Out With the Old

As I've been doing more sewing lately, I've been getting more and more frustrated with my sewing machine. I don't know if it was my mom's or my grandma's, but either way, it's at least 30 years old. I just couldn't get all the settings how I wanted them to be and adjust it right, and it tended to catch and eat fabric, etc. Operator error? Perhaps! But I doubt that was entirely the problem. Anyway, Dan was watching me get frustrated with it one day and said something to the effect of, "Maybe you should get a new sewing machine."
I did not give him time to take that statement back at all. I hopped onto amazon.com, read reviews for a day or two and ordered one up. Amazingly it was here in about a week. Oddly enough amazon's super saver shipping gets things here soooo fast.
So here's the comparison:


I am so excited to try so many different projects I just wouldn't have tried with the old machine!
The first project I had lined up was a spring table runner... I LOVE the new machine and am happy with how my runner turned out.



Today I went to Dongdaemun - a HUGE, and I mean HUGE fabric/crafts/sewing MEGAPLEX. It blew my mind and the price of fabric here is incredible. And all the sewing notions... oh my! Finally, a shopping experience I felt like lived up to the hype. Shopping at the markets in Seoul is like nothing I've ever seen - I wish I could bring you all along just to show you. Next time I'll have to try and take some pictures.
I had looked online to see about ordering some zippers for some dresses I want to make for the girls. They're around $2-$3. Today I got some for less than 10 cents!!! Which is especially helpful since the stuff I ordered from JoAnn.com a few weeks ago is still not here. You know, stuff for things I wanted to make a few weeks ago!!
It's pretty much an all day thing to go up to Seoul and the fabric market... but I will start compiling a list for my next trip. :) And many thanks to the friend of a friend who showed us around today and served as our translator. It was seriously helpful having someone who a) knew where to go, and b) could tell the taxi drivers where to go without any pointing or charades (or repeating yourself in an increasingly louder voice thinking the person might understand you if you keep saying the same thing over and over, and perhaps louder - ha ha).

(Kelly - now if your mom ever needs to borrow my sewing machine again while she's in town, and of course if we ever live in the same town again, I won't feel so bad!)