Damn Pesky Machines - Or why not to loan sewing machines to non-sewers

[mireneh]

To all those with the sewing machine/crafting woes (hahaha - didn't know I could rhyme this late!), I'm sorry you've had to deal with the frustrations.  It does make me glad that my family can fully admit they are not crafty nor handy - of course the downfall.....they ask me to make it, fix it, embellish it.  My list just gets longer and longer and now it's spreading to friends of relatives!  If anyone broke anything in my craft room - there would be blood spilt (and it won't be mine!).

[Knit_core]

in my family, we have three sewing machines and a serger, all in one house.  From time to time I have lent out my machine, because it's a piece of crap, anyway, and I don't sew very often, myself.  I have noticed, of late, when I'm using my machine, and my mom is in the room, that she sort of winces at the sound of my machine.  It concerns me, but she never tells me whats wrong with it.  She's worked at a fabric store for the last 10 years, my sister took all the fashion classes at our community college, and even my dad knows how to sew, so I don't have much to worry about with the family, and most of my friends are scared of the sewing machine.   

[PurpleHeather]

Oy - loads of people with scary sewing machine stories!  My mum is still complaining that the overlocker doesn't work for her, even though I've now fixed it, but she now doesn't want to borrow it!

On the subject of having many machines, this Friday I'm loading up my little Corsa boot with my embroidery machine, overlocker and elna ironing press, going to my friend's house to pick up her sewing machine and overlocker, then off to another friend's house for a weekend of sewing goodness, where there will be at least 2 other sewing machines, plus a lass doing beading.  That house is going to hum!

[shewolf]

Heh, my husband knows nothing about sewing. I went with my mom to get grandma (14 hour drive) and I come home and he'd been using it. Made me a small drawstring bag for my gaming dice. He even figured out how to embroider my initals. He figured out how to change stitches (even using the little doodads that you have to switch in the top!) and the stitch length on his own!

He even was smart enough to NOT take fabric that was untouched - he got some of the pretty scrap I had saved for "something".

He's proven he's trustworthy. Luckily mom has her own machine ( which I returned when I got mine) and my MIL has her own (2 standard and a professional) and she doesn't mind if I use her Serger (I know enough to not break it!).

But no, none of my sisters-in-law would come near my machine. They have a mom to beg

[housewife]

LOL I borrowed my moms so often when I was first married that I ended up get one as a gift!!  Surprise.  Hubby bought me a computerized sewing machine that he uses too!  He made a logo for his Venture companyand put it on shirts for every one.  He even made me a "scouting widow" shirt!!  He thinks he is so funny.  Now the youngest wants to learn but no way is he touching the new machine.  The old kenmore 12 stitch is still going so I guess I will tell them it is that or the treadle!!  I sure hope no one is eyeing the serger after all I've read I don't think any one can use that machine either!!!

[ClauRose]

 In my family all the women sew supper good, but they were taught how to very young except for me!! (hehehe) I was the rebel and never learned to sew or cook or clean house.  But I finally got to trying it now since i;m a a stay at home mommy now (was working 3 job's before; 1 fulltime and 2 part-timer's before)

But I use my mom's machine since I don't own one. All i did was ask and she said "yeah sure", I got no instructions or couching or anything. But so far on my first try I made a quilt 4ft by 6ft for my friends new baby girl. Took me a month!!! But she loved it and has it as her display piece in her little one's nursery ( I asked her ahead what the theme was for the room and I lucked out, all the colors matched her wall's and decor). I made another quilt after that for another friend who is still expecting, but her's only took me 2 days. Now I'm working on a dress for my little one due to arrive in 3 more month's and am planning to make my hubby a bean bag chair also.   .... And I've yet to break her machine. But hopefully i wount have to borrow her machine much longer I asked my bro to get me a sewing machine for my birthday this year (he never knows what to get me so I always have to tell him what I want).

But I'm glad to have read this thread, I never thought about how bad it is to lend people your sewing machine. I'm still thankfull my mom trust me with her's but now I am seriously thinking twice about borrowing it again. The thought had never came to my head that there would be a chance of me breaking it.

Anyway sorry for those of you who had bad experiences with lending out your machines. But I still want to say Thankyou too cuss, thanks to people like you people like me can now sew.

[Kuolema Nox]

I've tried to teach Mutter to sew but she just asks me to sew anything she needs done. It's fair enough, really; she has so much work to do she doesn't have enough time to learn.

[befffff]

i totally get what all of you mean!

I am taking textiles GCSE(making a ballgown from sustainable,recyled,or charity shop clothing) and it makes me want to cry when the class gets machines out.i feel our teahcers pain too.people thread them terribly then knot them and keep sewing and i ALWAYS have to untangle them cos they think miss will flip out if she sees 

and they like to have 'races'.basically they put their foot down and laugh till the thread jumps off its peg thing.they do this with threaded or unthreaded machines.and no fabric.

and none of them can sew

school machines are all broken in some way

i am getting a machine of my own(hopefully) tomorrow so currently i use mums.it belonged to great gran who gave it to my gran who gave it to my mum.it is a singer and it is from when they first converted machines to electricity!(great granny was loaded  ) it is wonderful but broken.and i am halfway thru a dress....


grrr.......
xx

[Valiqa]

>.< I couldn't ever lend someone my machine.

I think my sewing machine is to me what a car is to many a guy.

[klum78]

Luckily most of the people in my life do not feel this way.  I have borrowed 3 machines from three different people.  I do know how to sew but I didn't when I was using my MIL's machine.  Thankfully it is a beast and can take pretty much anything.  However for the 1st year, I was sharing it with my SIL and whenever I would get it back from her, the tension was always weird.  I'd always ask her about it and she's swear she never even used the machine while she had it.  I think my three nieces were playing with it while she wasn't looking.
In fact earlier this week MareMare came over and brought her Serger with her.  I made a pair of pants and a hat while she was here.  So nice!