Two Feet High and Rising

Finally, a real honest to god winter storm. This is what we usually get in early January.

Talk about a delay! The forecasters were spot on with it too. The flurries started yesterday afternoon right around 3:00p.m. The wind gusts were hitting close to 40 MPH and the temps stabilized at the mid 20's. I'm not gonna guess what the wind chill made it feel like, but at 4:00 both Gene and I went out to blanket up the mini's before they got too wet or cold. He baled and went back to the house, I stayed out to do last minute checks, feed and snug up my barn and tractor as best I could. It felt good having the new little stall barn close to the hay barn. Worse case I can hand carry hay to it, a portion at a time. Also it gives me great piece of mind knowing they have a fairly secure area to brave the weather. From the tracks around the paddock this morning I would have to say, they did stay in the shelter a fair amount of the time.

The view at 8:30 p.m. last night on the last out for the dogs.

This morning I was greeted by two feet of light powder. The high winds had laid down over night but they are still skulking around waiting to wake up and blow through the day. Bob the tractor was, as always, dependable even though we were going through drifts well over his chassis. On mornings like this his steady diesel hum is soothing and appreciated. He coos that we can get through anything should we have to and I believe him.

Stella is happy I had the foresight to go round up stray and lost Timmy's. When the snow is this deep we don't allow her to take them out. There is nothing so heart wrenching as seeing her cold and shivering, barking and crying in the snow looking for those damn balls. I learned that lesson last year.

Robin on the other hand is perfectly fine with a warm bed and nylabone. No human intervention needed.

Today, I'm going to hang out and watch the snow fly, a little weaving, a little sewing, a little cooking and certainly some ball tossing.

Parting shot: Look into my eyes. You are getting sleepy. Now toss the ball, toss the ball, toss the ball

Cream & Green

It's an understatement to say I like this simple color combination. Depending on hue and intensity of the colors it can say Summer, it can say Christmas and it can certainly say Spring. This warp is Spring hands down.

As promised I got a good start on it. I even remembered I had some lovely sale bought Cleckheaton Country Silk 8 ply yarn. This is a bit heavier at DK weight but the soft white blends well, the silk gives it the same hand and shine as the rest of the yarns and the bonus, it has nubs in it!

This mimics the original fabric perfectly. Of course starting on it meant I had to finally sit down and figure out just how many, how long and how much on the yarn front. Stats are 18 epi and 22 inches wide and 3 yards long, plain weave. It was obvious (finally) to me that more yarn was going to be needed. I probably would have figured this out a little sooner had my hand held cheapy 10 year old calculator not died. I had to go to the old fashioned way of pencil, paper and brain power. My folks will tell you, math is not my strong suit, but I rise to the challenge when I must, if albeit, a little late. The Shibui, while lovely (and I still have a second complete ball for mixing in) is expensive for the amount of yardage I need, but WEBS has come through with a very similar yarn with good yardage. Meet Valley Yarns Charlemont, which hopefully will arrive on my doorstep sometime around the end of the week. Next weekend, I'll finish off the warp and start to get it on the loom.

Not much sewing, one item in process that likely will be finished up today, but plenty of planning and getting patterns out and matched with fabrics. Pants mostly. And then there are these.

DH gifted me Valentines Day with some Italian pattern magazines, La Mia Boutique.

I had been hot for some interesting patterns and these were recommended by the helpful folks on Sewing Pattern Review. Of course they are not readily available in this country so a look see over at eBay was in order. We found some in the UK, he said pick and I did. They look innocent enough don't they? And after you get through browsing the fashions,

and technical drawings,

you can pull out the pattern sheets. OH MY! Mama Mia!!

At least 6 pages of them (double sided) with approximately 25 patterns

in each issue.

It may take me half the week to just find all the pattern pieces on these sheets, but dang it, I DO love a challenge and I have a good sense of humor. I'm feeling my skills are just good enough to get this together properly even if I can't read Italian and there are no construction pictures. Most blouses go together just about the same way, right? But the real question is: Will this be easier BB or AB (before beer or after beer)?

Parting shot: Biscuit baiting out take. Still too short even with tongue stuck out and eyes glowing. Such a pity.

Whisper Campaign

There is nothing in the world that I love so much as wind. Gale force, light breezes and just about everything in between. The wind here in the mountains is like no other I've experienced. Mostly it has to do with the trees. Few hard woods and plenty of conifers.

