Yep, this song is totally stuck in my head, but I have no complaints…

This tv series is a large part of many of my happy memories as a little girl, and I loved any chance I had to sit with my Dad and watch the show anytime it ever came on. The music for the opening and closing credits still brings a smile to my face. Netflix has all 7 seasons of ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ on instant play, so of course I have been “revisiting” my childhood and I am happily making my way through all of them. I am currently on season 3.

My daughter Haven has a birthday coming up (she will be 9), and she has been begging me to teach her how to sew for a while now. So I decided that it’s time I bought her a sewing machine of her own that she can learn on. As a result, I have been reading, reviewing, and researching as many different options that I could find in order to make the best decision possible. These are the three I am most interested in as they are not toys, but real, honest to goodness sewing machines, all of them with a cord that plugs in so there are no batteries to have to bother with. So, in no particular order…

Janome Sew Mini

Online I found that I could expect to pay around $60 for this, although I might be able to find a lower price on ebay. It’s a 1/2 sized machine backed by a reputable name in sewing machines, and the majority of the reviews I read were excellent. It was reviewed by experienced and inexperienced sewers alike, and most of them loved this machine. It seems like it would be the perfect size for a beginning sewer and a great little machine to learn on. Here is a video of this machine in use.

Pros: Drop-in bobbin, very lightweight and portable weighing in at 5 lbs., numerous excellent reviews online, reverse lever in convenient spot, low price, small machine for small hands, and a medium-slow sewing speed that stays the same no matter how much she presses on the pedal.

Cons: No light, no snap-on presser foot so you cannot change the presser foot, no markings for seam allowance on the needle plate, small and cheap looking foot pedal, no carrying handle, there is only one stitch speed so there is no going slower or faster as you stitch, no stitch length or stitch width choices, and no buttonhole function.

Janome Hello Kitty

This is a 3/4 size machine that also got excellent reviews from both experienced and inexperienced sewers alike, but it’s also close to twice the price of the other two machines, the lowest being around $110. This puts it over the top of my price range, but after the trillion or so glowing reviews I have read all over the web, it really has to be considered. I know Haven would love that it’s Hello Kitty, but that fact doesn’t sway me one way of the other. My only interest lies in whether it’s a good sewing machine, not what character has been plastered all over it. Although you would not believe the amount of grown women reviewing it that raved about the over-the-top cute factor and about how much they love and adore Hello Kitty. I guess I must have underestimated the enormous draw of Hello Kitty across all ages. Here is a video of this machine in use.

Pros: Has the most reviews online and almost all were excellent, snap-on presser feet allows for changing out the presser foot, markings on the needle plate for seam allowance, has a light, variable sewing speed so you can go faster or slower, a decent sized foot pedal, buttonhole function, a handle for easy carrying, it’s portable and lightweight at 12 lbs.

Cons: The most expensive of the machines I am interested in, some reviews said threading is not the easiest, variable sewing speed by pressing the pedal which could be hard to coordinate for a beginner while also trying to deal with stitching the fabric, reverse lever in an odd spot (odd to me anyways), no stitch length or width choices, and it has a bobbin case instead of drop-in.

Brother LS2000

This is a full size sewing machine, and the price is $60, so it’s well within my budget. I have owned two Brother machines in the past and they are well known for their ease in use, so I know it would not be a hard machine for Haven to learn to operate. I am however concerned that it will be to fast for her. One of the criteria I am looking for is a slow stitch speed that will allow Haven to gain confidence and experience without sewing her fingers by accident. And I couldn’t find any video of this machine in use, sorry.

Pros: The low price is well within my budget, variable sewing speed so you can go faster or slower, stitch length and stitch width controls, full size foot pedal, markings on the needle plate for seam allowance, reverse lever in convenient spot, easy to use and thread, it has a light.

Cons: Has a bobbin case instead of a drop-in, a full size machine and the heaviest at 15 lbs., no buttonhole function on this model, a faster sewing speed than the other two machines, and variable sewing speed by pressing the pedal which could be hard to coordinate for a beginner while also trying to deal with stitching the fabric.

Whichever machine I buy for Haven, my biggest concern is that it be the best one for her to learn on, I am not as concerned as to whether or not it will grow with her, since there are several excellent full size sewing machines that are well under $100 that she could move on to in a few years time when she is ready. I will be able to give her another one for a present come Christmas or her birthday if that ends up being the case, and the beginner machine can be passed down to Gracen by then, in addition to the numerous other nieces in my family that are also eager to learn. So basically, I’m not worried about getting my moneys worth. And can I also add that being able to watch a video of two of the sewing machines in action was a huge help. Seriously, you would think some of these companies would realize this. So anyways, there you have it.

So, what do you think? Have any opinions on this subject or your own experience learning to sew? I would love to hear it!

