Out of the Boxes!!

Yeah! The table is finally finished. It was so hard to wait and do the job properly, but I think it was worth it. I think it could only have been better if I had taken it outside to the garage and completely sanded the top down, filled it, sanded it, primed it and sanded again and then applied finish color and then sealed it.

Since I have two of these tables, the second one is going to get done outside! Spray paint smells nasty and if you read the cans, do you really want to be breathing what carries the paint?

A couple days ago ... while filling the holes. Then ...

I shrouded half the room with plastic while I sprayed the color coat over the primer coat. Two thin layers of black to get a good solid coverage. Then let this dry overnight.

Here is the finished table after it's sealer coat. I was so happy to see that plastic go! This is a huge improvement from before. It almost looks like a totally different table. I cannot wait to get the other table here so I can start on it.

And, here is why I spent a week working on the table ... 

And, after giving the body a bit of a break and writing, I am going to sit down with a couple spools of thread, the manual and some cotton fabric. This machine is such a large jump from my Innovis 1000 that I'm going to take my time and learn how to use a lot of it's features.

Then I am going to cut 8x10 squares from the cotton and make a stitch book. A stitch book shows each stitch and then you make variations to that and write down what the settings were for each one. Then you can put them into page protectors in a 3-ring binder. I already have a binder with a custom cover just waiting for me to fill it up.

I have never done this for any of my other machines and it would have never occurred to me to do this until I saw it on a Quilting Arts show. What a good idea. Then when you want to repeat a particular stitch, you open your book and there are the settings for you to enter into your sewing machine.

This machine features a touch screen to set up your stitches. The main screen has a sewing section, embroidery section and one labeled Disney with preloaded Disney images. You can even sew without changing out the embroidery unit. And, no more unthreading the machine for winding a bobbin.

The Dreamweaver also features a knee-lifter, USB cable to connect direct to your computer and two sizes of embroidery hoops with the option to purchase others.

Next I want to get a desk setup to the right where I can put my computer and paperwork. Then I've a cabinet I want to finish and some storage I need to move around.

And, now I'm off to cut fabric squares to start learning!

Laura