They stay green and "leafed" all year. When the wind blows, the trees whisper. Sometimes they shout, but they are never silent. After dreary came sunny and after sunny came winter, again. This visit is also a wind event. It started last night, rustling the tops of the trees, making sounds like swirling taffeta ball gowns. Cleaning them off before covering them with snow. Had it been light I could watch the wind push its way through the trees as one top bent and then another, changing and doubling back, appearing 10 trees over and then surrounding me as I stood thinking of invisible giants shaking the needles off tree by tree. The wind chimes kept me company through the night. I could hear them sounding off all together and singly as the wind whipped around corners and eaves. This morning, I can hear the wind starting far, far away. It sounds like a car coming on a highway, that buildup and whoosh as it goes by, but this just builds and fades, always here and gone at the same time. The little eddies of air collecting under trees and bushes make me think of spirit animals, brushing by me, a sniff on my leg or a hint of ghost fur touching my arm. Wind blows loose the imagination.

So enough of wind at least in writing about it ( so much hot air!), and onto the resurrection of the Stella fabric. You bet I'm going to use every single scrap I have saved and cleverly too. It was mentioned in a comment why don't I make my own labels. Why indeed? I make them for stuff I make for my Mom, why not my own clothes? THAT made me think what I should put on the label and THAT brought me back to the collection and printing I did of 3 wonderful books of Cairn Terrier stories all called Written in Stone (Vols. 1,2,& 3), and aptly under the publishing title of Too Many Tails & Teeth Press. The sales benefited the Cairn Terrier Club of America's rescue funds. I've always had too many dogs. So, long story short(er), the labels are:

Maybe I should have done Too Many Tops & Tunics! ;)

The Tosca dress is done, but really it's the Tosca tunic.

Changes have been made. About 14 inches in length has been whacked off, the armholes raised, the top pockets left off and a fun piece of silk tie added to one of the big hip/side pockets because we all know I just love to embellish with ribbons and silk!

Something about the simple cut and unique pockets make me want to do this again. It was fun sewing, it looks nice on. I'm thinking of raising the armholes more, putting in a little silky something peeking from within the funnel neck for modesty and making it into a summer top, losing a lot more inches off the length of course. I'll let it all percolate for a bit. Summer is still a ways off and the new linens have yet to hit the shelves.

In farm news, the boys are shedding. Let the unpleasantness begin. Break out the shedding blades and curry combs. Even the donkeys are beginning to lose what little winter pelt they grow. Those blankets for them were a good investment, a necessary one. They will last for a long time too. The mini crew is quite kind to their wearables.

They don't feel the need to chew on one another or muck them up in the mud. The small size make it easy to clean them too. My poor washing machine, it really takes a lot of abuse. Donkey blankets, heavy jean loads and king sized bedding all conspire to strain its 12 year old mechanics. When it finally gives up the ghost no one will be able to say we didn't get our money's worth from this appliance!

Parting shot: So Very Hopeful (or more to what Robin is probably thinking), It sucks to be short.

And yes, I did give him that biscuit.

Can it Get Any More Dreary?

Well, this is Oregon and it is late winter, so the answer is yes, but not much. It just seems worse since we have had a pretty dry cold and clear winter. Regardless, this past week and weekend the weather has been nap worthy. And yes, I have napped. Training actually! :) Teaching young dogs the benefits of napping is almost a requirement. Stella and Robin are working on becoming champion nappers. Of course this is after a 30 minute period of being the twin terrors, sticking nylabones or balls in my face. Then (when that doesn't rouse me to join in), using my poor prone body as vantage point for jumping on each other and in general making pests of themselves. But when they tuck in and get down to the business at hand, they snooze like Rip Van Winkle himself.

In our non -Rip moments, we have managed to get the Julia loom threaded up and ready for sleying, a towel finished and another started on the Hollandia warp and some thinking time in on the warp for the coat contrast fabric. In fact a lot of time on that. Looking at the two yarns with sparkle I noticed that they don't want you to iron them. This poses a problem as the collar really needs to be steamed and rolled into shape. I suspect I can do most of this carefully with a press cloth and some elbow grease on a slightly cooler than wool setting, but it has made me adjust what I am going to do as far as proportions of sparkle. Less is better so the weft will be mostly the plain but very soft and pretty ShiBui Staccato. Really the coat fabric has plenty o' sparkle all on it's own. I hope to get to the warping board with it all on Saturday.

