Disboutiquers Part 29 Kids Disney Boutique / Customs Clothes psst..we sew ;-)

[RMAMom]

I love the aprons posted above, so cute with the red check and gingerbread men!

Sarah~ Everything looks great and the bags were a great idea!

Diane~ I've had you and your husband in my thoughts and prayers today. I'll check in later and see if you've had a chance to update us.


I finished the aprons for my grandchildren, please excuse the half naked mannequin!

For Emily

[/IMG]

For Edward

and this looks wonky because the mannequin is a size 4-6 and the vest is size 6 months. Its for Gus Gus to wear to Christmas Eve Mass

 

[pyrxtc]

If you're ready for picture overload, here is everything I worked on last week.

First up a small purse for my 10 year old niece. She is a girly girl and her dad is in the Air Force so I thought the fabric was fitting for her.
front

Next up is the same style bag for my 14 year old step-niece. I don't know her very well but my SIL told me her favorite color is balck and she is into skateboarding. I couldn't find a skateboarding fabric that I liked that wasn't too kiddish but I thought this would work and also adds a little color.
front

Next up I made a casserole holder for each family.
SIL's

Last, my SIL sent me a picture of a tote bag and asked if I could do it. It looked pretty easy so I agreed to help her. Then she told me she wanted to make 23 of them for all her gifts this year so Saturday we spent ALL day doing these, it was fun though so I can't complain too much.
Here's a few of them.

And yes, I made my own gift from her, she did take it with her to wrap up though to I have something to open on Christmas!

I like the purses, I think the girls will like them too. The black is very cool looking. The casserole dish holders are something I've looked at but haven't got it into my head to make yet.

I like the way you used the store bags and made them look fun.

I haven't sewn at all since my vacation. I have to sew tomorrow because my husband bought pants that are way too long and I am now in a self debate over whether or not to move the zipper up so he can still use them or just to finagle it myself and make stoppers out of thread at the end. They are wind pants. Zippers on the bottom outside of each leg. I have to make them about 4 inches shorter so they fit him. UGH !

I made a find shopping on Saturday though. This bed cover caught my eye, for only $6.

I got it at Saver's. I think that's where I got those curtains too. Maybe someone is getting too old for princesses ??

Looks like they came from the same room. Now to decide if I let my friend buy the blanket from me ???? I should make her buy the curtains then too right ?? I paid $4 for them I think. So it would be $10 for the set.

 

[sewmess]

I also made a growth chart as a baby gift (they already have 2 other children so I thought it would be used by all children):

I loved everything, but I have to comment on something. I have a bad habit of scrolling through, looking at pictures and not necessarily catching who the poster is. However, I can identify the closet you use to display your goods and know who it is posting. I just don't know about myself sometimes.

Seeing all the aprons on here makes me want my friend's kiddos to be big enough to want to help out in the kitchen...the eldest of them all is only 18 months.

Here's another head smacker: I whipped up an AG Doll outfit Friday and forgot to take pictures before I gifted it. *sigh*

 

[aboveH20]

(Old dog here, trying to learn a new trick. After first post froze, Plan B is typing in Microsoft Word. Let’s see if I can figure out how to do this.)

I don't have that fabric, but I am curious if you have a pattern or a tutorial for the bag. I got all the "ingredients" to make them but I am not smart enough to figure out how to loop the straps through. I did a search for tutorials and they all say to sew the straps on the bottom. I got grommets and the tool to do them, so I would prefer that.

Okay, this is probably more than you wanted to know, but here goes.

I don't have a pattern, I based mine off of a Disney one I had. Basically 17" wide and 18" tall.

Four tips:
1. Put a loop on it to make it easy to hang up. I don't think I'd hang it if it were really heavy, but otherwise it's convenient to have.

2. Put a ring on the side, better yet, one of each side. I had a hand sanitizer bottle hanging from my bag for our last trip -- very convenient.

(The bags I made for the Big Give had the Mickey head rings and I made little tags with their initials.)

3. Include a zippered pocket.

And, then get a see through pencil case to put in it for your little stuff. (I should add that I don't carry a purse when I'm traveling. I have a "vacation wallet" that I carry in my front pocket, and then I put other purse stuff in the pencil case -- tissues, phone, mini first aid kit, pen, etc. It makes it so easy to pull the pencil case out and see everything.) In the main bag part I put a folded up sweatshirt, poncho, umbrella, etc. Can you tell I've been to Disney a few times during cold, rainy weather!

