New Machine!!

Week off work!! Woke up fairly early today so that I could drive to J&B Sewing Machine Co in Newport and pick up a new machine - the Janome DXL603. Was all very exciting - which was just as well because I needed something to look forward to while driving there (I always get flustered in Newport and find it really hard to navigate for some reason).

Anyway, it was worth the wait. The salespeople were lovely and even though it was quite busy there I wasn't waiting too long. There was an 8 year old girl being bought her first machine, which was really lovely to see. Her Gran had rung last week to ask which machine they recommended and had also managed to negotiate a little off the asking price!

I had a thorough demonstration of the newer features of the DXL603, as I have previously used a Janome CXL301 which is a cheaper version of the machine with slightly less features. My machine is currently on offer until May 30th so I had it for £349 instead of £399, with a free quilting pack which includes an extension table, walking foot, 1/4 seam foot and three others. I'm yet to play with those feet although I used a 1/4 seam foot when making the tote bag in a class recently.

Here are an awful lot of photos of the new addition! Sorry, but I wanted to record details such as tension dial settings etc. and compare it to my old machine.

These are the 5 extra feet included in the quilting pack. The walking foot retails for £40 according to the salesperson. I'm also very grateful for the inclusion of the 1/4 seam foot as I found it very useful before and is around £10-15 in different shops. The extension table will probably be the most used item in the pack, however I have been buying fabric with the intention of making a quilt over the last year or two, so watch this space!

The instruction manual is very clear, easy to follow and full of helpful information - totally different to my old machine's manual! The extended warranty extends the warranty from 2 to 5 years, for £60. I'll probably be doing that, but I need to wait to see what my funds will allow. 

These are the accessories included with the machine. There's a 4th bobbin already in the bobbin holder. The machine doesn't have two spool holders built onto it (like my old one), but has an additional one that can be inserted into a square hole located at the right hand side of the top of the machine. This allows a second reel of thread to be used if I wanted to use a double needle, or if I wanted to wind a bobbin without un-threading the machine.

It's a really simple thing, but I LOVE the thread cutter built into the side of the machine. Makes it so much simpler because I'm forever hunting for my thread scissors.

New Janome DXL603 on the left, EnR Classic (Toyota import) on the right. Both machines are similar in size, however the EnR is slightly heavier. 

The Janome curves backwards more, which gives the impression of it being a larger machine than it is. They are similar size width. 

Guess I can't blame the machine for wonky lines of stitching any more! This baby will take fabric through in straight lines, as opposed to my old EnR machine which liked to curve fabric to the back left as I was sewing. The only time that was ever good was hemming a full circle skirt!

I had a fun afternoon messing around with some of the different stitches and feet. The engineering that has gone into the overcasting foot astounds me! I love watching the needle dance over the two metal prongs! Pretty sad really... I also love how simple the machine is to use, lovely fabric feed, no thread jams at the start of each line of sewing. It's super quiet - Craig has commented that he couldn't tell that I was using it. Turns out he could hear the old machine despite him being downstairs and behind a closed door!

Happy girl today :)

Zipper Pouch

Following on from the tote bag I made in TSB last week, I decided to watch the Craftsy class on reversible tote bags & zipper pouches. I signed up to Craftsy about 2-3 years ago but this is the first time I've actually used it! The class was really easy to follow and it was nice to see people's comments, showing pictures and asking questions.

I was watching the class in bed (lazy Sunday lie in!) at my parents house, and once we got back home to ours I waited a polite amount of time before excusing myself and locking myself in the spare room with my sewing machine.

I've not used a normal zipper before - I'm not even sure what its called? I've only used invisible zips before for the dress & a skirt that I started making 3 years ago and doubt I will ever wear/finish. I only had an 8 inch zip so reduced the pouch width by 1 inch, but I needed to redo the left side as there was a gap showing to the right of the zip stopper. I sewed the seam around 0.5cm closer then trimmed off the excess. 

On the whole I'm pretty pleased with this, it was quick and easy. I should probably elongate my stitches for next time, rather than using a 2mm width. I had a lot of issues with thread jams though, I'm glad the bag is lined! 

I've been looking at buying a new sewing machine and I'm thinking of taking the plunge and going for the Janome DXL603. I want to try it first though, but it's currently on offer for £349 rather than £399, with an extension table & quilting feet thrown in for free. It's very expensive, but I'd rather upgrade to something with room to grow into, than buy a £150 machine which I then have to replace again in a few years time.