I've tried out a couple new patterns and put away the Burda 7220. I can't believe how much I love this pattern. I did one more top out of it before folding it up and filing it for a little while. Since I loved the pattern it was only fitting I used a fabric I adored. The much coveted Stella print.

Why the heck should 10 year olds have all the fun? Who says we adults can't have fun with our prints once in a while?

The fashion police have bigger fish to fry in Ashland, believe me! There is nothing so entertaining than a small college town for interesting outfits. I've often thought of taking the camera to town with me, but then I think that some parent may stumble upon my site, see their child and maybe question why they are paying through the nose for said childs education.

Vogue 1247 is a well drafted, fun pattern to make, thrifty on the fabric too, but just didn't work for me style wise.

I used a sale fabric I had bought specifically for muslins so no loss stash wise. It's wearable, it's okay and will make a fine summer barn top but I won't be making it again.

On the other hand, The Sewing Workshop Tosca dress is turning out to be a winner.

It's not quite done but I enjoyed wearing the half sewn garment for a few moments yesterday when I did the try on. The pleated pockets took up the most time on this so far, but make the dress. It's so hard to capture any detail in this red fabric, but the link to the pattern will give you an idea of the cool pleated pockets. The Sewing Workshop also has a gallery where you can see just about all the patterns made up by SW and others. I've cut mine much shorter to be a tunic and I think I still need to take off some length, but I love it. I'm using a wonderful drapey linen and rayon blend. It has nice body and is a joy to work with. I also opted not to do the high pockets, although, I think I would like them on another edition of this pattern.

I need to finish this up and get to the two other cut patterns I have waiting before I'll start in on a new batch. Over the winter I have ruined two pairs of pants and a 3rd looks pretty worn. I'm hard on my clothes. I need to whip up a couple of pairs for my trip back east in April. I like to honor all those lobsters I'm going to consume by dressing well. ;)

The word in farm news is MUD. Yes, it is the same every spring, but is it nice to have a place to tuck the boys for feeding that is reasonably dry and not ankle sucking mud to slosh through to get their hay to them. I have only to go to the front windows, pull the hay containers out, fill them and then slip them back through to those waiting soft noses. The stalls have settled a bit and the very fronts do flood a tad, but come drier weather we'll build the stall floors up and fully mat them.

I have had to find a new farrier. Morgan, who has done my guys for 10 years, has moved out of the area. He was hoping to make it back for some customers every two months or so, but it's not happening. We're trying a new guy, highly recommended.

He'll be coming up March 5th and boy, everyone really needs a trim.

Parting shot: Snow Day-Last of the series. Happiness is a warm tractor hood.

Head Slap

All the while I have been working on the Verona coat, I've been thinking about the version I wanted to get to. After all, the completed one was really just the muslin so to speak. I have two beautiful fabrics set aside for coats and this one just screams Spring to me.

I have been looking for a companion fabric for the contrast on the collar and pockets for a long time, before I even brought the piece of fabric home on the super January sale at Fabric of Vision. Of course nothing really worthy has been unearthed.

At least not until about 12:30am Friday morning when I literally sat up and gave myself a head slap. I am weaver for cripes sake! I can weave the dang contrast fabric just how I want. And better yet, I have the starting point yarn right in my stash!

My Friday morning foray into town started at Web-sters. I needed more of the Kraemer Silk and Sterling yarn. Sadly, this has been marinating in my stash for a while and is no longer available there. But, they have plenty of other good stuff! Louisa Hardings's Jasmine came home in a lovely spring green as did Staccato Sock by Shibui in the same soft cream of the Sterling yarn.

I can get the Sterling right from Kraemer and will order 2 additional skeins. I'm thinking a fairly dense sett at 18-20 epi, 24 inches in the reed and I'll do my mixing on the warping board. Plain weave. I only really need a yard or so, but will measure out about 2.5 yards, allowing for loom waste and sampling. The linen and fique place mats can wait a bit longer.

I was also gifted with a wonderful boutique beer. It was recommended for consumption with something sweet and chocolate, so yesterday I made some brownies. I'm not a baker, but once in a while I stretch myself. I can't think of a better dessert than an excellent smooth stout and brownies.

Can you? Thank YOU Sandi.