 
4. After putting in the grommet I like to sew off the corner so there’s less stress on the grommet.

Okay, I think your question was about how to do the strings.

You’ll need two strings. To determine how long to make them, double the string over and measure roughly the length and width. (see photo)

You’ll need two

One goes in and out the left side and the other goes in and out the right side.

Insert each pair through a grommet and tie.

Voila. The world's best traveling companion. I love how since it's lightweight it can be easily folded up and put away, but when pressed into service holds a fair amount of stuff.

Your turn to make one.

 

[goteamwood]

(Old dog here, trying to learn a new trick. After first post froze, Plan B is typing in Microsoft Word. Let’s see if I can figure out how to do this.)

Okay, this is probably more than you wanted to know, but here goes.

I don't have a pattern, I based mine off of a Disney one I had. Basically 17" wide and 18" tall.

Four tips:
1. Put a loop on it to make it easy to hang up. I don't think I'd hang it if it were really heavy, but otherwise it's convenient to have.

2. Put a ring on the side, better yet, one of each side. I had a hand sanitizer bottle hanging from my bag for our last trip -- very convenient.

(The bags I made for the Big Give had the Mickey head rings and I made little tags with their initials.)



3. Include a zippered pocket.

And, then get a see through pencil case to put in it for your little stuff. (I should add that I don't carry a purse when I'm traveling. I have a "vacation wallet" that I carry in my front pocket, and then I put other purse stuff in the pencil case -- tissues, phone, mini first aid kit, pen, etc. It makes it so easy to pull the pencil case out and see everything.) In the main bag part I put a folded up sweatshirt, poncho, umbrella, etc. Can you tell I've been to Disney a few times during cold, rainy weather!




4. After putting in the grommet I like to sew off the corner so there’s less stress on the grommet.

Okay, I think your question was about how to do the strings.

You’ll need two strings. To determine how long to make them, double the string over and measure roughly the length and width. (see photo)

You’ll need two

One goes in and out the left side and the other goes in and out the right side.

Insert each pair through a grommet and tie.

Voila. The world's best traveling companion. I love how since it's lightweight it can be easily folded up and put away, but when pressed into service holds a fair amount of stuff.

Your turn to make one.

Thanks for the instructions. I think that will help. I was mostly confused about the strings. I thought it was all one big long piece and could not figure out how it looped around. Maybe I'll take a break from apron making and try to make one while the info is fresh. Thank you so much!

 

[nannye]

Hey everyone with PE770's...
I have the instruction book and I am looking for some other resources on learning the PE770. Any youtubes videos or tutorials, directly related to the PE770 or what you found helpful would be really appreciated.
Thanks
Erin

 

[PurpleEars]

I just made cookies with just me and my kids and that was mess enough! One of them swiped the remainder of a bag of M&Ms and left a trail of them all the way to his room where he was trying to hide. He says M is his favorite letter now!

The bowling shirts are great, I have never done a solid color throughout, I like that. And I think they will love their names on it, I read that they never have anything with their names, so that is great you added that.

I finished 2 of my kids aprons I am working on for our playgroup christmas party/cookie decorating thing next tuesday. I ONLY have 12 more to do. Luckily they are pretty easy now that I have figured out how I want them to go together. I got dish towels at IKEA on clearance, they were big enough to cut half to make two aprons, which you can see are plenty big on the 2-3 year olds they are intended for. So each apron was only $1 in dishtowels, and the rest is on-hand stuff. I need more elastic though, so that will be a little more expense. But mostly it is just labor. The gingerbread people stitch out quickly and easily, though, I am sure I can get them all done before tuesday morning.



(they took turns wearing the same one since the other one didn't have the straps on yet before they were in bed.) Can't keep working on them though, I am out of RED embroidery thread. 'Tis not the season to run out of red thread!

Well the cookie baking was a little bit of a baby sitting exercise for me as DH's sister-in-law has never made cookies in her life and her attention span isn't exactly the longest. She got tired of rolling out cookies so she just left the dough sitting on the counter. I came across the pile of dough a few minutes later and she just simply shrugged and said "I got tired of doing them." At least baking with kids have the cuteness factor to go with it.

Thanks for your compliment on the bowling shirts. I can understand the kids' disappointment when it comes to having things with their names on it. It is hard enough for me to find things with my name! At least I can say I have the same name as one of the Disney characters (and my parents had no idea that they chose a Disney character's name).

