me, it was the shuttle that was being put in wrong, I went straight to the machine this morning, even before looking here, and it worked, so, there are some brilliant instructions videos out there!

Great that you have got it working again this morning Sandy.   

[happygolucky]

Thanks Bionic as I wasted so much time yesterday...how do people my age thread those tiny weeny needles?

[Lesley Silvester]

By using a needle threader - much easier.

We will be in Scotland this September but over on Arran and your side is a bit far for a 'slight detour'.  Maybe another year.

[happygolucky]

Who knows where I will be?? I broke the needle threader and so need a posh new one thats a bit stronger, at least I managed to sew some material for a dog bed.....now i had better do some mending

[JulieWall]

Just to backtrack to the bit that fell off the sewing machine (sorry)...... have you looked inside the hole to see if it has a grub screw in there? A grub screw is basically the threaded part with a notch in it and they sit right inside. If so, you will need a tiny thin screwdriver to insert so you can replace the part and tighten up the grub screw. Don't over tighten it as the threads are delicate, just till it grips and then a little extra tweak so it can't vibrate itself undone again.

[happygolucky]

So strange that this threads come  up again....so to speak!! I decided to cut a long voil curtain in half and hem it.........simple?   No , my sewing machine kept chucking bits at me and I had to put white in the new spool and shuttle, I lost the plot and gave up when the foot also kept dropping off,,,,,me and sewing machines do not go together so I got the wonder web out

[Lesley Silvester]

A sewing machine engineer has told me that I need to take the bit right out but I haven't tried it yet. We got some gardening weather so that took priority. I must try it though.