What a lovely room and of course now full of lovely memories.  Your Dad was very talented and skillful - the sewing cabinet does look just like a Horn cabinet.  You say it still has the lift in it, so have you thought of using this for your spare machine - I appreciate that the newer Bernina may not fit in through the opening.  Incidentally I much prefer sewing in the lower position with the plexi around the machine I even use my overlocker this way as well.  I appreciate that you may not have a plexi to fit around your older machine, but you can get these cut by Horn, they have templates of every machine made, the only downfall is the cost of these.  Also a few years ago they offered the opportunity to have a whole blank plexi for your cabinet so that you could use this as a light box.

Please don't go getting rid of your older machine, it really is so handy to have a spare, you never know when you will need this machine, and around here if you take a machine in for a service it could be away for a few weeks.  I also like using different machines, as each has something different to offer.  I have a 1975 Elna SU a machine I bought myself and that has the most marvellous triple straight stitch on it ideal for sewing in sleeves and the trouser crotch seam as it has some give in it.  Then I inherited my mother's 1975 Bernina 830 Record, and strangely this does not have this fabulous triple straight stitch and is limited to just 20 utility or decorative stitches whereas my Elna has loads and loads of decorative and utility stitches obtained through drop in discs.  I also love corded buttonholes and used to do these on the Bernina 830, and they are easy to do.  Then I bought a Bernina Artista with its embroidery unit, and now prefer to do my buttonholes on this as it is computerised and can repeat buttonhole after buttonhole effortlessly when all the sensors are kept clean.  The Artista also has the facility to stitch out a wider pattern being a 9mm width whereas the two older machines have a limited width.  I use all my machines a lot, and have three out at the moment.

Enjoy your little place of tranquility I am sure you will spend many happy hours in there, and as for the wallpaper that is gorgeous.  Love the shelf units too - what a find - and well done you on persevering with the painting of them.

Jessie, in machine knitting knitting a few rows in scrap yarn is just that, and to separate this from the real yarn we use something called a nylon cord, you just knit a row with this nylon cord and when that row is complete just start knitting with your garment yarn and whenever you are ready pull the cord out and the scrap yarn drops away.  Now because you are hand knitting I presume you are going to have to cast on again after the row with a nylon cord otherwise you will have raw open stitches unless a hem is being created.

This nylon cord is brilliant, usually came in white but you could also sometimes get some pastel colours.  Do you have any places that still sell machine knitting equipment near you?  Otherwise it means a mail order unless anyone on here has a spare nylon cord.  Metropolitan in Nantwich Cheshire  is a huge machine knitting place.  Whilst I have plenty of cords I cannot even get to them without emptying my room of sewing cabinets, boxes and boxes of fabrics, patterns etc.  On top of my knitting cabinet I have two very long and heavy boxes stuffed full of paper stuff all related sewing items, I don't even think I could lift the box.  So fingers crossed someone on here has a spare one that you could have.

I am another one who remembers the lovely Flower Fairies, they are timeless really and so pretty.  Stitches well done on making such a beautiful quilt, I am sure your recipient will be delighted to receive this.

Somewhere I have the Christmas Fairy which was made into a little wall hanging by my sister, and of curse this comes out each Christmas.

UttaRetch sound like a good idea with your doors, why waste them, and what a difference this will make and of course a great addition to your sewing room.  By the way I know I am late, but it is nice to have you back and I see that you have moved.  Hope your new home is just what you wanted and that you are getting it just how you want it to be.  Now here is to happy sewing and lots of it.

A very long time ago on the old forum I remember Hevsi posting something available from Morplan that you rolled along and it measured curves and that sort of thing - cannot remember exactly what it was called - and it sounded an excellent idea and I wish I had bought it then and there.

Well this week I am in the process of making up four identical tops all cut from my own pattern, first top - sleeves went in with no problem.  Second top the sleeves particularly the sleeve head is coming up too gathered for my liking, and I have ground to a halt.  Then I remembered something Surefit Designs had and were offering a while ago and it is called a Rollbe, it is a natty little hold in your hand wheel (20cm) that you can roll around any curve you like, and it has just arrived in the post this morning - I used Surefit's UK supplier Judith Johnson who is based near Banbury.

So once I have managed to get myself showered and ready to face the day I shall put this through its paces.  Believe it or not I have tried measuring using the tape measure standing on its side, also using a flexible ruler and  I keep on getting different measurements, so I am hoping that this Rollbe will sort that out for me.  Whilst I can afford to lose some surplus fabric in the sleeve head, I really do not want to lose any in the circumference of the body of the sleeve as I have had an enormous amount of trouble to make this sleeve wide enough to go around my arm and then creating a sleeve head that fitted beautifully into an armhole that I also created.  I am putting the difficulties down to my using a thicker cotton fabric than the first top which was a poly cotton, however I have two more poly cottons to set the sleeves in.

If anyone is interested in this Rollbe do go and look this up on Surefit Designs website - and yes having their representative here in the UK is a great help.  I only ordered this on Thursday and Judith said she would put it in the post on Friday so fingers cross it would arrive today which it has - so excellent service.

So my task today is to get on with my six sleeves and get these tops all finished and put away so that I can move on to something else.

I, too, recorded this and have only recently caught up with it - absolutely fascinating but I agree with the others I would not like to be on a production line sewing the same things day after day and so many per day - I much prefer making a garment totally from scratch.  It as an interesting story seeing how the fabric was dealt with from the beginning and then through all the various processes to the completion of the jacket but the noise levels were horrendous.

Wrenkins are these the mugrugs that you have made - they are absolutely gorgeous.