30 000 stitches and counting

Of course, I couldn’t wait to open the boxes and as soon as I’d tied up all the loose ends from Friday’s judging, written one or two letters, changed the beds and hung the washing on the line, I was free to play.  Is it our upbringing that means we can’t allow ourselves to play until the work is done?

Anyway, the small box was the easy part.  Inside was the new DesignerPlus software 7 – a really great gift from Bernina, thank you!  (Have you seen the price?!)  I put it on one side for later!

Opening the big box revealed an assortment of hoops, a box of embroidery needles, foot 26, a USB cable and a box of stabiliser samples.

 

Underneath was the real deal – the embroidery module.

For my non-sewing friends, this is the bit which fits on the side of the machine and holds the hoop in place.  It’s pretty large and rather heavy and increases the length of the machine set up to about a metre.  My sewing table is now pretty full and is going to need a little rethink!

Anyway, I’d already watched the YouTube videos and for this first go, I thought I’d just follow them step by step.  It was great having my old ipad at my side so I could watch and go over tricky parts once again, such as the additional step needed when threading the bobbin.  Though Frank had explained it to me and walked me through it step by step, it was over a week ago and I’ve had a few sleeps since then.

I was happy with the results and delighted to be able to leave it stitching away.  It’s quite noisy; possibly because the table is not 100% stable, but I like the stitch countdown and the timer which shows how long until the next thread change or whatever.  I didn’t need to babysit it at all.

And then I changed thread.  The machine really didn’t like the different (unknown) brand of pale blue I threaded up and it broke twice within a short space of time.  I wasn't ready for a fight at this stage; wasn’t ready to employ all the tricks we use to coax a difficult thread to behave itself, so simply unthreaded and got another reel of the brand I’d been using successfully so far.

Except that the pale blue thread broke as I tried to pull it through.  Even though I was doing as recommended, and pulling it through from the spool, it snapped and the piece of thread was somewhere in the machine.

Oooer!  Time to get out the book.

Time to get out the toolkit too!  I can’t say that taking the front off my brand new shiny “sewing computer” was exactly what I wanted to do, but sure enough, there was the thread.  Not that it was going to come out easily, though.

Gently gently, hoping that it wasn’t going to break again, leaving some bit left inside, I held my breath as it gradually came unstuck and came free.  Phew!

So, the colours are wrong – I didn’t have the right colours to hand and as this was only a practice, I wasn’t too worried.  I’m not sure I intended it to be a stripy flower, though!  But for a first go, I was fine.  18 000 stitches on the clock, a couple of thread breaks mid-stitch which meant I had to navigate the pattern and retrace my steps to start again and of course, the major thread retrieval.  I felt I’d achieved my objectives for the morning.

So, whilst on a roll, I did another 15 000-odd stitches and stitched out another of the designs on the menu.  Thank you, Switzerland!

Over the bridge again

It was time to pack my bag again and head off to Glamorgan yesterday.  It’s a show I’ve judged before but for some reason, I just couldn’t picture the venue we were heading for.  Was it the town where I bought my favourite twinkly shoes; the ones I liked so much I telephoned to ask if they’d post me the same ones in the other colour? 

“No”, said Marion.  “it’s the Community Centre just off the motorway.  No shoe shops there”.  (shame!)

Hmmm.  I gave it a little more thought.  Perhaps it was the modern hall which I seem to think is accessed through a school complex?  No, that was in Gwent, I think. 

Thankfully, we have maps and satnavs and sure enough, as soon as we arrived in North Cornelly, I remembered it well.  Yes, of course I’d been here before!  Familiar faces were there to greet us and after a jolly lunch it was time to begin work.

It’s a show renowned for the enthusiasm with which everyone takes part and this is only a small part of one of the classes – St David’s Day.  There are literally hundreds of entries and every class has a wealth of good things to see.  Lesley, do you like the cushion in the top right hand corner?  I thought of you when I saw it!  We English judges were caught out by a couple of the entries though – can you spot the wayward dragons?  Would you have known what’s not quite right with it?  (We didn’t – but will know in future!)

I was judging the staging and interpretation of the co-operative class on the theme of “Mothering Sunday”, in which there were 27 entries.  Quite a challenge!

But as a little light relief, to round off the afternoon, I also had the “decorated wellies” to consider.  An opportunity for the men to show off their talents, I couldn’t resist placing this amazing tea time wellie in first place, though there was some tough competition, I can tell you.

After a spot of tea and a review of the stars of the show, it was time to head home, back over the bridge where something was awaiting me.

Oooo!   I think it’s going to be a fun weekend!

Sioe Frenhinol Cymru

Shortly after 7.15am this morning, as some of the competitors were enjoying their early morning beauty treatments, I made my way through an already busy showground to report for duty.

 

It was a beautiful morning and I’d really enjoyed the drive over from Glasbury, parking my car on a hill overlooking the showground and thinking that a hat and some sunblock might have been a good idea today instead of the cardigan I’d thrown in my bag at the last minute.  I love the early morning before the crowds arrive and was glad to have time to stand and watch some of the preparation for the day ahead.

Not much activity in the sheep pens though and a definite air of peace and quiet remained there for now.  Not for long, I suspect.

