Very ambitious first sweater!  Great job!

One of my favorite pastimes is checking out all the projects here.  I feel like a jerk-face because I never contribute, but that ends today.

Behold my marvelous hat and weep over its beauty!  




Link to pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/molly-9

ETA: Of course I can't figure out how to post pictures here.  Great.  I'll go back to lurking now, lol.

Thank you!  They sure keep this information hush hush, eh?  It's madness.

It is a Janome Rx-18s

I just recently bought my first sewing machine.  I researched and researched and researched and figured I wanted at least a few things in my machine. 

A few things I looked for:

Adjustable stitch length - handy if you'll be sewing with a lot of different fabrics
Ability to lower feed dogs - in case I want to learn free motion quilting
A machine with at least a couple stretch stitches - I heart cotton jersey
A free arm - for hemming, it's a bitch enough already
Adjustable speed - so I can floor it on the straight parts and slow down around curves as needed
A full sized heavy machine - so it doesn't bounce around
A newish machine - so it wouldn't be a total pain to get parts if something happened

Then I listened to everyone's advice about getting a first machine, took my wants with me to a local sewing machine store, and checked out what used machines they had in stock.  They happened to have something that fit all my wants at a price I couldn't pass up.  If I can't figure something out, I can take it in and the lady will teach me how to do it.  Anytime.  For free.  Amazon won't do that. 

So that's my advice.  Read about things you think you might like to do.  See what features make that possible/easy.  Then head to a brick and mortar store.  Sit, sew, talk, ask questions, learn, and hopefully buy if you find something you're comfortable with. 

PS, that Brother machine is available at Wal-Mart for the same price.

My Google-fu is failing me.  What size bobbins do Janome machines use?  It looks like they all use the same one, but it doesn't mention the size (like so - http://www.amazon.com/Janome-Sewing-Embroidery-Machine-Bobbins/dp/B001UCN48M/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326782597&sr=8-2-spell).  Neither does my manual.     Is it just a straight up class 15?  I have an RX-18s if does matter.

Thanks!

Let's rock! 
This rocks!

Awesome.  What sort of ease (hips, thighs, waist) should we shoot for with these?

I saw the thumbnail and choked on my tea from laughing.    Thanks.  I have to take up cross stitching so I can have one too.

This is fantastic!