Yay! My first sewing machine came today!

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The sewing machine was my birthday present and it arrived today. I'm going to take it slow, though, because I haven't touched a sewing machine since I was 16 (13 years ago!  ).

I've read through the tips and FAQ's, but any tips or tricks I might have missed would be great!  This sites sure sucks up a lot of my time. 

[Cookn]

Happy Birthday! It's like riding a bicycle, it'll come back to you.

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Thanks, I'm sure you're right. 

[amazing_784]

Congratulations on the new machine!
If you don't find any tips/tricks, I know the Singer sewing series of books are really useful.  My grandma has the whole set, and although they are from the late 80's-early 90's, there is good information that isn't style-specific.  There is one book dedicated to just fabrics and threads, and which ones to use for which project.  There is also a lot of different methods, such as different seaming techniques, as well as buttonholing and other things. 
I found an example of one of the books on amazon, but I couldn't find the whole series.  Hopefully you can track them down, they are infinitely useful, since they have good instructions and very clear pictures.  http://www.amazon.com/New-Sewing-Essentials-Singer/dp/0865733082

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Thanks so much! That'll be very helpful.