The aprons look great. I hope you got more red embroidery thread so you can continue working on them.

If you're ready for picture overload, here is everything I worked on last week.

And both bags together

Next up I made a casserole holder for each family. One of my SIL's mom is coming too so I also made one for her. For these I used Flora's idea and used batting so whatever you put inside will stay warm! My one SIL and her mom are always cooking so I think they will use them and my other SIL bakes alot and is always bringing treat into her work so I thought she could use hers for that.

SIL's

Her mom's

My other SIL

Last, my SIL sent me a picture of a tote bag and asked if I could do it. It looked pretty easy so I agreed to help her. Then she told me she wanted to make 23 of them for all her gifts this year so Saturday we spent ALL day doing these, it was fun though so I can't complain too much. I ended up enlisting my mom to help too so we pulled her machine out of storage and set it up at my house so we had 2 machines going and SIL cut and ironed all the fabric. She bought reusable tote bags from the grocery store. Then we went to Joann's and picked out fabric to match everyone she wanted to make a bag for. We cut 2 pieces of fabric for each side of the bag and sewed them on the bags to cover the store logo. We made them pockets so we stitched the top to make the seam and ironed the seam allowance on each side and then topstitched them onto each bag. On the more special ones I sneaked out my Christmas present and embroidered names onto the bags. I think they turned out really well and will most likely use this idea for teacher gifts from now on. SIL is a teacher and hinted it would be a great gift for teachers. You could easily do several of them ahead of time and whenever you need a hostess gift or something like that you would already have them ready and turned out to be really inexpensive. 99 cents for the bag and around a $1 for each fabric, 1/3 of a yard was enough for 2 bags.

Here's a few of them.

And yes, I made my own gift from her, she did take it with her to wrap up though to I have something to open on Christmas!

The bags, casserole carriers, and the tote bags look great! I like the fabrics you chose for the casserole carriers. Thanks for sharing the tote bag idea - they seem like inexpensive but impressive looking gifts! I have to keep the tote bag idea in mind when I need to make gifts for other people. I guess you know you will like at least one Christmas gift this year!

I finished the aprons for my grandchildren, please excuse the half naked mannequin!

For Emily

For Edward

and this looks wonky because the mannequin is a size 4-6 and the vest is size 6 months. Its for Gus Gus to wear to Christmas Eve Mass

The arpons look great and the vest is very suitable for Christmas Eve Mass. I am sure your grandchildren will like them too!

I haven't sewn at all since my vacation. I have to sew tomorrow because my husband bought pants that are way too long and I am now in a self debate over whether or not to move the zipper up so he can still use them or just to finagle it myself and make stoppers out of thread at the end. They are wind pants. Zippers on the bottom outside of each leg. I have to make them about 4 inches shorter so they fit him. UGH !

I made a find shopping on Saturday though. This bed cover caught my eye, for only $6.

I got it at Saver's. I think that's where I got those curtains too. Maybe someone is getting too old for princesses ??

Looks like they came from the same room. Now to decide if I let my friend buy the blanket from me ???? I should make her buy the curtains then too right ?? I paid $4 for them I think. So it would be $10 for the set.

Great find on the blanket. I imagine your friend will probably like to have them as a set.

I loved everything, but I have to comment on something. I have a bad habit of scrolling through, looking at pictures and not necessarily catching who the poster is. However, I can identify the closet you use to display your goods and know who it is posting. I just don't know about myself sometimes.

Here's another head smacker: I whipped up an AG Doll outfit Friday and forgot to take pictures before I gifted it. *sigh*

That's too funny! It's the closet in our guest room (which is why it is empty). The bedspread in our guest room makes frequent appearance in my pictures too!

Okay, this is probably more than you wanted to know, but here goes.

I don't have a pattern, I based mine off of a Disney one I had. Basically 17" wide and 18" tall.

Four tips:
1. Put a loop on it to make it easy to hang up. I don't think I'd hang it if it were really heavy, but otherwise it's convenient to have.

2. Put a ring on the side, better yet, one of each side. I had a hand sanitizer bottle hanging from my bag for our last trip -- very convenient.

3. Include a zippered pocket.

And, then get a see through pencil case to put in it for your little stuff. (I should add that I don't carry a purse when I'm traveling. I have a "vacation wallet" that I carry in my front pocket, and then I put other purse stuff in the pencil case -- tissues, phone, mini first aid kit, pen, etc. It makes it so easy to pull the pencil case out and see everything.) In the main bag part I put a folded up sweatshirt, poncho, umbrella, etc. Can you tell I've been to Disney a few times during cold, rainy weather!

