Today I'm not just introducing our "Know thy machine" guest - but also hosting her Q/A here on my blog.
Today's guest was the first person I met from the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild (she gave me a ride to my very first meeting!). We have the same name, and you may recognize her work, as we sew together often (to all of you who commented on my {Modern} Robin WIP last week - half that piecing is her work!).
Our guest is the other half of "the Emilies" - Emily Becker Bruzzini! She sews quilts and fabulous kids clothes, and she shares her work on her flickr page. She's been reluctant to start a blog just yet (I think peer pressure is going to win one of these days!). She happens to be cool enough to participate in a blog hop without having a blog!
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Know Thy Machine: Emily Becker Bruzzini
1. What machine(s) do you have? Brand and Model.
I have one sewing machine that I use and it is a Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 850.
2. When and where did you buy it? What were the reasons for selecting this particular model. What was its approximate cost.
I bought my machine at a local dealer which has since gone out of business. When I bought it I went into the shop and wanted to buy a floor model to keep the cost down and so after trying out the ones in the store I liked her the best! I selected the machine because of the large harp. The machine was a floor model so I paid a little more than half the price that I have seen online which is about $1,900.
3. What do you like about your machine? Have you named it? Have you made a cover for it?
I like the large harp on my machine (10”) and the needle position feature, it helps me get my seam allowance just right! There are two lights to help me see what I am working on and it has a nice long free arm for when I am sewing sleeves onto garments and such. I also love that by just tapping the foot pedal I can lower the pressure foot and even the needle and I can lift the pressure foot to different levels to get everything positioned just right.
Her name is Lydia Claire she is named after my maternal grandmother’s grandmother (Lydia) and what my mother would have named my sister if I had one (Claire). I have not made a cover for her but she came with a plastic one and it is pretty nice and sturdy but needs some prettying up.
4. Does your machine give you any problems? Could you tell us a few?
I sometimes have problems when I FMQ with thread getting caught on the lowered feed dogs. I guess I could go and get it checked out but covering them with a bit of template plastic works well!
5. What do you sew on it mainly? Quilts, Clothes, Bags etc. How much time do you spend sewing on it? What are the features of the machine that help you improve your work?
Quilts, kids clothing and pouches I sew a bunch of stuff! I spend between 1 and 2 hours a day sewing sometimes much much more and sometimes less. The needle down and the adjustable needle feature and the button hole are amazing and so easy!
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| Lydia Claire - decorated for Emily's birthday! |
6. What advice would you give others when deciding about which machine to buy?
Think about the features you want and go to a store and test drive some machines.
7. Will you share with us a special memory associated with your machine?
I don’t know if I have any specific special memories except all the good times we spend together sewing and figuring things out, playing with friends (at retreat we are very cliquey with Janice) and making beautiful things for people we love!
8. If you had unlimited resources in the world, which machine would you choose to buy and why?
Oooh that would take so much research! Maybe a Juki, I am jealous of my friend Emily who can go really fast but I also love the quiet of Berninas and then again I like my machine.