I am having a fit over the incredible quilt stuff going on over at ‘Oh Fransson!’. Her stuff is beyond insane, it’s killing me. The colors and fabrics she is using are not helping me either. Her yellows and grays are to die for. And her paintbox quilt? Oh the humanity, I love it! She is having a Paintbox Quilt Along to make one similar to this…

(photo from ‘Whip Up’)

I want to join in so badly right now, but since I am still not finished with my first ‘Quilt Along’ quilt, I probably need to finish that one before I jump into anything else. Maybe I will just have to start putting fabrics aside for these, so at least I know I am ready to start one of these awesome projects at a moments notice. And don’t even get me started on her other quilts. Seriously beautiful. Ugh, I’m going to have to stop fawning over her stuff, the drool is getting out of hand. Don’t believe me? Take a look at her blog, the quilt awesomeness doesn’t stop here.

Having regular Family Home Evenings is a rare thing at our house. Craig and I keep trying, but we often forget or we get overwhelmed with other things and it gets put on the back burner until Monday night rolls around, where we just end up grabbing a dvd for a movie night with the kids and call it good. This is not how we really want to be doing things, but alas, this seems to most often be the way we end up. I wanted this year to be different, so I did a little looking online and found a fantastic lesson plan at ‘Sugardoodle’ for the ENTIRE YEAR of 2010, ready to download and with everything done for me. It’s correlated with the 2010 theme and outline for Sharing Time in Primary, and each lesson includes suggestions for an opening song, scripture, with a lesson and even an idea for a related activity. Genius! This is geared towards the younger set, but I will easily be able to add whatever I would like to include my older kids each week without much problem. I immediately downloaded the entire thing and I am ready to start the new year with a lesson for every single week already at my fingertips. I’m beyond excited at the prospect of being able to follow through with my goal, and I thought this was definitely worth sharing in case anyone else would be interested.

I saw ‘this’ on ‘Lil Blue Boo’ the other day and instantly knew what I want for Christmas. Seriously, this is all I need under the tree. Oh how I love screen printing. I even had a job in a gift shop working on making the screen printed tees they sold. Oh how I loved that job. Never boring. I have wanted for a while now to get my own stuff and do it at home, but screen printing stuff is not cheap, and most of what I came across was either on too large a scale for mass production, or fairly expensive and needing a ton of specialized products in order to use it. Something on a smaller scale for use on projects at home at a decent price looked to me to be non existent. Happily, I was wrong. Look at this little piece of genius…

I even have several ‘Dharma Trading Co.’ catalogs floating around my house somewhere, but I still managed to somehow miss this nifty little kit listed within it’s pages. Not anymore though. And whether or not I get this for Christmas, I am making plans to get myself one of these somehow, because I already have ideas at the ready. Oh the possibilities!

I love to crochet. Especially in the colder months, it’s so fun to have a wooly, yarny project to work on. So when I stumbled across this super cool site a few months ago, I fell instantly in love.

(photo from attic24)

I love her pictures, I love her posts, I love her tips and tricks, I love her crafting, and I especially love, love, love her crochet. Her projects use so many bright, happy colors, and there are so many fun and cool uses of simple and classic patterns. It’s such a treat to stop by her blog, I truly enjoy reading it and I am dying to try out a bunch of her patterns.

And she was also just featured on ‘Whip Up’ with a seriously fun and pretty crochet snowflake tutorial. I just adore these.

Seriously, I could go on and on, but instead I just urge you to check her out. Just know that I am currently setting aside yarn for another afghan project, this one using lots and lots of very bright and cheery colors. Oh the hooky joy!

While at the school Book Fair a few weeks ago, I came across this book titled “That Rabbit Belongs To Emily Brown”. Even though I had never heard of it, nor read it before, I kept coming back to it, it just looked like a good book to me. Finally I gave in and decided to buy it, it appealed so strongly to me with all of it’s cute and quirky illustrations, I felt like I couldn’t lose. But once I got home it was immediately seized by my little ones who made off with it to read for themselves, and it kept getting passed from child to child until I finally found a moment to grab it and sit down to read it for myself. And I absolutely loved it. Hands down one of THE best childrens books I have read in a very long time. Cute story, cute characters, and wonderful illustrations, it is incredibly well done. My kids love it too, and I have been working on making a Stanley for some of my little kidlets to lug around, because everyone needs their own Stanley. I also found that there is another title by this author, “Emily Brown And The Thing” that looks just as wonderful, so I am looking to find a copy to buy presently. Have you read any good childrens literature lately?

I love the fun ideas this site has for Halloween, as well as for other occasions, even just the every day.

So stop by and check it out, there is surely something there to tempt you. The fun Halloween ideas they have are well worth the trip no matter what.

 I’m already planning on making the Candy Corn Pizza for supper on Halloween night, and those monster jaw apple slices are so cool. So much fun!