 
4. After putting in the grommet I like to sew off the corner so there’s less stress on the grommet.

Okay, I think your question was about how to do the strings.

You’ll need two strings. To determine how long to make them, double the string over and measure roughly the length and width. (see photo)

You’ll need two

One goes in and out the left side and the other goes in and out the right side.

Insert each pair through a grommet and tie.

Voila. The world's best traveling companion. I love how since it's lightweight it can be easily folded up and put away, but when pressed into service holds a fair amount of stuff.

Your turn to make one.

Wow Cheryl! Thanks so much for posting the detailed instructions. I don't have visions of drawstring backpacks in my near future but I am saving this for future reference. Actually, maybe I can make them for my friend's other kids (the one who is getting the under the sea growth chart) as I don't have supplies for eye spy bags handy. I wonder if they would be too big for a 4 and a 2 year-old?

 

[phins_jazy]

A new needle makes all the difference in the world..... That is all!

 

[BabyRapunzel]

Wtmtq......love so many things. Really like the aprons, shirts, and pinafore dresses. I know there were many more, but I am forgetting them at this moment, sorry.


Oh and a drawstring bag might be in my future, so thanks for the instructions.


Help!!!!!!!

I was going to make a little mermaid dress for my niece for Christmas who is going to Disney soon.

I have yet to make a dress. Elastic thread scares me and elastic in casing is a science I have not mastered. I have the simply sweet pattern, the grace ruffle, the Felix, the snug fitting peasant dress, and a cute layered tulle skirt by CarlaC. I also love the Lauren dress.

They are going in January, so I was thinking one where she could wear short or long sleeves under it.

I want to put a mermaid applique on it and I have mermaid fabric, but finding colors to go with it is stressing me out, however I haven't had the fabric with me when I have looked in the past.

I like the grace ruffle, but everytime I look at this pattern, I freak out.

Any advice for this wanna be advanced sewer who is a beginner?

 

[disneychic2]

I am back from my trip and sort of caught up here at home. I just read 13 pages to get caught up, so there is waaaay tmtq. So many beautiful things have been made and the cutest models ever! So glad the new 770 machine owners got their machines and are either having fun with them or drooling over them under the tree.

We had a wonderful 9 days in Disney and I saw quite a few customs while there. I had never really noticed before, but I kept pointing them out to my hubby, so I know I saw a lot.

So glad to hear about your hubby Diane and hope his surgery went well yesterday. You've really been through a lot of ups and downs and waiting. Praying for a smooth recovery for your DH!

I'm getting ready to start my next sewing project which will be a Rapunzel dress for my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter. My daughter sent me a video while we were in Disney of our granddaughter opening the package of her twirl skirt and matching top. She put it on and twirled her heart out and begged to put it on first thing the next morning. Made my day!

I am loving all the ideas I get from this thread! I'm having a hard time resisting the 770 embroidery machine, but I do have a brother sewing/embroidery machine that does have large hoops. It just doesn't have the capability to download designs. There is no USB port and I only have one card for it and the designs built into it. So it's good to personalize things, but that's about all I use it for. But it's great living vicariously through you talented ladies, so keep it up please!

Oh, and for the fear of monsters, I heard of using a simple spray bottle of water as monster repellant that gets sprayed before bedtime to take care of the problem. Don't know if it would work for your little one, but could be worth a try. The twins look so cute sleeping together!

 

[love to stitch]

Soooo many wonderful things. You all have been very busy. I think the Christmas aprons are my favorite but everything looks great.

 

[lynnanddbyz]

Okay, this is probably more than you wanted to know, but here goes.

I don't have a pattern, I based mine off of a Disney one I had. Basically 17" wide and 18" tall.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. With those pictures and directions I think I can make those. I saved the directions as a pdf and will tackle them after Christmas (when things calm down a little )

 

[PurpleEars]

I was going to make a little mermaid dress for my niece for Christmas who is going to Disney soon.

I have yet to make a dress. Elastic thread scares me and elastic in casing is a science I have not mastered. I have the simply sweet pattern, the grace ruffle, the Felix, the snug fitting peasant dress, and a cute layered tulle skirt by CarlaC. I also love the Lauren dress.

