Friday 1st February, 2025
... SCHOOL’S BACK! ...
I did a lot of this reminiscing this week as I was ‘mending’ or actually replacing trims on some ‘shoulder pad strap protectors’ for both Ambah and Leo’s school laptop bags.
A lot different to when I went to school – slates and slate pencils in Year One!! … As they both have the same backpacks and laptop bags, and keep them in the ‘nook’ together at the front of the house, I had made fabric ‘patches’ for them to be able to quickly tell them apart. That was two years ago … and fast forward to this week … they were looking rather faded and shabby! So out came the quick unpick, and I replaced the trims, and made an extra one each for them out of denim, trimmed the same for their backpacks. Here’s the last minute sewing I did!! Leo decided he wanted the same fabric, and Ambah chose something ‘arty’ for hers – she loves to draw! Leo started Year 5 and Ambah Year 11 – they are growing up waaaay too fast!
When I was growing up in North Queensland and going to school during the 60’s and 70’s, life seemed full of certainies. End of year breakup in December, along with watermelon and iceblocks in the Primary School years was followed the next day by a road trip down to Yeppoon for our annual beach holiday with Grandparents, Cousins, Aunties and Uncles. Pretty sure that’s where my love of the beach and picnics comes from!
After a long Christmas holiday break of usually 6 weeks or so, we piled back into the car and headed back home, usually listening in on the car radio to RACQ road reports – it was our ‘wet season’ and often the creeks rose and flooded the Bruce Highway, meaning a slower trip back home, returning just before school started again.
So, school went back this week here in Queensland, and it reminded me of all the times I looked forward to new books, pencils, school bags and lunchboxes when, all those years ago, I was the student and not the parent, or grandparent. Mum must have been super organised to have it all done before we went away.
Times sure have changed (how many times do we say that??), books and supplies get ordered on-line and delivered to the door a few days before they are needed, and the uniform style and type of school bags have changed just as much. We had ‘school ports’ which were like a hard compressed cardboard, painted with a sealer on the outside. The ‘backpack’ of the era! We used to cover all our books in brown paper, add pictures from magazines, and searched out the best one for the front of our ‘ports’. This is a photo of me and my three brothers, Keith, Trevor and Neale as we lined up (in birth order hehe) for the ‘inevitable first day of school photo’ my Mum used to take, often the last day photo was taken too! The photo is from January 1968, my youngest brother Neale’s first day in Grade 1. I would have been going into Grade 3.
This next one is I think towards the end of that same year as we still had our West Mackay State School uniforms on, and we’d all grown somewhat! (Last day of school photo!) My hat’s looking a bit shabby there too … (We moved to Townsville in 1969 and all went to Hermit Park State School for a few years.)
Last ‘school oldie’ photo is going into Grade Seven for me at South Townsville State School (gosh, Keith had a briefcase – Pimlico High Year 9 for him) and that’s the first year I made my own school uniforms – seems I liked them short!! – I was 11 going on 12 in the April, and yes, they included buttonholes, collar, capped sleeves and a covered belt. Mum had a Singer 319K which I loved to sew on whenever I could! (Cheeky hankie peeking out of the embroidered chest pocket – which you used to buy ready made from the Tuckshop!) … must have been in a hurry that morning … we are out of ‘birth order’ haha
Oh, and yes we are a ‘tall family’, hard to find a recent photo of us all together in the 35,797 photos in my phone’s ‘Recent Album’, but here’s one of us all grown up about 25 years ago – I call this my ‘short photo’ – I’m actually 6’ tall and my brothers all are a lot taller than me – Trev’s the tallest at 6’ 9”
End of reminiscing for a bit, I’ve got to get this blog written and scheduled to publish in just an hour and a half! I’m off to the Gold Coast later today to celebrate Master Bobby’s 2nd Birthday … more about that next week!
PS … and a big shout out and thanks to brother Keith and his wife Robyn for finding those classic old school pics amongst Mum’s stash of photos they are the ‘guardians’ for.
... Did You Know? ...
