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| I love the little quilting table that came with it, so convenient! :) |
Yes y'all, I have welcomed a new member to my fold. I hadn't planned on getting a new machine for quite some time, but this one sort of fell into my lap (free of charge, I might add!) so I figured I would give it a whirl. Meet the newest member of my sewing machine pack, Little Brother! Little Brother is, you guessed it, a Brother machine. One look at him and it was easy to see that he's smaller and much more complicated than my Kenmore a.k.a First Born. I took to the manual and managed to get it up and running pretty easily, which was a relief. Here's what I've gathered so far from using Little Brother.
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| When I first looked at it, I was like, "The heck are all these pictures and buttons for?!" |
Pros:
- He's quiet! I never realized how loud the First Born was until I sewed on this little guy. Mr. LBC and I were able to watch a movie while I was sewing. Even Mr. LBC pointed out how quiet this machine is! He purrs like a kitten!
- The needle automatically goes down. When I first read about this, I couldn't figure out why this was even a thing. Why would I want my needle to always end up in the down position? One sewing session showed me how nice it is to not worry about making sure my needle is down before lifting the foot. And a simple push of a button lifts the needle to the up-most position.
- Speed regulator. I'll go ahead and admit I'm guilty of getting a little too fast and furious with my sewing machine. I don't know what it is, but there are times I want to sew that seam with the pedal to the floor going 90 mph! I was guilty of this when I first started learning how to throw on the potter's wheel too. I learned quickly that speed isn't always best for the final product (and I might have completely thrashed a few pots along the way to learning that! Lol). With this machine, I have 3 speed caps to choose from. The second setting is a comfortable pace - perfect for keeping those seams straight and fabric lined up while still letting me put my foot to the floor.
Cons:
- He's not a workhorse. I pieced charity quilt blocks with Little Brother to try him out. I made HST's and I noticed he has a little trouble going over groups of seams. I've got to do a little tug and pull to help get him over the hump. I'm used to the First Born tackling plenty of seams and denim with no issues at all, so this was a bit disappointing for me.
- A 1/4 inch seam isn't the default. Silly me assumed it would be and started sewing, only to notice my seam allowances looked a little large. Holy moly, they were huge! I ended up looking to the manual and figuring out how to shift the needle over to create a 1/4 inch seam. The pain in the butt is that I have to shift the needle over EVERY SINGLE TIME I turn my machine on! I'm so forgetful, I'm bound to botch a few seams before it becomes burned into my brain.
- Tiny Throat Space. Although First Born doesn't have an enormous amount of throat space, I've quilted on her without issues related to space. Little Brother was definitely not designed with quilting in mind. I could see piecing a larger top getting cramped towards the end!
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| First Born is happy to be on our dining room table and quilting up a storm right now! :) |
Overall, I like Little Brother. He has helped take some of the workload off of First Born, who, let's face it, isn't a spring chicken anymore. For simple sewing and block construction, I think he'll be my go-to machine, leaving quilting and more complicated sewing for First Born.
What about y'all? Are you a parent to an only sewing machine? Or do you have a brood of machines filling your house?
It's great to have another machine...especially when it's free. Bonus! Good luck playing with Little Brother.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anja! I got so used to having one machine that I never realized how nice having another is! I've set up 2 little sewing stations in the house now so I feel like I can jump into things a lot easier rather than having to set up and break down depending on the project I'm working on. :)
DeleteWelcome Little Brother!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting to have a newbie in the house. ...especially one with purple accents! ;)
Thanks Val! I love getting another baby! Lol. My husband probably thinks I've entered a new level of crazy (not denying it... Heheheh) but it's oh so convenient having two machines set up for specific tasks rather than having to set up for different projects every time I sit down to sew! And I should have known you'd like the purple, it's not like you're biased! ;)
DeleteHow awesome to have a new addition, and a free one at that! Great to have an extension table too. Have fun trying it out. I have a brood of machines, three Pfaff's and three featherweights and an old Singer treadle. I had a larger collection of older machines but sold them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda! Free is definitely nice! I've heard a lot of good things about featherweights, everybody seems to love those machines. As silly as it sounds, I think it would be awesome to learn how to use a treadle machine. I doubt I would ever use it, but it's one of those 'just because' things. :)
DeleteThanks for sharing about your sweet little brother. I have two Janome's and love them both. One is very fancy dancy and I leave it at home. The other is a little less exciting and I bring it on trips and workshops.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa! I find it funny that a lot of people seem to stick with their simpler machines more often than we think. My mother-in-law thinks it's funny that I stick with First Born, especially for quilting. Depending on my project, I think Little Brother will be my traveling machine since he's so light!
DeleteCongratulations!! Little Brother is a cutie and I know you'll be loving him for a long time. Right now I have three machines. The oldest is my Singer that I started quilting on a few years ago so not so old. Then came Stella, a Singer Featherweight that I took to retreat and to quilt guild. The latest is Marion, my workhorse Bernina that I'm totally in love with and just acquired. I hope to find a good home for my "first born".
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer! He is a cutie, I'm already quite fond of him! :) I saw your new Bernina, she's a beauty! I try not to look to close at new machines or I risk drooling a little. LOL. Whenever I replace my First Born, she won't go far. She's been in my husband's family for a long time; I'm the 4th generation she's been handed down to!
DeleteIsn't it exciting to have a new addition to the sewing room? Especially when it arrives without a price tag. The needle down feature is really useful when you're quilting. It keeps your quilt from slipping. You might be able to turn it off... you can on my machine. I have three.. the Singer that my parents gave me as my first machine (I just haven't managed to part with it), the Kenmore that Himself gave me the first Christmas we were together, and my Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0 - my go to machine!
ReplyDeleteIt is exciting Jenn! I was so perplexed by the needle down feature, but after switching between machines, I realize how much time I use turning the wheel to put the needle down. I doubt I'm sewing that much faster because of that feature, but it's certainly convenient! I love how your sewing machines are linked to your family, such good memories tied into them, I'm sure! :)
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