My work was waiting in the exhibition hall, where the winners of the federation rounds were competing for the Rose Bowl with their interpretations of a “Secret Garden”.

But first things first – a cup of tea and a biscuit in the Cwtch.  Isn’t that a great sign?

It’s such fun working amongst friends and having the chance to catch up with my Welsh WI chums was a delight.   Once I’d finished my part of the judging, I went out into the sunshine to see what was what.

My eye was caught by the Dyfed-Powys Police stand – or rather, their tractor with blue flashing lights!  I chatted a while with one of their “specials”, about my father in law and the family connection with the constabulary, wondering what Richard would have made of it all now?  Police tractor indeed…!

There were loom bands galore today and the craze definitely continues here.

But the real “hot” product?  Orthotics .  Looks like wearing those ballet flats and flip flops is beginning to catch up with people and there were several stands around the showground selling a variety of products to treat the condition.  Interesting!

I don’t speak Welsh though I love to hear it spoken and from time to time a translation brings a smile to my face.  Had it not been alongside the English word, I’d have had no idea what “tatws” meant, but seen like this, all was clear!  Does anyone call them “taties” any more?

By now it was getting really warm and after a spot of lunch – well, roast Welsh lamb and all the trimmings of course – it was time to return to the hall to check the winners and to meet the competitors.

Now, that can be scary.  There’s always the fear that one of them is going to harangue one of the judges for not awarding as many marks as they’d hoped for.  Or maybe to point out something we’d missed.  But when the winning team from Ceredigion arrived, they were so thrilled with their first place we needn’t have worried!  It’s lovely to witness their elation and it’s a good reminder of how much is resting on those few bits of craftwork, cookery and flowers and how important it is for us to get it right.  Of course, it’s only a bit of fun – or is it? 

By this time, it was well into the afternoon and mindful of the journey home, I decided it was time to leave.  Not before this cute little bunch had crossed my path, however!  Isn’t it a great setting for a show, here?

I took the same route back to the car park, watching the next generation learn the tricks of the trade.

Time to go home.

The rinse cycle

I wrote recently about driving through what seemed like a washing machine.  Today, in Stroud, we were on the rinse cycle.

Marion and I were judging at the Stroud Show.  The storm had flashed, banged and clattered throughout most of last night and sure enough, we woke this morning to rain.  It looked fairly set in even as I picked her up but as we drove into Stroud, it became torrential.  There was a fountain in the middle of the roundabout on Stratford Road because the drains simply could not cope with so much water.  We waited until it eased off a little and made a run for the horticultural marquee.

There were some beautiful entries and I spent a lovely couple of hours working with my steward, Gill, marking first the staging and interpretation and then the crafts themselves to find an eventual winner.  The whole time, we could hear the rain hammering on the roof of the marquee and we wondered if it was ever going to stop.

By lunchtime, the rainstorm had still not passed over and we gazed over the showground anxiously.  Would anyone bother to come out on a day like this?  We hoped they would, because such events take so much organising and it’s heartbreaking to see all that effort go to waste.

But by now, people were getting a little fed up, even if they were still smiling.  This little torrent of water was inside the marquee and occasionally ran down the back of whoever happened to be sitting underneath it!

Of course, some clever ones had brought their umbrella and were standing underneath it, wondering what all the fuss was about.

Whilst others stayed under their tarpaulin, waiting for their chance to shine.

Because some things happen come rain or shine and there’s plenty of us who don’t really mind if we get wet.

Do we?

Lucky girl

I count my blessings frequently.

 

I think I’m lucky that my work takes me to some fascinating places.

Places where the equipment storage is rather larger than usual.

But then the equipment they’re using is pretty huge too!  I know of one boy who would have been so excited to have seen this enormous tractor.  I don’t think the youngsters learning to drive a tractor for the first time get to use this vehicle, though, do you?

Mind you, I have a new and rather huge “vehicle” of sorts to drive myself today.  But first, I need to unpack it.

There.  Know what it is yet?  I have several friends who will be as excited as I am at this point, so I won’t hang around any more, but will dive right in.

Hmm.  Well, it’s a big box for a few reels of cotton, that’s for sure.  I’ll go down another layer and see what’s underneath.

A knee lift lever and the first of two CDroms are on a shallow layer which is removed to reveal some rather larger things.

There are a couple of boxes of feet and things which I’ll explore later.

I recognise this as the box to keep them all in.

But this?

I have no idea.

There’s another box to open on the next layer.

Bedtime reading!

Oh.  Is that it?  Surely not.

No.  Underneath is what we’ve been waiting for.

Tucked in, with a carrying bag alongside, there it is!

My new “sewing computer” as it’s referred to in the manual.

It’s a little bigger than the one I’ve just packed away!

and I’ve not finished unpacking yet.  I must be careful not to miss anything, like that little package stuck into the packing material.

It’s the buttonhole foot.  A good job that one didn’t escape my notice.

And there, tucked away in one of the side pieces is another essential part.

I really couldn’t have done without the foot pedal.

Last but not least, there’s a polystyrene box wedged in under the arm of the machine.

It’s the thread holder.

Is that it?  Right now, there seems to be more packaging than machine.

Perhaps you’ll excuse me then, if I go away and have a closer look at some of these bits and pieces?  Incidentally, this is merely the “sewing” part and there is more to come.

Watch this space!