Michael's New Shirt + A Viking Mystery

Michael has a new shirt for spring.  I love the Easter egg-y pastel palette!

While not officially Liberty of London, this fabric does resemble Liberty's Wiltshire print, only the design on my shirt is less literal, more abstract.  I actually like it better! 

Below are some close ups.  Michael didn't have time to model it today, but soon. 

The collar is lined with solid gray cotton, as are the inside cuffs.  I was considering something bolder, like a small check, but I think the pattern is busy enough.  A solid inside collar gives the eye a place to rest and frames the neck in a flattering way.  I used medium gray thread throughout.







The back has two small tucks on either side.



The buttons are light gray plastic.  As you can see, the shirt has a front button placket.  I don't always add one.



I'm very happy with the way it turned out.  The fabric was particularly easy to work with -- no pattern matching and a crisp hand.

Meanwhile, I've owned a Viking sewing machine, model 3240, for more than six years.  It works well, though it's a little beat up.  I don't sew with it very much, but I do use it to wind all of my bobbins.  It's always out and ready to use.

I love that it doesn't have one of those "fingers" that decides when the bobbin is full; I can wind the bobbins as full as I want them.  Since I generally use large spools of thread when I sew, I wind bobbins for both top and bottom thread.  (Large spools can't fit on home sewing machines.)  I end up winding a lot of bobbins.





The Viking bobbin winder can accommodate any size bobbin.  You don't need to turn the machine on or off (if it's plugged in, it's on), nor do you have to disengage the hand wheel to wind a bobbin.  As soon as you slip a bobbin on the winder, the needle automatically disengages.  So easy.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, our building upgraded two electrical outlets in our kitchen, which is where I generally sew these days. The new ones have little green lights and circuit breakers.  Well, wouldn't you know my Viking blows the circuit every other time I use it.  I have to wait a few minutes, then press the button on the outlet to reset the circuit -- annoying.



So I've started winding my bobbins on my Bernina 930.  It's easy enough to use, but it has one of those annoying fingers that tells you when the bobbin is full.  To my eye the bobbins never end up more than 3/4 full.  So I have to wind the my bobbins more frequently.  I suppose that "finger" thing may be adjustable.  Worth looking into.

My bigger question is why my Viking, which is a 1 amp machine and which has never given me problems in the past, is now blowing the circuits.  It's not just the one outlet either, it does it on the other one that was installed too.  My only option is to move the machine elsewhere, but there aren't many elsewheres in my apartment that make sense.  Any idea why this might be happening?

Readers, that's it!  Lots of sewing ahead this weekend, along with a special sewing-related treat I'll be sharing next week.

Have a great day, everybody, and happy sewing!