Up in the sewing room (besides petting my new coat and plotting the next), I'm trying to work through my cut out pile. Some stuff is summer, some stuff is still for cooler temps. I grabbed this fun corduroy and made it start to finish in a morning, counting interruptions.

What I am loving about this Burda pattern (7220), besides fit, is that it is very close to RTW. No facings or interfacing. It makes for a fast, straight forward construction process once you muddle through Burda's less than stellar directions once or twice. I have modified both versions to just have self fabric bias bindings.

On this top, I changed out the cuff. Instead of hemmed and tucked with a button and button hole, I gathered the sleeve and did a little bias binding cuff. It took a long time. It was a *really* tight fit on the free arm of my machine. I like the little feminine touch the gathered sleeve adds. This baby wale corduroy drapes in such a pretty way.

In farm news, an update on the hay feeders. They work great and are holding up well. We had one incident. Nick got his hoof stuck in one of the holes. Now, the problem was MY fault. I hung it too low and I know Nick tends to paw at things. The feeder came apart without breaking (it has a hinge on the back side) and did no damage what so ever to Nicks front leg. A little playing with which way to turn it to slide off his leg and over his hoof and we were back in business. I am sure he had himself a little panic attack with that on in the stall, but other than a lot of thumping as he walked it might have been a good lesson for him. He certainly held nice and still while I worked his release out at 5 in the morning. A number of weeks and feedings later we have had no repeat of the incident.

Parting shot: Snow Day the series. Perfect Light ( best biggified).

Verona-The Final Frontier

Well, the coat is done and had it's maiden wearing too! Doing the lining was akin to catching a greased pig. Very slippery, accompanied by a lot of laughing and squealing in distress. Mistakes were made, corrected, or lived with. This was a first run through and my notes are copious for the next version. My skills and confidence, improved. I am very happy with my coat.

Let's start at that lining.

Curved, cruel and the source of the biggest mistake made on this coat of which I will tell you at the end. It was only when the coat was completed and ready for buttons did I even realize what I had done. I won't spoil the "Oh S**t" moment.

Here is the pattern picture for reference. Study it closely. ;)

Here it is ready for sleeves. Looks pretty good too I might add.

The corded buttonholes. I mistakenly thought of these as bound, but they are not. Either way, first time doing a button hole using perle cotton. Lord knows as a weaver I've got enough of this stuff lying around!

And finally, through the miracle of picking and choosing pics, the final finished coat.

Boy, was bagging the lining a trick. Just weird and it took me a moment with the sleeves to figure out what they wanted me to do. I would have taken pictures, but they would make no sense. When all was said and done, the lining was too long and hung down below the outer coat. I opted to let it hang free and hem lining and coat separately. A decision I liked better anyway since linings tend to stretch. I will plan for this on the next coat, allow deeper hem allowances and do a few other things a little differently around the front inside of the coat.

The buttons are placed asymmetrically since two little buttons on a winter coat is woefully lacking IMHO and by then, of course, I had discovered my mistake.

Have you? No! Well, flip back to the curved lining. It's a mindset thing, call it a lining and I do it in Ambiance, call it a front facing and I do it in the same fabric as the outer shell. I should have handled it as a front facing. Simple as that. Way too late to take it all apart. It's a mistake you only make once too. It certainly does not render the coat unwearable, in fact it's quite comfy, especially in the car where many coats bind and feel tight. I like the cut and fit although I might go down a hair (or two) in the next coat, between sizes.

Jack thinks it's just wonderful BTW. Jack thinks anytime someone picks him up and lets him smooch their nose, it's wonderful. Jack has a healthy outlook on life!

So now I'm onto other sewing, planning and plotting the spring coat, working up a warp for Hey Baby using "fique" and linen for a runner and some place mats, getting the threading done on Julia and weaving off those Celtic towels on Hannah Hollandia.

Lots of fun fibery things.

In farm news, it's all quiet. The storm has rolled in and out and a new one on the way

for the weekend. In between we have had a couple of stunning days of clear and impossibly blue skies.

Everyone is frisky. The donkeys show no outward signs of this but I know they are having frisky thoughts. Sugarfoot eyes the gate. The girls get giggly behind my back. They are snug and smug in their coats. That is all as it should be for these sun and heat loving little creatures.

Parting shot: Snow Day, The Series. Robin, blazing a bunny trail.

My Verona

And it's way over due to be starting in on the Sewing Workshop Verona coat pattern.

