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Topics - Greybird

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Sewing Machines / In need of a service!
« on: March 06, 2024, 23:16:59 PM »
I bought my Elna Experience 520s during Lockdown and it has been in nearly constant use ever since - I love the machine. It is now though, I think, in need of a service. My problem is that I don't have anywhere nearby that I can get it done. I can use my other machine, Husqvarna Emerald 118, but it doesn't have one step buttonholes. One of the problems with the Elna, I have found this week, is that I sometimes press down on the foot control but nothing happens. It will go when I press it again but the frequency is increasing. Does anyone know enough about foot controls to know what the problem might be? I can get a new foot control for about £40 but don't want to do this if it's a simple thing wrong with it.

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I saw this & I thought you may be interested! / Mantua maker
« on: March 01, 2024, 09:44:34 AM »
I received my regular list of "Hints" from Ancestry yesterday - they send genealogical information that other people have researched that may apply to your own ancestors. This one was a list of people who had been apprenticed in various trades in the 18thc. One of OH's ancestors, Susannah Wheadon of Crewkerne in Somerset, was apprenticed as a Mantua Maker. This meant nothing to me, but apparently:

Mantua | British | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The mantua was a coatlike construction, with sleeves cut in one piece with the back and front. It was pleated at the shoulders and fell to the waist, where it was held in place by a sash. From there it was folded back into a bustle shape and worn over a matching petticoat.

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Tech Know How / MOVED: 1940's house coat renovation project
« on: February 09, 2024, 11:20:54 AM »
This topic has been moved to in the wardrobe].

https://thesewingplace.org.uk/index.php?topic=17035.0

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Just seen  this on the items for sale in Wiltshire. Any use to anyone?

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I saw  this free pattern being offered by The Assembly Line. Might interest someone

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Patterns Discussion / Maison Fauve
« on: November 03, 2023, 13:15:32 PM »
I was prompted to look this company up after @Starryfish (I think?) mentioned them recently. The Ispahan jacket she mentioned is lovely, although I think the cutaway front might emphasise my stomach sticking out! I would have to adapt it. If you subscribe to the site (free) you can watch their tutorials which I have been fascinated by. I have watched 3 now and have learned something from each one - I am going to work my way through all of them. Just the way they go about things is interesting. They are quite long because they show each process thoroughly but you can opt to "watch later" and next time you look at it, it will start from where you left off. I haven't managed to find an English translation (even the subtitles are in French) but its not really necessary. I might even learn some French along the way! I was amused to note that what we call French seams, they called English seams!

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Patterns Discussion / The Assembly Line
« on: September 13, 2023, 14:28:44 PM »
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this company before? I have just been talking to my daughter who is now using her second pattern from them. The paper patterns are quite expensive - there is a V-neck coat pattern I really like which is £22.00 (PDF £17) but she says she likes them enough to want to make them several times which makes it more economical. She says the instructions are excellent and she has learned a lot from using them. I am about to order the coat pattern which I shall make up as a jacket but I think it would also make a good dressing gown @Acorn.

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Fun with Fabric / 10 Good Reasons to Buy Fabric
« on: July 06, 2023, 12:43:29 PM »
Just been given these:

1. It insulates the cupboard where it is kept.
2. It keeps the economy moving. It is my duty to support cotton farmers, textile mills and fabric shops.
3. It is less expensive  and more fun than psychiatric care.
4. I'm taking part in a contest: Who dies with the most fabric wins.
5. It keeps without refrigeration, you don't have to cook it to enjoy it, you'll never have to feed it, change it, wipe its nose or walk it.
6. Because I'm worth it.
7. Like dust, it is good for protecting empty spaces in the house, like the ironing board, the laundry basket and the dining room table.
8. It is not immoral, illegal or fattening, it calms the nerves, gratifies the soul and makes me feel good.
9. Because it is "On Sale".
10. Buy it now, before your husband retires and accompanies you on all your shopping trips.

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This is not mine. Someone I know has a Riccar Reliant 525 available to a good home. It's in beautiful clean condition, complete and with manual and has just been serviced. Has all basic zig zag stitches. I suggested she try and sell it locally but she has no idea what to ask for it. Just putting it on here on the off chance!

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Patterns Discussion / Old Vogue pattern?
« on: May 09, 2023, 13:46:01 PM »
I have just been searching through about 3,000 patterns - out of 14,000 - on Ebay for a Vogue pattern I always intended to buy and somehow never did. Ebay have changed to the "load more" system instead of numbered pages and when I got about 3,000 items in, it decided to flip right back to the beginning. I haven't the time or patience to start again!

Unfortunately I don't know the number of it and I now have just the right fabric for it. I wondered if anyone might recognise it by description and could let me know the number so that I can search for it (or maybe sell it to me?). It was a 3 piece with trousers, a sleeveless (cami?) top and a long sleeved over tunic in translucent fabric with an assymetric neckline. I think it was photographed on an older model with very short grey hair. I think it would have been 5+ years ago, but with the way time flies might have been much more!

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Fun with Fabric / Organza anyone?
« on: November 22, 2022, 08:40:26 AM »
I seem to have promised my neighbour that I would "help" her with a sewing project for her teenage daughter's Christmas present. Her daughter has seen a dress (don't know what or where yet) with an organza overlay. Presumably it's quite expensive and she wants to duplicate it. She has found a suitable dress and she is ordering some organza to make the overlay. I have never used organza and don't really know what to expect from it. Does anyone have any handy hints for using it?

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Publications / Not your grandma's sewing guide
« on: October 15, 2022, 14:00:30 PM »
Amazon have just sent me their advert for this I took a "look inside" as suggested and it doesn't look like any other sewing book I've ever seen. Warning: anyone easily offended by blue language had probably better not look!

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Tech Know How / Ruining the banner!
« on: September 16, 2022, 09:15:57 AM »
@Mr Twingo my avatar and Profile/Unread topics/Mentions that appear on the banner, every so often migrate to the middle of the banner instead of being on the right hand side. This has happened loads of times over the years and eventually go back of their own accord. This has never bothered me until now. I am slightly disturbed that my unworthy image is plonked on top of your lovely royal tribute!

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You may wonder what I'm doing over here......... The October 22 edition of Homes & Antiques magazine has an interesting article about P & Q. There are some pictures of various vintages of lovely  quilts and the article was very informative - at least to me with my lack of knowledge on the subject!

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House Beautiful / The Haines Collection
« on: July 26, 2022, 13:37:42 PM »
I have just come across this company online. They sell not just remnants but also offcuts and longer pieces of designer furnishing fabric which would otherwise end up in landfill. The prices are good - £20 for some remnants - 1.5m x 140cm for example.

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