Anniversary Dress

This is the latest project me and my Pfaff 7570 have churned out. In less than a week, this dress went from dream to reality, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I started with Vogue 1086 and 2 1/2 yards of stretch satin (it has a nicer hand than the other satins I can get my hands on for a good price). I usually don't read reviews of patterns, but I'm so glad that I did with this (otherwise this would have been a disaster). The reviews said that the neckline was low, sizing was off (too big in most cases), and that it was near impossible to alter as you sew due to french seams. After some tissue fitting I decided to cut a size 16 (even though my measurements said to cut a 20....so much for vanity huh Vogue?) for everything but the yoke, which I cut at a 14. Yokes have a history of being to big on me and this was no exception.

I skipped the french seams so that I could fit as I sewed...honestly, I really didn't need to follow the pattern's written instructions, the pictures were all I needed. I had to raise the neckline about an 1 1/2 in.-2 in, and I cut down the yokes by about an inch on the shoulder edge, 5/8-3/4in on the neck edge. However the back was still gaping and bowing funny. So I had to overlap it more...I think it was a good 1 1/2in, maybe even 2in......it felt like I needed to cut the smallest yoke I could lol!

I embroidered the yokes and the front waistband before I constructed everything. I loved how rich the tan thread looked with the teal fabric. One of my friends couldn't tell that the embroidery was skulls at first! I usually cut/tear my stabilizer away when I'm done stitching the design, but I used it as interfacing to make those pieces a little more "beefy". This gives some structure to an otherwise shifty/slippery fabric. The design is skull array from Urban Threads, my favorite embroidery site!

Overall, I love this dress, and had a great time wearing it. I think I need to make a casual version of this (now that I know what needs to be changed, construction should go easier).

Now to go soak in the tub until I'm prune-fingered!
-Lynnette

Me and My Pfaff 7570....a Journey in perseverance

Time for something sewing related instead of polish (so for all my polish gals, I'll have something for you next post). I'm putting this out on the internet as a resource for others that want to use this machine. I know when I was first getting stated, I had quite a few questions that nobody seemed to know the answer to.

Recently I inherited my Grandmother's Pfaff 7570 embroidery machine complete with the embroidery unit and standard hoops (I think that they might have been sold separately once upon a time), software, cable to connect the sewing machine to the computer, a few design cards, and a blank design card. While I have all of this now, I didn't get it all at once. Many of the components were hiding in my Grandma's house. My Mom and I found the machine, embroidery unit, hoops and cards first; enough to get started and play.

The machine didn't look this pretty to start with. The old girl had sat the 10 years Grandma's been gone, a critter had stored food there, and a score of spiders had built webs (ok I may be exaggerating, but there was quite a bit to be cleaned up). Once cleaned and oiled though, the old girl sews and embroiders very well (and the tension is great still!).

The first question: When the original software and cable was found, could I use just that to write to my blank card? Or did I NEED to buy a compatible reader/writer box?
Answer: With the original software (PC Designer) and cable, a reader/writer box is unnecessary. However, if you are missing either the software or the cable, you are better off buying a compatible reader/writer box instead of trying to hunt down one (or both) of those. Occasionally they come up for sale on Ebay, but not often anymore.
The original software comes on floppies, so you need to either need a floppy drive (internal or external) or use a friends floppy drive to burn the files onto a CD.
The original cable comes with a 25 pin serial plug on one end and a unique connection on the other (which goes to the machine). On mine I have an adapter to make the 25 pin into a 9 pin serial (a more common connection).

Second question I had: Since my computer didn't have any serial ports, how am I going to connect this to my computer?
Answer: A serial port on a pc-card.

My laptop came with one of these slots that takes a credit card sized card that can have all sorts of things on there (like ports that may not have been built into your laptop, wifi cards, etc). When slid into my computer and the drivers installed, it acts just like a serial port that was built into the computer. Not exactly sleek, but it works great!

There ARE serial to USB adapters out there, and that would have been a simpler solution. However the one I tried didn't come with any drivers. This meant the computer saw the machine as a USB "thingy", and the software is old enough (1997) that it doesn't recognize USB "thingies"....only COM ports. If you find a USB adapter that comes with a driver CD, give it a shot.

So a short recap of what I learned in this process....If you have the following:
-The original software
-Cable to connect the sewing machine to the computer
-Floppy drive (or access to one)
-9 pin serial port (either built in, or a way to adapt to what you do have)
You can skip getting a reader/writer box. The original software with read only the Pfaff .pcs files, so if you have a lot of designs in other formats you will need a newer program to convert your designs in the right format.

I'm glad that I'm able to use this machine finally. It's been a long journey to get everything working together. I hope that this knowledge helps someone else that wants to use this machine to it's full potential..
Until next time!
-Lynnette

Week 19: Floral

My nails have gotten pretty weak lately, so I'll be sticking to the challenge manis for a little while and not doing a whole lot in between.I've got to break the bad habit of peeling off the polish instead of removing it properly!

This nail art turned out kinda pretty. I started with 2 coats of Sinful Colors Social Ladder, a fairly sheer pinky/pearl shade. I like to use this as my "natural but better" shade. Then I stamped with Sally Hansen Plum Burst, China Glaze Sweet Hook and Kinetic Candy. The only thing I don't really like is that Sweet Hook is nearly invisible.

Nice and Girly!

In other news, I recently inherited my Grandma's Pfaff 7570 embroidery machine. I love sewing with this machine, and I've wanted an embroidery machine for a looong time so my focus has shifted a bit more to sewing. Soon I'll have a post up about all I've learned about this machine so that the information is out there for others (I wish that someone had posted this info for me when I was starting with this machine).

Until next time!

-Lynnette