The pieces of both coat and lining have been cut out and hanging for weeks on pant hangers in my closet, taunting me. I'm wondering why I waited so long?

The coat itself has gone together beautifully. This is how I spent most of my sewing time this past weekend. As always the SW patterns are excellent to work with. You may not like a style, but you can be assured they are well drafted, all the register marks and dots match up perfectly and the directions will walk you through what looks like a difficult construction.

The two piece sleeve went in like a charm. Something I worried about with this heavy coat fabric. In fact I don't think I've had a sleeve set as nicely as these did ever. And it's a nice roomy sleeve, one that won't bunch up a sweater in it like a lot of ready to wear coats. I couldn't be happier at this pre-lining point!

My only headache with this so far has been, of all things, the pockets. The wool is thick.

It's double woven with a smooth lighter side and a darker boucle side. The boucle is meant to be the "right" side but either could be used. I'm doing this in the boucle side. After doing the pocket and seeing in person the effect that was called for, I realized I could have done it differently and cut down substantially on the bulk and lined those suckers too. Lesson learned for the next one. The Ambiance lining is the next challenge and I am hoping it's as clear and easy as the coat itself was. Fingers crossed.

And since we were going for contrasts, this shirt was finished off Friday for spring and summer.

It's a whisper light voile in classic grey/white mini stripes. This is the second view from Burda 7220. I am so glad I tried this pattern. It is quickly becoming a favorite.

The blouse will be part of my wardrobe for the New England trip this spring. Since I loved the fabric and it's casual, I decided to use some of my last bits of tractor ribbon. It was only fitting that a red Bob like tractor be on the front. :)

Lastly before we head out of the sewing room, I must mention the batting is here for the little Stella fabric quilt. Who knew they had batting that has some stick and tack to it? I certainly didn't but here it is. an 80% cotton, 20 % poly. Not my favorite but not having to use safety pins or other means to hold the layers together made it more desirable for sure. Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 Fusible Cotton Blend. Well priced at about

$25.00 for a queen sized bat and heck, American made. They grow a lot of cotton in Texas.

In other news, I spent my weaving time riding. No apologies on that.. We had a beautiful sunny warm weekend and Cooper and I both were just itching to get out and enjoy a little change of scenery. And that we did. It was a slow careful ride in spots, but oh so good for the souls. Where there was still snow, I stopped and looked for tracks, old and new. Lots of rabbit and squirrels, fox, weasel in the deep woods around Tub Springs, possible coyote tracks, which isn't a stretch since I've heard them. No deer, no bear and no big cat. All good. Coop, always the gentleman, was the watchful patient one as I stopped him numerous times to hang over his side and peer down. He's smart too. He can tell from my weight and upper body position just were I'm looking (as most horses can), and skirts what I've targeted so the tracks don't get muddled with hoof prints. He never would have made an arena horse and when I got him as youngster someone made such a nasty comment to just that fact I've remembered it to this day. There was truth in it, I'll grant you that but it was the way it was couched. There is nothing so undervalued in the horse world than a trail horse or a lesson horse. Both do the grunt work and good ones do it with a certain kindness, always judging what their rider needs and wants, all the while keeping them both safe. Nope he's not show material, he's not a fancy horse, but when your butt is on the line, alone and miles from home out in a real wilderness, you can't go wrong with such a sensible, smart, sound and kind hearted animal.

Sunday night our spring weather ended with a storm that moved in and dumped about 12 inches by the end of yesterday. It always happens! Just when I'm starting to accept and look forward to spring, winter pops up again. I hope our storm has headed east on to Judy.

Parting shot: Snow Day the series. Peter, plain and simple.

Wrap it Up

The mixed green wool warp is cut off, finished and was all wrapped up in it's own little

silk pouch for birthday giving yesterday. Yes, a birthday! I wanted to show the pretty mixed warp off so, I said it was for me. I would have liked to have kept it too, but it was destined for another who's favorite color is also green!

I hate wrapping things, and as a result, have very little in the way of handy wrapping paper, but I do have fabric and this woven piece was pretty enough for it's own little bag. I've had this leftover silk for upwards of 20 years. It is a scrap from a very beautiful kimono I made for some one. This was what I had used for the lining.

So into a little long clutch it went with flower trim and a blue ribbon to tie it all together.

And here is the woven piece.

