How to Get an Old Sewing Machine Up and Running

Last summer my husband and I went on an anniversary trip and did some thrifting (like ya do). He spotted the cutest vintage Kenmore sewing machine and snapped it up for $10! I finally spent some time with it last week and got it working like a champ, so I thought I’d write some tips for getting these old vintage sewing machines working.

If you have an old machine that you’d like to get running again, or if you’re wondering if you should buy the next vintage sewing machine you stumble across, this post will have plenty of tips for you.

So, read on!

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10 Quilt Block of the Month Clubs to Join in 2022

One of my most visited blog posts last year was my list of 10 quilt block of the month clubs you could join in on, so it was a no brainer to write a similar post for 2022. I had an even easier time this year finding Block of the Month opportunities, so I hope you’ll find something here to join in on! It’s still only January, so now’s the right time to pick one and get started.

A Block of the Month club usually works like this: A quilt designer releases a set of quilt block patterns, one block at a time over the course of a year. So at the end of the year, you’ll have enough blocks to put a quilt together! The blocks are usually kept a secret until each month’s release, and I find that very fun. I love not knowing what the whole thing will look like until it all comes together! At the end, usually the designer or website will have several ideas for putting the quilt together with instructions for adding sashing, finishing, etc …

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5 New-To-Me Sewing Notions

Hey, friends! I asked for a few new little sewing tools for Christmas and my husband came through and put some of them in my Christmas stocking. I took some time yesterday to film a video describing them and demonstrating these five new-to-me sewing notions and today I’ll share them here too.

If you’re looking for a few new toys to add to your sewing room, maybe this will give you some ideas and I bet they’re things you may not already have. There are always more sewing notions to check out, but it’s hard to know if they’re really be useful, or if you’re better off sticking with your tried and true methods, so I’ve tried these things, and while there are a few I already love, there are a couple more that they jury is still out on.

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Moleskine Cahier Journal Cover Tutorial

I’ve been using the basic brown Moleskine Cahier Notebooks for many years. I’m a big fan! I like that they’re small and lightweight, the lines are the perfect distance apart, and best of all, the covers are a blank slate, easy to decorate or embellish!

I’ve given these notebooks as gifts with pretty art or quotes Mod Podged to the front, but I recently came up with the more reusable idea of sewing up some simple journal covers for them! These covers turned out so sweet, were very easy to make, and were a great way to use some single quilt blocks I had lying around. I can see myself making these for Christmas gifts next year, with a Moleskine journal included, of course.

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What to Sew for Men: 4 Gifts I Made My Husband for Christmas

In one of my recent YouTube videos, I said that I had made my husband several things for his Christmas stocking this year and enough people asked to see what those ideas are that I went ahead and made another video to tell you what I sewed for my husband this year!

Men can be hard to buy for and maybe even harder to sew for, but I’ve made my husband several things over the years that he’s loved and has actually asked for more of. So I’ll share those ideas with you here and then hopefully it may spark some other ideas for you if you’re stuck on what to sew for the men and boys in your life.

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Sew a Drawstring Bag for Game Pieces (or whatever)

Last week I posted a tutorial for how to make a small circular drawstring pouch for hair accessories or jewelry when you travel, or your quilting pins, or anything like that. This week I’m back with another drawstring bag tutorial, but this one was designed specifically to board hold game pieces: tokens, tiles, dice, or other components! It has a square bottom and is interfaced, helping it to stand upright on the table when you pass it between players.

Of course, you can use this little pouch for lots of other things! It would even make a great little gift bag that’s like a gift in a gift! The recipient can keep the bag to use for whatever they like.

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How to Sew a Little Drawstring Travel Pouch

I have such a fun little tutorial for you today! My girls’ dance recital is coming up and Natalie and her friends like to give “cast gifts” to each other. We came up with the idea to make small drawstring pouches to hold their hair pins and other hair accessories. (If you have a dancer in the house, you know how important these things are and how hard they are to corral!)

This small pouch makes a great travel bag for jewelry and hair accessories, or you can use it around the house or in your craft room. It’s a perfect container for your Wonder Clips or quilting pins! They also make great small handmade gifts for little ones or teens. I know my girls loved carrying little things in cute little purses when they were little, and they still love receiving bags of any kind now that they’re teens.

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FREE Sewing Pattern Notes Printable!

I made you something! Well, I made me something and then immediately wanted to share it with you. I don’t know about you, but I make changes and alterations to every single pattern I sew. But, unfortunately, I rarely write them down! I think I’ll remember what I did differently, or what I would do differently next time I sew the same pattern, but of course, I don’t.

Sometimes I scribble a note on the pattern envelope, but I wanted to create something cute and functional that I could print out, keep a stack of in my pattern draw, and make notes on as soon as I finished and put away a pattern.

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DIY Fast & Easy Fabric Gift Tags (Sewing Optional!)

I made something so fun and I’m excited to share it with you! I had bought some very cool gift tag fabric from JoAnn last year and knew I’d eventually turn it into some DIY Christmas gift tags of some kind, but I just didn’t get around to it and I wasn’t sure how to make it a very simple, fast project.

But, inspiration struck this year and I had a great idea for how to turn this fabric into tags, AND how to turn any fun Christmas fabric into pretty and personal gift tags this Christmas. These tags are easy and fast, plus they can be a no-sew project if you so choose. You can even reuse them from year to year, or put them on your Christmas tree as ornaments!

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Christmas Pillows to Make, Cover, or Buy

Are you a Christmas decor minimalist or maximalist? I definitely lean toward the minimal side, because too much extra decor makes me feel claustrophobic, but we have a few bins of beloved Christmas decorations we love to pull out every year (I will always love and cherish my Willow Tree Nativity that a dear friend gifted me piece by piece over several years!)

Pillows are one item that can really pack a big punch in your Christmas decorating and I’ve pinned some really great DIY Christmas pillow ideas this season! I’m excited to share them with you today, along with a hack for having Christmas pillows on display at Christmastime, but not having to store them. Don’t miss that tip at the end of the post!

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How to Sew Pillow Cases (the easiest way!) || A Video Sewing Tutorial & Printable Pattern

If you’re wondering what to make your family members for Christmas, I have a great idea for you! I’ve been making pillow cases in fun fabrics for many years now. I’ve taught kids to make them, I’ve made them as gifts, and I even make my husband Star Wars pillow cases every year for Christmas, and now I’m going to teach you to sew easy pillow cases too!

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What's In My Sewing Binder

Do you keep a sewing binder? I do! A sewing binder can hold all kinds of pattern pieces, tutorial instructions, sewing planner pages, and sewing machine setting notes. I’ve had mine for many years, but I don’t keep in it what you might think! There are some amazingly organized people out there who keep meticulous notes about patterns, future sewing plans, and stitch settings, but I am not those people, ha!

No, my sewing binder doesn’t have any pages of fabric swatches with washing instructions, but it IS a very important part of my sewing room, so I’m going to tell you about it today.

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