Finding new ‘stuff’ to chat about in this segment is getting harder each week … well, that’s what I tell myself! Then, as I’m sewing along in The Studio, something comes up and I jot notes down ready for the next Blog Post. It’s just finding that note when I need it is a problem at times.
More About Needles
This week, as the feet were all non-Stick versions of feet I have already covered in the Blog, there were no samples as such to stitch out, however I wanted to add some information relating to these feet that might help you when you are sewing with them. Of course, the first thing I always consider when stitching, is which needle I should be using, and then it’s all about which foot would best suit the fabric/purpose.
I’ve spoken about needles before in this Blog, and in particular Denim/Jeans Needles, which used to be my ‘needle of choice’ for sewing vinyls, and my ‘second choice’ would be the Microtex Needle. However, several years ago, Schmetz came out with a new needle – the Super NonStick which is a Universal Needle with a reinforced blade, extra wide eye, deep scarf, and a slightly rounded point. The eye corresponds to a needle two sizes larger (i.e. the 70/10 NonStick eye is similar to a size 90/14 regular Universal eye). The anti-adhesive coating resists sticky stabilizers, fusibles, and adhesives, making it an ideal choice when stitching through vinyls and stick-on Velcro strips. According to the Schmetz information, they are also recommended for “… machine embroidery, machine appliqué, multi-media quilting, oilcloth and splash fabric”. They are available in sizes 70/10, 80/12, 90/14 and 100/16.
I bought a few packets back when they were first available, and as I found they really made a difference, and perform very well, I now have a stash of these in my needle box for all those ‘sticky situations’ that come up regularly!
Latest Machine Updates
I do check often on the Bernina Website for any newly released Firmware Updates that might be relevant for machines in The Studio, and I recommend that you do that as well. It is ideal to have the latest Update installed on your machine for optimized performance in all areas of sewing.
It is an easy task to perform and I wrote about it earlier when we chatted about Foot #10 – here’s a quick link back to that post …
Since that post I have bought my new B990 and the information is just a little bit different, however for those who also own this machine, it is all covered in the B990 Firmware-Update Installation Instruction on the Bernina Website. Here’s a link to the Support Page for B990 –
Just walk your way through the steps one at a time … it’s easy!!
... Sticky Solutions ...
Non-Stick Feet #52/52C/52D, #53, #54 and #56
All of the above presser feet correspond to uncoated feet * and are used for the same techniques as detailed in previous Blog posts. Refer back to individual Blog posts for samples stitched out, and information re ‘anatomy’ of the feet.
#52/52C/52D – same techniques and settings for Zigzag Foot #0 and Reverse Pattern Fot #1/1C/1D
#53 – any straight stitch technique using Centre Needle Position (*like discontinued Foot #13)
#54 – same techniques and settings for Zipper Foot #4/4D and Zipper Foot with Guide #14D
#56 – same techniques and settings for Open Embroidery Foot #20
Options available for the feet – They are all available in a regular version suitable for all models. #52 is available as a ‘C’ version for 9mm machines and a ‘D’ version designed for 9mm models equipped with the Dual Feed function.
... This Week’s Foot Highlights or Challenges ...
As there were no samples to write about this week, I thought I’d add in some links to articles featuring these feet when stitching with difficult fabrics. Each author will have their own take on which needle they prefer, and ways of handling the material under the machine.
Major considerations I believe are the needle as I mentioned earlier, thread, stitch selection, stitch length, presser foot pressure, and how to keep layers together before stitching i.e. no pins! No different really to how we ‘problem solve’ each sewing task, except chose your foot within this week’s non-stick selection.
Enjoy reading along – We All Sew has some great articles/projects! (all photos from the Web page)
... A Little Reminder ...
Bernina’s Accessory of the Month January 2025 *
is Foot #29C for easy free-motion quilting, outline and stipple quilting – today and tomorrow are the last days to secure your 20% off – contact your preferred Bernina Dealer for this fabulous offer. New Accessory of the month next week …
*Australia and New Zealand Promotion Only – ends 1st February 2025 …
Chat again next Friday,