I liked the addition of velvet along one edge. It gives it weight to stay put and has a nice waterfall effect. The person this was going to is fun, artistic and unconventional so having different non-traditional finishing on one end was added interest.

I loved it, and I was sure she would too. The package was rounded out by some fun, hearty beers and chocolate.

Since I was under the gun to get this done, there hasn't been much sewing, but I did get a test run done in this psychedelic mushroom fabric. It actually was a pretty good match when it was all done and quite fun

The pattern worked but I can make it better. I'm taking the small side bust darts and changing them to french darts, giving the front a bit more shape and contour. Fit for a Queen gave me the link to this site as a tutorial on just how to do it. THANK YOU!

In farm news, I decided to get Nick out for some ground work. Well, it looked like Nick but at the end of the long line it was really a big black hairy dragon, snorting fire and sparks coming from his hooves. To say he was a little hot would be an understatement. I had many words to describe his attitude in a sentence, but the only one I can print here would be snot. A term usually reserved for ponies only practicing bad behavior. Needless to say, at the end of the 45 minute session we were both out of breath and dripping in sweat. He got a cooler blanket thrown on and a good long walk. Quite docile I might add! I got a sit down in the comfy chair and a cold beer afterwards. One thing was sure, I have been feeding like it's winter and it isn't. Everyone got cut down on grain (and I don't feed a lot to begin with) and the hay amounts are looking more like spring and summer than fall and winter. Everyone is going to do some time on the long line each week.

Parting shot: Toenail trimming? Oh, I don't think so......

Is every one around here spitting fire???

And There Was No Joy in Mudville

I can only imagine how grumpy the folks in New England must be this morning. Quiet times at the Dunkin' Donuts and water coolers. Truth be told, I'm kind of grumpy myself. Of course, that may also be due to the multiple beers I had and all the nibbling I did yesterday. The dogs enjoyed the old popcorn that had been ruined by tears but the cried in beer was sent down the drain. Congratulations go out to all the Giants fans near and far. Just don't gloat around me for at least a week okay?

Moving on, Saturday was a productive day. Another warp was put on the Julia loom and I tried something new doing it. I've never been happy with some things about the Julia, most having to do with getting a warp on her. It's a small loom thing more than a Julia thing, coupled with the way I like to warp. Back to front and using a raddle. These two things have made loving the Julia difficult. I needed to find a way to extend the meager 9.5 inches of space at the back of the Julia loom to allow comfortably for the raddle and the lease sticks.

And then I found it. My old Purrington angel wings provided a pretty elegant solution.

They allow more space, made the rise up to the raddle possible

and it also locked in everything nicely at the back so I could get a good uniform tie-on to the warp beam bar.

I need to refine the steps afterwards to either move the lease sticks back into position for the wind on or get a very stiff metal bar to act as a back beam, but this is easily solved with a little trial and error. I made mistakes with this one as I found my way through but after everything was said and done the warp was wound on. I also put the sleeve back on the warp beam so it would be thicker than just that little black beam. A vast improvement.

The warp itself is awaiting threading. Some improvements were seen there too. I marked exactly half on the warp chain, so that my threading will be even on each side of the cords that come down in the center of the shafts for the Countermarche system. These drive me a little nuts too, but if I can get it all nice and symmetrical I can accept the differences between this loom and my Louets.

The green mixed wool warp is off and having it's fringe twisted. I promise pics when it's all done. It came out quite nicely!

Since the serger breakdown sewing has been on hold, but cutting has not. Six patterns have made it to the cut out out stage.

In fact I'm out of pins so unless I buy more, it's a pretty safe bet no more fabric will fall under the scissors until I start moving these along.

But wait there's more! Saturday a big old box arrived. An early arrival on the birthday front. A new serger. In fact the Brother 1034D that I had been investigating. My folks and Gene went havers on this because no one person should bear the brunt of my fiber addictions! (Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!).

Of course I had to test it out. I re-threaded it, taking off the cheesy and dinky color coded spools and gave her a little run through. As to be expected, the instructions that come with Brother products are excellent and yes, he works beautifully so far on the 4 thread overlock. And then, I put him away. The cover is back on and a little stuck on bow is sitting on top. I'll coo loving words to him over the next couple of weeks and practice french seams. I have moved the possessed White to the foyer for the next trip to Medford. I don't want any bad juju rubbing off. A set of stairs and a few walls should be enough separation don't you think?

Parting shot: Foxy Charlotte