They are going in January, so I was thinking one where she could wear short or long sleeves under it.

I want to put a mermaid applique on it and I have mermaid fabric, but finding colors to go with it is stressing me out, however I haven't had the fabric with me when I have looked in the past.

I like the grace ruffle, but everytime I look at this pattern, I freak out.

Any advice for this wanna be advanced sewer who is a beginner?

I would suggest going with the Simply Sweet as it is a beginner friendly pattern by all accounts.

I am back from my trip and sort of caught up here at home. I just read 13 pages to get caught up, so there is waaaay tmtq. So many beautiful things have been made and the cutest models ever! So glad the new 770 machine owners got their machines and are either having fun with them or drooling over them under the tree.

We had a wonderful 9 days in Disney and I saw quite a few customs while there. I had never really noticed before, but I kept pointing them out to my hubby, so I know I saw a lot.

I'm getting ready to start my next sewing project which will be a Rapunzel dress for my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter. My daughter sent me a video while we were in Disney of our granddaughter opening the package of her twirl skirt and matching top. She put it on and twirled her heart out and begged to put it on first thing the next morning. Made my day!

I am glad that you had a great trip and saw many customs. I am glad that your granddaugther liked her outfit and she wanted to wear it! I can't wait to see the Rapunzel dress.

 

[RMAMom]

Wtmtq......love so many things. Really like the aprons, shirts, and pinafore dresses. I know there were many more, but I am forgetting them at this moment, sorry.


Oh and a drawstring bag might be in my future, so thanks for the instructions.


Help!!!!!!!

I was going to make a little mermaid dress for my niece for Christmas who is going to Disney soon.

I have yet to make a dress. Elastic thread scares me and elastic in casing is a science I have not mastered. I have the simply sweet pattern, the grace ruffle, the Felix, the snug fitting peasant dress, and a cute layered tulle skirt by CarlaC. I also love the Lauren dress.

They are going in January, so I was thinking one where she could wear short or long sleeves under it.

I want to put a mermaid applique on it and I have mermaid fabric, but finding colors to go with it is stressing me out, however I haven't had the fabric with me when I have looked in the past.

I like the grace ruffle, but everytime I look at this pattern, I freak out.

Any advice for this wanna be advanced sewer who is a beginner?

I would go with the simply sweet it is a great beginner pattern.

 

[shan23877]

Hi ladies! I'm a longtime lurker on this thread, and was hoping you'd be able to provide you opinions. I have a Brother C6000i. I LOVED it for the first 6 months that I had it, but then it broke down and had to be repaired. Since then (in the last year) it's been serviced twice and is now acting up again. It skips stitches with such regularity that I'm convinced the machine has demons. (No amount of cleaning, needle changing, bobbing changing, rethreading will keep it from happening). Needless to say- I'm frustrated and ready to move on from the machine. Seems silly to pay another $100 to have such an unreliable machine repaired. I am considering purchasing the Singer Patchwork from Joann Fabrics. I am an intermediate sewer and primarily use the machine for quilting and princess dress making. Any feedback on the machine, Singer in general, and making the purchase from Joann would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Would anyone recommend the Janome my style 100 as a good machine for my 12 year old? I would like to relearn to sew, too. I want to make all the cute Disney stuff I see on here! I haven't sewn in 15 years and was never any good at it and got so frustrated when the machine would jam. The sales lady told us that the top loading bobbin on the 100 wouldn't jam. Is that true and is it a good machine for beginners? Thanks.

 

[lynnanddbyz]

Hi ladies! I'm a longtime lurker on this thread, and was hoping you'd be able to provide you opinions. I have a Brother C6000i. I LOVED it for the first 6 months that I had it, but then it broke down and had to be repaired. Since then (in the last year) it's been serviced twice and is now acting up again. It skips stitches with such regularity that I'm convinced the machine has demons. (No amount of cleaning, needle changing, bobbing changing, rethreading will keep it from happening). Needless to say- I'm frustrated and ready to move on from the machine. Seems silly to pay another $100 to have such an unreliable machine repaired. I am considering purchasing the Singer Patchwork from Joann Fabrics. I am an intermediate sewer and primarily use the machine for quilting and princess dress making. Any feedback on the machine, Singer in general, and making the purchase from Joann would be appreciated.

Thanks!

