I feel a martini night coming on ....

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter got all excited about something one of her Moms Club friends had purchased at a boutique.  It's a cover for the infant/toddler swings that they have in public playgrounds.  Quite a neat idea.  The cover is basically two pieces of fabric sewn together with batting in the middle and a couple of snaps on the end.  You can easily snap the cover around the swing front to keep little hands (and mouths) clean while playing on the swing.  There are probably many places where this cover would come in handy.

So, I whipped one up using pieces from my stash and decided to embroider my youngest granddaughter's name on it.  Oops - big mistake!  I forget that things are not the same as they were when I raised my children in the 70s.  Personalized clothing, accessories, etc., are frowned upon by today's parents due to the fear of abduction and other equally scary things I'd rather not even think about.

I worked around the problem and embroidered "Toodles" on the cover.  That's what we called her before she was born.  I like the way the cover came out.

The next day, I went back to my trusty Bernina 640 to work on some sewing projects and noticed that the four buttons to the left of the screen (needle position left and right, needle up/down, and pattern end) were recessed into the machine!  I can only surmise that the vibration of machine embroidery (and that baby really works hard during embroidery) caused something to go out of kilter.  So, I've been wrestling with what to do about a repair.  Can I just keep sewing carefully and nurse her until she's due for her cleaning in April?  Do I dare take a chance that things will get worse?  I tremble at the thought of being without her for days at a time.  The term obsessive comes to mind, doesn't it?

Yesterday, I tried to move the needle over to do some edgestitching and the machine went berserk.  I couldn't stop the needle from moving back and forth!  So, it's off to the repairman tomorrow.  We'll leave early and hope that it is a small fix that can be done while we wait.  Fat chance.  I see myself going through sewing withdrawal and forced to find something else to do while my Bernina is in the hospital.  I might even have to clean the closets.

Yup, definitely a martini night.