This is only my opinion. I LOVED the old Singers they were workhorses. The new Singers are all made in China. Singer is only a name now they make NOTHING and farm everything out. Their machines are CRAP!!!!! Sorry for the strong language. I have the same opinion of the less expensive Brother machines at Walmart. That being said Brother does have a few nice machines.
Everything depends on your budget. I would get the nicest machine you can afford if you are going to use it on a regular bases. Take your time and try out several machines. Go to several dealers and buy NOTHING when you are looking. Go home and check prices on the internet and really think through ALL of your choices. Buying online is fine if you have seen and test driven in person.
I will get off my soapbox now. I have been looking for a year and can not decide if I want to spend the money for a commercial one(heavy duty only straight stitch) or one with a few bells and whistles. HSN, Allbrands, Bernina, Amazon are all good places to compare.

 

[goteamwood]

Hi ladies! I'm a longtime lurker on this thread, and was hoping you'd be able to provide you opinions. I have a Brother C6000i. I LOVED it for the first 6 months that I had it, but then it broke down and had to be repaired. Since then (in the last year) it's been serviced twice and is now acting up again. It skips stitches with such regularity that I'm convinced the machine has demons. (No amount of cleaning, needle changing, bobbing changing, rethreading will keep it from happening). Needless to say- I'm frustrated and ready to move on from the machine. Seems silly to pay another $100 to have such an unreliable machine repaired. I am considering purchasing the Singer Patchwork from Joann Fabrics. I am an intermediate sewer and primarily use the machine for quilting and princess dress making. Any feedback on the machine, Singer in general, and making the purchase from Joann would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Would anyone recommend the Janome my style 100 as a good machine for my 12 year old? I would like to relearn to sew, too. I want to make all the cute Disney stuff I see on here! I haven't sewn in 15 years and was never any good at it and got so frustrated when the machine would jam. The sales lady told us that the top loading bobbin on the 100 wouldn't jam. Is that true and is it a good machine for beginners? Thanks.

I can't speak from experience on the janome but I took at quilting course at my local independent quilt store and ALL the ladies there, lifelong quilters, only use janome. If I were upgrading I'd be looking there. I trust people like that who don't sell machines but who use them. Maybe talk to the people at your local quilt store if you have one.

I have the singer curvy 8763 I got as a Christmas gift last year. I've been happy with it. I've done A LOT of sewing in the year and its been great. I read a bunch of reviews which were admittedly mixed on the machines in my sub-$200 price range last year. I got this one because its what a friend had and she loved it. I do agree that singer probably isn't what it used to be. But it's not terrible. Will it last forever? Probably not. But it's doing the trick.

 

[sewmess]

A new needle makes all the difference in the world..... That is all!

AMEN!! - I was working on a project recently and was wondering why the machine was acting up - eating the cloth and such - and decided to change the needle. I had a knit needle and was working on woven!

Hi ladies! I'm a longtime lurker on this thread, and was hoping you'd be able to provide you opinions. I have a Brother C6000i. I LOVED it for the first 6 months that I had it, but then it broke down and had to be repaired. Since then (in the last year) it's been serviced twice and is now acting up again. It skips stitches with such regularity that I'm convinced the machine has demons. (No amount of cleaning, needle changing, bobbing changing, rethreading will keep it from happening). Needless to say- I'm frustrated and ready to move on from the machine. Seems silly to pay another $100 to have such an unreliable machine repaired. I am considering purchasing the Singer Patchwork from Joann Fabrics. I am an intermediate sewer and primarily use the machine for quilting and princess dress making. Any feedback on the machine, Singer in general, and making the purchase from Joann would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I have a newer model Singer and I have had very little problem with it. As long as I keep it dusted out at least once a month we're good to sew. The light is a little iffy: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but since I always use my Ottlight, it doesn't bother me. I appreciate the variety of stitches and ease of selection.
I grew up with Singers (my mom and sister had them) so that's what I know.

 

[shan23877]

Thanks for the feedback ladies! I'd love to make the jump to Janome or Bernina, but I have a hard time jusitfying the cost. Since I don't sell anything it's tough to talk myself into a $500+ machine for a 'hobby'.

For now I will probably go back to Singer. I've been very, very disappointed with Brother's customer service over the last year. I have a very basic Singer that I've always liked, and that's the brand my mom, grandma, and aunts always used.

Now that I've introduced myself around here maybe I'll share the photos of the quilts when I get them done (It's possible to finish 2 quilts in 13 days ). They both have a Disney theme too!